dfreder370 NEW 03 CL-S!!!
06-27-2003, 10:03 AM
#2
Best D-Line in the NFL
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Damn that powder coating on stock rims or whatever looks damn nice, especially with that sweet anthractie color. I like it a lot!
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06-27-2003, 10:28 AM
#8
Fuct in the hed!
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That Wheel/Car Color Combo is Fuckin' AWESOME!!!! Yes Dave....It was worth the $7 Grand!!!!! These pics made me want my wheels that much more!!!
Out of curiosity...how long were your wheels at Goodrich??? I did 3 day select for the return....
Out of curiosity...how long were your wheels at Goodrich??? I did 3 day select for the return....
06-27-2003, 10:55 AM
#12
CLS 6MT Navi
Wheels are nice, Exactly the car color combo I wanted but chickened out on paying $7k plus my 03 white 6speed.
Not feeling the pinstriping (what color is it?) or the spoiler tho. Car looks better with a lip or a flush spoiler IMO. I'm working on modding a Lexus sc400 or Solara flush mount spoiler with LED on my CLS. Anyone done this yet? (Not the glue on BMW lips).
Not feeling the pinstriping (what color is it?) or the spoiler tho. Car looks better with a lip or a flush spoiler IMO. I'm working on modding a Lexus sc400 or Solara flush mount spoiler with LED on my CLS. Anyone done this yet? (Not the glue on BMW lips).
06-27-2003, 01:21 PM
#20
The Third Ball
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Car looks hot, you definately made the right choice.
My only thing is I personally hate pinstripes. But to each their own, CHEERS.
My only thing is I personally hate pinstripes. But to each their own, CHEERS.
06-27-2003, 05:42 PM
#25
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All right you guys, First, thank you Smitty again! I was hoping he would include "before" pictures, but, whatever. And yes, that little dot 4" or so ahead of the door is an Acura "A", 1/2 inch in height. Any good pinstripe shop can do it. The entire striping job was $40. The old car was satin silver. Just use your imagination. The wheels and the satin silver "clashed", but was still pleasing overall. My world is immersed in paint, so, I gotta look good. The car and the wheels are a rolling powder coating advertisement!
You know what is HOT (not for me!) in pinstriping these days? BARBED WIRE pinstriping! Gag me with a spoon.
All right, what does a drop cost, and what happens to the ride?
I had to go to Columbus, Ohio, to get the car, but that was OK. I had to go there anyway to be in a small town 50 east of Cincy. This town is so small, if a tornado went through there, several million dollars of improvements would be made.
The wheel coating is a three step process of a powder coating, but special equipment is used that almost nobody has. I powder coat for a living, and I can't do this. All four wheels cost me $400, but I got a break because I made a nice post about this technology on this board. The original quote was for $600, but when Gary Goodrich at www.goodrichtechnology.com figured out that he wasn't dealing with no hayseed when talking powder coating, he gave me a good price. If you had this done in real chrome, I would bet the set of four would be something like $1,500 to $ 2 large.
The wheels have 8 to 10 mils of powder sandwiching the metalization layer in the middle. The base coat, which makes the wheels smooth is the hardest step. Actually, it is the LONGEST step. It takes hours as the wheels are slooooooooowly heated. The metalization is really high tech, and requires a vaccum chamber where they vaporize nickle and chrome, then finally chrome only. It is literally only several atoms thick. When that is done, 2 mils or so of clear acrylic are applied to room temp wheels, and baked for an hour or so. This finish is way more durable than chrome. I'm 51, and I will be dead (smitty will probably lower me into the ground if I get the big "clutcher" if I am near Pittsburgh) before this coating fails. Not only do I know how to apply powder coatings, I also corrosion test them.
Nicky: I sent them UPS surface, took 5 days, cost $40. Now these wheels definately have a work application, and I had to get them back quick. UPS next day air: $376! They got the wheels on a wednesday, and they were done friday, but on a rush basis. 120 pounds, both ways.
If any of you are contemplating doing this, I ask you this: whatyougonnadoaboutthewheelcenters,huh? The process temperature reaches 490 f, and at that temperature, if you send your wheel centers, they will turn into pancakes (at $28 each!)
Here is what you do: find a buddy in a machine shop. Have four discs made out of aluminum or steel, al recommended, 1 or two mm thick. Send them to gary with the wheels. Gary would PREFFER steel, cause it retains heat better, but hold out for aluminum; account: corrosion resistance. Fork over $3 at your local Ace hardware for some devcon 2 ton epoxy adhesive, and glue the new cover plates to the plastic centers. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?
