What have you done to your CX-5 today?

[mazstyle]

Thanks Chris, the film is called flyeyeskit and its from the UK, I have been using this on every car I have anything to do with for more than half a decade, its not like regular tinting film, its kinda a black vinyl with perforations so it lets light thru, it does impact the light but not as bad as normal tint, in my country it doesn't pass our yearly warrant checks so for this I remove and then re cover once I pass the checks, its so cheep and only takes 2 hours to do whole car.

Cheep as chips , works real good, can last years http://www.flyeyeskit.co.uk/ highly recommend them .

You can see them on my car vs a stock car in the following album http://s1091.photobucket.com/user/dwayneohara/library/FocusRS/Magazine Photoshoot

 

[undergrad.]

Today, Washed her after thrashing around winding country roads last nioght to test out suspension and push the limits to see how she reacts to the new mods.

Then i decided to fit the flyeyes kit film to my rear lights, i couldn't figure out how to take out the headlights yet so ill do them another day .

That looks great! I wish I knew more about cares so I could attempt to do that myself.

 

[mazstyle]

That looks great! I wish I knew more about cares so I could attempt to do that myself.

Actually it was very easy, the hardest part was the stretching and massaging the film to avoid wrinkles, but pulling the lights out was easy as pie


Tailgate light is one bolt and a wide clipy thing on the edge with 2 little things you pop out with screw driver, plus 2 electrical plugs, easy
Rear lights are 3 bolts each and 2 electrical plugs, again very easy

Any car wrapping, car vinyl single place could do the lights for you if you take them out of the car which is quite easy .

 

[Gio26NJ]

I really really like what you did with the taillights mazstyle. I might do this myself.

Well tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary with our CX-5 currently at 22,200 miles, yesterday gave her a nice wash w Meguiars Ultimate Wasn N Wax, followed up by applying Collinite 845 for the summer months, 303 Aerospace Protectant on all the black trim, Meguiars Endurance Shine on the tires, Cleaned the wheels with Sonax Wheel Cleaner and filled her up with Shell as a special occasion lmao. Next weekend she's going for her 22,500 mile service, I will rotate the tires myself then a nice long trip to Florida awaits.

Doesn't look her age at all 2 years and car still looks brand new! Collinite 845 that's all I have to say, stuff is incredible

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

That looks great! I wish I knew more about cares so I could attempt to do that myself.

You can, if you try stuff out. Btw.. when you quote posts like that you should delete some of the urls so you don't repost a bunch of pictures.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

Someone from the dealer called me today asking if I was interested in looking at new inventory for a trade in. I told them I would only be interested in the cx-5 diesel as I drive a GT and can't justify a trade in for 30hp. They said they will call me for a possible test drive if it happens (mazda 6 diesel is 50 state passed now)

 

[djsiva]

Just platidipped rear front and rear M emblems, along with the gloss black strip above the front M emblem. Next, I'm going to powder coat the wheels matte black and get the roof rack painted matte black by a body shop.

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

In other news.. sad day in Russia as this is no longer acceptable police attire. I guess crime will go down.

 

[otapnam]

Someone from the dealer called me today asking if I was interested in looking at new inventory for a trade in. I told them I would only be interested in the cx-5 diesel as I drive a GT and can't justify a trade in for 30hp. They said they will call me for a possible test drive if it happens (mazda 6 diesel is 50 state passed now)

hey chris, where did you hear the news about the 6 diesel passing? Im dying to hear news about the mazda diesel engines finally hitting the states as my wife and I are planning to get a CX-5 in the next year

 

[D_Frost]

Installed a pair of LED headlight bulbs purchased off eBay a couple weeks ago (stock photo linked as I don't have the auction link ready offhand):

Haven't gotten around to taking pictures as it's past midnight but I moved over to these LEDs from Morimoto XB35 HID (4300K)from TRS. This quest started when another vendor was selling H11 LED headlight bulbs. The bulbs fit in fairly easily (especially after you have tried installing HID bulbs on a non-tech). Took all of maybe 15 minutes to remove my HID kit and put in these LEDs.

