SLAKERZ

Sup everyone. I recently took some summer night time shots and Rose Bowl shots. I lowered the TEINS a bit, and the car is now sporting clear headlights and HID fogs. Comments welcome.

My little question is this... I'm planning on going on a fishing trip out in Mammoth, CA. There may be a chance we may have to take my car. I don't expect to off-road the car, but I do expect some unpaved roads with major dips and rocks. The trip will be roughly 600 miles roundtrip (no pun intended). Will it be okay to raise the coilovers for that 600 miles without an alignment and just return back to it's original height after the trip? More importantly, will it be safe? Thanks in advance for any advice and enjoy the pics!

NIGHT SHOTS




SUICIDE BRIDGE SHOTS




ROSE BOWL SHOTS










STALKER SHOT =)

Phrosttz0

the best NGP ever...

MurdaZ

iTrader: (1)

^^ yea, ur ride is hot man

02ACTcLean

iTrader: (3)

lookin dope. what HID kit did you get for the fogs?

Napsoner

Your ride is put together very clean.

jjashaa

iTrader: (23)

ASJDKLASJDKLAS

you gotta photoshoot with me and LacViet man. repping CA with our 2nd Gen

LeeDan00

DAMN YOUR RIDE'S HOT MAN!!! TWO THUMBS UP FOR YOU.

to answer your question, you can raise it for your trip and it would still be safe. however, i don't know about a 600 mile roadtrip with uneven pavement. i would never put my car through all of that. i would get a rental without a question. even though a rental might be pricey, it'll be worth it in the end. you don't want to wreck your car for just one roadtrip. just my honest opinion.

LacViet

Nice ride! normal 600 miles road trip is no problem, but with uneven pavement then it might be a problem. Yes, you can raise the car up and it won't affect the alignment that much for the 600 miles trip. The question is how many miles out of 600 miles trip has uneven pavement and how bad is uneven pavement? if only one or two miles, then you might be ok, but I would rent or go with another car instead. You don't want tire blew during the trip.

oVerBoost

definitely one of the cleanest NGPs. break out the blue painters tape for the trip and whether or not you get it realligned, i would raise the car due to the uneven pavement + extra weight in the car (people you're taking).

SLAKERZ

Hey thanks for all the advice and comments guys. Much appreciated. I'm only expecting to be on uneven pavement for no more than a mile or so to get to some lakes. Rest of the trip is straight asphalt. Is the danger mostly in too much positive camber after raising it back?

AMGala

iTrader: (4)

What is your camber set to right now? I think the OEM spec for rear camber is -1.0 to 0.0 degrees so you have 1 degree of play to still be within OEM spec

SLAKERZ

I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure the camber is at about -1.0 or below right now. There'll only be like three people in the car + cooler, luggage, gear, etc. Both my buddies have an accord and camry, which is good, but both are over 200,000 miles, and they don't really seem too confident in their cars hahaha. The camry chirps like a cricket and sounds like a belt is gonna snap at any moment. Me being at 75k is the freshest. Just tell me it's dangerous as hell for me to do it and I'll have an excuse to brave it with one of their cars. I'll just make sure I do as much of an inspection as I can of their car before leaving.

LeeDan00

no offense to you or anything, but why don't you just get a rental? you'll have more fun with it because it's not yours and you can just relax in it and not worry about getting it dirty, etc. i would just personally never put my car through that.

Napsoner

I agree to a certain point. It's a car homie & it's made to drive. Like OverBoost said...break out the painter tape and enjoy your road trip. You only live once man.....yes you have a nice car, but your gonna debate w/yourself if you should or shouldn't take your car, probably end up in your boys car and some sh@%$ goes wrong w/there car then wish you would have taken yours. Just drive your ride homie....Low & Slow is the way to roll.....Be safe and stay away from the State Troopers...LOL!!! Take pics along the way........

'03TL-S

iTrader: (10)

x2.

Is your basics set all the way down yet? I'm having a hard time choosing between those or the SS. Persuade me to choose one lol.

CL Platano

Man ... you're making miss the green machine..You'll be fine, dont sweat it..

