Keef's Car Thread | Wheels on the Bus | 09/08/23

[Keef]

Had some issues with my coilovers recently. Fixed most of it but still having some...

Last night's snow storm was rather enjoyable...

 

[speed junkie]

So the bushing lasted about a year? Also jelly on the fact that you got to drive your sports car on the snow. I drove the Impreza and it sucked.

 

[Thatman]

I thanked Mazda every time for an LSD in the snow.

 

[Cale]

Wish I had that kind of snow. I just want one more good night of hoonage this year.

 

[Fazerfan]

Really? No flames? I request a better exhaust video.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

No hoonage weather this year in TX, sadly. Not that my hoonable car was running anyways...

I like your pictures, even if they are instalol.

 

[Keef]

So, after a month of testing and experimenting but mostly being lazy I've decided that my left rear coilover is blown. Something on the inside is broken; it bounces and the damping adjuster is unresponsive. So, I started to talking to Stance about replacements. Since I've already replaced the lower mounts I don't need a full coilover so what I'm going to do is just buy new dampers. Luckily they're not too darned expensive at $165 a piece, and they're Stance's new-and-improved "Super Sport" damper which has replaced my model. I'm going to replace both rear dampers and hopefully that'll get my car riding nicely (maybe better) again.

In other news, my cruise control has been broken since August and that's rather annoying. I rebuilt the switch the other day with internals from another part but it still doesn't work. The CC computer is the next step but besides that the system is a ridiculous maze of electrical and vacuum connections. Damn.

I bought a new driver's window switch after numerous attempts to fix the button which had broken. No, the switch itself was fine and I know that because I rebuilt it too. The problem was the button which snapped in half. Ain't that a bitch. Attempts to weld the plastic back together were fruitless so I just bought a used switch off Ebay for a whole $70. It works.

I got new adjustable rear camber links which I haven't installed yet. This will let me adjust out the ridiculous camber I have, make it even, and improve my rear fitment all at the same time. They were only $125 for the pair which is the same as the stock ones.

I got my broken RPF1 repaired as well. I'm torn on what to do with the other three - they all have curb rash but considering I've already spent quite a bit of money this year to simply fix my car, not improve it, I'm very hesitant to spend another $100 per wheel to simply make them look better. Besides that I have to pay to get the tires mounted, another $80, and I also have to find some interesting paint to change their color. I'm considering just filing/sanding/smoothing and maybe filling the curb rash to make it look a little nicer. Three-hundred bucks is a bit too much for me to spend on cosmetics.

The only other interesting thing is that my new "girlfriend" can't drive my car. Oh, she can drive a stick just fine. But my bucket seat...she won't fit because her ass is too amazing.

So that's the news for now. If you guys have any input on my wheels, what color I should do, and whether or not I should spend precious flying money to fix curb rash I'd appreciate it. I'm thinking about a shiny rose gold color with custom-designed Enkei decals.

 

[Slash]

Wish I had that kind of snow. I just want one more good night of hoonage this year.

Don't ask for that. You live within a short drive from me. You get it, I get it. I don't want it

 

[homeforsummer]

The only other interesting thing is that my new "girlfriend" can't drive my car. Oh, she can drive a stick just fine. But my bucket seat...she won't fit because her ass is too amazing.

When you say amazing you mean big, right?

 

[Keef]

Of course.

 

[Omnis]

It'll fit. Just roll it out.

 

[speed junkie]

Keith I know you're deprived but if she convinces you to sell your uncomfortable seat, I got a girlfriend that could definitely use it on my passenger side

 

[Punknoodle]

But my bucket seat...she won't fit because her ass is too amazing.

That made me laugh quite a bit. I love how you put it

 

[Thatman]

What would be your next performance mod anyway?

 

[speed junkie]

Not sure what he likes more, the nice heavy feel of his wallet or the nice light feel of a small diameter, multi plate clutch.

 

[Perfect Balance]

That sounds like it costs about as much a turbo swap. I would much rather have a turbo.

 

[speed junkie]

Yeah, I'd definitely get a swap if it costs the same (a bit over 1000.) I would then also get a clutch and flywheel.

 

[Keef]

I could work a whole T2 swap for about $2000. It's more than just an engine and transmission. Also need a driveshaft, downpipe, and front-mount intercooler or T2 hood. And of course all the accessories that I'll need to hook the engine up like miscellaneous wires and hoses.

