Motortrend's Cars - Gojira

[motortrend]

Ok, I've got a question about your nav screen. When you press the cassette eject button on the top right and the nav screen slides out, what happens if you press the cassette button again? Does pressing the button a second time retract your nav screen? What happens if you don't press the cassette button again? Does the screen eventually retract itself? How long does that take your car?

I think I'm having some problems with the nav screen sliding in and out mechanism.

Tried it today, it actually goes back after about 30 seconds
Sorry for the double post, wanted you to get the notification if you already saw the other one.

 

[Crash]

Thanks for checking! Mine won't slide back in if I push the button again. It still won't slide back in for a long time, even if I turn the car on and off. I pressed the button last night and it sat out refusing to slide in. I eventually left it and came back 10 minutes later; when I opened the car door, it slid back in itself.

Another thing to fix...

 

[motortrend]

Small update. Haven't been fiddling with the car a lot since I got this 1/24 bimmer from Crash to keep me busy.

Those wouln't stay put so they flew off and I lost them anyway that isn't very visible

Don't think I haven't been having fun with the 1:1 though

Finally got it aligned after the weekend of installing new parts, car feels amazing out back now, much tighter and not a single bit of oversteer unless I purposely give it the beans to lose traction. Also saw a couple of cool cars at the shop.

New fender liner arrived, didd't get comparo pics but here are pics of the cleaned area behind the liner and with the new liner installed.

In other news, I'm probably getting the transmission withing this month, it's already in FL and paid for, just figuring out how I'll get it over here. Next up is that and hopefully finally the stuts which are shot. Hoping nothing breaks before then *fingers crossed*

 

[Ibonibo]

Looks like new. Even under it. Well cleaned. Well conserved 👍

 

[motortrend]

Looks like new. Even under it. Well cleaned. Well conserved 👍

Thanks, hopefully I'll be able to get the whole car that clean as soon as possible.

 

[Crash]

Small update. Haven't been fiddling with the car a lot since I got this 1/24 bimmer from Crash to keep me busy.

Those wouln't stay put so they flew off and I lost them anyway that isn't very visible

Oh man, I'm so glad that you are actually painting it and putting it all together. Part of the reason why I got out of it was that I didn't have the tools or will to paint them, and I'm really glad to see that they have gone to someone who could and would give it more attention than I could have.

Keep us updated on this build in the 1/24 model car thread. 👍

Also, is transmission off to rebuild the 2nd and 3rd gear synchros? How much is that costing you?

 

[motortrend]

Oh man, I'm so glad that you are actually painting it and putting it all together. Part of the reason why I got out of it was that I didn't have the tools or will to paint them, and I'm really glad to see that they have gone to someone who could and would give it more attention than I could have.

Keep us updated on this build in the 1/24 model car thread. 👍

Also, is transmission off to rebuild the 2nd and 3rd gear synchros? How much is that costing you?

The Model has been quote a challenge compared to what I've done before, but taking my time it all works. I'll make sure to post there when I get the body painted.

As you probably know from M5board these transmissions are sold as a whole and individual parts are nearly impossible to get a hold of so it's a matter of finding the best used unit one can (5K for a new one is in no way justifiable). As for costs it will be about $1600 shipped here from FL. It is currently in FL and I was told it was thoroughly tested and has a 4 month warranty so that gives me a lot of peace of mind. It has 80K miles on it but it really doesn't worry me since if by know nothing is broken, it shouldn't break with proper driving. I'm debating wether or not to change the clutch while I'm at it though. We'll see when I get the tranny shipped over.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Is that your STI? Got confused when I came in here and seen pics of that. Hard to tell the year from that pic. 2005?

 

[motortrend]

Is that your STI? Got confused when I came in here and seen pics of that. Hard to tell the year from that pic. 2005?

Nah just showing some cool cars I saw at the place I got it aligned. Wish it were though, it has a full widebody running square 275s with Volk TE37SL wheels. Car has about 500WHP on pump gas and like 600 on race gas. The interior is just as nice.

