Kenshin's Rice Rocket

[Kenshin X]

hung up the cai like lee suggested... and sprayed that damn "L" so it flows with the outside sticker

yes... i left the original paint on top as i didnt wanna mess with the part where the sensor goes to as the MAF sensor is very sensitive...

painted some galvinised washers...

and its about f..ken time those went back in... :yahoo: :yahoo:

went and bought myself some high tensile bolts from repco with those nylon rings so the front strut stays there and doesn't move...

now with the heat and cold cycles i'll be having when i'm driving will cure the paint in no time!

oh yeah... will put the cai back in when some people have time to come down my way... hehe ;)

[and1]

Needs more red in there

[Kenshin X]

Needs more red in there

dont worry... more red is coming:

ES red engine mount inserts

bushings front and rear

trd cai :)

also any suggestions on the colour i should get with my TRD sticker? i was thinking just black...

[Kenshin X]

Ahhh sh!t when i closed the engine bonnet, the furry material rubbed on the newly painted strut bar. Now its got wrinkly texture on part of the bar :( no fur tramferred. Just the furry texture imprinted on tye bar :( cant really cure it unless i put it in the oven at 200•C ...

[dyslexik]

Ahhh sh!t when i closed the engine bonnet, the furry material rubbed on the newly painted strut bar. Now its got wrinkly texture on part of the bar :( no fur tramferred. Just the furry texture imprinted on tye bar :( cant really cure it unless i put it in the oven at 200•C ...

use a heatgun from bunnings - $15.

[Kenshin X]

Ahhh sh!t when i closed the engine bonnet, the furry material rubbed on the newly painted strut bar. Now its got wrinkly texture on part of the bar :( no fur tramferred. Just the furry texture imprinted on tye bar :( cant really cure it unless i put it in the oven at 200•C ...

use a heatgun from bunnings - $15.

abit late now... but i used a hair dryer... same thing... still didn't cure enough. even the air con hose and the accelerator hose have made thier marks on the front strut now i given up la... just wait til the rest cures...

im too scared to take it off just in case i make things worse than what it already is. cuz i know that some paint has transferred to the black chassis paint :(

the cai is just above the heater outlet in the laundry... that will help it cure in a few days i hope...

[tru-star]

woah! looks tasty!!red candy. nice paintjob on the cai.

[Kenshin X]

Its actually just the red i used on my calipers... Cherry red is more darker n has the metallic bits inside with some sort of pearl

[dyslexik]

abit late now... but i used a hair dryer... same thing... still didn't cure enough.

Not same thing. The $15 heat gun from bunnings has 2 settings and its 20 times hotter than a hairdryer. Here's the thing, my mate did the DIY JDM blackened headlights with a hairdryer and he used a hairdryer to open the headlight casing and seal it back up. Where as I used a heat gun.

He took 2+ hours to open each casing.

I took less than 10mins to open each casing.

His headlights fog up and has moisture inside when its damp or washes his car.

Mine doesnt.

I also used the heat gun whilst painting my previous ZZT231 engine cover to cherry red. I painted it in the garage at night when the weather was like 15 degrees outside and raining.

I also used it as a heater to keep me warm in the garage that night too at times. I came inside the house smelling like ceramic pottery freshly baked in the oven lol

[Kenshin X]

i was also considering that too much heat might make the metal weaker... thus didnt really wanna try the heat gun... there was the chance u could have deformed the plastic?

[dyslexik]

i was also considering that too much heat might make the metal weaker... thus didnt really wanna try the heat gun... there was the chance u could have deformed the plastic?

nope. kept the distance. You need to put it approx 30+cm away from item being heated/dried. Most importantly, don't leave it blowing on one area for more than 2 secs. You need to constantly move it up and down or side to side.

See for yourself below. Why else would I say it if I wasnt successful at doing it myself.

