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Decided to post a build thread to document my progress with this beautiful car. Hope you enjoy!
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Directory (crossed out mods I no longer have)
1. Intro/First Mods (this post)
- Vinyl lights
- CF diffuser and rear spats
- CF extended wing and 1 inch wing risers
- Brembo brake calipers painted in acid green/yellow
- Tanabe Medallion axleback
- Carbon fiber front lip and side skirts
- Carbon fiber front fender overlay
Future Plans
1. Meisterschaft mid-pipe
2. PPE downpipes
3. Novel CF rear diffuser
4. Coilovers
5. RR Racing AOS
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Bought her from CarMax with 37K on the odometer. Was previously a lease. Has the carbon fiber package (roof, spoiler) with TVD, ML sound system, black interior, but unfortunately no upgraded tribeam headlights. Heavily debated trading it back in and getting one with the tribeam, but figured to do some custom headlight work later anyway.
Wasn't going to mod the car and enjoy it stock for a while. Had a pretty modified Subaru WRX before and wanted to spend money elsewhere. This lasted all but 2 days, where I started by tinting the reverse lights and lower reflectors, and put yellow vinyl on the front DRLs.
Wanted the car to be a little louder, so I got a Tanabe Medallion axleback and did a resonator delete on the OEM midpipe. Definitely can hear the V8 a lot better now, and it screams on WOT. It attracts attention and can be incognito when I need it to be, but I do sometimes wish it is louder. May be upgrading to a RR Racing Bazooka Valved exhaust in the future.
Blacked out the front grill and chrome along the windows
Quick little Malibu run. Previous owner put a half hood/front bumper clear bra on it, and it got scraped on a bump hence the scratches on the bottom right
Installed a CF diffuser. Bit of a tricky install but manageable.
Installed 1 inch wing risers and Varis wing. These pictures are with the wing in the "up" position.
Painted the OEM brembos neon yellow/green. Was too hidden with the OEM black. Please excuse the brake dust
Installed CF side skirt extension and front bumper lip. All from vendor Yishao Chen. Also got CF rear spats from a previous RCF owner, and CF mirror caps.
Car's starting to tidy up a little
And on the 4th month of ownership, added some CF side vent covers. Removed the clear bra as well.
Really stunning, awesome mods!
I'd vote keeping the blue but she's yours to mod.
Thank you! Yeah, the blue is really starting the grow on me.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to wrap it was because the rear bumper looks to be a different shade of blue than the rest of the car. Not sure if it was because it was repainted by the previous owner, or because the paint cured differently on the poly bumper vs metal body. But the front poly bumper seems to match the body paint well so it might've just been repainted. It's pretty obvious in certain lighting conditions and it bothers me. See attached picture.
Lowered the car on swift springs. Planning to get coilovers eventually but wanted to lower it temporarily for the time being. Also placed an order for a Meisterschaft valved exhaust from GT Haus that's coming next week (thanks Josh from Meraki!) It'll replace my current Tanabe axleback.
Thank you! Yeah, the blue is really starting the grow on me.
One of the main reasons why I wanted to wrap it was because the rear bumper looks to be a different shade of blue than the rest of the car. Not sure if it was because it was repainted by the previous owner, or because the paint cured differently on the poly bumper vs metal body. But the front poly bumper seems to match the body paint well so it might've just been repainted. It's pretty obvious in certain lighting conditions and it bothers me. See attached picture.
I wouldn't have noticed that unless you pointed it out, but I see it as well.
Wiring was the hardest part of the install. I didn't have access to a lift, so it was difficult to find a shop that wasn't charging $700+ for labor and an estimate of 5-6 hours of labor when I knew that it would be an hour job at most. Basically a vacuum outlet on each muffler, connected with a T-tap, then the vacuum line runs along the bottom of the car up to the engine bay. Shout out to Speedway Muffler in Rowland Heights for helping me out with a very reasonable price!
GT Haus only has a vacuum valved version now (previously had an electric valve version) so I had to cut into the brake booster and add a T-tap. Other valved exhausts like Armytrix tap into a vacuum tube near the intake and that doesn't require any cutting, but I figured to go with what GT Haus recommended for their product.
