Good to know Cranswick!!! Don't forget that Speedy Glass will subsidize a certain amount of money towards your new replacement windshield if you purchase one through them.

Anywho, small update for the time being...

I just went to the local pick n' pull and pulled the rear parcel board and gasket from an ES. I think the ES board has a lighter grey colour compared to the RA one. It took around hour and a half to get the parcel shelf off. The hardest part was getting loosening the two bolts by the window without a wrench.

Also, I hope to purchase some 2K clear coat spray paint (I think a can is enough), respirator, torque wrench (maybe). My local dealership wanted $30 for an Evolution 8/9 spoiler gasket, but I reckon a DIY Evo spoiler gasket from 3M outdoor mounting tape is just as effective and cost less.

Here's the spoiler disassembled. I believe it is made of carbon fibre.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...119_181232.jpg

Here's one of the pieces sanded down to remove the clear coat.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y...204_222144.jpg

Great looking ride!!

Those are some meaty tires indeed! Nice find though, make her a clean daily.

Minor update.

So I finally installed the third brake light on the car after some problematic issues.

1) Undoing the bolts for the child latch system is a pain in the a** without the right tools because there is not enough space underneath the rear windshield for a socket wrench. In the process, I damaged my rear windshield by chipping it :( In the end, I had to borrow a friend's 12mm ratcheting wrench to undo them.

2) Those white plastic fasteners which attach to the speaker grill is a pain to align. You have to align them in a certain way or else you cannot screw the screws in.

I took the rear parcel shelf and third brake light off of a base model lancer. I also had a liner from a base model lancer, but that was not needed as the stock RA liner comes with holes for the third brake light. It takes approximately 2 hours to take apart the old shelf and install the new one.

I still need to adjust the light a tad bit since a little bit of light does spill into the interior.

Next up is to finish sanding my CF spoiler and spray paint it with 2k Clearcoat. I'm going to get some rubber gaskets from Lordco and M6 (I think) bolts. I mocked up an EVO 8/9 spoiler tape template so I can DIY a tape gasket from 3M tape.

Here's a picture of the results!!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7l...w1359-h1019-no

Summer/BC Day long weekend update!?!?!?!!!!

The source of my steering wheel vibration was due to running rotors way past their minimum point. I was unaware that they were shot because the owner and PPI stated that the brakes were in good shape. I suppose they didn't check out the thickness of the rotors. I believe the front rotors should have a minimum thickness of 26mm. I was at around 20mm.

Centric Premium rotors, front and back, were purchased from the States (Rockauto). Brake fluid (ATE Type 200) and transmission fluid (Redline -forgot which one-, but it's the one Cranswick uses) was purchased from Garage Five.

Brake rotor replacement and brake fluid flush was performed by my good friend. He also taught me that brake jobs aren't that difficult, just tedious. Shout out to Jimmy!!!! :D

-- Notes about regular (Centric Premium) brakes vs drilled/slotted (EBC/Centric??) brakes --

I definitely noticed a difference in the initial bite. I felt a lot more confident while braking with the old drilled/slotted brakes. The new ones were properly broken in but there's none of the confidence inspiring grab present. However I can't complain about the price as the difference between Centric Premium and the slotted Centric brakes were around $30 more per rotor.

Next up is to FINALLY clear coat the carbon spoiler since I FINALLY purchased a respirator and appropriate filter from the local hardware shop (KMS Tools). Hopefully I'll be done with all my uni projects by next week and take advantage of the beautiful Vancouver weather to clear coat. EVO8/9 sticker template is coming along well. Just did a test fit and it's around 90% there. Now I need to go to Lordco and purchase o-rings for maximum waterproof-ness.

Also, yes the car came with an EVO8 steering wheel and Momo shift knob. Photo was taken at Iona Beach in Richmond BC.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.evo...27b6585656.jpg

when you replaced the rotors, did you replace the pads?

No, the brake pads were not replaced with new ones. The EBC Green pads had a lot of life in them so there wasn't a point in replacing them. Even the parts guy at Garage Five was like, why are you replacing pads when they have over 60% life? We then broke the pads and rotors in on the highway.

Perhaps I was a bit too harsh on the Centric Premium rotors, they work really well but the feel of them is just different from the slotted/drilled ones.

it may improve over time...drilled and slotted are generally to aid cooling, not so much to add stopping power...

I'm sure it will improve. It take a bit of getting used though.

#tbt I wish it was still summer :/

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.evo...27b6585656.jpg

Just a little update -

The Evo wing is getting re-cleared at a local autobody shop. Hopefully the guy finishes by this Friday so I can pick it up and install it this weekend. It's been three weeks :S

Tranny fluid was changed to Redline MT-85 and engine oil was changed as well.

A couple weeks ago, I got another rock chip on the front windshield above field of view. We aren't going to fix it for now. No point spending another $80 on a repaired windshield. I'll just wait till it spreads and pay my windshield deductible.

SRI vs CAI problems - I love the loud induction sound and increased torque as a result of the Injen CAI. However, residing in rainy Vancouver means I have to revert to SRI mode to prevent hydro-locking. I realized I get much better fuel economy with the SRI versus CAI, roughly 10-20% better. Anyone know why this is the case?

Browsing on the local car forums, I saw a set of beater FC RX7 in 16x7 +40 offset rims for cheap which sparked my research into those OEM rims. Apparently they have a 59.6mm center bore while our Ralliarts use a 67mm center bore. I'm so tempted to get those and make them fit. According to my calculations, they should fit much closer to the fenders.

Here's a pic of the FC rims

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.evo...27b6585656.jpg

And here's the photoshop of a lowered Lancer with this wheel. The Tirerack model didn't come with the stock Ralliart lip kit unfortunately. Imo looks pretty good! The rim has that Evo 7 wheel look to it, just barely :P

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.evo...27b6585656.jpg

Thoughts about this?

Nice wheels, very retro like. Are you going to be getting them painted or are you keeping them original colour?
Also cool photoshop work. How did you do it?

I probably can't get the wheels now since one of my coilovers snapped at the spring perch area. I have a set of BC Racing BR coilovers incoming in a week or so.

I got the lancer image from tirerack because the side profile is perfect and was on 16" rims. The wheel image is from the seller. So what I did was to crop out the seller's wheel and overlay it over the two Lancer wheels.

The lancer image wasn't lowered so I traced the lancer with the selection? Tool. Then I guesstimated the amount of powering required and touched up the background.

I've got the same set up on my Lancer. BC Coils are great {thumbup}

Sweet!!! I'm pretty excited to get them. I think they are arriving at the shop in a couple days or so. How much lowered is your Lancer and what settings do you use?

When i got my coils installed I had it dropped about 3 inches. Mechanic left the stiffness up too me, but I feel the standard stiffness the BC series comes with is good for the roads i drive on.