installed my HID bulbs this afternoon...took car out at night to test them. they are far brighter than halogens and look pretty good i think.

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matte black now

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hood will be replaced at some point with a CF one. wheels definitely need to be changed now lol...that will be next weekend along with suspension and brakes.

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Kinda dig the vinyl wrap look.... how much did it cost to wrap the whole car??

$1600 but i supplied the wrap (hexis matte black, ordered it relatively cheap from the US for $500...have lots leftover in case anything were to be scratched..).

i also took off the mirrors, door handles, the spoiler, antenna, headlights/tailights which saved me a good chunk of change as the shop didn't have to do it

a big f350 truck booked in before me was wrapped in matte white. the guy paid i think $5k to put things into perspective

Great job man! This car is the best i've seen!

thanks man appreciate that!

brakes, suspension/bushings and new wheels are on next weekend - can't wait to complete the build! following this is the planning and shopping for BOOST

updates from today.

- new starter motor installed (old one auto wrecker threw in for free was becoming quite unreliable, particularly on hot days...)
- front strut tower brace installed
- rear and front coilovers installed
- began getting the brakes installed

ran into an issue where the bolts that came with the wilwood bbk broke when attaching the rotors to the hats. they were very weak. head of the bolt detached with only 35psi... so i've sourced some much stronger ones. don't feel good at all using those bolts. a little disappointed with wilwood on that one. the kit is fantastic otherwise, i just wish they'd have included stronger bolts.

few pics from today:

comparison old vs. new:
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brakes, suspension and new wheels on:

- wilwood bbk on front
- brand new drums and shoes on rear, painted black
- 16" enkei RPF1 on potenza RE760's
- tein basic coilovers with brand new top hats and main bushings
- rallispec front strut bar

the difference is incredible. the car feels so much more stable and flat through corners and you feel every part of the road. i absolutely love it. of all the things i have done to this car, this is definitely the best upgrade. i suspected it was going to be quite stiff and less comfortable than before, but it in fact seems quite the opposite. i find being kept up-right in the seat so much more makes for a more comfortable ride and the coilovers aren't nearly as stiff as i thought they might be. overall i'm extremely impressed...never did i think this car would become what it has. it is very fun to drive now.

here are some pics (sorry about the dirty exterior, car needs a good wash) ...also some of you might get a kick about my nameplate lol:

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I dig it you've done a great job on this project congrats!

thank you, it has been a long project. i'll throw up some nicer pics soon and maybe upload a few pics i found of the car before the project began. the difference between the before and afters is pretty crazy.

here's a before and after comparison

Before:
4G94 2.0L, Automatic, stock except for magnaflow exhaust and Injen SRI - 280,000km

After:
4G69 2.4L (around 80,000km), Manual, basically nothing stock :lol: see beginning of thread

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nice bro, boost time?

yep u bet, this winter. will post details soon

I was a little skeptical when I was reading this, but it's turned out really nice. Good work.