Kirk's Ride...

[Gary in BR]

YES Vinyl the windshield frame. I think it will complete the look

[Kirk]

Just an update... My next big project for the fall will be a good sound system for my Boxster. I've got room for 10" subs behind the seats, so tonight I ordered a pair of these:





http://www.poweracoustik.com/pa2006/product_AUDIO_wof_STW.htm

I got these because they could handle the most power of any shallow mount subs. I'm excited. I haven't done a sound system since I competed in IASCA/USAC in 1996 and 1999. I've got the following components, most older but still like new:

Kenwood KDC PS905 CD headunit, pre-amp only output
Rockford Fosgate Symmetry EPX2 14 band EQ
Alpine PXA H-600 parametric EQ and time delay processor
Circle Surround CSA 12 surround sound processor with echo
JBL Power 80 X 4 amp (dash and rear)
JBL Power 180 X 2 (doors)
JBL Power 1200 X 1 (I'll run 600 Watts to each of these 10" subs)

Honestly I already have the Becker DSP system with time delay, preset EQs, and echo, so I don't think these processors will really gain me much more than what I already have. The JBL Power amps are about six years old, but new in the box, never used. I may just opt to keep the Becker system for processing and add the amps and speakers for greater output. So I'll focus on the sub and amp install first with an eye to whether or not I add the processors later.

The door speakers have already been replaced by Polk components, which I will also finish out in the dash. It should be a really kicking system. Expect to see more by the end of the year. I'll be doing the install and enclosure fabrication myself, so I expect it to take a few months...

[fragdude]

This is about the exhaust/rear bumper (woulda asked earlier, but I hadn't bought a Box yet), I know 9ff make a rear bumper/exhaust combo like the one you have. Is theres the same thing as the gembella or are they different? anyone know? just curious

[Kirk]

The 9ff rear bumper is completely different from the Gemballa GT. The only thing they have in common is the exhaust exiting in the center (vertically) of the bumper. The spacing of the exhaust tips is different from Gemballa too, so the underlying exhaust itself is different too. I've got pictures if you want me to post them...

[fragdude]

just curious, you said there wasn't much of a difference in exhaust note and weight between the gembella and stock. It would be interesting for someone to put the 9ff and get a side by side comparison

Car looks cool, I don't mind the LED lights, but I think I saw a more "conventional" pair on ebay for people who are interesting in a LED look thats a bit less "radical"

[Kirk]

Just some pictures to show off the LED turn signal bulbs that are now making it onto the shelves of your local auto parts stores (AutoZone, Kragens, etc.). I bought a non-standard bulb, the 1156, with the incorrect prong spacing. It's just barely off though, so you can simply bend back the bulb socket to fit them in and then bend or clamp the socket back into place to hold the bulb tight. Here's a pic of what I bought for $17. They're red instead of yellow, but that's legal (in the back only) in California any way:



And here's a before and after comparison of the change, note how the yellow disappears around the standard filament turn signal bulb.

BEFORE


AFTER



Here's the LED version of the side marker light bulb. Again, available at a local auto parts store for $10. These glow amber and were a drop-in replacement in my Porsche OEM smoked/clear side marker housings. No fit or wiring issues, just simply swap out the bulbs.



Kirk

[Kirk]

Just sharing my latest father/son project. My 16 year old son is really into Need For Speed Underground, Midnight Club, and other games like that where you can really customize your car, including neon and wild graphics.

We did something a little more mild in the front trunk of the Boxster:

First a switch was installed to turn the trunk light on and off. This is nice since I often leave the front trunk open for extended periods when working on the car. I've just left the bulb out for months now. With this switch I can determine whether the trunk light will come on or not.



Next we replaced the trunk light bulb with a red one and installed some red LED lights under the front covers. The LED lights are also tied into the switch.



A closer look, along with my son's battery cover mod:



Total cost was $3 for the switch since I already had the LED bulbs (thanks Gary in BR) and I modified some old motorcycle auxiliary light internals to hold them. Well it may not be underbody neon, but my son still thinks it's kewl and he got to learn how to solder and apply shrink tubing as a part of this project.

Kirk

[Stunin_Stud]

I saw someone with your tail lights and they reded them out with red vinyl, it actualy looked cook with a silver car and gave the light a Carrera Gt look. 30 bucks for a roll if you want to experiment.

but Kirk
I wanted to ask you this earlier but I forgot. how did they match your paint? did you give them something or did you leave your car at the shop? I gave them my side vent and the paint matched but it was slighltly lighter than the actual car( no one notices it but me and it bugs me)

[Kirk]

Stud, thanks for the suggestion on the tail lights.

As for the paint... well I was going to do the bumper myself with a buddy's paint rig. I took the whole bumper to a shop to have the paint matched. They did a great job. But then when spraying the primer I found out that the paint equipment was not going to give me the quality of job that I wanted. So I broke down and took it to a body shop that used the same paint system as what I had purchased. They then used my materials to paint the car and to adjust the tone if necessary. They had the car on-hand for the match. They painted a part of the old front bumper and a section of the front fender to check the color match and then just cleaned the paint off when done. I'm not sure if they had to adjust the color or not, but the match came out pretty good. It's still not perfect and probably wouldn't be unless they blended it in with the surrounding panels. But it's good enough for me and I'm pretty discerning.

I think I'm mostly happy because I took the time to really discuss it with them ahead of time and make sure they understood fully what my standards were and what my expectations were. They then worked to do the job to those standards and I was happy. Whether with painting or managing people (I'm an engineering manager) I think that's half the battle towards getting good results - just making sure people understand what's expected of them when doing a job. Now that's not to say that they can't still screw it up, which may be what happened in your case. But if you've clearly spelled out your expectations ahead of time and they don't do it right, then that's when you say, "Nope, that's not good enough, do it again (at their cost of course)".