Found an old pic.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Nah just showing some cool cars I saw at the place I got it aligned. Wish it were though, it has a full widebody running square 275s with Volk TE37SL wheels. Car has about 500WHP on pump gas and like 600 on race gas. The interior is just as nice.

Found an old pic.
View attachment 166111

That is sick!

 

[motortrend]

New stuff!
So if you have been following the htread from the beginning you might have noticed that my front end was looking pretty beat up: fog lights, rock chips, bad bumper paint, broken lower fender liners, cracks and a badly mounted grill.

Happy to say that's all been fixed and made even better

Got to removing the bumper and getting it to a friend for a repaint.

Here's how I got it back

He did a very good job, especially for not having a booth, really happy with the result
Before Mounting anything I got to restoring the foglights (Took me about 4 hours)

The foglight covers were looking awful so I sanded them down and plstidipped them with very good results:

got it all mounted up

My grill broke as I was removing the bumper so this meant I could go ahead and do the duct mod and since I was already ordering the lower front fender liners I just ordered the versions with the hole and got the plastic extension. The fitment is amazing and it looks really nice (functional too!)
On to the good stuff:

I'll get some better pictures over the weekend when I wash the car.



Did a couple of other things-
Replaced the shift knob:

Got an M5Board sticker

Fixed some windshield scratches (It's pretty much invisible in person now unless you know where it is and play with the lighing)

As some of you might know I also got some style 65s in 9.5

Got some 3mm spacers, the margin was still to close for comfort with a wheel bend and the strut so I ordered 10mm ones which will give me some pretty agressive fitment but hopefully the tire stays within the fender and it doesn't look bad, we'll see. I'm still looking for 2 more 65s but not in a hurry since my current wheels work just fine (albeit one of them is constantly bending with the smallest of holes)

The transmission is also currently on the island, so that's good. All that's left is paying some fees and it'll be in my possesion. Next up is finding someone to install it.

So, next months:
Transmission (probably mid-end of july)
Wheels (Hopefully early august)
Struts (ass soon as I have funds after the wheels )

EDIT: picture out in the sun

 

[Ibonibo]

Why did you choose plastidip before normal paint on the covers?

But nice work all around. Bumper looks awesome 👍

Keep up the good the work

 

[WrxScooby]

Nice work on the paint. I hate real paint can screw you in a instant.

Same question as above? With the plastidip you didnt need to sand them but im sure it will only help.

 

[motortrend]

@Ibonibo @WrxScooby I had some black bumper paint but didn't Want to risk screwing up and anyway it would have given me the same matte finish as the plastidip with more hassle. Those are originally glossy black plastic so I would have needed to buy clear coat. I can just remove the plastidip when it gets some inevitable rock chips and re-dip or paint. I'll probably paint when I get bored with the matte rear diffuser and go to a glossy black painted one. For now it's good. I sanded it because it had some deep hits that were probably going to show in the plastidip and make it harder for it to stick.

This just came in

 

[WrxScooby]

Were they delivered by ghosts?!?!

Forgot to say in my other post that after going through your thread you have a very nicely kept beemah with tasteful mods, and fun thread with lots of cool/good experiences.

 

[motortrend]

Were they delivered by ghosts?!?!

Forgot to say in my other post that after going through your thread you have a very nicely kept beemah with tasteful mods, and fun thread with lots of cool/good experiences.

took me a sec to understand. It's my mom's X3, that's her lab coat.
Thanks! Some experiences not that good though

 

[Leicht]

what is the circular object in front of your bumper?

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Bumper and everything you did turned out really good! So clean and chip free. All tasteful mods too.

 

[motortrend]

@Leicht those are brake ducts.
@CAMAROBOY69 thanks!

 

[Ibonibo]

Ghosts... I just noticed it when @motortrend pointed it out.

Understandable on the paint

 

[Crash]

Car looks good! Is the replacement ZHP shift knob lighted?

Also, it's kinda weird and surreal to read some of your posts on M5Board and then come over here and read about it again.

 

[motortrend]

Car looks good! Is the replacement ZHP shift knob lighted?

