lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

Hey all!

I FINALLY get to make one of these threads!

I joined the forum back in 2009 when I was first thinking of getting a 6MT sedan. Ended up going a completely different direction, but never forgot about the car. All these years later, and I still think it's one of the most beautiful sedan designs, inside & out.

Well a few weeks ago, I decided to pull the trigger. Found a CPO 6MT sedan in Graphite Shadow. It had some blemishes, but the dealership had the problems repainted, I ended up getting a new front bumper out of it (without a front plate bracket mounted - long story) and a mint set of 19" coupe wheels with new RE050A tires off of the GM's demo car. Sweet! It took about 3 weeks for all of the work to be done, but I eventually got to drive it home.

This thread will mainly be to keep track of my mods, but hopefully will have some unique things to share as well.

INSTALLED:

Interior:

• Blendmount + Bel GX65 Radar Detector - 06/2015
• Hardwire for RD with stealth mute button in cupholder coin slot - 06/2015
• LED lighting; dome, map, door, license, trunk - 06/2015
• 35% tint all around - 06/2015
• Laser Shades 3 piece rear window shades - 07/2015
• WC Lathe Werks Piston **** - 12/2015
• GT-R Starter button with swapped internals - 01/2016
• Aluminum eBay radio / AC ***** - 02/2016; removed 04/2016
• Carsmo Radio / AC ***** - 04/2016

Exterior:

• Debadged all rear badging (INFINITI, G37S & Mt Fuji) - 07/2015
• Front grill painted gloss black - 07/2015
• Rear "spoiler" painted gloss black - 07/2015
• Vinyl wrapped side window trim in gloss black using blnewt's DIY - 07/2015
• LED Reverse lights, 15w T15 bulbs - 07/2015
• NOKYA Hyper Yellow 2500k fog bulbs - 10/2015; removed 12/2015
• Morimoto XB LED Projector fog lights - 12/2015
• G37 Coupe wheels powdercoated gloss black - 01/2016
• Philips Red Vision LED rear turn signals w/ 6ohm resistors - 02/2016
• Custom headlights: satin black with chrome shroud, RGB halos, modded cutoff, wired with relay to start with car - 02/2016
• Osram CBI 5500k D2S headlight bulbs - 02/2016
• Z1 spacers 10mm front & rear - 03/2016
• Gloss black fog light rings - 04/2016

Performance:

• jsolo clutch spring - 06/2015; removed 01/2016
• TopSpeed Pro-1 Y-pipe back exhaust - 07/2015; removed 02/2016
• Swift springs - 07/2015; Removed 11/2015
• Eibach F&R sway bars - 09/2015
• Takeda CAI - 10/2015
• Tein Street Basis Coilovers - 11/2015
• SPL Rear Camber Arms - 11/2015
• SPC Front Camber Arms + Rear Toe Bolts - 11/2015
• TWM Short Throw Shifter - 12/2015
• RJM AFP clutch pedal assembly v3 - 01/2016
• J2 Engineering catback exhaust - 02/2016

PENDING:

• Berk HFCs + Z1 metal header gaskets (Purchased. Sitting in garage, but not installed yet.)
• DIY full traction control delete switch. (have the switch, just need to pull console and run wiring.)

PLANNED:

Interior:

• Vinyl wrap the aluminum trim (maybe?)

Exterior:

• Paint & relocate rear Mt Fuji in gloss black (liking the bare trunk; probably won't do)
• Smoke taillights to GT-R style (had the vinyl to do it for months now... still on the fence)
• Tow hook plate mount (if needed for fix it ticket )
• Hidden bike mount (if I keep the car when I move, to haul the MTB around)

Performance:

• Z1 urethane trans mount
• Some meaty Pilot Super Sports once I wear through these tires
• Front strut brace bar
• SS brake lines (probably not, honestly. Stock is fine) & a flush with ATE Super Blue or Motul fluid
• 4.08 gears
• Supercharger! Haha... I wish.

And some pics!

