Demandred7's Firestorm FR-S

[envy_frs]

Awesome thanks again for the info gluck with ur future mods

[IntotheOcean]

Originally Posted by Demandred7

Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and I did not react. A buddy at work has some skills with dent removal and it only cost me the price of a 24 and I cannot even tell that it ever happened.

As a side note, I had 2 delinquent kids throw a stone at my car as well (not the FR-S), except I was driving on a street and they were hiding at a public school. I stopped and was ready to go after them, but, they had already bolted.

That's awesome you were able to get it out for so cheap! I saw clips on YouTube of people getting dents out with a hair dryer-lol not sure how well that works for all dents?
Anyway man that really suck about getting that thrown at you... Damn assholes.

[Demandred7]

Definitely got the friends and family discount there. Although, a case of beer is definitely more in Canada. I hear Dent Doctor does good work too, but, with anything like that, it depends on the skills of the craftsman and the severity of the dent. My wife's Sienna has a dent due to what seems to be a runaway shopping cart and I think it will be a lot more challenging than mine (not to mention the scratches to the paint). I don't think I will get away from that one for cheap. It was probably a combination of lazy shopper and lazy cart boy. Even if I get the dent repaired for a reasonable price, then I might get raped on fixing the paint.

[Demandred7]

Went back to the Walmart at Fairview for the first time since the passenger door dent occurred. This time I parked somewhat far away and at the end of a row. Once bitten - twice shy. The only thing of significance was an extended look from a guy driving a tricked out Cobalt 4dr. The only other excitement was that I got to drive my car more than my 16 km round trip to work. Okay, that sounded sad, but, I honestly haven't had as much seat time as I would like lately.

[Demandred7]

I am starting to get a little frustrated with the number of people that are excited to hear that I drive an FR-S right up until I say that it is an automatic.

At work I received the question "...so, are you the guy that "actually" chose an automatic?" and last night I was at a party and the group of guys that I was talking to about my car was all excited until I said that it is an automatic. I figure it must be how most Mustang V6 owners feel like when they say that it isn't the V8. It is a somewhat disgusted "oh".

It was a personal choice to purchase the AT. I know that all the purists say that the only way to experience a sports car is to drive stick. I know that the car accelerates faster with a manual. I am not lazy either. I chose to purchase an AT for the convenience of not having to clutch in traffic. I chose it for being able to choose between selecting gears or not. I chose it because it shifts consistently and quickly every time.

I will admit that my lack of skill does not encourage me to choose a manual. My wife's lack of skill also played a part in my choice as well. However, our lack of proficiency would have been overridden had the auto sucked - and it simply is the best auto that I have driven. Further to that, had the choice been between a CVT and a manual, I would choose a manual in a heartbeat.

Buying an automatic is not like asking for a well done prime rib. It isn't like asking for a tofu burger or reduced salt bacon. It isn't sacrilege to choose an auto. It is a valid choice as long as it doesn't suck like a lot of other automatics. It certainly greased the wheels in allowing me to get this car. I am happy that it was a choice because I absolutely love my car.

[Demandred7]

Last 2 LED's came in (the reverse lights) from HID_Powerhouse the other day and I finally got around to installing them. Kenneth (vendor KI_ZN6).

Sorry, I didn't do a before/intall/finished pic, but, here they are after the install (yeah, I know, it's a daylight pic (maybe if I get time after it gets dark, I will take another pic)).

Conceptually the install was pretty easy. Lay on your back under the rear bumper of the car, look for the wire harnesses on either side, turn counter clockwise, pull bulbs, insert new bulbs and reverse the process. Tricky points were:

1) Getting your hands in behind the bumper and in front of the muffler enough to rotate the bulb sockets - they were more stiff than I was expecting, and I don't have giant hands.
2) The bulbs only work when inserted with the correct contacts. So before reinstalling, pull the parking brake, put it in reverse, and check that you put them in the right way.

[StOpNG0x]

Everything's looking good man.

You sold me on the tips. I'm gonna order some for my Firestorm right after I'm done typing this out haha. They look sick.

Keep up with the build and keeping things clean.

Also, do you think you can post a side shot of the exhaust so I can see how far they stick out?

Thanks man.

[Demandred7]

Originally Posted by StOpNG0x

Everything's looking good man.

You sold me on the tips. I'm gonna order some for my Firestorm right after I'm done typing this out haha. They look sick.

Keep up with the build and keeping things clean.

Also, do you think you can post a side shot of the exhaust so I can see how far they stick out?

Thanks man.

Thanks. No problem. I will take a pic sometime tomorrow. Because of the bend in the pipe, I have sunk them almost as deep as I can without making it really hard to center the tips properly.

