Alright, I took some more pictures today with my buddy's 2007 Stormy Blue. I spent a lot of time today with the car, cleaning her up, putting her on jacks so I could check my cat for damage etc, and it was a nice day out hence the pictures. I had to remove and remount the wing to epoxy the trunk holes to protect from rust as I didn't have the epoxy when I originally mounted it. Unfortunately when I remounted it, I caused some slight warping to the trunk lid. It isn't really noticable except in very specific light. Oh well.

I made a list today of all the mods I'm planning on doing to the car going forward, and dropping it a bit (D-spec/Swifts) and getting aftermarket rims are in the budget. I'm having a bit of a hard time picking out rims because the only rims I've found that I really like the shape of more than stock are the Enkei Evo-5s and I'm not sure I like the ultra-black color. Any thoughts on rims that might stand out well with the look I've got going? Anyway, enjoy the new pics!

edit: Pics moved to Page 1!

 

me thinks fugly and out of place - I'd put stock hood back on

 

No thanks, I'm very happy with both hood and wing.

 

Just IMO, the car is yours to enjoy ofcourse

 

As per some of the comments I've ordered some aftermarket rims and will be dropping the car a bit, new pictures when everything comes in... oh yeah, bought a turbocharger too.........

 

woot! Boost that economy. (no pun intended)

 

Love that hood.... i have been thinking about getting the same hood and getting it candy coated, looks good.

 

needs something on the bottom, whether its a kit or just lowering the car. Looks good, on the path to being awesome

 

it looks kinda funny.

i think you need rims, lowered, and bigger exhaust tips

 

New rims, (R1 Racing Drift), lowering it about an inch (D-specs/Swifts) should be done within the next week or so. I'll post pics when it's all in. BHR Clutch pedal bracket goes in the next week or two also. RP Super cat should be early October. Turbo kit goes in October 17th or so. No real plans to change the exhaust at the moment. The stock exhaust flows great, and I don't really care how the tips look compared to the other things I could change. The whole car is going to look/handle completely differently by November.

 

I prefer the stock look.

CF hood on a stock vehicle looks out of place. The rear wing looks cheap and doesn't fit the style of the vehicle.

If you plan to get more body kit components and drop the car, the hood would look OK.

Even with a turbo and MS bumper, I thought my CF hood was too aggressive for the styling of the car, so I don't just say this without consideration

 

I know the wing is very hit or miss with people, but I like it quite a bit. I actually think the lines of the wing match the shape of the car very nicely without looking ridiculous. I wanted to do something other than the same old Mazdaspeed spoiler that everyone has and I'm happy with how it came out. I don't think the CF hood is going to be out of place when the car is dropped a bit and has aggressive rims and a turbo under the hood. I won't be upgrading the body further for a while until I get everything installed and tuned through October. Probably no new parts until the beginning of next year at the earliest.

I don't mind the stock look, but I love how carbon fiber looks with the black cherry mica paint, so eventually I will fill in a few more body pieces including a couple of carbon fiber accents like carbon fiber mirrors and most likely the Mazdaspeed bumper and maaaaybe the side skirts. I'm still not sure on that. Right now I'm just really excited to get boosted. CRH is coming out to do the install, and I'll be using MM tunes so I'm looking forward to having a nice setup once its all set.

 

Couple of additional pictures have been added to the first post. I just got my R1 Racing Drift rims put on today. I like how they look a lot, but they are very aggressive looking so I doubt most people will dig them. Right now I'm focused on getting set up for my turbo install next month. I just had the turbo and the rest of the kit delivered today, so next up will be a Greddy boost controller. I'm going to try and get up and running with ~9 lbs of boost while CRH is in town doing the install. Once I have it dialed in I may go higher to reach the plateau where I need ignition upgrades.

 

^ +1

 

I finally got my car back after having the wheels/tires stolen. I've updated the first page of this thread with new pictures of the mods I've had since the last update. It is now lowered about 1.5'' with Tein S. Tech springs and on R1 Racing Drift wheels. I've mounted my AccessPORT on my dash and moved my ODB-II port so it doesn't interfere with my feet. Comments welcome!

 

sorry to hear about your car, but the car looks nice now.

 

Thanks! I'm loving having it back, but I'm a little paranoid about stuff happening to it heh. A bunch of stupid kids were out drinking and screwing around at the high school next to my house last night. I went out there twice to make sure they weren't messing with my car. :P

 

I've added a few random bits to the car recently including carbon fiber strakes, a carbon fiber shift **** cap (ridiculous I know) and an AEM cold-air-intake. The turbo kit is going in sooner than I expected (soon!) so I will have a turbo install thread soon.

 

i love shinka's interiors!!!!

 

blackenedwings i love your spoiler, i just wish they made it in other materials besides carbon fiber, as i have nothing else carbon fiber.

 

Yeah, I ended up loving it too. I took a shot in the dark when I bought it because nobody else seemed to have one on the 8. I think it really sets the car off without looking too ricey. I also didn't expect much of a difference when actually driving but it provides a ton of downforce at higher speeds. It was immediately noticable going from no spoiler to the Seibon.

No worries about the carbon fiber construction though, just get it painted to match your car. Nobody will know what it's made of, you will have an ultra-light wing and it will match nicely. Just be very careful when mounting it, measure a bunch of times to make sure you get it even. Drilling through my baby to mount it was uncomfortable to say the least. If you do end up getting it let me know and I will make a short DIY for mounting it.

 

your car looks awesome. i wish the wing was a little shorter, oh well.

 

Thanks. The wing is definitely a hit or miss thing, people either love it or hate it. It actually looks quite mild in person, but I've grown accustomed to it.