The day I picked her up:




After tint:



And how it sits now, with everything I've done (03/19/16):
Attachment 1

ChinkyChoy

iTrader: (2)

nice pickup! even came with the 19" coupe wheels too! they look huge for some reason lol

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

From your planning list, it looks like you've been spending time here reading up on mods. Two thumbs up on Lathewerks *****. Love love love my titanium tear-drop, and am planning on purchasing another in Copolymer for winter.

Jsolo's clutch pedal spring... best $20 you'll ever spend. If you're on the fence about the RJM pedal assembly, and don't mind waiting, sub into my progress thread and wait for August... I'm planning on an install later this summer, (knock on wood).

Welcome to the forum, OP. Looking forward to hearing more from another 6MT Sedan owner.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Awesome that you found just the right G, and having those coupe 19s is a good look.
Nice plans you've got going, look forward to how this comes together.
Might look into the Tein Basis coilovers, price is very good and they use the OEM front hats (one of the noise sources for coilovers) you won't have the compromise of the OEM dampers and you can get the exact height you want.
Here's some info if you're interested
TEIN Street Basis Coilover Kit; OEM Front Upper Mount; OEM Rear Upper Mount; Not EDFC Compatable INFINITI G35
TEIN.com: STREET BASIS - PRODUCTS

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

Definitely interested in the write up. Won't be getting this mod for a while regardless, so it will be good to read your thorough review.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I think I will be staying away from coils for now. I had originally thought of getting V3s, as my buddy has them on his Golf R and they are brilliant. The problem is that the rear top adjustments on the sedan would be irritating to get to, and I haven't found any extenders for them. And the freeways around me are pretty crappy and undulating, so cheap coils are a nightmare. I had KSports on my my last car and they sucked. I've got to imagine that anything under the 2k pricepoint would be similar; bouncy and not very sophisticated in their dampening. I realize that springs are also a compromise, but from everything I've read, the Swifts feel more or less identical to stock springs.
Also, there's the annoying issue of having to add the camber arms to the purchase in order to get the alignment dialed in. In the end, I'm not looking to drop 2.5-3k on suspension right now. If the Swift springs suck, I can always sell them for a decent return and go to coils.

That being said, if anyone in the SF Bay Area has coils on their sedan and is up for giving me a ride to check them out, let me know! (I posted in the NorCal forum, but that didn't go anywhere...)

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

Got some stuff done on my car, both cosmetically and performance-wise.

First the eye candy...
- I had the front grill & rear "spoiler" painted gloss black by an awesome body shop near me. It totally changes the attitude of the car, and I think it looks amazing.
- To match that, I wrapped my window trim in gloss black using blnewt's DIY. This took more redos than I'd like to admit, but in the end I'm happy with the results, and I learned a good bit about vinyl wrapping.
- I also debadged the rear completely. The Infiniti script and G37S are going away permanently, but I'm trying to figure out if I like it naked or if I need to add the Mt Fuji back on. I will relocate the logo midway, as well as have it painted to match the gloss black, if I decide to reinstall that. I've already picked up a new OEM badge, so it's ready to go to paint and install if need be. Jury is still out. I like the naked rear sometimes, and sometimes I don't... hmmmmm.

And the performance stuff...
- I picked up a TopSpeed Pro 1 exhaust from a member in the classifieds. I am pretty happy with it, although it could definitely be louder for my liking. I am thinking of adding the TopSpeed Y-pipe, as well as the test pipes potentially. This should give me more of the volume I want. Otherwise, I really like this exhaust. The sound is good and it looks fantastic. The bevel tips look great.
- I installed Swift springs with my stock S dampers. This turned out to be a bigger ordeal than I expected, as some of the nuts were just not budging. Broke some tools, but in the end a 1/2 breaker bar with an impact socket and a 4ft cheater bar broke them loose. I like the springs so far. The ride is about the same as stock, and it obviously looks considerably better. I'm going to get my alignment done in a few days, so hopefully it will get close to stock spec, since I have not added any camber adjustment arms.