While your wheels are out, and your wheel centers are not, take the wheel center to the local pinstripe shop and have the image scanned into the computer. Your choice of colors for the Acura emblem are limitless! You need four, but get at least 16. I got 16 for $25. IMPORTANT: before trying to apply any pressure sensitive decal, clean the metal centers with alcohol, as you will have handeled them, and the stuff won't stick. Your hands need to be spotless also, wash then in alcohol, or wear powder free latex gloves. I had ONE emblem left when I was satisfied with my four wheel centers.
If you talk to gary, mention BOTH me, Dave Fredericksen, and Acura-CL.com to get a preffered price. He should bite at $500.
Shipping and time are the killers here. If you have multiple cars, you should be fine. Two final notes. Gary has wrapped up a contract for the entire (I believe), Jeep Cherokee line for 2005, so he will get mighty busy in 2004, so make your decisions soon. Natch, Jeep wants the black satin chrome. Last time I spoke to gary, he has liscenced the technology to another powder coater in the SF area, and he will concentrate on wheels, and will drop the price to, OMG!..$50 per wheel. But beware, any powder coating op. that is new usually turns out tons of stuff that has to be reworked until the variables get figured out. Gary is the sure way to go.
If any of you guys do this, I am sure you will be happy with the final product. Putting the tires back on, my big fear, was baseless. The tires slipped on like butter. USE ONLY ADHESIVE BACKED WHEEL WEIGHTS.
And, if any of you guys do this, and get chintzy about the wheel centers, I will personally find you, and flick a booger on your windshield.
Thanks to all for the generally positive comments. Now, I gotta go read my navi book. I rejected the navi on CLS6 V 1.0 due to cost. If you travel enough, the navi is essential! It replaced heated seats as my favorite item on CLS6 V 2.0!
Almost forgot: while my car was in to get spotlessly cleaned for delivery, (took 5 hours), two people who had their Acuras in for service wanted the same wheel coating I have. And by the way, gary includes the price of sandblasting the original paint off (ask nicky, he learned a painful lesson here), and wheel repair (an extra cost) if your wheels are damaged in any way. Pretty convient, if you ask me. Sorry about the lenght, but I knew the questions would be coming. FIN!
You know what is HOT (not for me!) in pinstriping these days? BARBED WIRE pinstriping! Gag me with a spoon.
All right, what does a drop cost, and what happens to the ride?
I had to go to Columbus, Ohio, to get the car, but that was OK. I had to go there anyway to be in a small town 50 east of Cincy. This town is so small, if a tornado went through there, several million dollars of improvements would be made.
The wheel coating is a three step process of a powder coating, but special equipment is used that almost nobody has. I powder coat for a living, and I can't do this. All four wheels cost me $400, but I got a break because I made a nice post about this technology on this board. The original quote was for $600, but when Gary Goodrich at www.goodrichtechnology.com figured out that he wasn't dealing with no hayseed when talking powder coating, he gave me a good price. If you had this done in real chrome, I would bet the set of four would be something like $1,500 to $ 2 large.
The wheels have 8 to 10 mils of powder sandwiching the metalization layer in the middle. The base coat, which makes the wheels smooth is the hardest step. Actually, it is the LONGEST step. It takes hours as the wheels are slooooooooowly heated. The metalization is really high tech, and requires a vaccum chamber where they vaporize nickle and chrome, then finally chrome only. It is literally only several atoms thick. When that is done, 2 mils or so of clear acrylic are applied to room temp wheels, and baked for an hour or so. This finish is way more durable than chrome. I'm 51, and I will be dead (smitty will probably lower me into the ground if I get the big "clutcher" if I am near Pittsburgh) before this coating fails. Not only do I know how to apply powder coatings, I also corrosion test them.
Nicky: I sent them UPS surface, took 5 days, cost $40. Now these wheels definately have a work application, and I had to get them back quick. UPS next day air: $376! They got the wheels on a wednesday, and they were done friday, but on a rush basis. 120 pounds, both ways.
If any of you are contemplating doing this, I ask you this: whatyougonnadoaboutthewheelcenters,huh? The process temperature reaches 490 f, and at that temperature, if you send your wheel centers, they will turn into pancakes (at $28 each!)
Here is what you do: find a buddy in a machine shop. Have four discs made out of aluminum or steel, al recommended, 1 or two mm thick. Send them to gary with the wheels. Gary would PREFFER steel, cause it retains heat better, but hold out for aluminum; account: corrosion resistance. Fork over $3 at your local Ace hardware for some devcon 2 ton epoxy adhesive, and glue the new cover plates to the plastic centers. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?
While your wheels are out, and your wheel centers are not, take the wheel center to the local pinstripe shop and have the image scanned into the computer. Your choice of colors for the Acura emblem are limitless! You need four, but get at least 16. I got 16 for $25. IMPORTANT: before trying to apply any pressure sensitive decal, clean the metal centers with alcohol, as you will have handeled them, and the stuff won't stick. Your hands need to be spotless also, wash then in alcohol, or wear powder free latex gloves. I had ONE emblem left when I was satisfied with my four wheel centers.
