My new car!

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:14

Oh come on, just bring a couple extra quarts and smoke the hell out of the people following you, lol.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:14

That's basically what will happen. It's a massive blue cloud of death left behind me. It doesn't happen all the time, and only when I let off after going WOT through the gears. So cruising or idling there is no smoke.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:14

chickenwafer wrote:

Did you disassemble the module to paint the bracket or just mask stuff off? If it's easy enough to disassemble I may try to take it apart and run it over to get it oxidized with the rest of my stuff. I dropped off 23 pieces at Finishes Limited to get done, I think all of it for $60. I was looking at the module the other day, wondering if I could get it done, but forgot all about it soon after.

chickenwafer wrote:
It's funny though, because after all that work, I'm not sure I want to keep it haha. I think it doesn't look that good with the wheel disconnected on the quick release. With the wheel on, it looks good (almost OEM) but I just think it looks weird without the wheel.

Well how often is the wheel going to be off? LOL It does look funny without the wheel, as does mine (although yours is cleaner because you don't have jagged and funny looking cuts and mis-shapen holes haha), but the steering wheel will be on most of the time, AND you have cruise control back. For me, that outweighs not having it just so it doesn't look funny with the wheel removed. But maybe that's just me HAHAHA.

I too removed the wires from the plastic connector so I wouldn't have a huge hole through the shroud also. Makes it look a lot cleaner. I never thought about using the stock bracket to mount it though, I'm not sure why. Maybe I should go back and change mine to be like yours...I'm a copy cat as well LOL.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 9:14

speedjunkie wrote:Did you disassemble the module to paint the bracket or just mask stuff off? If it's easy enough to disassemble I may try to take it apart and run it over to get it oxidized with the rest of my stuff. I dropped off 23 pieces at Finishes Limited to get done, I think all of it for $60. I was looking at the module the other day, wondering if I could get it done, but forgot all about it soon after.

Yes the mounting bracket separates from the module. Just remove the cable and there are 3 Phillips head screws to remove and bam, bracket is off.

speedjunkie wrote:Well how often is the wheel going to be off? LOL It does look funny without the wheel, as does mine (although yours is cleaner because you don't have jagged and funny looking cuts and mis-shapen holes haha), but the steering wheel will be on most of the time, AND you have cruise control back. For me, that outweighs not having it just so it doesn't look funny with the wheel removed. But maybe that's just me HAHAHA.

I too removed the wires from the plastic connector so I wouldn't have a huge hole through the shroud also. Makes it look a lot cleaner. I never thought about using the stock bracket to mount it though, I'm not sure why. Maybe I should go back and change mine to be like yours...I'm a copy cat as well LOL.

Yeah I know, but I just want the stuff I do to look good. It will grow me I'm sure.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:14

Yeah I just removed the module from the bracket. Guess what I discovered. It's already black! LOL I removed the first screw and saw the nice clean black under where it had been, fully protected from the elements. The rest looks dingy though. I'm going to soak it in dishsoap and water and scrub it and see what happens. If not, I'll sandblast it and drop it off to have it oxidized too.

And on the CC...it DOES look good though, that's my point. You might have your steering wheel off every once in a while (unless you're going to be showing your car at shows or something, where you'd lay the steering wheel on the dash or something, then by all means lol), but most of the time you'll be driving the car or the wheel will stay on there anyway, in which case it looks good. LOL I just know that mine is staying, it's not worth it for me to take it back out haha. That bracket (or reinstalling CC in general) and the commander mount are my favorite home-made mods I think haha.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:14

Haha I already made my PFC Commander mount, it took about all of 5 minutes and plugs into the cigarette lighter socket. Sure, I loose the cigg outlet but it's not a big deal for me, I don't have anything to plug in there. Now I just need a PFC...haha!

Well, the wheel is also off when I park my car because of security reasons...no wheel, no steal! I was thinking about getting the NRG hub locking cap because it would then cover the bracket more cleanly when the wheel is off, and also double as more theft deterrent. Just not sure if the lock will clear the bracket.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 9:14

I took that module apart last night and tried to clean the bracket, ended up sanding some of the black off. So I sandblasted it today and dropped it off to get oxided/oxidized too (whichever one haha).

Fritz Flynn on 7club has a few PFCs for sale, and he's trustworthy. Zico told me about it today because he's looking for one. There is also a guy on RCC that's selling a brand new one still in the box for $800. I've thought about getting that one just to have a spare haha. As for the bracket, I plug stuff into my lighter so that's a no go haha.

