The spacers on winters won't really hurt anything, but if you're dealing w/ regular snow driving get tires on the narrower side, like 225s all around since your wheels aren't staggered (should be the OEM size IIRC).
Might look at the wheels that Ryne has in the classifieds (Work T7R), a higher quality & lighter than those Stance and a great look on that red G for sure.

 

Absolutely, oddly there seem to be very few coupes around me, I've only seen about 3 in the past few months. I like the exclusive feeling but also miss the local camaraderie.

Thanks for the help! Yep 225/45 is the OEM size and what is on currently, I plan to stick with that size for winter tires but the next set of summer/all season I will go up to 245/40 and will likely keep things square so I can continue to rotate. The T7R's are nice, and I agree would look pretty good. My eye has really been drawn to the long, thin, split 5 spoke design that runs to the edge of the wheel like that of the SC-1. The only others that were close (and not obscenely expensive) were Niche Targa and Konig Oversteer both seem to be of lesser quality than Stance. Regardless wheels are probably a little while off since they are a harder expense to justify to my wife and vacation time is coming up.

 

Your car is looking amazing Jai! I especially LOVE how that spiller came out! Keep up the great work brother

 

Might take a look at the Rohanna RC8 if you like the split 5 spokers

 

Thanks Kenny, that's some high praise coming from you. I also owe you some credit for the Carsmo group buy...




I like the RC8's they are def. something to consider. I was browsing the Rohana lineup and also really liking the RF2.

 

Those RF2s are sharp, and they are rotary formed aka flow formed so should be lighter and stronger than the RC8s. Jason@GetYourWheels stocks them and takes good care of us w/ pricing & service. He can also custom paint to almost any color imaginable.

 

So I got to thinking that it might have been some time since I've updated this thread...I didn't realize just how long until I looked at the date of my last edit. So since I am more than due, I'll start with my apologies for slacking. Now that it has been so long I will just pick up the story from here, especially because as I reflect, it would seem I have changed almost everything from where I started. Fortunately, I keep a detailed spread sheet of everything that I do to the G so aside from sifting through pictures this should be fairly painless, although might take a while to catch up 4+ years. So let the History of Modding resume...

December 2016

I wanted to snag a winter whee/tire setup since this was still my daily driver. The tires were still good on my stock sport wheels so I decided to grab a set of Konig Oversteer 19"x8.5" wrapped in Falken EuroWinter (225/45/19). I've always liked Konig as a well made, inexpensive, light weight wheel manufacturer so even if I dinged the wheels up in the winter it doesn't hurt my wallet too bad. I also really like the look of them.





August 2017

I noticed some uneven brake pad wear in the rear, so I cleaned up the calipers and decided to make a brake pad change. I liked the Hawk HPS 5.0 but I felt like they got pretty dusty, so I jumped to StopTech Street Performance Pads. I was sure to swap both front and rear as to not mix and match pads.
Part #s:
Front 309.13460
Rear 309.13470




October 2017

I'm not sure why I waited so long, but I FINALLY pulled the trigger on the Hotchkis Sway Bar set. I opted for the softer setting up front and middle setting in the rear. No surprises that this was a worthwhile and long overdue modification.
Part #: 22443 (for the AWD)

November 2017

I was starting to notice some unfavorable tire wear so I was thinking it best to add in some suspension upgrades, in retrospect the wear had less to do with my suspension geometry and more to do with my desire to take turns quickly . Since I did not have hindsight available to me at the time, and I had lived my younger years with lowered cars w/o correcting suspension geometry I figured I'd try and make up for past wrongs. I installed a set of SPC Front Upper Control Arms and SPL Rear Camber Arms. I had to go SPL in the rear at the time because SPC hadn't yet made adjustments for those of us who had larger rear sway bars. Both great products but this was the start of what has become something of an infatuation with SPL.

Part #s:
SPC Upper Control Arms: 72130
SPL Rear Camber Arms: SPL-RLL-Z34






June 2018

I thought the G needed a friend.... so I had this 14' Q50S Hybrid shipped to PA from NC. The G was my daily driver up until this point which meant upwards of 20k miles/year. I love the G and didn't want to keep piling on the miles, it also kept the modification bug at bay because I work two jobs and rarely have much free time so I was always up against the wall with completing projects in a narrow window. Anybody who has ever modified a car knows better than to put themselves on a timeline. Also for what it is worth the Q50S Hybrid is an awesome car, VQ35HR paired with an electric motor to combine for 360 hp and torque for days, while still averaging 30mpg.




