crap, i found out that the wiper refills my dealer gave me for my 09 were for the 08's. dont fit. well, it fits my GD, but not my GE...

shitola, gotta go back again. i hate going to the dealer.

but the G's new JDM side markers look great.

 

installed! will have the brake pads by next week, it looks like. perfect timing case labor day weekend's coming up and i'll have some time to work on my ride.

JDM sidemarker for skyline coupe

 

Ive been good, really busy but good, thanks! How about yourself?

Ahh, i see. Looking to replace it with anything?
Im still eye balling MiniS's. They are dropping price around here and fast, looks like i can easily get an 04 S for around 15k. Id love to own one!

Anyway just wanted to let you know, im still followin your blog

 

sounds like you're having a good but very busy time.
for me, yah, been pretty busy as always with work, music, kids, car, and just things at home in general.

not sure if i want to get a replacement car for the MINI. im debating whether to get a mid-way car which is like a fun dd/semi-weekend car. such as the new 2010 MazdaSpeed3 (im not sure if i like its face), 2009 STI (local dealer sucks arse), or a 2010 JCW Clubman (probably fall apart again). this would mean that i would need to trade-in my 08 FitS.

yah, MINI's used car prices have dropped significantly this year. some guy was posting that his 13k mile 1yr old clubman dropped in value from $33K (his buying price new) down to $18K-$19K. LOL so if you're going to buy used, might want to wait until late Fall.

thanks for following my blog.

 

Washed the FitS's today and Hydro'ed. Looks great.

Also checked tire pressure and adjusted psi. I like to keep my tires around 35psi.

Also motored my G this am and also motored my FitS to pickup some Chinese this evening. was a great drive (both of them).

 

after motoring my G (pretty spiritedly today since im basically using up the rest of my brembo's brake pads before the swap in a few weeks), SpeedShine'ed the car and SprayOn Wax'ed a few areas...basically the front end of the car and side mirrors where bugs are most prone to hit.
looks fantastic.

then checked the oil levels of both my FitS's. im sure all of you know how to check engine oil, but if not, here's a quick way:

park the car on a level surface. don't have to be perfectly level. pop and prop the hood.

look for a orange plastic handle forward of your engine. that's your dipstick. pull the dipstick out, wipe off the tip with a paper towel (sometime i just like to lick it off jk ) and place the dipstick all the way back down into the little dipstick tube on the engine. count 5 seconds.

then pull up the dipstick to near the tip of the shaft where you see two little indicator holes. your oil level should be around 3/4 to the top of the indicator holes.

if it's at or below the middle, add about 1/2 quart of oil and repeat the process until the engine oil is near the top of the indicator holes. if you're anal you'll want it very close to the top hole, but im not that picky.

then you're done. close the hood. i usually just drop the hood from about 8-10" to shut it. some folks like to gently lower the hood and push it down to lock...well, most often you'll get soil from your hands onto the hood and potentially bend the hood from pushing it down. so for me, it's better to just drop it and let momentum lock the hood.

several notes
if you had your oil change done at your dealer you may find that the oil level is ABOVE the top indicator hole. this is one of the many reasons why i hate taking my car to the dealer for service. basically they overfilled it. they do that for 2 possible reasons:

1) some cars eat engine oil so they want to put in excess just to be 'safe.'
2) they weren't paying much attention.

usually overfill is okay, but again, i prefer it near the top hole.

5W20 is the oil grade our engine takes. you can use 5W30 if you cant find any 5W20's locally. it's not going to kill your car. but 5W20 is what the manufacturer recommends and ~3.8 qts. (i use 4qts during the oil change since the oil filter soaks up the 0.2qts).

happy motoring.

 

Tanuki, where'd you go? Any new bits on your car after installing the Volks?

I'm going to check out the STI again and the new MazdaSpeed3 this week some time. I'm still debating if I want to get a faster dd/semi-weekend workhorse/fun-car.

I know that I'm going to have less and less time with my car hobby the next 4-5yrs so want to make sure I don't make a mistake buying a 370Z that I can only use for fun. I may end up driving it LESS than my G.

I already have a FR car anyway which is like in new condition even after 5yrs...I'm sure it can go another 4-5yrs as needed.

 

had to run some errands so stopped by both dealers this am just to sit in the cars. i really dont care for a test drive because both cars seems to do well in the reviews and i'll have to drive it for a few months to know the car anyway. to me it's like asking me if i want to take a test drive in a minivan. hahahaha.

