Whats arrived for your Roadster today

MrGrey · Post by **MrGrey** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:40 pm

Harlan, I was just wondering, how much noise do the back two straps make when driving? do the flap/vibrate at the to where they meet the rollcage?

back on topic:
I had some carbon fiber vinyl arrive in the post today, so I got stuck in and did my headlamp covers. All in all it was a reasonably easy job, just cleaned the covers with meths a few times to remove the car wax and carefully applied the vinyl. The tricky curvy bits and the edges where it folds over the lip were easy to do using a heat gun.

I'm pretty pleased with the results and am kinda tempted to do the bonnet now..... I reckon that doing an entire car would not be that hard, simply time consuming.

harlansmart · Post by **harlansmart** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:06 pm

Nope, not up to about 230 anyway - quicker & I couldn't say.

MrGrey wrote:Harlan, I was just wondering, how much noise do the back two straps make when driving? do the flap/vibrate at the to where they meet the rollcage?

chris · Post by **chris** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 5:22 pm

harlansmart wrote:Nope, not up to about 230 anyway - quicker & I couldn't say.

MrGrey wrote:Harlan, I was just wondering, how much noise do the back two straps make when driving? do the flap/vibrate at the to where they meet the rollcage?

Bloody turbo fags. Boosting past me and shit.

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:25 pm

chris wrote:
harlansmart wrote:Nope, not up to about 230 anyway - quicker & I couldn't say.

MrGrey wrote:Harlan, I was just wondering, how much noise do the back two straps make when driving? do the flap/vibrate at the to where they meet the rollcage?
Bloody turbo fags. Boosting past me and shit.

Every mx should have a hairdryer!

MrGrey · Post by **MrGrey** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:41 pm

I had just enough left over to do my hardtop spoiler too....
pity i don't have enough windscreen sealant left to do the top lip (and bunnings is out of stock dammit)

all things considered, if you are a baller on a budget then this is worth it (although of course I would rather have legit carbonfibre) .... but it sure beats plain old gloss black.

authentic · Post by **authentic** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 3:12 pm

New shoes. 15x8 +10 195/45 Falken ZE-912 tires. Beats the shit out of those 17s I had. All the road noise and rattles that used to accompany me on my journeys have gone, and the ride is so smooth now.

Next on the list is getting the headers fitted up, then the coilovers in. Then I have a date with the certifier.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 4:57 pm

Innovate LC-1 with DB gauge....next stop dyno!

CarbonMiata · Post by **CarbonMiata** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 4:53 pm

MrGrey wrote:I had just enough left over to do my hardtop spoiler too....
pity i don't have enough windscreen sealant left to do the top lip (and bunnings is out of stock dammit)

all things considered, if you are a baller on a budget then this is worth it (although of course I would rather have legit carbonfibre) .... but it sure beats plain old gloss black.

Looks like dry carbon fiber!!!

Nice.

MrGrey · Post by **MrGrey** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:47 pm

The vinyl appears to be a porous black automotive vinyl with a top layer of carbon fiber, so looks-wise its pretty good but its never going to be as good as the real thing. I am planning on doing the bonnet and boot next week and am seriously contemplating doing the entire exterior of the car. It would be a time consuming pain in the ass, but for a cost of approximately $400 it's not too expensive to drastically change the look of your car. And later on down the track, if I want it back to original, I simply peel the vinyl off and give the car a cut and polish. (no glue residues or anything nasty like that to deal with)

The main question for me is how it weathers. The product I have been using is supposedly UV resistant and I have read that car vinyl has a lifespan of 2.5-6 years. Basically 6 years for a show car that's in a garage most of the time down to 2.5 years for harsh climates like the northern territory or places that snow/rain a lot. I figure that if I can get 4+ years then I am doing Ok

.....Yeah, I know its a bit of a waste of money but a repaint is approx $4k and to be honest my red paint is in really good condition and doesn't warrant a repaint.

besides, black jellybeans look awesome!

-=edit=- by porous, I don't mean you can see holes, the holes are very tiny and are to aid the application process so you don't get bubbles

Bwarp · Post by **Bwarp** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 9:40 am

$4k for a respray? Jesus. Thats excessive.

I could get a closed door spray for $1k easy, I reckon.

I'm not sure why you'd wanna drastically change the look of the car with full fake carbon wrap if your paint is in good nick!

chris · Post by **chris** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 10:37 am

Bwarp wrote:$4k for a respray? Jesus. Thats excessive.

I could get a closed door spray for $1k easy, I reckon.

I'm not sure why you'd wanna drastically change the look of the car with full fake carbon wrap if your paint is in good nick!

I did get a full respray closed door for 1k.

sprsta · Post by **sprsta** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:00 am

Bwarp wrote:$4k for a respray? Jesus. Thats excessive.

I could get a closed door spray for $1k easy, I reckon.

