Francesca - The white gurl 5axis

[isuckatusernames]

[WARNING: Image heavy post!]

Greetings! I never thought I would be one to have a car project worthy of a build thread/journal, but after discussing my modifications last night, and going through old pictures of her, I realized there's plenty to say.

I first picked her up in October 2014. I was returning to the States after 3 years overseas and I wanted to finally treat myself to a sporty car (after some rather embarrassing first cars). I had always been interested in the 86 from its inception. Prior to my return, I spent many many hours poring over forums and reviews, trying to find what would best fit my wishes. I was pretty sold on the 86 and it was Top Gear's review that really cemented the fact.

Cue Francesca. I knew I wanted to mod her to some extent, but having never done so before, I wanted a launching point. So I picked her used with the 5axis body kit and S7:F wheels in 19x8.5 +45.
Below are the pictures the day after I got her:















Not more than two weeks later, I drove her across the states from Utah to Virginia. What a drive! I got her up to a fun speed driving through Kansas and then was able to truly fall in love with her through the mountains of West Virginia, and I haven't yet lost that love and lust.

There was still some fall foliage in the Mid-Atlantic when I arrived and my buddy had this beautiful place in Annapolis where I was able to take the following pictures:



For a while I was happy with where she was at. She would turn heads everywhere we went and I was enjoying it. She handled like a dream, and she looked good.








But the more time went on, the more I realized I wanted to personalize her to my taste. My first couple mods were minor: Valenti tail lights (which I picked up at a steal), BeatSonic sharkfin antenna, clear side markers, and re-badging. Shortly after (or maybe before? I sorta forget the order here...), I added my first performance mods and picked up the Greddy Evo3 and the Nameless midpipe/overpipe combo.




That lasted a while before I started getting the itch again. Yearly inspection came around and wouldn't you believe it, my tires failed me due to having not enough tread. What a great excuse to get new wheels and tires! So I pulled the trigger and bought some gold Enkei RPF1s in 18x8 +45 wrapped in Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 in 225/40-18. It was coming to winter and I definitely needed all-seasons on. At the time, I enjoyed the larger 18s and didn't want to drop down to 17s. Being the noob that I was/am, during the process of putting the new wheels on, I realized that I had, in fact, aftermarket coilovers already on. My buddy who was helping me enlightened me to the fact that Racelands were less than reputable and the ones I had were just about done with. So I ordered some Fortune Auto 500 series coilovers and installed them not long after, eyeballing the drop. After they got put on, my other buddy and I took a trip up to Skyline Drive. Right away, the driving feel was much improved and I had a lot more confidence through the corners.





As much as I really liked the look of it, I couldn't help but realize that, in my haste to get the Gold RPF1s in 18s, they didn't have the "flusher", less convex face, that I had seen and actually wanted. Nonetheless, I still had this setup for close to a year and a half (while adding a K&N drop-in air filter), and got some pretty rad pictures along the way.







I recently got orders to go back overseas to Korea (for a year) then on to Stuttgart, Germany, afterwards. I won't get to have Francesca with me in Korea, but she will be getting shipped to Germany. Because of this, I decided to finally go through with plans I've had for her for a long time. Who knows the next time I'll have the convenience of ordering parts like I have here in the States? I also have a buddy who's got his own shop here that makes install days super nice (again, I'm noob; my mechanical skills leave much to be desired, though I do lend a hand and learn with every install day).

So what have I done recently? Within this past month I have purchased/installed:
- Velox rear diffuser (aggressive)
- APR carbon fiber front splitter
- PTuning Competition Turbo Kit V2 w/GTX-2871R
- ACT HDSS clutch & Streetlite flywheel kit
- Tomei EL header
- AEM wideband, boost, & oil pressure gauges
- Grimmspeed hood damper kit
- Winjet headlights (black)

Oh, and because I'm a perfectionist, I got a different set of the gold Enkei RPF1s...this time in 17x9 +35, wrapped in Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 in 245/40-17. She sits a little low, but she's now exactly how I want her to look. I've fallen back in love.




