finally back and modding (from Anchorage)

[rynzms3]

finally back and modding (from Anchorage) now w/ pics

hey fellas,

I finally made it home from overseas. 13 month combat tour and now im finally modding. My car: 08.5 white speed3. Odometer reads 7450 as of right now. Crazy considering i bought it brand new in July of 2008.

So here is my mod list and i will be updating as time goes on.
Corksport FMIC powdercoated flat black - installed
Forge Performace BPV (black) - installed
Corksport DP - not arrived yet
Corksport exhaust - installing today
H&R springs - installing tomorrow
COBB AP stage 2+ maps - not arrived yet
8000K HIDs - installed
18 X 8 black Kyowa wheels w/ potenzas - mounted, balanced, not installing until April 1st.

I live in Anchorage and yes i drive in the snow. If anyone has a question about snow tires on the speed3 and how it handles, im your guy. I run the stock wheels in the winter with Nokian Hakapalita 4 studded snow and ice tires. It handles great. While i was away, i think the snow plow guys hit my front end right after the wife pulled the car out of storage. Didnt hurt anything really but there are some narly surface scratches on the front of the car. Any advice as how to get these out without spending too much money?

When mounting my tires today on the new wheels, some asshole stacked my wheels and scratched the crap out of them. Thats what i get for walking away to answer the phone. Any ideas as to how to fix/cover/fill the scratches?

When i installed the CS FMIC i was having fitment issues with the facia. After i put in the exhaust tomorrow, im pulling the facia again and adjusting all the pipes to make the facia fit like new. I just really hope i can buff out the scratches. They're not very deep and appear to be only surface scratches. Has anyone else had fitment issues with the CS FMIC?

Ill be posting pics soon so keep an eye out. Since i live in AK, are there any other Alaska members on here? I used to have an 09 CX7 sport AWD (hers) but i just recently traded it in for the new 2010 RX8 R3. VERY HAPPY with it so far. Doesnt handle the snow and ice very well considering it has the potenzas on it still. Kind of sucks though because i bought the power series exhaust (TBE) for it and never installed it. I dont want to post that its for sale because im afraid of having my post deleted. Ill save that for a later date after reviewing the rules again.

So keep your eyes on this thread because pics will be coming tomorrow hopefully. And i cant wait to meet with any alaska members if there are any.

-Ryan-

 

[ms6acton]

welcome home! sounds like your gonna have quite the little beast once youre done modding.looking forward to all pics (nana)

 

[zx2man]

Welcome home!...You @ Ft Richardson right? You might be in my old unit 1-25 INF Brigade?...anyways I lived in Alaska for 15 years..mostly matsu valley...but also Tok-Fairbanks area as well as Soldotna and Anchor Point area too..mainly went to Anchorage for shopping- 5th ave Mall-Diamond Center...Is there alot of speeds up there? I havnt been back up since 2003. Take care

 

[rynzms3]

Welcome home!...You @ Ft Richardson right? You might be in my old unit 1-25 INF Brigade?...anyways I lived in Alaska for 15 years..mostly matsu valley...but also Tok-Fairbanks area as well as Soldotna and Anchor Point area too..mainly went to Anchorage for shopping- 5th ave Mall-Diamond Center...Is there alot of speeds up there? I havnt been back up since 2003. Take care

In 2005 4-25 stood up at Ft. Rich. We're an airborne BCT. 2-25 and 3-25 are in Hawaii, and 1-25 is up in Fairbanks where its balls cold all the time. There are tons of speed3 up here. A few speed6's too. The CX7 is a big seller too considering there is an AWD option. Its just tough tracking some of these guys down. Before i deployed some guy in the brigade bought a red speed3 with a bunch of cobb mods from the dealer. He had it about two months and wrecked it. I spanked a black on earlier today when the wife and I were headed out to the slopes for some snowboarding.

Anyhow, i said i would post some pics of the mods so here they are. I havent installed the springs yet nor the AP, wheels, and DP but soon everything will be done.

 

[rynzms3]

a few more...

 

[zx2man]

Looks good...I have alwas thought the Corksport fmic was a interesting&cool looking set up. Nice wheels too!..keep up the good work. scouts out

 

[MSP300]

speaking of winter tires i also heard that nokian tires are very good
i know for sure what im gonna be getting next year as my winter set

nice car, i like ur mods list too

any more plans for suspension? (besides H&R springs)

 

[bigdaddy]

lets see some pics of the scratches. If i could check em out, i could probably tell you whether or not you could get them out...

 

[rynzms3]

stand by for pics of the scratches, ill swing by the car wash in the morning and take some pics of the scratches. Found out that the downpipe is on its way. Should be here in about a week or so. Still need to order the AP too. I have a guy up here that can save me on shipping. i missed that one for sale by about 5 minutes.

as for suspension, eventually i might go coilovers. im buying a house first though so i can actually have both cars in the garage when it snows. I will be getting the chasis stiffeners and sway bars. sway bars first for some AutoX this summer. There are events every weekend up here.

Can anyone tell me how much a quart of any full synthetic motor oil is down in the lower 48. I just paid 9 dollars per quart of valvaline full synthetic. I swear it used to be like less than six dollars per when i lived in Texas like 3 years ago.

and snow tires... I run the Nokian Hakkapolita 4's. I heard they have a five out now. The 4's are studded and i get better traction than alot of the awd vehicles up here. Even in like 10 inches of fresh powder... drive right through it with no problems. coming off a light on the black ice can be rough but with the traction control, no issues really!

More pics coming soon!

 

[zx2man]

LOL...yes oil has gone up! since then......but 9 bucks it alittle crazy for valvoline..I pay about 7 bucks @ walmart for the Castrol edge stuff....I would also suggest Penzoil Platinum and Mobil 1 fully synthetic motor oils..Hopefully if you shop around you can do better than 9 bucks..but the days of cheap oil or what used to be cheap are long gone.

 

[rynzms3]

especially when everything up here costs around 20-35 percent more than everything in the lower 48

 

[MSP300]

dude 9 bux thats insane, i pay less for amsoil. im sure if you shop online you can get it cheaper.
most likely im gonna by nokian winter tires for next year, dont know if should buy studded onces since i live in jersey.
i also wanted to ask you if those tire wear fast because i've heard that nokian tires wear fast

 

[rynzms3]

no way dude. even though i live in alaska, the roads get clear fast and i drive the hell out of these tires on drive/wet pavement. I have spun the s*** out of them many of times and yet... no wear at all!! Nokian makes the best winter tire IMO!

check out my latest thread... lol!