Observations so far:

• Light output against the wall is fairly close to HIDs
• Pattern and cutoff is similar to the HIDs
• It's nice to not have ballasts (or a relay) as everything is enclosed inside the heat sink behind the LED
• The bulb is hefty, all surfaces I can see (besides the emitters) are metal
• Documentation indicates the bulbs use Cree XM-L emitters (and they're bright)
• The light output is indicated on the packaging as 6000K but it is whiter than most 6000K HID kits I've seen
• Instant on to full brightness (whereas HIDs need to warm up)

Yet to determine:

• Throw distance of the headlight
• Longevity/reliability of the bulbs
• Glare
• Ability to light up reflective signs and road markers

 

[vroom]

Similar LED bulbs were reviewed on the Mazda 5 forum. Like you, light output and cutoff was deemed acceptable. On the other hand, throw and overall light distribution was way off. In fact I think the reviewer was too generous with his conclusions, as I think they were down right dangerous at highway speeds...

Keep us informed of you impressions!

 

[D_Frost]

Yeah, I've been following that review (along with the parallel thread by the same reviewer on another lighting forum) as well. Was looking to see if a differently designed bulb would fare any better.

 

[vroom]

Well I'm interested, since I had just about abandoned on LEDs and was going to buy a set of Morimotos myself. Although if you intend on going further with a review of those, I suggest starting a new tread so we can all discuss this matter without hijacking this general discussion thread...

 

[D_Frost]

Sure... I'll get one started once I've taken some decent photos. Initial driving impressions, it's less intense compared to the Morimotos and has a very distinct blue tinge to it (like the current gen Acura MDX LED headlights). The throw isn't as far as HID (using the halogen headlight enclosure) but the pattern/cutoff is nearly identical (which may alleviate glare issues for oncoming traffic from far down the road when using HID in the halogen headlight enclosure). Will need to get more night driving in to get a good feel for it. So far I'm reasonably impressed...

 

[meteorgrey]

Removed debris from underneath/between the front wheel trims. I feel like I am doing this on a weekly basis lol. On my drive back from LA last week, a small stretch of i-5 Northbound was covered in toilet paper tissue, and a few sheets of it wound up between the trim. Today it was some grasses and such. I don't care what people say about mirror or hood vibration or annoying head-units...stuff getting stuck between the plastic wheel trim is by far what I find most annoying about the CX-5 lol.

 

[sylva143]

New Dash Trim



Last summer I posted some pics of a partial dash kit that I ordered from Sherwood. After living with it for 9 months, I decided to remove some of it and also add an additional trim piece ordered from the Chinese Aliexpress website. I am happy with the results.

The new chrome trim piece replaces the molded plastic/rubber dash piece from Sherwood. I was very pleased with the new Chinese part; it looks OEM and fits perfectly, and it adds just a bit of bling to make the dash a bit more interesting without disrupting the continuity of the black interior theme. I can guarantee that nobody will recognize this piece as an add-on (unlike the Sherwood piece).

I also removed additional dash kit pieces from the steering wheel and along the top of the glove compartment. I have a newly found appreciation for simplified look.

Removal of the dash kit pieces was fairly easy. I used a blow drier to soften the adhesive, then slowly lifted it away. Whatever foam remained in place was soaked with Goo Gone then rubbed away with my thumb. A couple of areas along the top of the glove compartment have some slight hazing, but I plan to place a coating of Wipe New which I have found to be a long-term solution for interior plastic issues.

I was very happy with the buying experience from aliexpress; the product arrived in about 10 days. Although the trim piece was bent during shipping, it was easily worked back into place and now fits perfectly.

 

[Skorpio]

It looks like you now have a toaster in your dash now (rlaugh). J/K as long you like it, that's all that counts. But, I'm struggling to see the pieces removed from the wheel, and above glove box. I also heard mixed reviews on Wipe New from users. Doesn't that leave a hard coat? Any pics of those?

 

[sylva143]

It looks like you now have a toaster in your dash now (rlaugh). J/K as long you like it, that's all that counts. But, I'm struggling to see the pieces removed from the wheel, and above glove box. I also heard mixed reviews on Wipe New from users. Doesn't that leave a hard coat? Any pics of those?

Well, the pieces removed from the wheel did not leave a trace, so even with a high def picture, you would not know there was anything there. As for Wipe New, my experience is that it leaves a semi-permanent coating that looks like a finish of silicone sealant. It blends perfectly with McGuiar's low gloss protectant. I've used it on scratch and scuff areas, after buffing them out, and it really blends everything together. Consumer Reports also gave the product high marks.

 

[fishsauce]

Finally got my CX-5 tinted. 5% all the way around, including the visor. It's dark!

 

[Iceman04503]

Finally got my CX-5 tinted. 5% all the way around, including the visor. It's dark!

Where did you go to get it tinted? is that 5% on top of the factory tint? and what wheels and specs are those?