[Demandred7]

Originally Posted by StOpNG0x

Everything's looking good man.

You sold me on the tips. I'm gonna order some for my Firestorm right after I'm done typing this out haha. They look sick.

Keep up with the build and keeping things clean.

Also, do you think you can post a side shot of the exhaust so I can see how far they stick out?

Thanks man.

Here is a side shot. I tried to line it up with the furthest point of the bumper/diffuser, but, at the same time (as I mentioned) getting it any deeper made it incredibly difficult to center the tips in the openings when looking at them from the rear. I am pretty happy with the result and you can't go wrong for the price (JDM is awesome looking, but, at a steep price).

[StOpNG0x]

Originally Posted by Demandred7

Here is a side shot. I tried to line it up with the furthest point of the bumper/diffuser, but, at the same time (as I mentioned) getting it any deeper made it incredibly difficult to center the tips in the openings when looking at them from the rear. I am pretty happy with the result and you can't go wrong for the price (JDM is awesome looking, but, at a steep price).

Thanks for getting me that photo. It looks good. I went today and bought a pair and I'm having the hardest time getting both the right and left to align correctly. It seems one is higher then the other and I can't seem to figure out the best way to do it without one side being higher then the other.

[Demandred7]

Originally Posted by StOpNG0x

Thanks for getting me that photo. It looks good. I went today and bought a pair and I'm having the hardest time getting both the right and left to align correctly. It seems one is higher then the other and I can't seem to figure out the best way to do it without one side being higher then the other.

I didn't remove the washers like ATL BRZ recommended, but, I used his method of centering the tips.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...5&postcount=47

I also noticed that if you push them too far in that it is impossible to make them match each other because of the bend in the pipe. I centered them as best as possible individually with just barely being snug enough and then fine tuned them to roughly match. I also had to snug all 3 bolts and gradually tightened each one rotating so that I didn't throw off the centering. Probably a little overkill, but, sometimes I have a little OCD.

[StOpNG0x]

Thanks for the tip and heads up on that. I'm gonna try it tomorrow when I get up and hopefully correct it before work tomorrow. I hate being OCD!

[Demandred7]

Thank goodness the snow has cleared and I can go back to VSC Sport mode. Had it in snow mode for the last little bit (for obvious reasons) or just wasn't giving it too much because the car had not even fully warmed up before I got to work (it was so dammed cold). I love how VSC Sport mode lets the car get a little loose while still keeping a safety net (just in case I get a little over zealous with the throttle (still need more seat time, but, I am definitely getting better and better at this whole RWD thing)).

I have had too many years driving FWD and the FR-S is the first affordable car that has made me want to get back into a RWD since my first car. I have to be honest that I was a little worried about the car in the winter, but, all of my fears have been unfounded. This car is so communicative that you know what it is doing all of the time as long as you take the time to listen to it. Not that it is a total pu55ycat in terms of its predictability, but, it wouldn't be fun if it was. It is just right.

I am so happy it is my DD because I think that I would be missing out on the driving enjoyment for half of the year (albeit winter tires being a necessary evil).

[Demandred7]

So, most of us in this neck of the woods (Southern Ontario (and some of the North Eastern U.S.)) got hammered with a whole whack of snow.

I honestly thought that I was going to have to take the Sienna to work because there was no way that I was going to be able to get out of my subdivision and get to work. I thought that I was getting lucky when the snow plow came by and cleared the neighbourhood. I decided to take the FR-S to allow my wife to have the Sienna available to her.

I got all of the way to work only to realize that my work parking lot was completely unplowed. They had been desperately trying to keep up by clearing all of the dock doors, but, that left the employee parking completely untouched. I said to myself, "Oh crap, this is not good". And sure enough, I ran into what I most dreaded with a lot of snow - I bottomed out. Lack of ground clearance. Lucky for me, I always keep a small shovel in the trunk and I was able to clear enough snow underneath as well as around the tires to get unjammed only to be caught slipping shortly thereafter (despite winter tires).

Strategy #1 ever-so-slightly push the gas pedal to crawl out. This was met with limited success. I then eyeballed a parking spot and tried again - no joy.

Strategy #2 fully defeat traction control and hammer the throttle - success.

Thankfully I had enough forethought to stop short of the spot and decided to dig out the parking spot before throwing the car in there. This was especially useful since 9.5 hours later, the parking lot was still yet to have anything done to it. So, in the end, I have not given up on the FR-S during the winter yet, but, the smarter decision probably would have been to take the van with almost another 2" of ground clearance. Also in hindsight - some added weight in the back could be usefull as well.