[Kenshin X]

i was also considering that too much heat might make the metal weaker... thus didnt really wanna try the heat gun... there was the chance u could have deformed the plastic?

nope. kept the distance. You need to put it approx 30+cm away from item being heated/dried. Most importantly, don't leave it blowing on one area for more than 2 secs. You need to constantly move it up and down or side to side.

See for yourself below. Why else would I say it if I wasnt successful at doing it myself.

far man, such a good job and u dropped it... lol... well since i'm such a perfectionist... i might keep sanding back and painting over the furry stuff until its smooth again... i already went thru 1 and 1/3 red caliper paint but man can i say that the places i didn't touch up, so smooth and the finish is awesome... 1200 grit paper may not be enough to take out the furry stuff from the engine bonnet

i also noticed that none of the red paint from the bottom part of the bar transferred over to the black paint so i'm pretty good on that :) took it off and started to sand back the parts to spray it again... <_<

[dyslexik]

far man, such a good job and u dropped it... lol... well since i'm such a perfectionist... i might keep sanding back and painting over the furry stuff until its smooth again... i already went thru 1 and 1/3 red caliper paint but man can i say that the places i didn't touch up, so smooth and the finish is awesome... 1200 grit paper may not be enough to take out the furry stuff from the engine bonnet

correction: the wind blew it off while it was air drying on a portable laundry hanger. It had a crack on the corner after that.

I used 2 cans of White Knight cherry red engine enamel spray paint.

Get the strut tower brace powder coated duy!!, while your at it, get your engine cover done too =)

[Kenshin X]

far man, such a good job and u dropped it... lol... well since i'm such a perfectionist... i might keep sanding back and painting over the furry stuff until its smooth again... i already went thru 1 and 1/3 red caliper paint but man can i say that the places i didn't touch up, so smooth and the finish is awesome... 1200 grit paper may not be enough to take out the furry stuff from the engine bonnet

correction: the wind blew it off while it was air drying on a portable laundry hanger. It had a crack on the corner after that.

I used 2 cans of White Knight cherry red engine enamel spray paint.

Get the strut tower brace powder coated duy!!, while your at it, get your engine cover done too =)

ok... so u wanna get technical? u put it on the clothes hanger, the wind blew it off and IT DROPPED ON THE GROUND :P :P :P yes you still dropped it becuz it was you who put it on the hanger LOL :P :P :P

yes... i'm a **** stirrer :D

and WOW! 2 spray cans of white knight paint??? was that 400g??? i must be stingy!

yeah i thought nothing would touch the bar and the heat and cooling cycle from the engine driving it everyday would be ideal for it to cure in no time... the engine cover "L" is still in good condition :P love looking at it when i open the cover. first thing i look at :) reminds me of how much lift owns

[Kenshin X]

Hey guys. Been researching the control arm bushings and engine mount inserts from energy suspension and found them to be cheaper buying direct from an american supplier. 100 dollars cheaper to be precise :)

Ordered and paid for a set of red engine mount to go with my colour theme and a set each of the front n rear control arm bushings all for 224USD (approx 250 AUD). USPS say that will arrive at my door 6-10 days. Booked a mechanic for next thursday. Hopefully it arrives before then so i can throw it all in ready for the cruise on saturday :)

Also ordered a whiteline rear sway from bursons coburg. All other places have been quoting me 180 but these guys have quoted me 155. Hopefully they dont ring me back to say that the prices have been changed.

Also waiting for the paint to cure on the front strut and trd cai

Let you guys know how the car handles once all these items are on my car! Im expecting a great deal of improvement ;)

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

[dyslexik]

I thought the stuff you painted had already cured from using the $43 heat gun you bought from Bunnings on Monday?????