[Kirk]

I like shinny stuff. I think it comes from my days of owning a cruiser motorcycle and the chrome addiction that many cruiser riders fall into. So I've got some dabbles of chrome on my ride, like wheels with a polished lip, a chrome license plate surround, clear/chrome tail lights, and lots of chrome bolt covers inside the trunks.

So when I recently took the lower stress plate off my car to change the transmission oil I decided to clean it up a bit. Lots of bits and pieces of the suspension are aluminum which can polish up pretty nicely to a chrome-like shine. Well... here's what I ended up with. I know it will get dirty and won't last, but I don't care.... it's shinny.

Parts sitting in the sun:


Installed on the car:



Kirk

[blinkwatt]

Kirk what did you use to clean them? I have to install the Bristol bar and that stuff has to come off anyways,might as well clean them.

[Kirk]

Originally Posted by blinkwatt

Kirk what did you use to clean them? I have to install the Bristol bar and that stuff has to come off anyways,might as well clean them.

It looks like the underbody parts may have a waxy kind of undercoating. I thought it was totally unnecessary here in beautiful, sunny California. To get the majority off I used a razor blade and very carefully scrapped it off. Then I used some paint cleaner and a green scrubbie pad (for washing pots and pans) and scrubbed the rest of the stuff off. You have to be careful though as even the green pad can scratch the aluminum and fine scratches won't give you a good shine when you're done.

Kirk

[ElStevano]

I just think the S looks to be off center. It's a little to the right. This will show up more now that the gemballa is below it on center. My two cents.

[Kirk]

I spent some of this weekend working on the stereo system. Here are some pictures of my solution for the dash speakers. Now I'm not much of a custom stereo fabricator. The last time I built a box and amp rack was 1996 and I've NEVER done vinyl work before. So consider this a work in process. I'm not sure I like it this way, so I'm open to constructive feedback. My SO says it looks messy where I cut the mounting tabs off the 4" speaker. I need to do something (some kind of trim) around the edge of the 4" speaker to clean it up a bit.

Here are the speakers I installed. The stock OEM speakers are on top and the new speakers are on the bottom. You can readily see why I needed a baffle to give me more clearance under the speakers. The magnet on the 4" speaker is HUGE compared to OEM and I needed a lot more space to make it fit. It fits fine with a 1/2" lift from the baffle and top mounting.



Here are the speakers installed. The Polk tweeter has a base where you can aim it a bit. I built a "pod" for it to sit on so that I could aim it directly into the cabin rather than up at the windshield. I think this looks a little funny, so I may not keep it. I'm trying to go for the best sound though. Please note that this will NOT work for most setups. The driver's side speaker will be too "bright" with it so close to your ear compared to the passenger side speaker. In my system I will be using time delay on the driver's side speaker to compensate and to put it in phase alignment with the passenger side speaker, so I'll be able to get away with this.





Kirk

[Kirk]

Okay... another mod update.

Gary in BR was kind enough to part with his carbon fiber mirror housings from GT Motorsport. He bought them for his car, but then didn't install them. He gave me a GREAT deal on these, THANKS Gary!!!

Any way, these are complete housings, not just the cheap covers you find on eBay. I doubt I saved any weight, but I have some continuity between my carbon fiber hood and side vents now. Installation was pretty straight forward, but not easy. Anything like this that's made from fiberglass and carbon fiber, whether it's a hood, bumper, or mirror housing, will not be as "perfect" as the OEM piece. It's just that the process of manufacturing the fiberglass part is far from ideal and shrinkage causes some problems. So these were not a perfect fit, but I worked with them to get it as close to perfect as I could. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the results.







Kirk

[Kirk]

Oh my.... look at what else showed up on my doorstep. Could those be JRZ coilovers with rebound/damping adjustment, remote reservoirs, PSS9 springs, helper springs, and Schnell camber plates??? Stay tuned as these bad boys will get mounted up within the next few weeks - I just need upper spring perches before I can install them.



Kirk

[kabel]

Oh-my indeed - Now your talking Kirk! That is the first thing you've shown that I'm actually overly jealous of :-)

[Dr. Kill]

Originally Posted by kabel

Oh-my indeed - Now your talking Kirk! That is the first thing you've shown that I'm actually overly jealous of :-)

Including "the assistant?"

[Franco]

Originally Posted by Kirk

I like shinny stuff. I think it comes from my days of owning a cruiser motorcycle and the chrome addiction that many cruiser riders fall into. So I've got some dabbles of chrome on my ride, like wheels with a polished lip, a chrome license plate surround, clear/chrome tail lights, and lots of chrome bolt covers inside the trunks.

So when I recently took the lower stress plate off my car to change the transmission oil I decided to clean it up a bit. Lots of bits and pieces of the suspension are aluminum which can polish up pretty nicely to a chrome-like shine. Well... here's what I ended up with. I know it will get dirty and won't last, but I don't care.... it's shinny.

Parts sitting in the sun:


Installed on the car:



Kirk

Hi Kirk, your car is starting to excite me more than your assistant
On a serious note did you think of clear coating those aluminum parts so they shine forever.
Love your ride

[Kirk]

Hahaha... That's the first thing I thought too - what about the hot babe!!! I showed her your comments though and she's pissed now. I told her she'll have to pose for some sexier pictures just to show you guys. Sorry she was at work when I unpacked the shocks, so she wasn't around to pose for pictures.

Originally Posted by Dr. Kill

Including "the assistant?"