[Thread for the car formally known as] The Storm Trooper ZR6

[VIPZR6]

Good job Josh, makes a massive difference. Do they run off the door lights mate? or off that switch,

I wired mine into the doo light loom..... the biggest pain in the but I have ever done.

Yeah they run off the switch, I like having the element of control so I can have them going even when the doors are shut :) If I end up doing more in the door pockets I'l probably wire them up to the courtesy lights, that's about as automated as I'd like to get. Also thinking I might throw some in the glove box aswell as the one LED in their is basically useless.

Just looking at these photos again the iPhone 5 camera doesn't do them justice :( the light is so nice and crisp (went for cool white over warm to match the rest of the interior lighting)

ED: went out and took some photos tonight;

The brightness really highlights my new Pumas...

...and that's the reflection looking out of the drivers window :/ Its a bit distracting to say the least especially when going to turn right.

I'm quite happy with how the back seat turned out though, because the light reflects off the lip of the back seat, then down onto the floor, it gives a nice graduated subtle glow, whereas the front's are directly shining onto the floor, which as you can sort of see, is stupidly bright. Didn't get many good shots of it because it was too dark/the phone just cant handle it. Needing to invest in some sort of SLR/decent point and shoot I think.

Edited March 9, 2013 by VIPZR6

[linhvo]

yeh i did the same on my first car, thought it would be super cool to have bright ones in the front, turns out i couldnt see out at nite

every time i approached a turn i had to wind the window down

might have to cut down on the amount of led's on the front or either have variable resistor so its dimmable.

[VIPZR6]

Agreed. Also could be to do with the positioning of them too. Might experiment with a few different spots. But I can always just turn them off when I need to turn right too :p. for a budget mod though I'm stoked with how they turned out all in all. For less than $15 to have that sort of result :)

[Defyant]

might have to cut down on the amount of led's on the front or either have variable resistor so its dimmable.

http://www.ledsales.com.au/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=148_207&products_id=952

This is what I use for dimming my Angel Eyes, high qual and cheap. Very smooth dimming. Can be removed from case and dash mounted. :)

[Defyant]

Fit's nice here

[VIPZR6]

Next mod on the list was to update the carPC of sorts that I had to something a bit more flexible. I've been using a 10" Netbook to play music through AUX input since I had my license basically. I've never really been one for using iTunes and due to my music collection being so large I needed a setup with decent amount of storage available.

So after a couple of trips back to JB Hifi, I picked up some gear;

Right angled 3.5mm audio lead, WD Wireless Plus 1TB Hard drive (inbuilt 10hr battery, wireless hotspot etc) iPad mini 16GB Wifi, and a random mounting bracket I stumbled upon that turned out to be the perfect fit



Firstly, I had to modify one of the moulds that came with the mount, and seeing as I dont own a iPhone 4, this was the perfect candidate.



And with a little help from my rotary tool, I got this



Next was to mount the iPhone 4 mould plate to the back of the iPad mini case



Next came the fun bit, mounting! The area below the climate control is where I am going to mount the mini, as there is more or less a blank filler and then a ashtray/12V outlet (which in future I will have a USB charger to run the mini+external drive on LONG trips if needed)



All mounted up ready to go



Mount in place ready for the iPad



And then voila, success! Using an app called "FileExplorer" from the app store, to access the external hard drive wirelessly via an SMB share setup, very simple stuff, and now have access to my entire music collection on the go



Cockpit now



And just for fun :P 720P/1080P streaming seems to be superb on this setup however



Can basically have the hard drive wherever I want in the car and it will still serve music fine, just have it placed in the centre console for now.

[Defyant]

LOL I have exactly the same thing in the iload, ipads the best in car entertainment you can get :D

Top job josh

[Rebz]

looks like a cop car :P undercover that is

[bigVAN]

Wow josh , this has given me some ideas now!!

Thanks for the share mate

[VIPZR6]

LOL I have exactly the same thing in the iload, ipads the best in car entertainment you can get :D

Top job josh

I know! I didn't realise, but the mini is THE perfect size to fit in that little dead spot in the dash. The beauty of the setup is I can take it to whatever vehicle I'm driving for that day (I have a little combo van for work, and often taking Camry's/Corollas on longish road trips for work)

looks like a cop car :P undercover that is

Haha cheers mate :P. I even toyed with the idea of mounting it higher up off the windscreen or above the clock/airvents, with a bulky mount, would totally look like a cop computer :D atleast this way its out of the way, and less chance of an ACTUAL cop noticing (don't think its exactly legal to have a setup such as this while in motion )

[VIPZR6]

After getting busy the weekend before and giving it a bath with morning fresh and touching up ALL the stone chips I could find on the car, this weekends job started out with this ****nal;

Might I just say, Clay Bar is MAD. I have no idea why I've never thought previously to use it, but hell does it make a difference to the finish you get once you apply a coat of wax....or two :D Smooth as glass (just like the packet says)

Took advantage of the opportunity to take some decent photos with an SLR of the finished result :)

Team White Represent :)

[linhvo]

dayum......so so so clean yeh... :D

i noticed my front bar is getting a bunch of stone chips aswell, thought i actually hav to get it respray.

defs gonna try detailing it , thanks for the inspiration

[Rebz]

Clean as.

I would love to see you clean my black car. BIGEEST and i mean BIGGEST pain in the ***** hole.

I use all these products to clean and it starts rainingt the next day and when the sun comes it dry the car leaving marks everywhere.

