Finally installed by Focus Carbon fenders as prep for Z Nationals this past weekend.

The term, "you get what you pay for" definitely rings true with this one. But because of the much lower price and the fenders still fitting decent, I am very happy with it.

I also tried to install my Ultra Racing fender braces but learned that the coupes and sedan fenders were made differently near the door, as the sedans have a reinforcement tab and coupes don't. This tab was hitting the brace and prevented me from install.

 

Those carbon fiber fenders look DOPE! Work of art.

Looks like you stole @Rochester 's calipers. He wants them back :-)

 

LOL, no, I don't own the color orange. But they sure do look nice, huh?

Panda, is there any way to mitigate the fitment issues, or is there a compromise in your future?

 

Thank you.

I'm Rochester's twin.

I spoke with the Ultra Racing sales person and they are willing to pay for my fender modification to make the brace work.

I could trim the reinforcement but since they are willing to cover the labor, I'll have a shop do it.

 

Orange is just a tasteful color selection. Good minds think alike. I am leaning towards a dark red metallic. May not pop like orange.

 

Red in general always looks good and you adding metallic flakes would definitely make it more eye catching.

 

On a silver car? I think yellow is the way to go. IMO, dark red will only look good up close, not so much from across the parking lot. It will just look brown, which is weird.

For years I was convinced that if I ever painted the calipers, it would be with a metallic yellow. But when the moment came, I went all in on the creamsicle, because of the pearl white car. But if my car were silver, I wouldn't hesitate to go with metallic yellow. Something akin to the 2nd Gen Acura NSX Indy Yellow Pearl. If you're considering powdercoat, go over to Prismatic and check out their Pearl Yellow.

https://www.prismaticpowders.com/sho...0aAtCjEALw_wcB

For like $15, Prismatic will send you a bunch of aluminum color swatches so you can see various colors with your own eyes.

Tape the swatch over a caliper if you're so inclined. Or just play with photo edits to change the color and assess things. I can't begin to guess how many times I've done that over the years. Every time was a little rabbit hole, until I eventually committed to the project.

 

I have to think about yellow as it's not typically a color I would consider. You aren't feeling "Soft Red Candy"?
https://www.prismaticpowders.com/sho...soft-red-candy

I also like the reds that lean heavy towards the orange side as well, like "Illusion Orange Cherry": https://www.prismaticpowders.com/sho...-orange-cherry

The Corvette guys discussed here: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ver-car-2.html

Opinions of course are all over the map because color is such a subjective topic.

 

All the more reason to order some color swatches. Prismatic's website is easy enough to figure out.

No, I don't like that Soft Red Candy at all. The Orange Cherry is better, but I still think metallic yellow is worth considering for a silver car, like this Tesla.

And now we're starting to ***** up Panda's build thread. Sorry, Panda.

 

What are those fenders venting? Wheel well, or the engine bay? They look fantastic.

Do the fender braces actually do anything? I'd think that with the door sill there that would reinforce the opening quite a bit.

 

Not sure how effect it will be for the V36/Z34 chassis but it helped a lot with the 90s cars I've had like my 240sx.

I believe the idea of the fender brace is to stiffen the front end to prevent deflection when as the suspension compresses and rebounds.

It ties to the door sill as the point of bracing.

 

I have been so excited about my recent purchase.

Finally acquired a 4.08 FD with Quaife differential.

There was a previous diff with z1's 4.09 gearing and a Wavetrac, but it was sold before I could get to it.

 

Oh yeah, you're going to be happy. I'm psyched for you, Panda. When's the installation?

It's been over seven years, but I still remember that very first time I gave full throttle to second gear after the swap. OMG

 

Not sure on installation, this time of year is tough to grab free time for a job like this, I work so slow I usually need both days over the weekend to finish it.

I'm currently on 3.916 gearing with 26" tires so my effective gearing is roughly 4.04. the 26" tires with the 4.08 will put be around 4.22. I may have to find a stock diameter tire to bring the effective gear down.

 

isn't the normal rear end ratio 3.6ish?

If so... I might be interested in your 3.9 unit. Hell, I could probably pull the stock pig off my sedan (which is mostly sitting still) and you could have the 4.08 installed in that (I'd pay more to not have to re-install the 3.9). Does your current set up use something limited slip - maybe not the VLSD?

Edited to add: So you could have it installed in the spare pig without taking the car down, and all you'd have to do is swap diffs once done.