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Moshpit's 6AT Ultramarine FR-S: "FRanceS"

Picked up my baby Frances from Wolfchase Scion in Cordova, TN yesterday. I'd been talking to all my local dealerships in the Little Rock, AR area for some time, even took a Raven 6AT for a test drive at North Point Toyota in NLR a few weeks ago (a car which it turns out was wrecked by the dealer I'd been working with that day only a couple days later :confused0068:)

What I wanted was an Argento 6AT with the standard stereo... I plan on doing a custom stereo job in the car and really didn't feel like paying for BeSpoke if I didn't have to- would rather put that money into something better, you know? So I started calling the dealerships in the Memphis, TN area on Friday, and lo-and-behold, Wolfchase had 2 6AT with standard radio on the lot, unclaimed. They weren't Argento, but Ultramarine had always been a close second choice for me, and they had one, along with a Whiteout which they had listed for roughly $800 more than the Ultramarine... we'll get to that story soon. :bonk:

I made a couple more phone calls to my local dealers just to be sure they hadn't gotten any new cars in the last day or two and they all told me their next allotments wouldn't be in for at least a week, and they ALL would have BeSpoke. That's when I decided I was going to Memphis. At that point it was too late in the evening Friday to head to Tennessee, so I called the dealer, told him I'd be in in the morning, then went about preparing my end of the deal (insurance, double-checking my financing, etc...) Needless to say, I had a hard time getting to sleep.

I woke up a good hour before my alarm, got ready and went to pick up my friend who wanted to go with me. He's a big-time old-school Toyota guy and general car nut, way more so than myself. Then we hit the road to Memphis.

It took a little longer than I had anticipated with traffic and such, and we got to the dealership about an hour after they opened. Met the guy I'd been talking to on the phone and went to examine the cars. We'd seen the Ultramarine one when we pulled in, and then the Whiteout pulled around from behind the building from getting a fresh wash. Immediately we were drawn to the custom black stripe stretching from the fender vent to the back window. From a distance it looked just great.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01506.jpg

But as we got closer we realized what a crap job the guy had done, and pointed it out to the dealer. He wasn't pleased. :mad0260: Needless to say I was not going to spend an extra $800 for shitty graphics and some window tint.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01501.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01502.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01503.jpg

So my attention returned to the Ultramarine. My baby.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01495.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01496.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01499.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01505.jpg

I wanted her. I needed her. I wasn't going home without her. The stereo head unit hadn't even been installed yet, so they brought it in to get that taken care of while we drew up the paperwork. Unfortunately, being a Saturday, everybody and their mother brought their cars in for oil changes, so we had the paperwork done long before the stereo finally got installed. Took a break to get some Qdoba for lunch while we waited, got back and waited some more, then finally, finally, the dealer comes out and asks if I'm ready to roll. "Hell YES!"

We go do the "delivery ceremony" and he shows me around the car, sync up my iPhone to the stereo, do a final walk around, and then it's time to take my baby home!

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01509.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01510.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01511.jpg

The drive home definitely could have been better. The traffic sucked, I'm still getting used to the feel of the seats (they're telling me I could stand to lose a few pounds... lol), and 40 W from Memphis to Little Rock isn't exactly the most exciting of roads. Oh, and keeping it under 4 grand to break in the motor isn't a whole lot of fun either, but I'm determined to keep this car for a long time, so I'm going to do it right. I forgot to take a picture of the odometer when we left the lot, but it read 12. Yup, only 12 miles on her when I bought it. I went from a car with over 70,000 miles to a car that hadn't gone 70,000 FEET!!! But while we were stopped on the freeway for construction, I remembered to take a couple pics:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/37c1c68a.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/f87da768.jpg

We got back to my friends house at what photogs like to call the "golden hour" so I took these:

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/4171e252.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/cbbb2dba.jpg

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/0ebe28a3.jpg

Then my friend says, "I can't stand it anymore, here, I've got a present for you" and goes and gets me this:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/ab6020b9.jpg

It's only 2 months old, been used a couple times in his drag car, but he got orders to Japan and wanted to see it go to a good home. I'm happy to oblige!

First day, first Mod! Looks so much better than the stock battery, don't you think?
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/f1085906.jpg

I ended up chopping up the red positive connection cover when I got home to fit with the new battery so it's still covered.

Stock: 390 CCA

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/29388990.jpg
Optima Red Top: 800 CCA!!!

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/e37788a7.jpg

So now she sits under the car port (can't wait to get a house with a garage now!) waiting for morning when I can take her to church.

Did you replace the air filter too? Your air box is open.

No, we were just looking at it. I closed it back up after I took the picture.

