Rally Man's -van thread

R

Rally Man

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6 hanging with the 5's
Rally Man's -van thread

Well I've been doing some mods to my car and posting on this sites blog (in case you didn't know, the forum software will let you have a blog). But each post must be approved by a moderator, I'm sure I'm giving them a headache getting them to approve the post. So with that and another member suggesting I should do a build thread, here I am.

So my first mod I did to this car was tint, which is a must for summer in Southern California. It's a unique combo I've never seen anyone else done. There's only one other car that will have this type of tint, my previous car, a Honda Fit. It's a blue film with a semi-reflective tint, Solar Guard Quantum film to be exact.

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Here's a better look at the tint:
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Next on the list was replacing the stock radio with my Clarion CX501 unit I previously had on my Fit. It has built in bluetooth and it's nice deck.
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As you can see, the other mod I did was replacing my automatic shifter & gate with a 5-speed shifter boot. I also added a blue shift knob. And just recently I replaced my old Mountek CD-slot phone mount with Caseology version. It's more refined and looks a bit sleeker. Here's some other views of the mount:

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I have more mod's I plan to do to the center deck, that's all I'll say for now.

Edit: Forgot to mention I also got a CorkSport stubby antenna.
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So my mechanic told me my front brakes are going but only on the rear side of the disc. Apparently if the guide pins get rusty or seize it will make our cars have uneven ware on our pads. So might as well upgrade. After asking forum members for some advice (and thank you all who helped) I decided on StopTech slotted rotors with Hawk HPS pads. I also decied to get new guide pins and boots just in case, their cheap, so why not? Now of course I would of like to do the job my self, but I don't have a garage to work on, nor some of the tools, but most of all, I just don't have the time with various family activities planed on the weekdays/ends. So I buy the parts my self online, and my trusty mechanic near my work installed it for me.

So the only thing I got to show for this is my new discs and my dirty wheel:
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For now the rear discs and pads are good, but I'm also planning on upgrading those in a month or so. Not only will I be upgrading those parts, but I'll be getting some S.S. brake lines too, so expect another post on this subject.
 
About two weeks ago one of my headlights gave out. Now when I got this car, I bough an HID kit, DDM Conversion Kit 4300K H7 to be exact. I got if from I believe a vender on this website, but can't find the thread anymore. So nothing really hard about the install really, but here are some pics:

This was prior to getting them aligned.
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After alignment you get good even light distribution with minimal glare (gotta love projectors).
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Some other pics:
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Next up was adding some splash guards, really didn't take pictures since, well nothing special about splash guards. But I will be getting some rear splash guards from the gen2 Mazda5's and seeing if those work with minimal modifications.
 
So a couple of weeks ago I got my OEM roof rack package, but wasn't able to install it because I've been sick with this stupid cold! But finally was able to install it these last two days I had off.

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I will be getting a fairing for sure, the howling noise isn't too bad on my commute, but for a road trip I would get to me. I'm thinking of a Yakima 44", not really too fond of the Thule version.

But like I said, the rear brakes are next on the list to get done.
 
Seems to me like one mod you neglected was to install a leather steering wheel wrap. We own 2 Mazda5 Sports, a 2008 and a 2012, and the hard plastic steering wheel is most uncomfortable after a while, especially on long trips. I mean why upgrade your head unit and change your shift knob setup and leave your steering wheel? Aside from the seats and pedals, it's the only other part of the car you're constantly in contact with. You can install a great-feeling leather wrap from wheelskins in about 30 minutes for about $50.
 
Oh I know about wheelskins, it's on my list of to do things. I did it to my previous car, and I agree, feels better.
 
Love the shifter! Is that the OEM shifter boot? What size is the thread on the shifter knob? I want. I want.
 
Yup, that's an OEM shifter boot. You have to make some modifications on the shifter boot bracket to make it fit. As for the knob, it's a M12x1.25 with a M12x1.25 to M8x1.25 reducer. There where more ebay options for blue knobs with no gate numbers on the M12x1.25 thread pitch.
 
Rally Man said:
Yup, that's an OEM shifter boot. You have to make some modifications on the shifter boot bracket to make it fit. As for the knob, it's a M12x1.25 with a M12x1.25 to M8x1.25 reducer. There where more ebay options for blue knobs with no gate numbers on the M12x1.25 thread pitch.
Click to expand...

Thanks rally. That'll be my finishing touch. Mind sharing what mods you made to make the bracket to make it fit?
 
I don't have picture of the final cut, but I did post this some time ago on where I cut:


You will have to dremel some of the material away. In park mode the rod will interfere with the inner bezel that sandwiches the shift boot to the visible outer bezel.

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Another thing is you will have to completly removed one of the feet that screws on the the visible outer bezel because it makes the bulge a bit, but that's if you really want to be picky. I've decided not to remove it yet because I'll be getting a colored shift boot in a bit and that's when I'll finish the adjustments. This images shows what parts of the inner bezel will need to be cut (the picture shows the underside):

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One thing, you don't have to cut all the way across, you can get away with cutting only half the big yellow rectangle. I made my first cut on the right hand side of the picture, but then found out I really need to do the left hand side, so said screw it and went across.

Internally of the auto shifter you'll need to remove the clear plastic that distributes the green LED light to the drive modes and the housing too. The cover that has a ribbon looking plastic part will also have to be removed and the white plastic bracket that is used for when the car doesn't want to disengage from park mode (careful not to loose the spring in case you want to reverse the mode)
 
Alright installed my Inno faring today! I love the look of it. I didn't like the look of the Thule because of the sides. The Yakima seems like you need extra hardware to make it square bar compatible. The Inno is meant of either round or square. The other thing I didn't like about any of the three was there huge branding on them. I'm happy to report the Inno uses stickers that you can peal off with no residue left over. The only thing that I'm worried about, it's not hard to install, so that mean it's not hard to take off. Not that I live in a bad neighborhood but you never know. We'll see how that goes. Here are some pics:

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