Wow, good catch, Brad. Coilovers have been tentatively pushed to 2018, but might slip down the calendar as the years go by. The next 3 years feel pretty well locked in, whereas the CO's are floating. Truth is, I'm extremely satisfied with the current suspension setup, springs included, and future replacement end-links notwithstanding.

The spreadsheet approach really helps for planning, as well as keeping me (relatively) on-target to a budget of $2k to $3k per year. Obviously the Vossens blew this year out of the water, but that was a big exception with non-budgeted money.

Everything I spend on the car (except for the bank note and gas) goes on the list for tracking, including oil and car-care products. I'm approaching the 3-years of ownership mark, and have spent almost exactly $10,000 on the car as a hobby.

As far as hobbies go, I think that's pretty reasonable. Usually the wifey thinks so too, although every once in a while she reminds me how much the damn car is costing, particularly in the context of not really needing a second car.

 

Nice budget tracking. $10K in mods over three years huh? Man if I would have read that 4-5 months ago I woulda been shocked. Lol I understand where the money goes (and how fast it goes) now. Nice plan tho bro

 

Absolutely. The little chit adds up too. You got me curious, so I filtered out all the items over $100, and all the little things added up to $1500.

 

These are AWESOME!

Did you just get one for the driver side or one for the driver and passenger side?

 

They're sold in pairs, one for each side. $38 shipped after a 5% discount, keywords BLUE.

You didn't notice that the pic was driver side, but the video is passenger side?

 

Ordered! Does this count as my first 'mod'? Hahaha... thanks, John!

 

One thing about the ARK exhaust, I heard the ground clearance is not so great. I think it's something to keep in mind especially since your car is lowered.

Review: ARK Grip Cat Back Exhaust - G35Driver

 

Cool! I usually see the ones for courtesy lights under the mirrors.

 

I've read a number of references to the ARK Grip hanging low. That one in particular I'd not seen yet. It certainly throws some cold water on the idea of selecting ARK.

(sigh)

 

John, these look very nice! Thanks for adding the video...that really gives the effect that these put off. I'm familiar with them and am a little on the fence about them. I say that because I love them personally like for shows and such. What I don't like about them is the attention they'd draw in the grocery store parking lot at night. That's primarily because I don't like drawing attention to myself. I know I sound hypocritical in saying that because, loud non-resonated Fast Intentions exhaust. It's not exactly a stealthly mod with the roar those pipes belch out. But that also keeps me granny driving it, because said sound is quite ostentatious, but sounds really incredible going under bridges. With that being said...I just may well say eh, whatever and order a set.

Nicely done and yet another tastefully done mod on your car.

I will apologize in advance about the 20 questions on this next topic...lol., but trying to educate myself. Can you tell me some more about the solid poly frame bushings? Is there a kit that someone makes? Where are the bushings on the car that would be replaced and what is the impact on handling, etc?

I ask because I'm about a point where I'm feeling some of the bushings on my car could maybe use some replacement. I'm a little unhappy with the way the rear end feels on the car right now with regard to damping over the roads in Dallas that could use some work. It feels spongy and not taut and firm like I would prefer it to be-- almost like the rear suspension isn't planted enough. I'm thinking it could be that my Koni's are not adjusted firmly enough, but I need to drop the shocks to adjust them firmer and it's something I don't feel like tackling on my own at the moment, which means a trip over to Jotech (which is never a bad idea because it's always fun to see the latest GT-R's they're working on), it's just bad on the budget...lol.

 

No apologies necessary. I enjoy reading a well-written comment.

About the projectors... for only $40, it's a throw-away mod if you don't like it. Or you could easily sell it for half here on the forum. But I think you'll like it, and I don't believe you'll be calling attention to yourself.

Reading your comment about "granny driving" because of your exhaust made me smile. Next spring I will likely be doing that exact same thing, which makes it all the more special when you goose the throttle.

Differential frame bushings... what I've read here on the forum dovetails into my last car experience with solid poly bushings in the engine Torque Mounts, from Energy Suspension. That was by far one of the best mods I'd done to that car; (2003 Maxima SE 6MT.) My expectation is for a similar effect on the rear diff in this car, because RWD.

Basically (and bear with me, because Not-An-Engineer ), energy is lost when it's absorbed (bushings), which is the trade-off between performance and comfort, as well as keeping everything from shaking apart. In particular, energy is lost when applied to lifting the weight of the engine or the car, as in the torque mounts on the engine. If your connection from the drivetrain to the wheels is more secure, you'll perceive a better throttle response and improved performance (and NVH.)

Again... not an engineer. But like I said, solid poly torque mount bushings in that old Maxima was a transformational mod. Such an improvement, as well as a heaping bucket of NVH. But not all NVH is bad.

 

Rochester, I see they only charge 4 bucks for football team logos. Seems like quite a price increase to $40 for essentially the same thing, no?

 

No. The little replacement image slides that you insert in the projector are $4/pair, not the entire unit.

When you order a pair for Infiniti, Lexus or Toyota, you get all three pairs of slides, plus an American Flag pair of slides pre-installed. On top of that, you can order another pair for "free". I selected the Pirate, although I didn't really like it, so I'm just going to keep using the Fuji.

So... I've got the INFINITI in the projectors, and in a little bag I've got Toyota, Lexus, the American Flag and a bloody Pirate. I'm sure to misplace them all on my desk or on the shelf sometime over the next year.

 

Thank you sir! And for the detailed description of the frame bushings. Very well said and now that you mention it, I've heard of those. I'm curious if Energy Suspension has any other polyurethane bushings available for our cars. Back in my Mustang days, I remember they made a kit to replace practically every rubber bushing on that car. But yes, I agree...not all NVH is bad.

Haha! Yes, it's definitely loud and I admit that I went out on a limb with the whole no resonators part (except in the HFC). I think you're going to absolutely love the sound that's emitted once the factory exhaust is uncorked with the ARK. One of my favorite things is driving through parking lots at low speeds in manual mode in 1st gear. When you get to the point of about 2,500 - 2,800 rpm and then let off the gas to "engine brake", the burble and belch that the exhaust emits is a blissful noise to the ear. Sounds nasty.

I tend to agree that it wouldn't draw too much attention. However, in reading your response, I thought of another aspect of installing these. I have the illuminated kick plates waiting to be installed (haven't gotten around to that yet). Do you think these projectors would clash or be too much with the kick plates?

 

That's my opinion, yeah. Too much of the same thing going on in the same place.