Late June 2018

That thing I said wanting more time to let the G be down for mods.... if I only knew how true that thought was going to be. I had been wanting to do a full overhaul of the brake system for some time, to include pulling the calipers and painting them. Naturally in my completely irrational way, I felt the need to change the rotors and pads again. Admittedly the StopTech pads were just ok. They stopped the car when I pushed the pedal, but I was trying to find something with a bit more bite. I also liked the look of the drilled/slotted rotors but the drill holes were hard to keep clean and I worried needlessly about the higher likelihood of the rotors developing cracks at the drill holes. I was really into the idea of 2 piece rotors, but cost was certainly a factor. I also had yet to gain a full appreciation for Z1 Motorsports. All that lead me to go with DBA slotted rotors, HAWK HPS pads, ands after much research I found the proper Goodridge Stainless Brake Lines, and Motul Brake Fluid.

Part #s:
Front Rotors: DBA42314S
Rear Rotors: DBA42315S
Front Pads: Hb601F.626
Rear Pads: Hb602F.545
Goodridge Brake Lines: 22077 (for AWD)
Motul 5.1 Brake Fluid








July 2018

It was finally time to get a set of summer wheels & tires for the G. I had been searching tirelessly in all my free time (and sometimes not so free time) for wheels that I thought best suited my car. I am constantly drawn to the split spoke design, something about it just works visually for me. I also didn't want something that was too close to the Konig wheels (which are now on the Q50, happy upside of sharing so many similar parts). I also wanted to go staggered despite being AWD as I like the difference in concavity that some wheels have front to rear. That said I didnt want to jump to 20's as I felt like that may cost me some ride quality. GetYourWheels hooked me up with a beautiful set of Vertini RF-1.2 with custom offsets cut to my specification, which meant I could lose the wheel spacers. I had them wrapped in Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires. I have always liked Continental tires and I have not been disappointed by these, the grip is awesome. I am however thinking about moving to a wider combination once I roast these tires off.

Specs:
Front: Vertini RF-1.2 19"x8.5" +20
Front: Continental Extreme Contact Sport 225/45/19
Rear: Vertini RF-1.2 19"x9.5" +30
Rear: Continental Extreme Contact Sport 255/40/19







December 2018

My car lives outside, about 90% fits under my carport but still affected by the elements. I had been in the market for a car cover, especially because Vibrant red has a strong tendency to fade quickly. I went with CoverCraft, their NOAH Block-It Fabric. It is custom fit to the G. It's what I think is their best all around outdoor cover. It is breathable yet keeps water out and blocks UV rays out among other awesome qualities. The fit is really perfect and only takes a minute to put on or take off.





April 2019

Time to move toward some power related mods. I vacillated on what I wanted for an intake for a long while, especially because the actually benefit seemed marginal at best, however I was antsy to do something. My original thought when at the outset of my modding journey was to go R2C however they seem to have since faded out of the picture. I liked the idea of Admin Tuning (still do) but didnt want to have to figure out how to get tuned before I was ready. That basically left Stillen or Takeda as I didn't want short ram, nor did I want my filters running low to the ground (Injen). Again, still hadn't gained an appreciation for Z1 Motorsports. Stillen required some cutting for fitment and wasn't sure I wanted to get into irreversible modifications so Takeda for the win. I also decided to paint my eBay midnight grill all gloss black as the paint was finally starting to chip away. Side note: I opted NOT to get the splash shield for the filter, mainly because G rarely if ever sees anything but sunshine when driving.

Part #:
Takeda Cold Air Intake: TA-3016P







To Be Continued.....

 

May 2019

Time for an exhaust...actually at this point I've had the exhaust squirreled away for about 6 months as I tend to score some good deals around the holidays but I work a gazillion hours and usually don't make free time to work on the G until the warmer months. I readily admit that I actually like the stock VQ sound. I always have, probably always will. I don't care if people compare it to a trumpet (which it kinda does) or think it sound unnatural. All that said, I felt it was time to sound a little more aggressive. I researched pretty heavily listening to every sound clip I could find on here and YouTube. It was an easy choice for me, Ark Grip, which IMO sounds even better paired with Fast Intentions HFC's (planned for a future mod). Install was super easy, I actually had my daughter who just turned 8 y/o, help with the install.

Part #:
Ark Grip Catback: SM1102-0107G (for AWD)



A couple days later my OCD got the better of me and I pulled the fog light bezels off and painted them gloss black too. Since I was down there I replaced the fog lights with Morimoto 2 Stroke LED bulbs. I'll have to get a night shot with them on. I think they're brighter than my headlights!

