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yah, its like at da level of ur wife's MINI.. not da most precise. i call it euro-precision.. lol i mean its well put together for the most part, no rattles or anything silly like dat. for a euro car its probably as good as it gets. was hoping for higher quality but my expectation was probably a bit too high.
alright happy friday! going to be another half day at work, will install the splitter on da WRX today, wash and try da new clay bar 2.0. tomorrow will do da clearbra install. weather is cooperating with no rain till monday so the adhesive will have time to cure initially.
Good luck with the clear bra install Ken. I do not have the patience to complete that job.
I'm curious as to why you feel your car needs claying already? Is the paint that bad from the dealer?
Here's a detailing thing I just found out. I've always used Nero & really like it. I'm running low so I thought I'd try some 303 Aerospace Protectant. It seems like it is the same exact thing as Nero, same color, same smell & same look.
yah new cars usually have contamination as they sit outdoors in da sun without much sealant or wax.
dealer applied some sealant as it sheets water but i like my paint smooth as glass.
heather explained to me long time ago that they benchmarked 303 but their goal was a more matte finish.
i use nero diluted and will do da same for 303 when i run dry of nero..
I guess detailing your new car is part of the bonding process. ;-) When I picked up my new MINI it was covered with dealer installed swirls. Dealers do not take care of the cars they have that's for sure.
got the splitter installed, looks fantastic. let my kid work on it too drilling holes in the bumper and all.
also tried da clay2.0. nice! easy to use and i just used rinse water while washing da car. will do it one more time when i wash as it left a little but got most of the contaminants off. very pleased. will check for any swirls in da sun tomorrow from da 2.0.
pulling out my STI this am going for a nice relaxing drive. will probably feel different considering i was driving my WRX to work everyday. expecting da clearbra to arrive this pm.. will install before supper.
will also check in with my tint guy if he received any cancellations yet..
got done installing the clearbra on da WRX. had my kid help out a little here and there. he said he learned a lot.
turned out great, went out for a quick drive with my kid for a few snaps. such a fun car to drive.
called my tint guy but he still has no openings till end of month. car's beggin for tint. it gets super hot inside without it.
pulling out my STI again today in a bit. will QD afterward and check up on the clearbra on da wrx, push down any edges that might need some more encouragement before rain this pm.
decided to go cycling vs motoring today after QDing my STI to loosen up my ankle from squatting down working on the clearbra yesterday.. also it’s raining where usually take my cars out to so it worked out i guess. had a good time on my bike.
i can enjoy my drive tomorrow to work. this is why i like having fun MT dd’s. i can still enjoy driving even if i can’t on the weekends in my fun cars.
woah.. panda express kicked my arse with heart burn last night. lol. couldnt sleep well
anyway got a few bits on order this week including a perrin shifter stop for my wrx and a LED DRL kit for my STI.
will install during the week and maybe work on the GK’s brakes this weekend. looking forward to my drive in the wrx this am to work.
Sounds like the WRX is off to a good start. People need to realize that tint is more than just looks...it protects your interior from heat and UV/IR. Not to mention prevents fading. For example the GFs 2007 elantra black/gray interior looks perfect. Whereas her dads 2010 Sonata TAN interior is faded AF.
Friday I upgraded the front and rear speakers. I had kicker 2-way 6.75" DS series speakers in the front doors. While it was good, I knew it could be better since the sound was coming from the doors/floor. So I ordered the tweeter door sails from the EX/Sport touring and a set of Kicker CS 6.75" components from Crutchfield. Love crutchfield since they include the wire and speaker adapters to make it a easy install and able to swap back to stock easily.
Install was cake. Moved the DS speakers to the rear doors, sanded the OEM tweeter sails with my dremel until the kickers fit and added some more dynamat to the doors. Previously had put some in the doors but wanted more. SO much better sounding. More full sounding than before. And yes despite owning the car for about a year now...thats still a piece of the factory plastic on the driver door...one day I'll remove it lol.
Also did the yellow tint on the fogs. Not perfect, but will do. Heres a pic of one side done to compare to OEM clear. I got a bunch of material left over from previous cars. Typically I'd remove the fog to do it on the table to get it to stretch cleanly. But getting to the fogs requires removing the bumper...I'm good lol. I'll deal with a bubble or two.
Nice work Shinjari. I'm sure the sound system is great & even a guy like me who is deaf in one ear-can't hear out the other would find it great. ;-)
I like the yellow tint on the fogs, looks very sharp. I did that to my GTI & tried to on my wife's MINI. Trouble was the MINI fogs had such a dome to the lenses that I couldn't manage it. I ended up just putting some yellow bulbs in.
Seriously Ash, I agree about the fogs. The curvature is the toughest part. I removed the fogs in the NB Miata to tint those. Being able to spread/stretch it over the lens makes it turn out so much nicer...but in order to remove the fogs on the civic I'd have to remove the entire front end...not worth it lol.
I got a bubble or two but thats fine. I got plenty of material if it bugs me. Basically I measured the diameter of the fog...transferred it to the vinyl. Cut it out...then placed over it and tried to smooth it out as best I could with the limited space.
Speaking on Miata...posting it for sale in the next day or two. Considered taking to carmax...but figured a car thats <$4k isn't worthwhile to bother.
Shinjari, how's it sound? Also, don't bother taking the Miata to carmax, they'll give you NOTHING for it. They offered me $4000 for my GD on it, 78k miles and 5 years old at the time.
Took the GRE on Saturday. Very happy with my scores, who wants to compile letters of recommendation for me?
looks like a clean install on the speakers, shinjari! nice job.
yah my 5 yr old recaro booster seats look brand new coming from cars running llumar pinnacle tint. will be donating to a buddy of mine who is also a car guy.
if i can find another llumar dealer i suppose i could give them a try..
08-02-2018, 07:40 PM
lol i mean its well put together for the most part, no rattles or anything silly like dat. for a euro car its probably as good as it gets. was hoping for higher quality but my expectation was probably a bit too high. 
the drive further reinforced dat da only thing similar about the STI and the WRX is the skin (appearance). 