Also, after dropping it, the need for new wheels / spacers for these wheels is very apparent. I will at the very least get some spacers, after my tire / alignment guys tell me what size I should get. I'd love to get some more aggressive wheels, but we'll see...

And last but not least, some updated pics.

blnewt

iTrader: (13)

Love the look of your "new" G. All the things you've done go so well together. And I vote for leaving the back as-is, just makes for such a clean overall look.
As far as the exhaust, I'd look at RHFCs, I think the test pipes might add more rasp than you'd like to deal with.
Nice work!

Rochester

iTrader: (8)

Another option, he could go for some JDM heritage, nicely centered.

S K Y L I N E

JDM "SKYLINE" G37 Rear Emblem

MaQG37

iTrader: (4)

I love what you did with the grille and trunk. Also, the coupe wheels look great!

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

Thanks! I've noted the vote for naked rear...
I think you're right about the test pipes, so I'd probably do the y-pipe first and see if that's enough before doing anything with the cats. RHFCs might be the way to go if I need more.
This vid shows the TopSpeed with y-pipe and test pipes, and it sounds pretty nasty... The rasp sounds terrible.
I have never been a fan of using badges from other parts of the world. Probably goes back to my hatred of every Integra having the red Honda badge. Different strokes, I guess...

Thanks!

G37xsfun

Where did you get the Laser Shades and what do you think about them?

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

I got them on Amazon



I like them, but they're not perfect. It's a 3 piece set; so rear window and one each for the side rear windows. On the manuf web page it says it's a 5 piece set, so I assumed that it would have two per side, but they obviously changed the design. As a result of being one piece per side, they cross over the "pillar" between the part of the side window that rolls down and the little triangle window behind it. Since that sticks off of the glass a bit, it doesn't sit as flush as I would like. The rear window fitment is awesome, though, and it has a little nub on top where it clips in under the headliner so it's very secure.

It comes with a pretty nice storage case, as well.

I will only use this when my son is in the car to keep the sun out of his eyes. Between my 35% tint and these in the back, it works well. You can see through them easily during the day, and it's doable at night as well.

I waited about a month for Amazon to get more in stock, so if you're interested I'd pick up a set sooner than later. They have 4 more in stock as I write this.

If you'd like, I can take a few pics...

G37xsfun

Great write up and thanks for the info. I'm in the same boat almost, graphite sedan on Swifts with 25% tint all around. I would like it darker in the back for my son and when parking if it's hot outside. The removable part is a great idea as well. We have the stick on tint we use sometimes but it's really crappy. How dark would you say the Laser tint is? Thanks again for the info, going to order now.

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

I think between the 35% tint I have and the shade, it probably brings it down to 20% or so. This is based solely off of my memory of what 20% looked like on my Golf R, which I sold 18 months ago, so take it with a grain of salt.

The holes in the mesh are pretty decent size, and the mesh itself isn't opaque, but a weave, which is transparent to some degree. I tried to take a picture of it, but I'm not sure how well this illustrates how they look...

lobuzz311

iTrader: (6)

So this isn't really a mod, but it did make my driving experience considerably better.

Since I bought the car, there has been this annoying whining noise that got louder with revs. Free revving, under load, accelerating, decelerating... it happened all the time. I took it to the dealership today, and the shop foreman took a look at it. He was trying to hear where it was coming from and said that I'd have to bring it back for a more detailed diagnostic.

Then a light bulb went off for him. "Is this a 2012?" Yes it is. "I know what it is. The power steering reservoir was redesigned, and you have the old one. With the old design, there's air that gets in and creates that sound."

Sure enough, while revving the sound would get louder if you turned the wheel slightly. They checked in the parts dept to see if they had the updated reservoir in stock, which they did. 30 minutes later, they had it swapped out and ready to go.

Suffice to say, it's MUCH nicer now. There is still the a bit of sound, which apparently is just the DM flywheel that is just loud by nature. But it is nothing like before. It feels like I'm driving a luxury car finally, and not a broken clap trap.

All this time, I thought it was a hidden super-charger that they never told me about. I kept looking for it under the hood, but never found it.