Part #:
Morimoto 2 Stroke 2.0 H11 Bulbs - LED1502







August 2019

Here's the point at which I officially dove off the deep end with my suspension. I had been rolling around on a simple OEM dampers w/Swift Springs suspension for a while now, and while it was good I was left wanting for more. I carried an ignorant opinion of coilovers that evolved out of my late teens early 20's tuner days where everybody bought cheap coilovers, had no idea what they were doing, and much like air ride at the time (15-20 years ago) you needed a helmet and sense of humor to ride in those cars. I always saw springs as the safe, easy, compliant way to go. I had done enough perusing to see the masses had moved to coilovers for a number or reasons so I figured it time to see what they were all about. I did a PLETHORA of research on the matter both on the general mechanics and ride characteristics as well as the options available. Anybody that tuned into the suspension forum about this time perhaps saw a thread or two as I thought out loud about my options. I also put together a (hopefully) comprehensive list of options for anyone else in the AWD side of the G family. I narrowed my scope to OEM style (i.e. maintain divorced damper & spring), something about staying true to the original base suspension engineering had an appeal to me. I looked really closely at Broadway Static which uses Fortune Auto as their base and they make some modifications for their final product. I had conversations with their techs and was ready to pull the trigger but they went dark and didnt respond, so I ended up reaching out to Luke from THMotorsports and he hooked me up with a nice set of Fortune Auto Coilovers, street valving, upgraded swift springs. They make a great product and am 100% happy with them. I have not had any issues with odd noises or clunks.

I also started to upgrade my suspension components. I pulled out the SPC Front Upper Control Arms, and put the SPL FUCA's in their place. I was able to get a good deal on the SPL arms, but more importantly they are much more easy to adjust. The SPC adjuster is a large nut on the top, whereas the SPL arms have individual front and rear adjustments that can be more easily accessed with the wheels on. I got around to adding in the SPC toe bolts since I'd likely be low enough to need the adjustment, then used half the SPL Eccentric Lockout kit to keep camber adjustment just to the arms. I then installed SPL Rear Knuckle Shock Bushings, this was mainly out of necessity as my OEM bushing decided to fuse itself to the bolt that held it in place. It wasn't hard to press the old bushing out, a couple sockets, and Grade 8 bolt and washers made short work of them. Tossing the SPL bushings in the freezer was also key to an easy install. Since I was going through so much of the suspension at this point I replaced the vast majority of the hardware that I had touched, that way I knew I was starting fresh.

Parts #'s:
Fortune Auto: 500 Series Generation 7 w/Swift Springs (12kg Front - 10kg Rear)
SPL FUCA - SPL FUA Z34
SPC Toe Bolts - 72265
SPL Eccentric Lockout Kit - SPL EL Z34
SPL Rear Shock Bushing - SPL RKS Z33
OEM Lower Shock Bolt - 56280-AQ00A
OEM Spring Bucket Bolt - 55080-AL50A
OEM Camber Arm Bolt - 55080-AG00C
OEM Front Shock Bolt - 56127-AQ31A
OEM Lower Fork Bolt - 56127-EG00B
OEM Lower Fork Nut - 01225-00072
OEM Upper Shock Nut - 08918-3081A
OEM Knuckle Spindle Nut - 40262-EG000
OEM Knuckle Bolt - 40178-EG06C
OEM FUCA Bolt - 54550-AL51C
OEM FUCA Nut - 54269-AL51C







I suppose I could also mention here that part of learning everything I could about suspensions included a desire to maintain my alignment myself. I do have a bunch of various alignment products (e.g. turn plates, toe plates, Quick Trick alignment tools). I set my alignment myself and while it can be really time consuming and requires a lot of attention to detail I was able to give myself a good alignment. No uneven or unusual tire wear (as of this writing 7/25/20 I put about 5000+ miles on the sticky tires).

October 2019
I added SPL Rear Endlinks, I didnt want the OEM end links adding preload on the sway bar. I also installed a Z-Speed Aluminum Undershroud. My OEM undershroud met an untimely demise as my lowered car met a poorly placed steel plate in unmarked road construction at night. Thankfully it just detached the oil filter door but didnt damage anything else. I debated between Z-Speed and Z1 but consensus on here seemed to lean toward Z-speed.