Also, it's kinda weird and surreal to read some of your posts on M5Board and then come over here and read about it again.

Thanks! It's a normal knob since I really like the feel and having a short shifter I didn't need anything to speed up gear changes. Being the OEM M5 one, it's lighted. Yeah it's a little weird

 

[motortrend]

Got the car back today with the new trans. installed. It's amazing to say the least, every gear actually feels better now and I can get it into third without having to wait for the synchro. Tires for the front 18s arrived, still waiting on the other wheels and tires, probably done with that by next month. Pics:
cars at the shop:

They had a CTR2 sport but I didn't get any pics of it, will do next time (hopefully not for a repair )

Fresh rubber

 

[Zyla]

Congrats!

 

[motortrend]

Did some headlight restoration once again.

It looked amazing, waxed it to protect it and put it back on. After a couple of days the cracking came back on the corners and since it looked almost the same as the one I left untreated so I decided not to go through all the hassle for the other one. I'll see if it can be fixed professionally somehow or if not then I'll budget for new lenses with clear corners or new headlights if it starts bothering me too much.
Got the other two wheels finally. These are in better condition metal wise because there are absolutely no bends and only very minor curb rash BUT the finish under the plastidip (and the plastidip job itself) is a total mess with like 3 different layers and 2 thin plastidip layers that have been a total PITA to take off.

Most of it removed:

I'm going on a trip tomorrow so I have to wait to get them refurbished but I'll just leave everything to the guy who repairs them, if he says he doesn't have the skills to repair them up to what I expect then I'll just take them to another (more expensive) place which will should still be way less expensive than buying refurbished ones for 500 a piece.

Got my first rock chip in the bumper a few days ago. What happens when you are behind a couple of cars flooring it. Fixed it with some touch up paint (could be better) and it looks good enough from 3 feet away.

Anyway, here's a few more pictures of the car from the last couple of weeks. Will be back by the start of august and hopefully have wheels and fresh rubber before the end of august 👍

At a meet with some friends:

 

[motortrend]

Soon…

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Yum

 

[motortrend]

So I finally got the wheels back thursday. Gave them a good coating of sealant friday, got them mounted on the tires saturday and on the car sunday.
How does it feel? Well, even better than I thought. The front has much more cushion now which means less vibration and road imperfections transmitted to the steering wheel (this is a very good thing, the wheel was shaking like crazy before). Turn in and rotation is absolutely amazing, response is very good being a 265 on a 9.5. The rear lost a bit of grip but the tires are new so I'll reserve judegement until 300 miles from now. The steering is not heavier at all.
Got the car aligned today as well, FR has nearly 1.5 degrees of camber which means my strut is pretty much gone. Car feels good though, but the struts are most definitely the next expensive item to be changed out, hopefully by the end of the year.


Washed the car, took some pics. Not that great since I didn't have much time, the camera was set to auto (haven't played around with it much) and I didn't have my tripod. Also shouldn't have gone with the 55-200 since the space was pretty confined.
Still have no centercaps, will be on by the end of the week.
DSC_0031 by josegt5, on Flickr
DSC_0032 by josegt5, on Flickr
DSC_0034 by josegt5, on Flickr
DSC_0035 by josegt5, on Flickr
DSC_0038 by josegt5, on Flickr
DSC_0039 by josegt5, on Flickr
DSC_0041 by josegt5, on Flickr

 

[MatskiMonk]

Wheels look much better than the last ones

I have to ask though... why de-chrome the kidneys, when your lower intakes are silver, looks off-balance... ah, what do I know, probably just too used to looking at E39 pics

Good job though 👍

 

[motortrend]

Wheels look much better than the last ones

I have to ask though... why de-chrome the kidneys, when your lower intakes are silver, looks off-balance... ah, what do I know, probably just too used to looking at E39 pics

Good job though 👍

You read my mind the car came with the grills matte black and currently I have a thread on M5Board looking for OEM chrome kidneys FS or FT. A gloss/chrome black would also be nice but with the other mods the OEM grills would probably look the best 👍