Project: "Last RX-7" by Herblenny

[laextreme5]

I would highly recommend. I'm a believer of this stuff. Definitely for a daily.

But my research do point some negatives... Mainly for show cars. The coating can't be removed easily (which is the point of putting on the first place). That means it can be difficult and requiring hard cut to remove. Another bad is its clarity. I think OE paint and daily car where you don't care so much about depth of paint and such for shows, I think its okay. But say on a show car with high metallic and wanting that deep look, you can't quite achieve it with nano ceramic. Because sealants and wax don't bind, it will make it dull vs. making it deeper.

So, that's what I've found out. But purpose of daily car that you clean every 2-4 weeks, This stuff is amazing!

Awesome, thanks for the info. I can def see since it doesnt bind having slight effects on paint depth.

[Herblenny]

Im seriously considering a coating on my daily brz once i repair a few things. This just convinced me some more.

I would highly recommend. I'm a believer of this stuff. Definitely for a daily.

But my research do point some negatives... Mainly for show cars. The coating can't be removed easily (which is the point of putting on the first place). That means it can be difficult and requiring hard cut to remove. Another bad is its clarity. I think OE paint and daily car where you don't care so much about depth of paint and such for shows, I think its okay. But say on a show car with high metallic and wanting that deep look, you can't quite achieve it with nano ceramic. Because sealants and wax don't bind, it will make it dull vs. making it deeper.

So, that's what I've found out. But purpose of daily car that you clean every 2-4 weeks, This stuff is amazing!

[laextreme5]

To follow up on the ceramic coating, here are couple of video of my IS300 Wagon showing how water just beads off.

Water on the hood.

https://youtu.be/m6-SsEQ3eUs

Close up on the fender.

https://youtu.be/vJZRBC1OL98

Besides this, not much is going on. Spent most of the weekend hanging out with my son and dinner with close friend. Otherwise, not much of a car week

Im seriously considering a coating on my daily brz once i repair a few things. This just convinced me some more.

[Herblenny]

To follow up on the ceramic coating, here are couple of video of my IS300 Wagon showing how water just beads off.

Water on the hood.

https://youtu.be/m6-SsEQ3eUs

Close up on the fender.

https://youtu.be/vJZRBC1OL98

Besides this, not much is going on. Spent most of the weekend hanging out with my son and dinner with close friend. Otherwise, not much of a car week

[Herblenny]

Update:

I finally had a weekend to do some car related stuff.

First my daily IS300 Wagon...


My RedSport had ceramic/nano coating from previous owner and so far I was very happy with the results. So, I've decided to put the coating on my IS300.
I've decided to try 'Stay Fresh Car Care' as I've had great luck with their detailing products in the past.

http://www.stayfreshcarcare.com/ceramic-coating

I went with HCC9, 50mL kit with 8oz Quick Ceramic detailer. (less than $100).

First, I cut the car using a random orbitor and various pads and such (3-5 hours)


Wiped it down with isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) to remove any residue from wax, sealant, oil etc. I than started to apply the HCC9 using supplied applicator. This process wasn't bad. I was told to do small section at a time but the temperature was kind of cool and HCC9 wasn't drying that quickly so I did panel at a time. First layer of application including alcohol wipe down took me about an hour.


I had about 30-40% of the ceramic coating leftover so, i messaged the owner of Stay Fresh about if second coat is necessary. He said it will help. He suggested I use the remainder of the bottle on the car. He said you can apply the second layer after about an hour after 1st application. I decided to let the first layer harden overnight.
Oh, no water can touch the car during hardening process.
Here is the result:


Definitely shines pretty decent. I was driving home last night and it was raining. I could tell this stuff was working. In heavy traffic, everytime I came to a stop, a good amount of water from the roof of the car will rush towards the front windshield. Moving forward, I could see the water coming down on my rear window. This is first time seeing such a thing. To maintain, no waxing, no soap, just water to clean the car for the next 5 years! Benefit I see with this is daily driven cars and car that might be loosing little of clarity due to fade.

Anyhow, now about the RX...

I'm re-doing my RX-7 for a guaranteed feature with SuperStreet Magazine. So, I've decided to re do my turbo set up and support my friend Zach, Addicted Performance. He also supports my event, 'Deals Gap Rotary Rally' (DGRR) and helped me by answering many of my questions regarding turbos and tuning.



I've decided to go with his Borg Warner EFR kit. Craftsmanship on the kit is top notch!! Also, Zach is a great tuner and will be taking my car to his shop when its done for a tune. Hopefully during DGRR and unveil the car there.



Turbo is Borg Warner EFR 8374 IWG with Turbosmart upgraded Bypass valve and IWG actuator.



I've mocked it up on my spare 13B-REW motor, and this is using REW intake manifold. I'll be also mocking it up with Cosmo 13B-RE manifold later on.



Also, vote for me!!! You can vote daily!!

http://sfac.championautoparts.com/entry/686

Thank you all for reading this thread!!

[Herblenny]

I'll go vote for you

Thank you!!!

[rice4life]

Well, I was skeptical but here are the benefits I see so far. Being an luxury sedan, at standar/eco mode, the car truly feel smooth, steering effort is minimal, and acceleration is tame. I want that when transporting my wife who ***** my abrupt driving skills.
When in Sport+ mode, car do come alive. Rev matches at higher RPM, throttle response better, and you could feel the steering tightens up. I haven't taken the car to the track but do feel more responsive. Overall, I feel that this car balances decently for what its supposed to be... luxury sedan with 400HP to move.

