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Sure did, but the aftermarket version I had fit poorly. And it had some design features that didn't thrill me.
So wanna try to convert an OEM grille into one; better fitment and closer in design to my liking...at least that how it is in my head
Oh, that's right. That is one nice thing about the OEM grille. It may take a while to make it the way you want, but totally worth it to have it fit well. Make sure you test fit it before you glue the grille. I had to trim mine a few extra times to get the fitment right. Even then, there is one bolt that does not go through quite far enough to thread on the nut. Everything else holds it in place though so no big deal.
I changed my engine oil and rear differential oil the other night after my track day at Road America. Thanks Rochester for the suggestion of the cheap oil pump from Harbor Freight! It worked great once I realized there was an arrow on the pump indicating which way the fluid flows. This is really a fairly easy operation and it takes almost exactly 2 quarts of oil with the Z1 differential cover.
Better fluid, Z1 differential cover, and exhaust wrap kept everything cool on track. Much better than the last time at Road America when the rear diff got so hot it melted the ABS sensors.
Glad to hear you're feeling good about your temperature issues. That's been an issue for you for a while. You haven't installed that new radiator yet, have you?
What was it like on the track with the new gears? For that matter, don't think I've read much from you on that topic since the late winter install.
Yes, the new radiator went in about a month ago- more on page 47. Unfortunately, a mounting bracket on the condenser broke so I have no A/C at the moment. Mishimoto was really cool about it and said they would ship out a new one for free. However, it has still not shipped and I do not even have a tracking number yet.
The coolant temps stayed solid on track so I have to assume the radiator helped, but I did not know the exact temps I was facing originally. I just had coolant spray out the top of the overflow tank which I thought was due to heat. Turns out it was probably splashing around too much in the corners.
The gears were good at Road America which means they should be good at every track because RA has some very long straights. Initially, I was getting into 6th gear at some points. That was a strange feeling because normally I would only hit 4th. By about the 2nd session I was just getting close to topping out 5th gear. I had to re-learn all my shift points, but once I got used to it I liked shifting more than usual because it made the track seem smaller, if that makes sense.
So all the extra shifting and quicker shift points weren't an issue on the course track, and I'm guessing all the low-end grunt is a welcome change on the street. Is that about right?
Gears can climb into $2k mod territory. Was it worth it to you?
This is really a fairly easy operation and it takes almost exactly 2 quarts of oil with the Z1 differential cover.
