When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
It'll get the job done till I can get my hands on another set of coupe rear wheels for the front. Then I have no need for spacers..
Originally Posted by BreezyTL
Didn't ccccccccchockeyman just go through this?
Originally Posted by teh CL
damn man I know your pain.
I was about to buy coupe wheels but been reading a lot about them and major rubbing issues. I might switch my plan to some used Forgestar F14. You can find them for $1000 for the set if you look hard enough and wait for the right deal. Now more spacers ever on this car for me. It just doesn't work well. At least not bolt-on ones.
Same thing. Fronts came off no problem which honestly seemed weird to me cause I figured the front would be worse with all the weight those brakes stop and how hot they would get.
I think though the torq is probably the real issue now. Tiny constant amounts of rotation on those studs kind of wedge those nuts on. Only thing I can think of as that is 3 of us that have had issues with the rears and all the issues with them I have seen on the forum is only rears.
After that whole spacer debacle, the V didn't end up making the official move to Kelowna. She sat at my mom's for the last 3 weeks since the local parts store ordered in some front rotors which of course.. didn't fit being 13.6" vs 14.5" which is what the V uses.
As much of a bust that was, it gave me the time to do it right & I picked up fresh OEM rotors/pads off amazon for a deal (1k ) compared to the dealer. Even though brake dust is brutal, a fresh OEM setup is just badass..
Of course, the V doesn't take any days off the wallet & while I had the front wheels off I noticed that the inner tire wear is coming in strong... again ..gonna ride these into the ground and completely redo the suspension for the spring when the sways go on.
The old girl does look good though & she's finally home..
Just found out one of my neighbors has a black 6MT V Sedan, and has had it for about a year
Guess he almost never gets it out of the garage & usually drives his F150.
The winters/my butthole got a good workout on this past episode of 650whp vs the highway through hell..
Originally Posted by 00TL-P3.2
Just found out one of my neighbors has a black 6MT V Sedan, and has had it for about a year
Guess he almost never gets it out of the garage & usually drives his F150.
Sounds about right for alot of V guys.
Originally Posted by gnuts
What are you thinking for the suspension? Maybe raise it up a few feet? lol... you're snow plowing there!
Front upper/lower control arm bushings w/ nordlock washers + rear subframe bushings. Biggest thing will be finding yet ANOTHER shop that does alignments properly...
It's been an eventful few months having to use the key to get into the car since the door handle was dead. Passenger side decide to take a shit as well last week so I pulled the trigger & replaced the micro switches in both doors.
Simple enough & took maybe an hour for both sides. Feels great to be able to just open the damn door again..
Last 2 pics are the old switches vs new switches..
Nice to finally cross things off the list. Next up is resealing the headlights & new upper/lower control arms for the front are on the way.
Also still remote tuning with Justin White. As I mentioned before, been a sllooowww process but the car is feeling better and better. Finally doing some partial pulls since part throttle has been depressing for 2 months. She's still real rich up top but once he starts leaning it out a bit it should be ridiculous.. .. On my 10th revision so far & at this pace I'll get to 20
how you you like Justin? i was going to use him for remote or Shane
Justin is great...when you can get ahold of him. Personally, I don't think this whole thing should be dragged on over multiple months. It's a bit ridiculous considering Shane had the car dialed in within a week & a half. Shane literally responded within the acouple hours at the most, I'll go up to a week to hear back from Justin if I don't stay on top of it.
With that said, even though the car isn't completely dialed in yet, the driveability is noticeably better with Justin. I have also added the ported TB since Shane tuned the car which definitely would help with drivability as well.
I'll wait to see what the final product is like but even though the driveability is better, I dont think I'd do it again with Justin. Lack of communication leaves a bad taste in my mouth & from what I've read, I'm not the only one.
We've had glimpses of perfect days recently with the temps dabbling with double digits & I took full advantage.
First up was resealing my headlights. I've been slowly dealing with some condensation for a while but since the move out to BC, the wet climate was the final blow & I'd constantly have to stare at moisture, day after day..
With the headlights off the car, I got a chance to really inspect the lenses & they've seen better days to say the least. 10 years of wear/tear are noticeably visible & there's a good chance I'll be tearing these apart in the near future for some fresh lenses.
It's been a awhile since I've had a pair of headlights apart & sticking them in the oven is always a magical experience..
Came apart clean for the most part. The passenger side headlight actually has some cracks which aren't visible once they're on the car but that was a nice find. The reseal won't be perfect but I was already to far to turn back.