Oh, and because I've had condensation issues with the Valentis (gonna work on a DIY fix-it project for them that I've read about), I tinted the stock tail lights and thrown those on for now.


Since I'm sure the numbers matter to most, I'm currently at 324 HP w/261.5 ft/lb of torque at 10 lbs of boost on 93 octane.

If you've stuck around this long, I'm impressed! Hope you've enjoyed the read and pictures.

[Wurst_crew_chief]

lol so I'm assuming Army! What pos?? I just got out after my lovely six years haha. Now I'm looking at getting one of these beauties myself! This post really helped me out! So thanks!

[isuckatusernames]

Originally Posted by Wurst_crew_chief

lol so I'm assuming Army! What pos?? I just got out after my lovely six years haha. Now I'm looking at getting one of these beauties myself! This post really helped me out! So thanks!

Negative! Air Force here, but I will be living under Army command (though not working for them) when I'm in Stuttgart.

[dattran86]

beautiful! I had 17x8 RPF1s in gold as well, definitely not as desirable as the 17x9 with a concave face.

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by isuckatusernames

Negative! Air Force here, but I will be living under Army command (though not working for them) when I'm in Stuttgart.

Air Force?! You better be dropping some 82nd boys out of your planes.

Nice build btw!

[86Kai]

Gorgeous car!

[isuckatusernames]

Originally Posted by weederr33

Air Force?! You better be dropping some 82nd boys out of your planes.

Nice build btw!

I'm not a flyer either, haha. Thanks, though!

[sato]

Loving your build. BTW, nice collection of wheels (special liking to the original wheels you posted)!

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by isuckatusernames

I'm not a flyer either, haha. Thanks, though!

Fair enough! My buddy is a drone pilot in the USAF, so I'm always giving him hell. BTW how did you like the 5-Axis wheels? I considered them but they seemed like overkill being 19" wheels.

[isuckatusernames]

Originally Posted by weederr33

Fair enough! My buddy is a drone pilot in the USAF, so I'm always giving him hell. BTW how did you like the 5-Axis wheels? I considered them but they seemed like overkill being 19" wheels.

I liked them just fine, they served the purpose of looking nice. Haha

[isuckatusernames]

I got up to an unspecified speed tonight and my bumper seemed about ready to tear off! Something was clearly wrong, do I pulled over with my blinkers on. Turns out, my driver side marker had come out and wad flailing about. Put it back in place and kept on driving. As soon as I was close to 55 mph, there wad something clearly the issue. My lights would be shaking in a vertical fashion. When I pulled over again, I noticed the tie rods connecting the splitter to the front mesh were gone! Would seem ridiculous to think someone had dismantled it at the last place I parked. The only reasoning I could think of is the speed somehow took it off? This seems ridiculous! It's uncomfortable (due to the shaking) driving about 50 mph. Taking it to my buddy's shop tomorrow to try to figure out the issue.

[Carlos_M]

When I started reading this thread the build looked familiar but I couldn't place it, then I got to the gold Enkeis and knew exactly who it was lol

As far as your splitter rods, you may want to consider hard mounting them to a structural part of the car like the crash beam.

-Carlos

[Freddy@PTUNING]

Car is looking great Kyle!

[isuckatusernames]

Originally Posted by Carlos_M

When I started reading this thread the build looked familiar but I couldn't place it, then I got to the gold Enkeis and knew exactly who it was lol

As far as your splitter rods, you may want to consider hard mounting them to a structural part of the car like the crash beam.

-Carlos

Yeah, I haven't taken a second look at it today since I've been sleeping all day, but re-looking at the picture, it looks like some of the clips that keep the front grill in may be busted. I might just have to ditch the grill altogether and go with ordering new rods and, when they arrive, attaching them to the crash beam as you suggested.