[Kenshin X]

I thought the stuff you painted had already cured from using the $43 heat gun you bought from Bunnings on Monday?????

it didn't cure enough... still leaves a finger print on the bar when pressed hard. though i followed the instructions on the can to heat it up at 200oC so it completely cures the paint -_-

there are also small bubble showing on one side of the bar i think due to the bottom layers of paint not drying properly and air was coming out... looks not good but i seriously cant be stuffed sanding it back and spraying it again <_<

mohammed told me i'm just lazy so if i wanna do it properly i have to sand it back and paint it again lol...............................................................

heat gun works a treat but i wanna make sure of it 100% cured so i'll leave it for a few more days until i put it on

[dyslexik]

it didn't cure enough... still leaves a finger print on the bar when pressed hard. though i followed the instructions on the can to heat it up at 200oC so it completely cures the paint -_-

there are also small bubble showing on one side of the bar i think due to the bottom layers of paint not drying properly and air was coming out... looks not good but i seriously cant be stuffed sanding it back and spraying it again <_<

mohammed told me i'm just lazy so if i wanna do it properly i have to sand it back and paint it again lol...............................................................

heat gun works a treat but i wanna make sure of it 100% cured so i'll leave it for a few more days until i put it on

If the bottom layer hasn't cured, then that would mean there was over spray. Hence, why I ended up using 2 cans of paint, because first time I had heaps of over spray, learnt my lesson and sanded it back and did it all over again properly.

I suggest sanding it back again if you want it to be perfect. But this time, do short 3 second bursts of spray paint with gentle hand motions shaking the can often.

Do not aim the heat gun so close for the paint to bubble like you told me it did.

If it does, you are simply heating the parts to close or too long in one specified area.

If you have the heat gun on a lower setting, the distance you should maintain is where your hand would be warm but not cooked by it.

When I used the higher setting, I had to stand up with the painted parts on the ground and kept at least a 70cm distance. Basically, the safe distance was where my feet in flip flops would be kept warm, but not cooked by the heat gun.

[Kenshin X]

it didn't cure enough... still leaves a finger print on the bar when pressed hard. though i followed the instructions on the can to heat it up at 200oC so it completely cures the paint -_-

there are also small bubble showing on one side of the bar i think due to the bottom layers of paint not drying properly and air was coming out... looks not good but i seriously cant be stuffed sanding it back and spraying it again <_<

mohammed told me i'm just lazy so if i wanna do it properly i have to sand it back and paint it again lol...............................................................

heat gun works a treat but i wanna make sure of it 100% cured so i'll leave it for a few more days until i put it on

If the bottom layer hasn't cured, then that would mean there was over spray. Hence, why I ended up using 2 cans of paint, because first time I had heaps of over spray, learnt my lesson and sanded it back and did it all over again properly.

I suggest sanding it back again if you want it to be perfect. But this time, do short 3 second bursts of spray paint with gentle hand motions shaking the can often.

Do not aim the heat gun so close for the paint to bubble like you told me it did.

If it does, you are simply heating the parts to close or too long in one specified area.

If you have the heat gun on a lower setting, the distance you should maintain is where your hand would be warm but not cooked by it.

When I used the higher setting, I had to stand up with the painted parts on the ground and kept at least a 70cm distance. Basically, the safe distance was where my feet in flip flops would be kept warm, but not cooked by the heat gun.

bubbling of the paint was actually not able to sand out all the fluff from the previous fuk up. this time i made sure i heated it up nice and hot ~200 degrees and left it for 2 hours to completely cool down... even tested it by gripping it for 2 mins without letting go and no finger prints on it...

thought it was ready to chuck in. after driving to my parents i saw the fluff tranferred again. only then i realised i could have tried one thing: duct tape. duct tape part of the carpet to prevent it from transferring on the bar via rubbing when the engine is warm. but now after all that work and money, i just cbf anymore

now i'm worried about the cai, although i've heated up alot of times and to the point where its too hot to touch im 100% sure its cured... hopefully all goes well... esp down at the throttle end

sigh... waste of my fuken time and i thought using caliper paint which has the temp rating of 500 degrees would do the trick. just given myself more trouble than it was fuken worth :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: never again i'm doing this sh!t

pix up soon

[dyslexik]

I used these paints:

Cherry red colour - Max 120 degrees celcius.

http://whiteknightpaints.com.au/product/view/engine-enamel

Flat black - Max 540 degrees celcius

http://whiteknightpaints.com.au/product/view/hi-temp

[Kenshin X]

So got these at bursons today:

Whiteline Rear Sway bar for 155 including GST...