Hey, if you leave the bracket on there and take the wheel off as a theft deterrent, maybe the thieves will think your car is too ugly with that bracket and decide not to take it anyway. Think of it as another theft deterrent. LOL

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:14

I've purchased two used PFC's on 7club and both were duds. One took a friend in high places to get my money back, the other was an honest guy who refunded me my money. Ever since then, I swore to NEVER buy a used PFC again! I just can't risk it.

Right now the car is running well off the factory ECU now that I have boost under control. Only issue is the smoking turbos. And with the PFC I will be tempted to turn the boost up, so I think I'll stay OEM ECU for now. Plus, I need to pass emissions this month, so the factory ECU will help.

I'll focus on getting some of the little stuff done, like a few choice exterior pieces I want, an Alpine deck and DIN pocket installed, fix the sunroof (doesn't power open or close), and work on changing to a black interior.

Instead of going to a FULL black interior (so my car doesn't resemble a coffin or cave) I'm doing the 94-95 tan interior theme (and saving some coin) by keeping the tan carpet and seats and swapping everything else to black. I will probably keep my tan headliner, seat belts, and sun visors too. So, actually the only items going black will be the door panels, rear divider, bins, rear quarter panels, kick panels, door sills, and any other trim pieces. Hopefully it will look good, if not I'll just go to a full black interior.

I also plan on getting my beat up tan leather seats recovered in a softer tan leather with black stitching, and installing seat heater in butt and backrest. I know, I don't drive the car often when it's cold, but since the heater sucks most of the time, I'd like to build in some luxury features.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:14

You're going to have to get a PFC or something eventually if you plan on making power, so you can't be scared forever lol.

And what's up with the crack about the full black interior?? Got a problem with that?! LOL. I didn't hear any complaints when you were in MY car. LOL Actually mine was the tan and black theme you're wanting to do.

I hear you on the butt and back warmers, especially since I don't have heat at all lol.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 9:14

I really don't mind the full black interior, it's mostly just to save money by keeping some tan stuff. Plus, I personally think tan leather looks better than black when it's clean.

I was talking to Matt (Alpha) and I'm really now considering a set of the JDM rear seats. I know they're pretty useless for humans (especially since my seats will probably touch them) but it would be great to throw a blanket back there and have my little dogs ride. Plus, I think it's great for a backpack or a duffel bag, and COULD fit a 3rd person in a pinch.

Incase you don't know what I'm talkin about, RX-7's in Japan were sold with rear seats essentially only for insurance reasons, they are pretty useless. So this also makes them ultra rare because no FD was sold in the US with rear seats:

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:14

OK, I'm anything if not indecisive. I was happy with how the car was running on the factory ECU but really, I love to tune and I want more power, so I went ahead and ordered a new PFC from Banzai haha. Got one with the new OLED Commander as well. I already have a Datalogit so I'm good there.

Also got some block-off plates so I can delete the AWS and other annoying features such as the double throttle and clean up the engine bay.

I think I will still try to pass emissions on the OEM ECU, however. Worth a shot.

erod550 · Postby **erod550** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:14

Yea the back seats in my Mustang even, a much larger car, are pretty much useless unless someone sits up front with their knees in the dash and a very small person sits in the back. But it's nice to have a place to throw gloves, hat, backpack, etc., and the nice thing with them being so close to the front seat is you can easily reach the stuff back there while sitting up front.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:14

^Yeah that's why I went the JDM rear seats now. Stock the FD just has these two lockable plastic bins (that one automotive reporter wrote they looked like port-a-potty seats) in the back for storage but they don't hold much, they're smaller than a car battery. So then you have this useless shelf pretty much just taking up room.

Really, I never plan on having anyone back there, but like you and I said, it's just nice to be able throw a jacket or backpack back there. Plus, I could then stand a duffel bag vertically. Biggest thing is I could put my two little dogs back there (a Dachshund and a Chihuahua) for road trips instead of having to carry them on my or someone's lap. So I'm pretty much sold on them, problem is I now just have to find a set!

Since they were only for sale in Japan it makes them pretty difficult to find, let alone in good condition. I'm also thinking I could just pick up a set in bad condition and get them reupholstered, that way they look and feel new and I picked them up for cheap, so it's kind a win/win.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:14

I guess I'll be pointing out the obvious here, but aren't your Dachshund and Chihuahua each smaller than a battery, and you have two bins...I'm just saying. This is what I was planning to do if I had a baby someday anyway. My future wife must be crazy if she thinks I'm getting rid of the FD LOL. That's it, I'm calling off the wedding now.

chickenwafer · Postby **chickenwafer** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 9:14

Haha! Just stuff each dog in a bin! And a baby too! I'm sure that will go over well...hey, at least the lids to the bins lock so you can stuff em in there then lock them, too!

My new car!

Who is online