My car goes from Metallic black to gun metal grey -.-

[linhvo]

LOL ^

guess you hav to pay the price to hav a sexy black car. I gotta admit black cars always looks shiny clean at nite tho, they look soo good ^_^

[VIPZR6]

dayum......so so so clean yeh... :D

i noticed my front bar is getting a bunch of stone chips aswell, thought i actually hav to get it respray.

defs gonna try detailing it , thanks for the inspiration

Yeah depending on how many chips there are/how bad they are, some touchup paint from your local paint shop might do the trick. The name of the color is "Diamond White" (I cant remember its specific code as its at home) Just make sure you prep the surface first with prepsol/Morning Fresh so you get a good bond. It took me a couple of hours and alot of patience to do mine :)

Clean as.

I would love to see you clean my black car. BIGEEST and i mean BIGGEST pain in the ***** hole.

I use all these products to clean and it starts rainingt the next day and when the sun comes it dry the car leaving marks everywhere.

My car goes from Metallic black to gun metal grey -.-

Haha! I think secretly the gods were being kind to me when they decided I was going to write off my black ZR6 - to avoid having to clean it every 2 seconds :P Because I am so anal about clean cars, inside and out

Might be worth taking it to a detailer and getting them to give it a good go over with some good quality wax etc. And I cant stress enough the merits of clay barring before wax too after my success this weekend :) With a decent wax job, the rain and road dust should just bead off/come off easily with a pressure washer at a carwash etc. I only do mine every 6 months usually,

[Rebz]

Like honestly im a clean freak, but this weather does my head it. i just give up and not bother cleaning my car then i'll look at her and she'll be looking at me with those mean eyes and i'll **** myself and quickly wash and polish it lol.


so you clay before wax ??

whats the best stuff to wash your car. i want my hands to slide off my car when i feel it, without using the black turtle wax

[VIPZR6]

Take to it QLD to see the guy who did old mates chaser :D

http://au.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/topic/42405-qld-bne-jzx-100-tourer-v/?p=524195

But seriously though, if you want to try it yourself, these are the steps I took to get my results;

- Full wash with Morning Fresh (dish washing detergent I know, it gets alot of whatever you might still have on the paint off, mainly waxes etc. Works much better than just using normal car wash)

- Clay Bar kit to remove further contaminants and grit from paint (once this is done, you should have a glass-smooth finish to the paint, or very close to it.

- (I didnt do this personally because I have a white car and it basically hides all the swirls due, and not having a clearcoat) Meguiars Swirl removed 2.0

- x2 coats of your choice of liquid wax (I have a big tin of AutoSmart Platinum compound, got it from a guy who used to be a dealer detailer, can only get it from distributors etc, it is good stuff if you can get your hands on any)

To maintain it, wash it every fortnight (or more depending on how much you drive) with Meguiars NXT Gen 2.0 car wash, or Gold Class Shampoo. Both are great products and so far havnt let me down. Will maintain that smooth experience :) )

Those are the steps I followed, by no means will that be exactly what you do (I have never personally detailed a black car before so I havn't had the experience)

[Rebz]

Thanks for your advice man..

Whats the easiest way to dry the car after wash ? like i use the Armor all chamois cloth but it doesn't absorb really good

Gold Class Shampoo is really good.

i've never tried the clay method.

black cars hard to maintain. i wash using the normal Armor all car wash (blue stuff)

I tired - the Eclipse liquid wax, but that was ****

so im using turtle wax black detailer atm, really good stuff

then dry it up as much as i can, then i get a microfiber cloth and get turtle wax ( meant for black cars) andwipe the **** out of it, stays clean for a week then dirty as **** the week after lol

[VIPZR6]

Whats the easiest way to dry the car after wash ? like i use the Armor all chamois cloth but it doesn't absorb really good

i've never tried the clay method.

black cars hard to maintain. i wash using the normal Armor all car wash (blue stuff)

so im using turtle wax black detailer atm, really good stuff

then dry it up as much as i can, then i get a microfiber cloth and get turtle wax ( meant for black cars) andwipe the **** out of it, stays clean for a week then dirty as **** the week after lol

Try an Oates Enkafill Chamois, they are a bit dearer than others, but they are damn good. I used to use the Armour Alls, but after trying this out I'm not looking back :)

http://www.oates.com.au/ProductDisplay.aspx?Product=PV-EF-01

I don't know whether the Turtle Wax Black Detailer is a good long term solution, to me it looks like a quick detailer to use for patch's, and not a whole car.

[Rebz]

i'll try it out man, thanks for the help ;)

[jeffy]

dodo juice is what you need.

[VIPZR6]

Not much of an update of sorts, mods have been put on hold temporarily while I recoup some money to spend....in Japan :) Paid for flights and accom for 10 Days in Tokyo+Osaka in November, and with rego due in the coming month or so, not alot of funds remaining.

November also marks the time where I will finally achieve my full license (funnily enough the date is when I will be overseas) hence no more power restrictions :), so I'm currently casually trawling the Internet for a suitable "upgrade" to the Aurion. Provided the finances permit of course, it may yet be another few months from when I get back till Il be in a suitable position (depending on how much I spend in Japan :P)

In the short term however, my brakes are well untruly munted. Went up for a cruise in the King Lake area a few weeks back, didn't get far down the twisties and I had instant brake fade+warping, so by next service I plan to have acquired (hopefully) some new rotors with a bit more beef than the OE ones. Nothing too serious, just a set of these (I'm not going out every weekend on twisty roads, more than likely highway hauls to Melbourne and back these days)

http://www.dba.com.au/products/street-performance/t2-slot/

[VIPZR6]

Update time...as you may have guessed from the modified topic title, yes the Aurion is up for sale...

If anyone is interested in the car, or any of the bits (wheels, eyelids, LED lights etc) PM me for more details.

New arrival will be posted up in due course :)

[Bangtown]

Anything Drew might like???????

:)

[linhvo]

i already dips on it LOL