SLAKERZ

No offense taken bro. I’d take a rental car any other time for trips to urban areas, however, I’ve had a couple bad experiences already with rental cars breaking down on us on “nature” trips. In fact, one of these times was on this same exact trip to Mammoth. So my trust level of rental agencies is not really high right now. Not really too worried about it now, but it’s just an interesting dilemma. Thanks for all your input though. We’ll figure something out… make it a game-time decision hahaha.

SLAKERZ

They’re almost all the way down. I had my car corner-balanced and aligned recently by West End alignment here in socal. Really well-known alignment/suspension shop among tuners here in socal. Well, the way he set up my car for a close-to-even 50/50 weight distribution, the amount of threads on the coilovers from the bottom differs from corner to corner. The guy is a genius and the car looks and handles perfectly. I would say that if I had a family and drove people a lot in my car, I would get the SS for the dampening. The car rides great with just the Basics though. With the Basics, my passengers recognize the stiffer suspension but they don’t complain it’s harsh or anything like that. Even they say it's better than expected for a lowered car. Going solo most of the time, I’ve gotten use to the stiffer ride and enjoy it more for its sportiness. I’m actually really surprised how well it rides being this low. Now go DO IT! haha.

SLAKERZ

Really tempting to get some painters tape and do some peak runs hahaha.

LacViet

If you have camber of -1 right now, then raise it up will make it more straight (toward 0 camber) which is good, so no issue with uneven tire wear during the trip. Take your car and enjoys the trip. Make sure your tires still in good condition because of the unpaved road.

03bl AC k CL

your car makes me like the noble green... i just wish they were offered with black interior ... definitely a beautiful car though, you should be very proud.

djescobar973

Nice pics... I dont ever remember seeing a bridge with no water underneath it... lol

III

looks good man

VoLLy

iTrader: (8)

very clean. The cleared headlights make the car look much cleaner.

SLAKERZ

Hahhahaha. I guess that's why they call it Suicide Bridge. Actually the name is Arroyo Seco Bridge, which supposedly means "Dry Creek"? I believe there was suppose to be a stream there way long ago that connects to the Los Angeles River. That's L.A. for ya. haha.

SLAKERZ

Thanks man. I was debating whether to do it or not cuz I actually like the ambers just as much as the cleared. In the end, I needed a challenging DIY mod to tackle on so I went for it. This falls second behind changing brake fluid/rotors/pads as the most difficult DIY I've done.

Thanks again for all your comments.

02type-s

yup

TlsNavi03

iTrader: (1)

What he said..^^^^

ftLauTL

x3

AZN.M3NACE

okay thats clean.. wish i had 02-03 TL-S rims....

bigeshorte45

iTrader: (3)

georgeous car man... well done.

caligirl2k

Looks good.

SupaRookie

Damn, looks real nice and clean. Coming to the all cali meet?

SLAKERZ

Not gonna be able to make it. Take a lot of pictures though!
Just to update, we ended up taking my friend's Camry. Made it back alive! He actually had his timing belt replaced during his last service, so no more cricket sound. Only annoying thing was his rotors were pretty warped. In the end, I'm glad I didn't take my car. The off-roading portion wasn't that long up to Saddlebag Lake, but it was freakin' rugged as hell. The road was filled with jagged 4-6" rocks. So in the end, car is fine, trip was great, and I now have 14 trout to scarf down. =)

RalphiieP

iTrader: (1)

What hid fog kit is that?


nice ride would bettet in white tho j/k

Blazing GT

wow....this car really struck my eyes. Just beautiful....I think i been spending too much time on the 2G TL forum and starting to love them

importvizion

your ride looks really clean, is that the bridge on by colorado blvd? You should really just rent a car, your paint will take a beating on the gravel path. Even if you raise it all the way up, I don't think you'll wanna have your OEM kit look like swiss cheese. I know a guy at a rental place in glendale, I used to work with the guy a while back. Just don't get any enterprise rentals they suck and lack maintenance. My father-in-law rented one a few weeks ago from enterprise and it wouldn't start after he brought it home.

JDM Inspired

SIIIIIIIIIIICKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

doughboi33

your car is sick!!! i like your drop...clean and classy