Before adding the Meisterschaft (Tanabe still installed in this picture)
Tanabe Medalion vs. GT Haus
GT Haus provided a direct tap to the battery for the wireless remote transmitter. The transmitter allows one to open and close the valves with a remote fob in the cabin. However, I wasn't that comfortable with having a constant power draw, so I wanted to tap into an accessory fuse. One could route a wire from the engine bay through the firewall to the cabin fuse box (which is usually tapped into for dash cams, radars, etc), but I realized there were two more fuse boxes in the engine bay, and one of them had switch fuses that won't draw power when the car is off. I ended up tapping into the "WASHER" fuse with an add-a-circuit fuse tap, which controls the motor for the windshield fluid washer. Works perfectly with no unnecessary power draw!
Exhaust sounds great. Absolutely screams on WOT with valves open and just a little louder than stock with valves closed. Perfect for early mornings or when driving through neighborhoods late at night. Only downside I've experienced is some intermittent low groaning from the exhaust at very low speeds - unsure if it's from the vacuum valves or just the low frequency of the exhaust tone at low RPMs causing vibrations. Nothing major, just nitpicking.
If anyone has any questions about this exhaust or installation (since the installation instructions provided was very scarce), feel free to PM me!
Up next: ordered some wheels from Japan! ETA 10 weeks
Build is coming along nicely! GT Haus makes some great exhaust from what I was able to hear through YouTube but haven't had a chance to hear the exhaust in person. When you had the Tanabe Medallion, did you have any drone in the cabin at cruising speeds?
Build is coming along nicely! GT Haus makes some great exhaust from what I was able to hear through YouTube but haven't had a chance to hear the exhaust in person. When you had the Tanabe Medallion, did you have any drone in the cabin at cruising speeds?
No drone at all on normal day to day driving. Once took a 8 hour roundtrip and there was some mild drone when cruising near the end of it but nothing significant. I had the stock midpipe resonator removed as well, so it would possibly be even quieter with it still installed on the RCF or GSF.
Originally ordered Advan RZII in July, waited for months and months and the company that I ordered through in AZ wasn't very professional and kept pushing the ETA dates back. Wanted me to wait another 3 months after I had already waited 4 so I pulled the plug and ordered some wheels from Apex. Ordered them on a Monday, got them delivered on a Wednesday!
Apex SM-10 "Mustang" Wheels
F 19x9 et 34
R 19x10 et 40
Front wheel fitment is spot on, equivalent to having a 15mm spacer on OEM wheels which is usually the go-to. Rear wheel fitment is pretty much the same as OEM, could slap a 10-15mm spacer later but happy with how it sits now.
OEM wheels are off the car and available for sale. If anyone knows anyone in the SoCal area looking for OEM wheels, send them my way! I posted a thread on the marketplace and it was deleted because I don't have a vouch.
Next major mod - wrap! Thinking of either nardo grey or satin black. Let me know what you guys think.
Looks great. Honestly, that blue looks perfect I would not do a wrap, but that is just my opinion. Of the two colors, definitely Nardo grey.
Thank you! Have to admit, I edited the colors of the photos a little to mask the imperfections. The rear bumper is very poorly color matched and the rear quarter panel paint isn't perfect - most likely was in a rear end collision before I bought it.
It's the main reason driving force behind why I wanted to wrap it because ever since it was pointed out to me I can't un-see it. I've considered repainting it but the multi-coat Lexus paint I've heard is notoriously hard to match
Thank you! Have to admit, I edited the colors of the photos a little to mask the imperfections. The rear bumper is very poorly color matched and the rear quarter panel paint isn't perfect - most likely was in a rear end collision before I bought it.
It's the main reason driving force behind why I wanted to wrap it because ever since it was pointed out to me I can't un-see it. I've considered repainting it but the multi-coat Lexus paint I've heard is notoriously hard to match
Oh wow! That sucks. Could not tell from looking at the pictures. Sorry to hear that. If that is the case then I would go with Nardo grey. It will make you forget the issues with the paint.
Apex SM-10 "Mustang" Wheels
F 19x9 et 34
R 19x10 et 40
Front wheel fitment is spot on, equivalent to having a 15mm spacer on OEM wheels which is usually the go-to. Rear wheel fitment is pretty much the same as OEM, could slap a 10-15mm spacer later but happy with how it sits now.
Same wheels as I got 😊👍👍👍 perfect fit with 15mm spacers 👌 My wheels are 11x19" all around...
Same wheels as I got 😊👍👍👍 perfect fit with 15mm spacers 👌 My wheels are 11x19" all around...
Looks awesome on your car. Noticed you kept the center caps off as well. Good choice - I think it looks more sporty and track-oriented with the exposed centers.
06-05-21 | 02:06 PM
2016 Ultrasonic Blue Mica Build