This car is so much fun!!! Day 2 with Frances was a good day. Took her to church, showed her off a little to some of the guys there. Most of them had no idea what it was but they thought she looked cool. Now, in Arkansas they've got a weird thing where most of the freeways have "access roads" on either side which are one-way roads that run parallel to the freeway with on- and off-ramps to either get onto or off of the freeways and get to the businesses on the sides, usually with a speed limit of 40-45 mph. Well, to get from one side/direction to the other they usually just have intersections with over/underpasses to get across the freeway, but in North Little Rock there is one in particular that is a big elevated horseshoe-shaped one lane bridge which has a "suggested" speed limit of 15 mph, as opposed to the 40 on either side. I didn't even have to slow down at all, hardly even felt a thing as I sped around the curve! Frances was like, "hey, that was cool, but you should have gone faster." :sigh:

In the afternoon I decided to go for a little Sunday drive with my friend and he pointed out some of his favorite twisty roads in the local area. The first road we got on we saw a motorcycle in the distance, red sport bike from what we could see at that time, and I kept a good pace and eventually caught up to him a few miles down the road. (I'm still doing the recommended break-in of keeping it under 4,000 RPM, as I'm only at about 300 miles now, otherwise I would have caught up a bit quicker.) We both took a right onto the next twisty road and the bike pulled off and let me go while giving the car a good stare and approving nod. My buddy noticed that it was a Ducati 999! At the next intersection the Ducati took a right as we took a left... Honestly we didn't even realize the bike had been behind us, we thought he was turning around when we passed him by. We were having so much fun in the FR-S we didn't see him sneak up behind us. A couple more stretches of twisties and then we headed back to the house for dinner. I've never, ever, never had this much fun driving a car. :thumbup: Can't wait 'til I hit 1k and finally get to open her up! :burnrubber:

Put some more miles on today. Went to the window tint shop that did such a good job my friend's car and set up an appointment for later this week. Then I filled up the gas tank and checked the fuel mileage. 31.7 mpg!!! My old HHR was only averaging 22.9. Even factoring in the price difference between regular unleaded and premium, at current gas prices I've got an increase of 2.3 miles per dollar spent!:thumbup:

After that I picked up some new car wash supplies and took her home for a bath before work. Work was stressful, as we had some nasty weather roll in with 3/4" hail predicted. Thankfully the hail held off :bow: and all I got were rain spots on my fresh wash job. :sigh:

The 3 Ws: Wash, wax, and work. Spent the morning washing and getting a coat of wax on her before I had to go to work for the night.

FR-S meets an ancestor

Don't know what it is, but I'm not crazy about ultramarine when I see the photos online. Having said that, I checked one out in person last week and it is fantastic.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxdriver (Post 264967)

Don't know what it is, but I'm not crazy about ultramarine when I see the photos online. Having said that, I checked one out in person last week and it is fantastic.....

I know what you mean! I was leaning heavily towards the Argento before I got mine. Once I saw it in person all doubts were gone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moshpit37 (Post 265231)

I know what you mean! I was leaning heavily towards the Argento before I got mine. Once I saw it in person all doubts were gone.

Your pictures are very good....again though, in person the color is stunning - enjoy!

Today I managed to get the rear deck panel out to get the third brake light out of the way for the window tint guy. Getting that done tomorrow morning. More pics then!

You took the name I wanted-Frances. Oh well, I'll think of another.:lol:

Couple of HD wallpapers here:

Nice pics man, got my desktop draped with your car :)

looks great man. can you link the chrome bulbs you ordered?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mezdup (Post 285208)

looks great man. can you link the chrome bulbs you ordered?

Here you go! 7440 for the rear and 7443 for the front. (I screwed up and bought 2 pair of 7440s at first, and they don't work for the parking light function in the front. My pair of 7443 should be here today or tomorrow.)

Took my first real road trip with Frances last week. Went up to St. Louis for Warped Tour and stayed with some friends in the area for the week. It was about a 7-hour drive, mostly interstate. I've been past the 1,000 mile break-in period for awhile now so I didn't have to worry about not using the cruise control. Found a couple more minor dings in the paint, but alas, such is life. :sigh: She is a daily driver after all. When it's time to get serious about turning her into a show car, I'm planning on all new paint anyways. I'm thinking Synergy Green (like on the 5th gen Camaro). Got to start saving for that right now.

Clear Side Markers!

I got my clear side markers installed yesterday! No more ugly orange disrupting the front end cleanliness on FRanceS. I may be a Detroit Tigers fan, but I just wasn't feeling the orange-on-blue look. (I prefer the home uniforms anyways.) I used chrome amber bulbs to keep it clear when the lights aren't in use.

I'm also in the process of turning the red "fog reflector" between the reverse lights into a 4th brake light. I have everything installed just ran out of time wiring it up yesterday. Should have it done tomorrow.

I think it looks much better like this, how about you?
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01766.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01765.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01764.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01763.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01762.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01761.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01760.jpg

looks great man, keep it up.

The brake light mod is done! Only downside is I'll probably never get to actually see it myself anymore!
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMuxbMSLwqE&feature=plcp"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMuxbMSLwqE&feature=plcp[/ame]

Nice color choice! :-)

New wallpaper-sized pic with the clear side markers.