March 2020

I was looking for a project but wasn't looking to spend a bunch of money. I harkened back to my entry into the car guy world, which was car audio. I'm not yet ready to mess with the Bose system as my taste in audio equipment requires a expensive champagne budget and I was interested in a 6 pack of beer budget. Therefore I decided to rip out the entire interior...seriously all of it. Then went through and laid sound deadener throughout. My G isn't going to be a race car, even if I decide to track it at some point the added weight isn't enough to make a difference compared to the benefit of how I normally use it. Essentially I want to keep the sound that is in the car in, and the road noise outside the car, out. I also hate when stuff rattles, biggest pet peeve is hearing a loud stereo that rattles everything. Dynamat would normally be my go to choice, however its rather expensive in the quantities I wanted. I did a bunch of research and took a chance with Noico, using their Butyl Mat, 150 mil insulation and 315mil insulation products. I was seriously impressed. Cost per sqft was less than half that of Dynamat and the performance of the product is dead even. I acknowledge going overboard with the volume of material as it wasn't completely needed but my car is dead quiet now and the stereo sounds much better. I used some thicker foam and denim insulation in the more cavernous rear quarter panels.

Also since I had the interior apart I swapped out my start button for that from a GTR and also picked up a set of custom lighted door sills from iCrap in the Classified Section.

Part #'s:
Noico: Black 80 mil 36 sq ft butyl mat
Noico: Red 150 mil 36sq ft car insulation
Noico Red 315 mil 20sq ft car insulation
Foamily: 12x12x1 (10 pack) foam insulation
Frost King: 4'x2' (4 pack) denim insulation

 

April 2020

A project that started with just a desire to change the spark plugs and clean my throttle bodies grew into a much larger beast. I'm a little OCD, so as I start project I have a tendency to clean up whatever parts or areas I'm working on. That lead me to finding leaky valve cover gaskets, it also lead to dropping a small shop vac attachment into the valley of my engine. Naturally I pulled the upper and lower intake plenum off to retrieve it, but would need a new lower plenum gasket and found my injector o-rings could stand a change too. Well since I was taking so much apart I might as well keep going. So... I did. I am pretty happy with the result. I completed a bunch of maintenance and know things are clean. I still have a few things I'd like to "clean up" in the engine bay. I want to get rid of the ugly tarnished hardware but am still deciding on color, probably black but I've given some thought to gold, only because my dampers are gold and throttle body bolts are gold and I kind of like the contrast however it doesn't really match the red/black/brushed aluminum that carries throughout the car. I also want to do something about the reservoirs. Mishimoto perhaps.








May 2020

Back to suspension work: This round was fairly simple. SPL Front Endlinks and Upgraded to the billet Hotchkis Sway Bar brackets. Not really sure if there is any actual benefit to the brackets but they are much more rigid than the original set. I could tell an immediate difference with the end link change. The OEM end links were preloading the sway bar a lot, I should have done this sooner.

Part #s:
SPL Front Endlinks: SPL FE Z33 (for AWD)
Hotchkis Brackets: 22441-BB (fit both RWD & AWD)




Current Project:
SPL Rear Midlinks
Swift Springs 65mm - 6" (10kg)

Project on Deck:
Picked up a nice used rear subframe and rear upper control arms so I can minimize down time while I some of the following parts.
SPL Solid Differential Bushing
SPL Solid Rear Subframe Bushing
Z1 Differential Cover
Bell Raceworks Differential Brace
SPL Rear Traction Arms
SPL Rear Knuckle Bushing Set (All 4 bushings in the knuckle)
SPL Upper Control Arm Bushing Set

Projects Swirling in My Head for the Future
(In no particular order)

SPL Tie Rods
Z1 Motor mounts
Z1 Two-piece rotors (front & rear)
EBC Yellow Stuff Brake Pads
Soul Function Chasis Braces (all depends how the car feels with aforementioned suspension mods)
Z1 Oil Cooler
Z1 Power Steering Cooler
Aluminum or Carbon Fiber driveshaft
Final Drive conversion to 3.69 and possibly LSD ...which means replacing my front differential to match.
Engine bay titanium hardware
Replace wheel studs with ARP or Z1 extended studs (current wheels easily support the length)
Project Kics R40 lug nuts.
Fast Intentions RHFCs
ECUtech Tune & Dyno
Update Fuel System to support E85
Headlight upgrades (i.e. painted housing, better projector, etc..)
Carbon Fiber ... not sure what or where but Carbon Fiber.

All I can think of off the top of my head.... I’m sure I’ll think of 100 more things before any of these get done.

 

Nice update, Kid! Glad things are going well for you.

 

Four years later, huh?

Fantastic car, OP. Good choices, clean build.

 

Thanks its a long overdue update that I am still working on.. it might have been your recent build thread update that reminded me that I have let mine go by the wayside.

4 years indeed, I didn't even realize I've had the car that long! I appreciate the compliment, clean is definitely what I've been going for. I'm almost to the part of my update where I wire tuck my engine bay.