Purchased some fresh glue from Morimoto to hopefully get the best seal possible.
After they were back together there was some noticeable condensation which was deflating but once they were back on the car, it slowly disappeared & hasn't returned even after some rain the other day. Here's a quick dirty pic since it's almost impossible to keep the car clean out here..
Next up was something I've been sitting on for a few months & without a doubt the easiest install on the V so far. Picked up a Moroso catch can off someone on ctsvowners.com. Less than $100 & a big "must do" in the V world. Fortunately I haven't noticed an oil build up in the SC lid (knock on wood) which is a common problem for V's. This setup isn't the most efficient & there's far more sophisticated routes I could have gone but for the money, it's better than nothing. It came with a bracket to mount on the driver strut tower which was a nice. Routed the hoses under the SC for a somewhat clean install & another thing was crossed off the list.
The daily grind really kills the dream of a clean engine bay but that's a problem for another day..
Well, the V roasted yet another set of tires (read: all 4) which all have the same inner wear issues.
I've had the car for just over a year and a half & have done 4 different alignments which is just ridiculous. The ridiculous part is incompetent shops but that's a story for another day. Of course it doesn't help that the car is driven everywhere & has been through 2 cross country trips in our short time together.
I'm closing in on 40k miles during my ownership & finally made the call to refresh my front end as I've mentioned previously with new upper/lower control arms, CS red bushings, nordlock washers along with my sways bars that have been staring at me all winter.
My biggest dilemma is having to deal with finding another shop that won't do a proper job. Is it a ridiculous idea to do a DIY alignment? I've done some reading on the subject & I know the DIY route isn't the best scenario but these shops have left a bad taste in my mouth to put it lightly. I'd rather have the peace of mind of knowing if shit goes wrong that it would be all on me.
I have some thinking to do & some more reading to cover all my bases but I'm taking this as a serious option. To add to this, I'm new in town obviously & took my other car in for an alignment to one of the most recommended shops, literally the GO TO shop. He finished up the car & I brought up the V to see what he'd say. Mentioned the past shops that neglected the proper torque specs & his response was.."I usually just get under there & give it some good cranks"...
I couldn't get out of there fast enough.
Install is still at least a month away since the control arms are back ordered so I have some time to figure this out.
With that off my chest, got some parts delivered today which is never a bad thing. CS red bushings along with a set of 4 275/35/19 General Gmax RS tires. Definitely won't be the best at putting down power but at $800 ($600US) shipped for all 4, they were hard to look past. Excited to see how they work out.
Cliff notes:
- Inner tires roasted again x 4
- Front end rebuild
- Incompetent alignment shops
- DIY alignment route
- Parts delivery
that movable cradle and the serious squat makes it so hard to align this thing properly.
That definitely doesn't help the cause & I do drive the car hard in the twisties which adds to the effect but at this rate I may as well invest in a tire machine/alignment rack..
Originally Posted by Majofo
Let me know how those bushings play out
I'm thinking of going RS-way and just putting window weld on mine
That guy was a legend with that V, just an animal..
As for the bushings, I've only heard good things about them. Some guys say the reds are too harsh but others say they're perfect.. ..You could always go with the black version (street) which would soften things up a bit.
I actually contemplated going that window weld route, I've done it in the past on the CL's and it worked well. Would have gotten great life out of it if I actually let it cure fully. #dailyproblems
As for the bushings, I've only heard good things about them. Some guys say the reds are too harsh but others say they're perfect.. ..You could always go with the black version (street) which would soften things up a bit.
I actually contemplated going that window weld route, I've done it in the past on the CL's and it worked well. Would have gotten great life out of it if I actually let it cure fully. #dailyproblems
Yeah, we've all been witness to bushing highs and lows
I watched this vid and was like.. fuck this..
Jofo: J... psst.. window weld or nah?
RS: yeah brah, fuck that shit o'clock
Yea I've watched a few videos on it & it definitely looks like fun. The reason why I said fuck it & went with fresh arms for minimal downtime. Whole suspension basically has to come apart to install that front sway anyways so YOLO..
01-15-2020, 10:04 AM
damn man I know your pain. 
..gonna ride these into the ground and completely redo the suspension for the spring when the sways go on.
.. On my 10th revision so far & at this pace I'll get to 20 
..You could always go with the black version (street) which would soften things up a bit.