I've gone home to my parent's house for the week, a nearly 1,000 mile drive. At highway speeds, about 65-68 mph, I averaged 36.2 MPG!!! I also came VERY close to getting my first ever speeding ticket on the drive though. I was going about 68 mph whilst overtaking a semi-truck in Southern Illinois. I saw what looked like a disabled motorcycle on the right side of the road ahead of us so I accelerated to get around the truck so the truck could pull over into the left lane... the "disabled motorcycle" was a cop with the radar gun pointed right at me.:mad0260: I looked down and saw 80 mph and thought "oh shit" and immediately pulled over. I think that, along with my military ID and my yowling cat in his carrier in the back seat, helped my cause. At first he said he was going to cite me for the speed but after about 5 minutes back at his motorcycle he decided to let me go with a warning. :bow:

And now, for some glamour shots:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01913.jpg

I cleaned her up and went to Ludington Park on Lake Michigan, in Escanaba, Michigan for some pictures. I just drove around the park and tried to find some cool backgrounds, hopped out and snapped a few pics. The weather was beautiful, but windy. I just love how the Ultramarine paint looks with the bright blue sky:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...DSC01949-1.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01938.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01940.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...DSC01943-1.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01908.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01910.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01914.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01915.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...a/DSC01922.jpg

@Moshpit37 glad you didn't get a speeding ticket. You were doing the thoughtful thing by allowing the truck to move over!

The additional brake light is super cool. Another idea I had was to mount a camera in there for track days. Maybe someone will do that.

A half-dozen new wallpapers:

Today was a great day. A day I've been waiting for nearly all my life really. I went on my first cruise with my dad's car club in my own car. This is the first car I've had worthy of hanging out with my dad's, and his friends', cars. This was after hanging out this morning, and yesterday, at the Bark River Off-Road races (I left Frances at home for that, too much dust and the parking was not conducive to a car this low.) Overall a great weekend!

So, thought I'd check in with a little update. Approaching the 9,000 mile mark on the odometer, and loving every single mile so far! :burnrubber: I love the way this car feels, handles, and looks. I did get a nasty little rock chip in the windshield though. :mad0260:

I have added a couple things, including the VERY nice GrimmSpeed Aluminum Oil Cap:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...30A1C485D6.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...30A55D9A2C.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...30A9D5A445.jpg
^^(Sorry it's so dirty, I just got back from 1,000 miles on the road and was too excited to put the new oil cap in!)^^

And I recently picked up my personalized license plate. First time I've ever gotten one of these:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC02228.jpg

I've been to a few meets with the local chapter of SciKotics as well, that's always a good time, really good group of people there.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...30B8318856.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC01890.jpg

And here's a picture from the cruise with my Dad's car club (my Dad's yellow Chevy in the background):
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...S/DSC02040.jpg

Might as well start the wish list for what I want to do to my car. I've had a few months to get used to her and understand what it's capable of and what I'd like to change/improve, so here goes. It will change over time I'm sure, but I'm bored now. :iono: In order of install (probably):

Wheels/tires
1" drops (springs/coilovers)
HID headlights
vented carbon fiber hood
body kit (wide body?)
bigger brakes w/stainless lines
strut tower braces
matte vinyl wrap (silver? blue? black?)
turbo and/or supercharger :burnrubber:

So, I finally got Frances some new shoes! I know it's been awhile since I updated this thread, so I should probably get you up to date on her progress. So far I have installed a bunch of GrimmSpeed parts under the hood, including the billet "86" oil cap, aluminum battery tie-down, brake master cylinder brace, and a set of amazing hood struts. But today was the big day: XXR 530 wheels in Hyper Silver wrapped in 235/40-18 BFGoodrich g-force Sport Comp-2 tires. I also have a set of Eibach Pro-Kit 1" drop lowering springs ordered, so the wheel well gap's days are numbered.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps488410eb.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps4e16aaef.jpg
...mmmm.... fresh meat! (also, I need some JDM exhaust tips...)
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps642fb0e2.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psa1c38d02.jpg
I know she's still wet, these were just some quick pics I took after washing the lubricant off the wheels and tires from the install. The light was fading fast at the time, so a full wash/wax and better pics will be forthcoming.

nice, looks great man!

Some more pictures with the new wheels. Just loving them so far. And the new tires are great in the cold and rain, at least much better than stock.
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps54f01959.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps16826794.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...pse9aebfe8.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psef32c450.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps40dd89f5.jpg

Beautiful RX7 at last weeks Little Rock Cars & Coffee. Had to park next to it and get a photo:
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps2e010bec.jpg

The finishing touches: DC Sports exhaust tips. They'll do until I can afford an all new exhaust. So much better than the stock tips!
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psafd5d274.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps8d8b0627.jpg
http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ps1fd3df52.jpg

Lowering springs will be in hand tomorrow, will have them installed shortly!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moshpit37 (Post 782462)

Eibach Pro Kit springs installed.

looks great. thoughts on the springs so far? also any ideas which exhaust you might go for?