Ohhhhh. So it allows it to be so much more than a sports sedan! That's really cool. Thanks for explaining it!





I'll go vote for you

[Herblenny]

Update!

Couple of months ago I ran into Facebook post about Champion Autoparts, "Search for a Champion 2017" promotion.



I've decided to enter and a week ago, I was chosen as one of the top 25 finalist!!!



I would greatly appreciate it if those of you following this thread to vote for me. I have an unique project that I'll be working on later this year and would be nice to win this to support that build. If I win, I'll share what that is the day of winner being announced... otherwise, I'll be keeping it hush hush for little bit longer

To Vote, goto: http://sfac.championautoparts.com/entry/686

Voters can also win prizes from Champion. Thank you for your support!

[Herblenny]

I love this body RX-7 I had the previous generation and miss it. Such a fun car! I have ALWAYS wanted an RX-3 or RX-4

My first Rotary was the second generation. My girlfriend at that time bought it from me and wrecked it within couple of months of owning it. They are great cars!

[R2dmax]

I love this body RX-7 I had the previous generation and miss it. Such a fun car! I have ALWAYS wanted an RX-3 or RX-4

[Herblenny]

Update:

Over the weekend I was able to do some wrenching on the car.
First installation of Sakebomb garage upgraded swaybar mounts. These things are beefy and well made. I'll be using a new Tripoint swaybar with these.



Another thing I was able to do was check the compression on my 1973 RX-3. I recently got the www.RotaryCompressionTester.com (RCT)'s battery operated compression tester and wanted to compare to my Mazda Specialty tool compression testers (old thermal and digital).



After warming up the car, I've tested just the OE digital and RCT testers. RCT unit uses 9V battery and it has automatic altitude calculation. Its super well made and easy to use. All you have to do is warm up, kill the ignition and fuel pump, install the sensor in the trailing plug hole and crank the motor. I did a facebook live video (https://www.facebook.com/Herblenny/v...4392837808927/) hope some of you can view it.

Anyhow, here are the results from the RCT:
Front
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Rear


Not bad for 20+ year old engine

Here is the RX-3 warming up before the test.

[Herblenny]

Not much to update. Been busy spending time with my son over the weekend and work.
But I was able to sand down my Mazdaspeed Carbon Fiber front bumper lip and clear it to bring the shine back. Than replaced my 99 lip from my SSM FD.

[Herblenny]

Good looking cars those q50's.

I make the instruction manuals for those, for the European market

That's awesome!! Sounds like an awesome job!!

Always wondered about the Q50 RS400. So it has all electronic steering yet has a mechanical steering backup? What's the benefit of having electronically controlled steering over electric power assisted or a more traditional hydraulic? I understand that the ECU can change steering angle and correct for oversteer, but most people don't want or need that in a sports sedan? Same with the open diff, is that so it can apply the brakes to the spinning wheel to act as a faux LSD? Sorry man, I'm just trying to understand where the RS400 sits in the spectrum of sports sedans and from a technological standpoint.

I'm really impressed that technology has gotten this far and has been implemented in a $50k car. It kind of reminds me of when electronically controlled dampers, 6 cylinder engines, twin turbos and 4 wheel steering was all of the rage in the higher end japanese sports cars back in the early 90's.

Well, I was skeptical but here are the benefits I see so far. Being an luxury sedan, at standar/eco mode, the car truly feel smooth, steering effort is minimal, and acceleration is tame. I want that when transporting my wife who ***** my abrupt driving skills.
When in Sport+ mode, car do come alive. Rev matches at higher RPM, throttle response better, and you could feel the steering tightens up. I haven't taken the car to the track but do feel more responsive. Overall, I feel that this car balances decently for what its supposed to be... luxury sedan with 400HP to move.

You watch too much MotorTrend bro

LOL! I watched many of these video about RS400 before purchasing.. But he does have a valid point. I was bit skeptical about the electronic steering but its pretty awesome.

[loekaaz]

Always wondered about the Q50 RS400. So it has all electronic steering yet has a mechanical steering backup? What's the benefit of having electronically controlled steering over electric power assisted or a more traditional hydraulic? I understand that the ECU can change steering angle and correct for oversteer, but most people don't want or need that in a sports sedan? Same with the open diff, is that so it can apply the brakes to the spinning wheel to act as a faux LSD? Sorry man, I'm just trying to understand where the RS400 sits in the spectrum of sports sedans and from a technological standpoint.

I'm really impressed that technology has gotten this far and has been implemented in a $50k car. It kind of reminds me of when electronically controlled dampers, 6 cylinder engines, twin turbos and 4 wheel steering was all of the rage in the higher end japanese sports cars back in the early 90's.

You watch too much MotorTrend bro

[rice4life]

Always wondered about the Q50 RS400. So it has all electronic steering yet has a mechanical steering backup? What's the benefit of having electronically controlled steering over electric power assisted or a more traditional hydraulic? I understand that the ECU can change steering angle and correct for oversteer, but most people don't want or need that in a sports sedan? Same with the open diff, is that so it can apply the brakes to the spinning wheel to act as a faux LSD? Sorry man, I'm just trying to understand where the RS400 sits in the spectrum of sports sedans and from a technological standpoint.

I'm really impressed that technology has gotten this far and has been implemented in a $50k car. It kind of reminds me of when electronically controlled dampers, 6 cylinder engines, twin turbos and 4 wheel steering was all of the rage in the higher end japanese sports cars back in the early 90's.