If you talk to gary, mention BOTH me, Dave Fredericksen, and Acura-CL.com to get a preffered price. He should bite at $500.
Shipping and time are the killers here. If you have multiple cars, you should be fine. Two final notes. Gary has wrapped up a contract for the entire (I believe), Jeep Cherokee line for 2005, so he will get mighty busy in 2004, so make your decisions soon. Natch, Jeep wants the black satin chrome. Last time I spoke to gary, he has liscenced the technology to another powder coater in the SF area, and he will concentrate on wheels, and will drop the price to, OMG!..$50 per wheel. But beware, any powder coating op. that is new usually turns out tons of stuff that has to be reworked until the variables get figured out. Gary is the sure way to go.
If any of you guys do this, I am sure you will be happy with the final product. Putting the tires back on, my big fear, was baseless. The tires slipped on like butter. USE ONLY ADHESIVE BACKED WHEEL WEIGHTS.
And, if any of you guys do this, and get chintzy about the wheel centers, I will personally find you, and flick a booger on your windshield.
Thanks to all for the generally positive comments. Now, I gotta go read my navi book. I rejected the navi on CLS6 V 1.0 due to cost. If you travel enough, the navi is essential! It replaced heated seats as my favorite item on CLS6 V 2.0!
Almost forgot: while my car was in to get spotlessly cleaned for delivery, (took 5 hours), two people who had their Acuras in for service wanted the same wheel coating I have. And by the way, gary includes the price of sandblasting the original paint off (ask nicky, he learned a painful lesson here), and wheel repair (an extra cost) if your wheels are damaged in any way. Pretty convient, if you ask me. Sorry about the lenght, but I knew the questions would be coming. FIN!
06-27-2003, 06:11 PM
#27
Drifting
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Smitty: I know. I get constantly criticized about being "wordy" in monthly reports, but I knew the questions would come, so, I took a sledgehammer to them.
If it is ok with you, I will send a closeup of the stripe with the little "A" in it.
Powder coating is foreign to most people, so I figured I would "teach a class". I have to do the same thing next wednesday in Ohio for a radical powder coating method I developed that creates film thicknesses up to 30 mils in one shot.
Usually, this would take 10 individual applications. But I get your drift. Don't ask! Thanks again!
If it is ok with you, I will send a closeup of the stripe with the little "A" in it.
Powder coating is foreign to most people, so I figured I would "teach a class". I have to do the same thing next wednesday in Ohio for a radical powder coating method I developed that creates film thicknesses up to 30 mils in one shot.
Usually, this would take 10 individual applications. But I get your drift. Don't ask! Thanks again!
06-27-2003, 06:14 PM
#28
Unregistered Member
I think I would have went chrome on the rims. They're just a bit too dark for my taste. Sorta reminds me of chrome rims with tons of brake dust on them.....
06-27-2003, 06:32 PM
#29
Drifting
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Type S: I am in Chicago, and the $45, slip in shields prevent rain from dripping on the switches on the left arm rest. They also absolutely prevent the windows from freezing shut during ice storms. No, they stay.
Tom2: Gary can do straight chrome also, with either high gloss (standard chrome look), or low gloss (satin chrome look). Visit the web site, and you can see all three. Click on "permastar".
I failed to mention that the silver cls6, was replaced by another six speeder! No other wayto go, imho.
The pictures do not do the car justice.
Tom2: Gary can do straight chrome also, with either high gloss (standard chrome look), or low gloss (satin chrome look). Visit the web site, and you can see all three. Click on "permastar".
I failed to mention that the silver cls6, was replaced by another six speeder! No other wayto go, imho.
The pictures do not do the car justice.
06-27-2003, 07:18 PM
#31
Congrats and nice choice!!! Got the same model and color. Loads of fun to drive out of the box ... but even more so with CT springs/sways/intake/headers/exhaust and konis with strutbar installed. Now we're talking some serious road ripping. Add a SC... you get the idea...
As you can see, you can get really carried away with this car if you're not careful.
enjoy it!!!
As you can see, you can get really carried away with this car if you're not careful.
enjoy it!!!
06-27-2003, 07:29 PM
#32
Drifting
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Nicky: Using ups ground (the cheap, slow boat to china), and ups next day air on the return, it took 10 days.
Ship the wheels out on friday #1. Then next Wednesday, they had the wheels. Done on friday #2. I authorized the $376 next day air so I had them the following monday, as I needed them on the car to show to a customer on the following tuesday.
