Well after many faithful years we got rid of the 2008 CX9 GT. It was a faithful vehicle that really didn't give too much trouble. But with 109K on the clock, a leaking transfer case, little issues building up and seeing FOMOCO on the dipstick it was time to upgrade. We picked up a 2019 Signature. We choose 2019 because we wanted the back bench seat and the red/brownish interior. Car only has 9K on the clock. I will say that it is the nicest car I have ever owned. The interior is amazing. I plan on doing some minor upgrades and will post my mods here.
Out with the old (2008). In with the new (2019)
- Thread starter Gnicetry
- Start date
MGMGT16-thank you. That was literally one of the reasons my wife wanted the CX9. It really looks classy and kind of bada$$ at the same time.
So first thing I did was PPF the bumper cover, mirror caps and headlights. For some reason the Mazda paint is REALLY thin and this is a must for me. Also chrome wrapped the little header panel. Was sort of on the fence about this but I figured at the least the wrap would act as a PPF anyway. Came out WAY better than I thought. Looks really classy and brings it up a notch in the looks department.
So first thing I did was PPF the bumper cover, mirror caps and headlights. For some reason the Mazda paint is REALLY thin and this is a must for me. Also chrome wrapped the little header panel. Was sort of on the fence about this but I figured at the least the wrap would act as a PPF anyway. Came out WAY better than I thought. Looks really classy and brings it up a notch in the looks department.
^^^ I do. Kind of. It is $500 to do that and $250/fender. That is a lot of hundreds. Just couldn't swallow all of it at once.
Also love your rims, style and color. I wouldn't have the balls to put bronze with the grey but it works real well. My favorite color is the machine grey metallic, but wife wanted white. So white it is.
Also love your rims, style and color. I wouldn't have the balls to put bronze with the grey but it works real well. My favorite color is the machine grey metallic, but wife wanted white. So white it is.
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- Canada
As they say, happy wife, happy life! I think?
Lol. My wife also wanted white at first, but after seeing the machine grey in the parking lot, she changed her mind. And I'll be honest, bronze wouldn't have been my first choice either. I only went with this colour because the set of 4 was about $300 cheaper than the same exact wheels in silver. It worked out in the end!That price seems pretty high for PPF.. I would probably put it off as well, or shop around to try to find better quotes.
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- 2019 CX9 GT Pearl
So I did 3M Crystalline tint 70 to the 2 front windows. It is almost imperceptible. Very very slight blueish tint but really don't notice it unless you are looking for it. The pictures of the Lexus are to contrast with. The Lexus has no tint. It does look actually darker in the pics because the interior is darker because of the color of the interior and tint on the rear windows. Wife didn't really want any tint and the 70 is almost nothing different than OEM. Apparently it works real well with heat rejection. I watched a whole bunch of YouTube videos and the 90 was like 60 something % heat rejection and the 70 was like 84%. Also didn't want the interior to fade out from the sun.
Then I added the chrome side view mirror pieces. Again looks super OEM. A lot of the newer luxury cars have some type of chrome trim on the side view, just saw a new Lexus RX with them today. Funny thing, wife said that the CX9 actually looks better than the new RX. Subjective but I agree. Looks really sharp. Again I know not everyone is a fan of chrome but wife is, so....... LOL
And last thing-I gave the car a wash yesterday. The sucker takes a long time to wash and dry with a chamois. There are a lot of crevices and nooks that make it kind of time consuming. The tail lights, rear chrome trim and grill especially.
Then I added the chrome side view mirror pieces. Again looks super OEM. A lot of the newer luxury cars have some type of chrome trim on the side view, just saw a new Lexus RX with them today. Funny thing, wife said that the CX9 actually looks better than the new RX. Subjective but I agree. Looks really sharp. Again I know not everyone is a fan of chrome but wife is, so....... LOL
And last thing-I gave the car a wash yesterday. The sucker takes a long time to wash and dry with a chamois. There are a lot of crevices and nooks that make it kind of time consuming. The tail lights, rear chrome trim and grill especially.
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- Canada
Just a heads up, the side mirrors are very good at holding water and dripping onto the sides of the car while you drive. Whenever I wash mine, I fold them in and out to wipe down the area as much as I can. Seems to work.
Also, I would suggest ditching the chamois and switching to microfiber towels. Japanese paint is very soft, so using a chamois is likely to leave minor swirl marks. I dry each panel with a damp microfiber to soak up excess water, then follow up with a clean, dry microfiber to get any remaining drops.
Installed rear bumper thing (don't know the official word). I thought they would be metal but it is chromed plastic. Went on super easy. I like it a lot better than I thought I would. Just have to do something about those exhaust tips.