I run a panel and paint shop, $4k is pretty good for a respray
when i painted mine i paid over $1k just for the materials alone

generally if your paying $1k for a repaint you can tell you paid $1k for a repaint at the end

we repainted a rs4 a month ago for $9k
changed the colour on an old mini last year for $15k

it all comes down to what level of finish you want in the end

MrGrey · Post by **MrGrey** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 3:28 pm

Bwarp wrote:I'm not sure why you'd wanna drastically change the look of the car with full fake carbon wrap if your paint is in good nick!

2 reasons,
1) most of the modifications I wish to do to my car either cost a lot and/or require facilities that I don't have ready access to, so this is a project that is easily affordable and would keep me occupied/entertained for a reasonably large amount of time. (and get me outside away from the PC). I don't know why, but for some reason I find pottering around on my car very relaxing & enjoyable.
2) I simply prefer black over red, I used to own a red MR2 so I would like this car to look drastically different to my previous 2 door. (at this point I'm trying hard to resist the urge to post a link to the youtube video of that spoiled rich girl crying because her dad bought her the wrong color convertible

)

sprsta wrote:stuff about paint cost

^^ this pretty much nails it. I could do a cheap respray for just over a grand, but I would get what I pay for and it would not be as nice as a decent job. (although your paint job looks fine chris, its just a pity they ran out of paint before they could get to the rims

)

One day I will get it repainted, but that is quite a few years away and this is a reasonably low cost way for me to change the color for the short term whilst having the bonus of teaching me something new.

Furai · Post by **Furai** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:25 pm

Didnt you say they painted over rust Chris? And you had to go back a few times for touch ups? Dont mean to be a prick but I donlt want to skip over the truth for others reading this.

Sprtsta is right. Its not cheap for a proper job but it lasts longer and looks amazing.

Furai · Post by **Furai** » Sun Mar 31, 2013 5:25 pm

Didnt you say they painted over rust Chris? And you had to go back a few times for touch ups? Dont mean to be a prick but I donlt want to skip over the truth for others reading this.

Sprtsta is right. Its not cheap for a proper job but it lasts longer and looks amazing.

Bwarp · Post by **Bwarp** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 9:54 am

MrGrey wrote:
sprsta wrote:stuff about paint cost
^^ this pretty much nails it. I could do a cheap respray for just over a grand, but I would get what I pay for and it would not be as nice as a decent job. (although your paint job looks fine chris, its just a pity they ran out of paint before they could get to the rims )

So instead of a cheap respray, you're going to cover it in cheap imitation carbon?

Interesting.

Angreal · Post by **Angreal** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:46 pm

Ryoku Rob Elise seat mounts arrived last week sometime... They should hopefully put my ass on the floor when the Elise seats arrive. Oh and some other misc items which seems to be the trend with my car

I think this'll be the last post I put under this topic as I'm leaving NZ (car stay here and will continue to get modded until I get back)

chris · Post by **chris** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:29 am

Furai wrote:Didnt you say they painted over rust Chris? And you had to go back a few times for touch ups? Dont mean to be a prick but I donlt want to skip over the truth for others reading this.

Sprtsta is right. Its not cheap for a proper job but it lasts longer and looks amazing.

Unfortunately you are correct.

1k gave me a single coloured car.

MrGrey · Post by **MrGrey** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:08 pm

I got a bit creative with some treadplate I got today...

made a slam panel (still need to do a little shaping at the front) ... next I am planing on making a cover for the spark-plug leads.

chris · Post by **chris** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:31 pm

Looks dope!

MrGrey · Post by **MrGrey** » Thu Apr 04, 2013 10:41 pm

I had some more CF vinyl arrive yesterday so got stuck in and covered the bonnet. The finish was good but I hated the look... it made it look like a wannabe tokyo drift car.

So I peeled it off and cut n polished the hood and have decided against doing the whole thing. I feel that less is more and only having some trim pieces covered (headlight covers, rain rails and hardtop spoiler) looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

Maybe I can get a descent repaint done next year

tomtikki · Post by **tomtikki** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 9:38 am

MrGrey wrote:I got a bit creative with some treadplate I got today...

I used a off cut of some 5mm black plastic and did the same thing last week but yours looks waaay better, perhaps I'll just use mine as a template and get some tread plate!

As for the CF wrapping of your car, it certainly would have been unique!
I wrapped my rear number plate valance a while ago -it was cracked through & needed to be held together somehow- the sharp angles around it are an absolute bastard to do compared to flat panels!
Looks good up to a meter away.
Door sill / kick plates look good in CF too btw...

chris · Post by **chris** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 10:25 am

MrGrey,

Could I recommend you vinyl wrapping? Matte white, black, any color (looks a lot nicer than the CF)

sprsta · Post by **sprsta** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 1:49 pm

tomtikki wrote:
MrGrey wrote:I got a bit creative with some treadplate I got today...
I used a off cut of some 5mm black plastic and did the same thing last week but yours looks waaay better, perhaps I'll just use mine as a template and get some tread plate!

i had an old carbon fibre bonnet lying around and cut one out of that when i did mine

warrior · Post by **warrior** » Fri Apr 05, 2013 7:04 pm

I have done the same out of platic then wrapped in carbon vinyl. Looks great.

Whats arrived for your Roadster today

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