Smokehouse
02-12-2009, 07:14 PM
Ok…removed some junk that was bothering me…
First of, I was going to go with black emblems (Mazda “M” and the Mazdaspeed emblem) but I decided I actually like the chrome/white combo. Not all cars look good this way and some look better with black emblems (*COUGH* Black…*COUGH* Red) but I like the chrome…
What I dislike however is that damn goofy “3” following the Mazdaspeed emblem…off it goes:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Mazdaspeed%203/Rear_Feb_09.jpg
Second…the damn door moulding…once again, thanks Mazda American for putting a goofy add-on to a car the Japanese had dialed in, way to domesticate your "Speed" line...Off they went:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Mazdaspeed%203/Side_Feb_09.jpg
NOW…there is a bit more to this story…
First off the removal was easy, it’s rather cold out today (around 40F…note I didn’t say freezing) but I did have to warm up the front of the strip to get it to start coming off. After that I pulled slowly and in a steady manner and it popped off no problem. What IS a problem is the slight yellow left on the paint. No, it’s not glue as I cleaned and even ran a clay bar over the area…it’s an actual discoloration. It may be because my car is white but up close, if you really look hard, it’s there. From a distance however, if you didn’t know what to look for, you’d never see it (it doesn’t show in pics, it’s that faint). I’m going to give it time, let it sit in the sun this summer and post up on this later to see if the yellow fades with time. Personally, although being rather anal…it doesn’t bother me. I’d rather have a faint yellow area over those shitty rails any day of the week.
Lastly…I replaced the front turn signals with Silverstar bulbs (P/N 1157A ST). This my friends was a pain in the dick…A ROYAL PAIN. Refusing to remove the bumper I did the pop out the wheel liner trick…I’m a larger fellow so my arms a bigger and I can say I tore the holy fuck out of them getting them between the liner and the fender…OUCH…several scrapes and cuts later I replaced both of them. I guess without pain there’s no glory, I love the outcome no matter how sore my arms will be tomorrow. If I have to look at a jenky 1980’s socket bulb on a modern car, I for fuck’s sake don’t want it to be a glaring yellow one. I’ll get to the rear turn signals later, they don’t make that bulb in a Silverstar so I’ll put chrome ones in to at least make them disappear while keeping legal:
(pretty cool pic huh…I was messing with the camera flash and shutter settings and got this one)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Mazdaspeed%203/Front_Feb_09.jpg
Next…when the weather breaks, pitch black window tint…
First of, I was going to go with black emblems (Mazda “M” and the Mazdaspeed emblem) but I decided I actually like the chrome/white combo. Not all cars look good this way and some look better with black emblems (*COUGH* Black…*COUGH* Red) but I like the chrome…
What I dislike however is that damn goofy “3” following the Mazdaspeed emblem…off it goes:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Mazdaspeed%203/Rear_Feb_09.jpg
Second…the damn door moulding…once again, thanks Mazda American for putting a goofy add-on to a car the Japanese had dialed in, way to domesticate your "Speed" line...Off they went:
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Mazdaspeed%203/Side_Feb_09.jpg
NOW…there is a bit more to this story…
First off the removal was easy, it’s rather cold out today (around 40F…note I didn’t say freezing) but I did have to warm up the front of the strip to get it to start coming off. After that I pulled slowly and in a steady manner and it popped off no problem. What IS a problem is the slight yellow left on the paint. No, it’s not glue as I cleaned and even ran a clay bar over the area…it’s an actual discoloration. It may be because my car is white but up close, if you really look hard, it’s there. From a distance however, if you didn’t know what to look for, you’d never see it (it doesn’t show in pics, it’s that faint). I’m going to give it time, let it sit in the sun this summer and post up on this later to see if the yellow fades with time. Personally, although being rather anal…it doesn’t bother me. I’d rather have a faint yellow area over those shitty rails any day of the week.
Lastly…I replaced the front turn signals with Silverstar bulbs (P/N 1157A ST). This my friends was a pain in the dick…A ROYAL PAIN. Refusing to remove the bumper I did the pop out the wheel liner trick…I’m a larger fellow so my arms a bigger and I can say I tore the holy fuck out of them getting them between the liner and the fender…OUCH…several scrapes and cuts later I replaced both of them. I guess without pain there’s no glory, I love the outcome no matter how sore my arms will be tomorrow. If I have to look at a jenky 1980’s socket bulb on a modern car, I for fuck’s sake don’t want it to be a glaring yellow one. I’ll get to the rear turn signals later, they don’t make that bulb in a Silverstar so I’ll put chrome ones in to at least make them disappear while keeping legal:
(pretty cool pic huh…I was messing with the camera flash and shutter settings and got this one)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y42/smokehouse/Mazdaspeed%203/Front_Feb_09.jpg
Next…when the weather breaks, pitch black window tint…