The process, as far as I can tell, I fairly cheap material wise, but the cost lies in labor and time from start to finish. I'm quite happy with the price. In fact, I would pay $750 for them (as compared to "real" chrome, which has a lot of drawbacks.)
Wanna see the car? We ain't too far away. Suprised Scrib hasen't weighed in yet.
Ship the wheels out on friday #1. Then next Wednesday, they had the wheels. Done on friday #2. I authorized the $376 next day air so I had them the following monday, as I needed them on the car to show to a customer on the following tuesday.
The process, as far as I can tell, I fairly cheap material wise, but the cost lies in labor and time from start to finish. I'm quite happy with the price. In fact, I would pay $750 for them (as compared to "real" chrome, which has a lot of drawbacks.)
Wanna see the car? We ain't too far away. Suprised Scrib hasen't weighed in yet.
06-27-2003, 07:48 PM
#33
Drifting
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Nicky: If I am correct, you should be a'rolling by July 4, easy. This time, line up a floor jack before hand.
I HOPE you took my advice about tire zone.
I will be powder coating some integra wheels, sometime in the future, with a STANDARD powder coating for Eric Krupp at woodfield acura some time this summer. Gun metal. Big suprise.
I HOPE you took my advice about tire zone.
I will be powder coating some integra wheels, sometime in the future, with a STANDARD powder coating for Eric Krupp at woodfield acura some time this summer. Gun metal. Big suprise.
06-27-2003, 08:20 PM
#36
Drifting
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Nicky: you should be ok, but board members here try to steer others to pleasent experiences. I REALLY hope you do ok.
Tire zone at 12 and 68 was 100% perfect. Of course, I watched them like a hawk, and made it PERFECTLY CLEAR, I wanted the wheels perfectly lubricated. No sweat.
Sorry about your first PC accident. But, you learned something.
Tire zone at 12 and 68 was 100% perfect. Of course, I watched them like a hawk, and made it PERFECTLY CLEAR, I wanted the wheels perfectly lubricated. No sweat.
Sorry about your first PC accident. But, you learned something.
06-27-2003, 10:47 PM
#39
Originally posted by dfreder370
CLSSP03: Intrested, but talk numbers please. How much for what?
CLSSP03: Intrested, but talk numbers please. How much for what?
06-28-2003, 06:37 AM
#40
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Scrib: Hi! As week #1 of 16 of the 800 mile round trip commutes are out of the way, I have one thing to say: I-80 SUCKS! Is there a good bypass? 394 to Crown Point to I-65?
Being almost assuredly the only person two have two 03 CLS six speeders, here are the differences:
1. This one has a rattle in the sunroof, the fix is supposed to be easy.
2. At low speeds (driving in town), the force to push on the brakes to get the car to stop seems to be about 50% higher than v 1.0. It is not a bother, and I assume it is from breaking in new brakes, but, I sure do not remember the pedal force decreasing on the original silver car. Could be that the v 2.0 is getting 95% of the break in driving on the expressway, and the brakes are not used much there.
3. Again, probably expressway driving (I am commuting, weekly, between Chicago and near Cincy), I am getting over 30 MPG right out of the box! I thought mileage would be low at first and get better with time. Leaving with a full tank, 50 miles east of Cincy, I filled up in Roselawn, Indiana, and I STILL had a quarter tank of gas left!
4. And this is most welcome. The "rumble" at idle, or the "throatyness" of the exhaust system, seems to have increased by about 15 to 20 percent. It seems to be saying "run me hard. I dare you."
Otherwise, this is a rare opportunity to compare two almost identical models built in the same model year. With the exception of the sunroof problem, it is nice to see that repeatability I one thing Acura has down pat.
Being almost assuredly the only person two have two 03 CLS six speeders, here are the differences:
1. This one has a rattle in the sunroof, the fix is supposed to be easy.
2. At low speeds (driving in town), the force to push on the brakes to get the car to stop seems to be about 50% higher than v 1.0. It is not a bother, and I assume it is from breaking in new brakes, but, I sure do not remember the pedal force decreasing on the original silver car. Could be that the v 2.0 is getting 95% of the break in driving on the expressway, and the brakes are not used much there.
3. Again, probably expressway driving (I am commuting, weekly, between Chicago and near Cincy), I am getting over 30 MPG right out of the box! I thought mileage would be low at first and get better with time. Leaving with a full tank, 50 miles east of Cincy, I filled up in Roselawn, Indiana, and I STILL had a quarter tank of gas left!
4. And this is most welcome. The "rumble" at idle, or the "throatyness" of the exhaust system, seems to have increased by about 15 to 20 percent. It seems to be saying "run me hard. I dare you."
Otherwise, this is a rare opportunity to compare two almost identical models built in the same model year. With the exception of the sunroof problem, it is nice to see that repeatability I one thing Acura has down pat.