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Got a new toy for the 8. Main purpose was to monitor the water temp, read/clear DTCs, among a few other valuable readings... I'd like the least amount of gauges in the car as possible, so this covers a lot of bases. I still intend to hook up some oil pressure/temp gauges at some point (have a custom project in mind)... Wish our cars had the sensors for those so I wouldn't need to add additional gauges. I really like this little device though, it offers a lot! I am definitely planning on mounting it more permanently but had them send the windshield mount for the time being. Not a big fan, but it functions.
At some point, probably during one of it's accidents, the passenger side splash guard was removed (or ripped off).. Hello oil cooler! Got the new replacement in there, so now the oil cooler is nice and protected again. No chance of the wheel kicking stuff up at it anymore.
looks great, coilovers and wheels spacers and it would be perfect. reminds me of mine when i first had it. keep up the good work.
Thank you! I agree on the wheels, they are a bit sunken in, though I've never liked wheel spacers.. I'll probably stick with stock wheels for awhile (although refinished). While coilovers were absolutely one of my favorite mods on my last car, I'm not in a rush for this car.. Although, eventually Im sure it will be on the list. I'm very happy with its handling for what I do currently, and the 'stance' really isn't terrible for being stock. At some point I'd like to do autocross with it, and I'd like to max out its capabilities in stock form before jumping into changing suspension heavily. Right now focusing on small changes and restoring/ repairing. Body work is next.
Took some advice from one of the newbie threads. Added some pipe insulation around the AC lines, and around the radiator, to improve rad airflow.
Clearly need to correct radiator mounting position at some point. It's sturdy and "in place", but not in one of the mounting spots :-/ this poor car has been through a lot of ****, lol.
Red battery bracket was bugging me, so replaced it. It bent while tightening and the coating was cracking/peeling. This one is sturdier and looks better too.
So now that I have the repair date scheduled, I will share the up close "before" pictures of the damage this car has. While it still could use a full-body paint restoration and a few dings and such fixed... the actual damage takes precedence.
(None of this happened under my ownership.)
Here is where it was hit on the driver's side. This area is getting paintless dent repair.
Apparently someone either tried to break in or locked their keys in their car at some point... this area will be filled/blended.
This is the most significant & most noticeable flaw... Rear bumper will be getting repaired and repainted. It was rear-ended and there is a small gash and the paint began spidering. To "hide" this, someone, at some point, decided to tape off a big ol' rectangle and spray paint it >.<
Other than the above the car is in pretty good aesthetic condition. I would like to get the front bumper/lip repainted at some point in the nearer future but will probably wait until I have the whole car gone over. It has more wear and tare from rock chips/etc... These areas have been driving my OCD crazy lately so Im real excited to get them fixed up. From there my focus will be primarily maintenance/upkeep with small upgrades.
Dropped the car off today, will get it back at the end of the week.. getting lots of the body work completed. He is even throwing in some ding repair along with the above pictured damage. I can't wait. It's in great hands!
I bought it that way so it's no big deal, it's going to look great by the weekend! He's going to try to go over the car with a polish and do a minor paint correction as well if he has time.
I am incredibly happy with the results. There was only one blend area over the upper A pillar zone (everywhere else the paint ended at the end of a body panel)... and you can't even tell where the old paint "ends" and the new paint "starts". The ONLY difference, is the new paint has less orange peel than the old paint, LOL. He did a phenomenal paint job.
He pulled a couple unattractive door dings as well. He fixed where my side skirt was sagging by adding new clips in there. The rear bumper looks brand new, there is new flat paint over the trim and you can't even find where the gouge was.
Don't mind my silly reflections Haha
Dented area (after). You can see the old OEM paint on the left side (on the rear door) and the new paint on the right, over the 1/4 panel/wheel arch... the new paint is smoother, less orange peel. Look at the difference in the house reflection! He did a killer job.
Where the gouge/spray paint was. Fresh flat black paint over the lower trim as well on the bumper.
Where the gouge/spray paint was. Fresh flat black paint over the lower trim as well on the bumper.
Perfection!
Car was in the garage at this point, but just showing that glassy reflection.
I know right?! Haha. The rear bumper especially is just like glass it's so incredibly smooth, lol.
Overall the car looks great now. (Does need attention to the front bumper next time around to be "perfect".. but that's not priority). Going to focus on mechanical stuff for the most part for the next changes. Looking into a SOHN next, and maybe some other preventative items.
Although I do want a wing (Mazdaspeed? likely) and to refinish the wheels soon as well :P
I apologize for the poor quality photos.. the lighting was poor in the garage.
Before : Shift boot that the Rx8 came with (one of the POs put in an "autozone special". Cheap, universal boot that was too big, installed off center, and with a brown accented interior the red stitching doesnt match).
New boot. Real leather with brown stitching and Rx8 embroidery.
After: New boot installed. Much better fitment. Better quality leather as well.
Reason for the stitching /embroidery choice is because it matches the interior perfectly.
Few more pictures. Got together with some fellow 8 friends the other day, so here's a few pictures from then as well
As you can see here, I painted my strut brace & battery bracket purple. I need to redo it, it came out more magenta then I would like. I should have used a blue base coat, and I used silver, so the purple came out much brighter than the hue I was shooting for. I still like that it gives it a touch of color, just need to respray it so it's more of a dark/deep purple.
You car is looking fantastic!! What benefits did wrapping the A/C lines have? Were you afraid of them heat soaking from engine bay temps?
The paint job came out fantastic! They sure made a mess of the interior...that door panel and rear seat looked to be dust covered or touched with wet sanding water.. Hope they cleaned it before returning your car to you. The new shift boot is really cool!! I'm a fan! The picture of your daughter with the 8 is cute! My girls love posing for pictures by the cars. Whatever it takes to get them interested in cars.
Awwww 8 weeks, it flies by! Mine is about 3 1/2 now
Thank you!
I noticed my AC performace was pretty bad.. first I replaced the cabin air filter, if you saw in the thread here, that was TERRIBLE.. that helped the most, but I still decided to add the insulation to the hard lines and around the radiator, per one of the newbie threads. I figured, worst case, there's no noticeable difference, no harm done. Regardless, all the steps I took made a difference, mostly the cabin air filter for sure, that was a serious air flow obstruction, lol.
As for the paint, it does look great.My goal is to restore the car before anything, so im really excited to be getting it to a much better place than when I purchased it. As for the dust, my friend tried to keep some of the sanding dust at bay but it still snuck in there. Unfortunately the work was on the drivers side and he did have to move my car around so he couldn't keep it completely sealed up. He fully detailed my car before he gave it to me tho no worries. He said he felt terrible because the car was so clean when i gave it to him ( I am meticulous about keeping my cars clean, lol).. but no harm done, it's just dust and he cleaned it all
06-03-2016, 11:26 AM
Need to go back sometime with my real camera.
Haha