2010 mazdaspeed3 - interior is kinda small especially the rear seat foot well. even with the front seat pretty forward i can already see my kids kicking the seatback. the foot well was less than a foot wide. ridiculous for a family car that size.

also the overall quality of the dials was weighted and felt nice but the red/black speckled panels and seats inserts looked cheap. also the driver's arm rest (pre-installed and part of the center console so can't remove!) gets into the way when im going for 4th and 6th gear. initial impression when you sit inside, it feels kinda like 'wow' but then you look closely and it's not that impressive.

biggest problem with this car is that there's really nothing that feels "special." just another ordinary car with more power. marketed for bargain hunter folks that only look at features when buying a car...when you look at the regular mazda3 wgns i kinda wonder why people buy those things cause the 09+ FitSports are a much better car.

2009 STI - i sat in the STI again and immediately felt more at home. especially with the cars i have/had in the past and modified this is the car that feels natural to me. the rear seat foot well is near the same width as the FitS so my kids will have enough clearance. i suppose if i decide to go this route i'll get the STI. the only downside is that the clutch is heavier than the FitS. it might get a little clumsy after a long biz trip driving home from the airport... hahaha.

when i think about the overall quality, utility, fun factor, ease of use (including driving), the "daily driver" car, my FitS still impresses me. just needs more power for weekend fun especially in the summer temperatures.

 

going to take one last look at the S2KCR tomorrow and see if im going to scratch that off the list or not. im glad c4c is finally over today. dealers were scraping for time to talk to casual customers...customers like me who aren't really dying to dive into a new car but want to add fun to the line up.

current list:
370Z (keep current cars) ~$34K
STI (trade 08 FitS) ~$34K
S2KCR (keep current cars) ~$35??? need to work this down into the sub-$32k range..

 

Those are 3 cars i dream of owning Ken, im jealous!
If it was me I'd trade the Fit for the STi. STi is leaps and bounds above the Fit in almost everyway. Plus i just really love STi's. Either that or, keep current cars and get the 370Z. I really like the new Z. The only problem i see with that is, the Z being too much like the G.

 

Yah, that is the minor 'issue' I'm feeling too. If I was going to trade the G then 370Z is the natural choice but it's too soon to let my G go. Especially with the mods it runs so smoothly yet firm, very balanced ride. Great tone, great looks, etc.

Honestly speaking, the STI's clutch (although not as heavy as my G's clutch)can become a bit clumsy for me when I'm tired and stuck in traffic. The FitS's clutch is very forgiving and can shift effortlessly...and as a dd, the FitS is great.
Otherwise the STI's great. luv the new styling.

So then the S2KCR... It's old skool, kind of the 'completed' version S2K, vert, 4 cylinder, compact sports car. Very different from my G and almost has all the areas I want in my weekend sports car. One thing missing is low-end torque... Z has plenty of that.

Need to see what the dealer says about the price tomorrow on the S2KCR. Price will determine the fate for that car as I don't feel like spending as much as the STI or 370Z for it.

If the S2KCR fails tomorrow I'm going to Nissan Friday to see what other incentives they can give me on the 370Z.

As you can tell, I'm in no rush to sell the FitS. . Hahaha. So going to Subaru at the very end.

 

Nice, well you have it all layed out very logicaly.
How soon you plan on making the new car purchase?

 

TOOL- I'm thinking in the next couple of days if I can make up my mind.

 

oh yah, forgot to mention one funny... while i was sitting in the STI at the dealer i looked up and saw the STI maplights.

on my GD, i wired up the STI maplight so has the same thing
just in a different color. i kinda chuckled and the sales guy was like. huh?

so i explained and he was like 'that's waay cool manz!'

 

i say go S2k, they're going to be getting rare soon since they stopped making them, plus they're great cars, and it will allow you to keep your current stable of fine autos and have something totally different from all the rest

 

They were made for like 10 years by Honda, they wont be rare.
CRs will, but not regular S's.

And next couple days!!! Im excited for you!!

 

i'm pretty sure only like 50-70k were sold here, so that plus the number stolen or crashed, will seriously drop the number.

 

CRs or S2ks in general?

 

s2k's in general only like 600 cr's were sold here

 

that's why as soon as i get wheels and a motorcycle i'm going to start saving for an na1 nsx is just to get one before it reaches serious collector car status (which i feel the s2k will reach as well)