&

MAF sensor cleaner for 21 bucks ;)

thanks to barry at coburg burson who let me purchase this at the same price and not the new one (180 incl GST)

also thanks to talal at tyres r us for letting me borrow his breaker bar

picture of the stock torsion beam...

taking the nuts and bolts off, at first i was getting under the car trying to undo the bolt. had a super hard time sliding over the ground and stuff. then i realised why in super dave's guide he said to take the rear wheels off <_<

yes in this picture i had the breaker bar below, i soon knew that it was easier to just do it from the top. u actually dont need to hold the bottom bolt, just loosen it and then use the breaker bar to hold the bolt while u undo the nut on top

comparison to the old and new bar

ok check list:

1) right part? CHECK

2) snug fit? well CHECK AFTER i wiggled one side in the hole

3) correct hole size? CHECK

so far so good...

i had to use the old torsion beam to hammer the new one in its place with a rag at the end...

back to the check list:

4) correct alignment of the other hole?

WAIT HANG ON!? wtf is this? the hole isn't lined up??? i'm talking not 1mm or 2mm ITS UP TO 4 to 5mm OUT!!!

now i was getting worried i didn't get the right part and called directly to whiteline. i spoke to greg i think it was... very helpful and went to talk to the engineer for me. when greg came back on the phone, he asked me if one of the holes on the car where the bar sits on if one was enlongated. they are not. he suggested to me to put a drill through the hole to enlongate the hole to make it fit. :o otherwise if i didn't want to do that (and i didn't) that i'd have to get it returned for a full refund and get a another bar instead...

i said i wasn't satisfied so he asked me to wait 5 mins so he could talk to the engineer there and see if its feasible to enlongate the hole for it to fit. so i gave him my mobile and we hung up.

so i went out and rechecked the bars so for sure i wasn't trippin'...

comparing left...

to right...

MOFO!!!

this may not be a better pic but shows that im not cheating u guys (asian squats FTW!)

another pic left...

to right...

you can clearly see the hole is not aligned. spent 2 hours getting this off and back on agian...

greg called me back and said that he is very sorry and has organised a courier to come to my door to pick up the bar and get it back to sydney warehouse to have him check out with the 6 other bars in stock.

he did add that they haven't had any problems with this bar since he started selling it in march 2003... and that there was only one return on it and it was a warehouse return. didn't tell me what the reason was for return. (wasn't recorded in the system...)

anyways i said, if the bar was made to spec then it would have to be a perfect fit so u dont have to drill any holes

he understood and knew my frustration and apoligised again for the fault and told me not to worry as he will look after me

haha, i could have made this post alot shorter but then i wanna build up the atmosphere and a high and then BANG. feel what i feel now peoples? :P :P :P :P :P

anyways, that moves me on to my next mod to try out tomorrow... :P

[1stKill]

Dang,double dang :( ...thats some sh!tty luck mate,you bust your azz for a few hours and it ends up all for nothing,lol been there done that so got an idea how ya feel,you almost feel ripped off in a way,hope they fix the problem or give your cash back asap.

[Chrono Trigger]

Whiteline should give you a new one... even if you drill it won't solve the problem...

the bar is supposed to be longer than stock.

metal shrinkage much. LOL

[tru-star]

I KNOW how YOU FEEL BRO!!! :( :( :( :o :o ****** OFF AND DEPRESSED. Just like my carbon fibre front lip...waited like 3 months to arrival from japan to aus, and when arrived i was sooo excited can't wait to see it and put it on..but..when fitting.. BANG!! F(&*(&&(*!!! piece of SH&* didn't even fit was like 20mm OFF from each side..

[johnnieboi]

What?? you got rear sway??? damn man.. all out suspension mods eh? Should of buzzed me dude.. i would of helped you out.. after work hours wen im free.