 

[Keef]

I chose a color for my wheels. Acura's Horizon Gray:

On these would be decals similar to the stock Enkei decals, but custom printed and red.

What to do about my curb rash I'm not sure. I don't think they're worth $100 a piece to fix ($300 total) given the damage is only cosmetic. I want to paint them with the tires off so I can't use bondo to fill the gouges because it will chip while putting the tires back on. I think I'll just file it as smooth as I can and run with it.

 

[speed junkie]

I like the color. Giving a nice contrast to the body color as any nice wheel color should. Just keep them clean so that brake dust wont make them look plain gray.

 

[MisterWhiskers]

 

[Keef]

So I made a few more changes in the past month. Rebuilt my coilovers, changed some stuff, repaired and painted my wheels. For those of you who don't follow @brosenkranz on Instagram I'll share some photos soon.

So, I've done some work on the car recently. It was time to get underneath...

I replaced the car's standard camber links with adjustable pieces. This allowed me to adjust the wacked out camber angles on the rear - it could have been a simpler fix, but both wheels had different camber angles so I had to get individual adjusters.

More importantly, I replaced the dampers in my rear coilovers. I had blown on running over that stupid curb this past winter. So now I've got Stance's latest version, the Super Sport damper, in shiny new housings.

Much better than that is that I finally repaired my RPF1s! One of them had a giant gouge after hitting the curb which I had fixed at a shop. But the others just had curb rash which I fixed myself by filling it with JB Weld and sanding it smooth.

The one below had a big chunk out which I had to completely build with JB Weld. It's worked flawlessly.

So, I fixed my wheels. Then it was onto the paint which I've shared a few posts ago. I chose an old Acura color, Horizon Gray Metallic. It's a dark gray metallic with a hint of purple. It's subdued and luxurious but also baller and attention grabbing. This is the first time I've sprayed a two-stage paint, base color and clear coat, and I think it turned out rather well.

I got my tires mounted today and I'll be installing them either tonight or tomorrow.

Oh, I also got a new shift boot. Details, people, details!

 

[SpartanG]

The color on those wheels was a great pick. They look awesome 👍

 

[Joey D]

I'll forgive the winter tires because you're making your rims more awesome.

 

[speed junkie]

This is premium man, good job.

 

[GTMail]

From the look of it it, that's a really clean interior. One of the best FCs I've seen too. Nice work!

 

[homeforsummer]

Great stuff 👍 Looking forward to pix of the car with all the wheels back on.

 

[Punknoodle]

I really like the colour! Makes me wants RPF1s on mone

 

[Keef]

Wow, it's been a while since I've updated! I've had some adventures and lost some paint so without further ado.

My car actually looked decent in spring 2013 after I got my wheels back on. Look, it's got pain on the side! You should see that rear wheel arch now...almost completely peeled. It's getting bad for real.

I took a trip to Helen, GA with some friends for SoWo. On the way my fender snagged my rear tire and a cut a strip of rubber off which proceeded to flail about, making a catastrophic noise on the highway, and doing this in the process:

I made sure we took the Tail of the Dragon on the way there. For those of you who know, this awaits you at the end:

Here's the dirty, rocky, gravelly driveway of the super awesome mountain cabin we stayed in. My car didn't have too much trouble getting up the dirt road but the slammed BMW and VW were scraping the whole way:

Looking clean near home:

Welcome to the suburbs of the midwest USA:

That black BMW in the photo above? My buddy sold that and got an FJ Cruiser. He proceeded to put knobby tires on it:

Myself and my buddy Cameron decided to fly a Cessna 172 RG through the night to his mom's fancy lake house in South Carolina. We pulled our cars right out on the ramp just because (that's not a 172 btw):

Parked in the hangar at my then soon-to-be new job:

Had a bit of a run-in with my cousin's BMW. We went too hammie on the drifting:

First snow of the year back in November 2013. I was worried the Nittos wouldn't make it because I was at the airport having a flying lesson that night. But it turned out fine so I snapped a pic:

Immediately after I swapped wheels out for my Continental Extreme Winter Contact tires. They're still on, as we just got what is hopefully the last snow of the year just a couple days ago. Oh, and you can see the peeling progress of the rear fender...compare to the first pic in this post, lol:

That's it for now. I've got some winter shenanigans to post later.

 

[JrDarknes]

That picture of the FC at night near the plane is just badass to me.

I've been trying convince my friend to get one if these for the longest =|.