T1R Over Pipe & Front Pipe Install

April 24, 2017 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

*Mumbles under breath* Finally some car-related stuff…

I finally had like a free hour to go stop by Jackie’s shop and get the front pipe and over pipe installed that the guys and Diana got me for my birthday. The pipes have been sitting in my office for a long ass time and this was well overdue.

I really did only have an hour, or rather Jackie/Isaac only had an hour to install the pipes before we had to go and meet up with friends for lunch. So for Jackie and Isaac to get the car onto the lift and finish the install and then get it off again with no issues in an hour, that’s an A+ in my books. The reason I mention the lift is because it hasn’t been so magical getting on and off this thing since the kit has been on the FRS. Getting on is tricky because the front bumper typically clears, but as soon as the wheels are on, the sideskirts can fall on the angle – which they did the first time. The second time around, we watched the skirts but neglected the bumper getting off and so that got some contact. Needless to say, Isaac was petrified at the thought of doing it again… This time they found a way to get it on slowly but surely without any contact and I was on my way.

In all it’s non-existent glory.

For the most part, the car is neglected. I haven’t even washed it and it only gets driven to and from work. It doesn’t see weekends that much…

You can see a good look at the diffuser that I installed about a month or so ago. Adds a little bit of a finishing touch to the rear to compliment the wing. The underside of the car was lacking a bit before…

A shot of the stock front piping.

And a shot of the T1R power headers – still only a bronze finish since the car, nor the headers have been put through it’s paces…

Outside sat Isaac’s Amuse S2000 with a new Voltex wing to outfit the aggressive body.

And bronze TE37’s… How I still long for a set…

Jackie’s 4Runner – no stranger to most of you these days…

Punit made a guest appearance in his Japanese Ferrari – I haven’t seen this thing in well over a year I think… Of all the days he drives it, he drives it when it’s shitty out.

Still one of the best and cleanest looking USDM front Integras…

A shot of the rear of Isaac’s S2000. I love that bumper and exhaust set up. The wing suits it nicely… But I say that about anything with a legit GT wing on it.

Isaac making quick work of getting the front and over pipe in. Nice and shiny…

A somewhat unclear shot of the over pipe – it’s not really visible but it’s there.

And voila! A full T1R exhaust system is now in place on the FRS. I unfortunately didn’t get any sound clips – I should have in retrospect – but it is definitely louder than before. To be expected I suppose, but my neighbours definitely might have more to say about it.

I’ve been debating my next purchase – I think I’m going to be going with the OFT shortly here to make use of the full exhaust system and tune to stage 2 otherwise this would all be for naught. Part of me has also debated a cage but it would remove all practicality of the car – I guess it’s not meant to be practical – but in my defense, I’d like Aria to be able to sit in the back seat one day and a cage would make that impossible. I’m playing around with other options but I think to squeeze the extra 20hp out of the full system, the OFT is my next purchase. By way of the butt dyno, the car already feels a bit more responsive in the lower and mid end but that could be placebo or the louder sound that makes me believe that… Either way, a nice addition for sure.

T1R Front & Overpipe!

February 17, 2017 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

After a few months, the gifts the guys, Diana and my sister got for my birthday finally all made it in to AJ-R and I got the shipment earlier this week. Last year, they got me the T1R Power Header to open up the exhaust system a little more, and now to fully complete it, they got the T1R front pipe and over pipe. Now I just have to find some time to bring it to Jackie at Balance Auto to install. I don’t think I want to get under the car and do it myself after the header install LOL. It’s likely an easier install but I’m not in the mood – nor can I figure a way to get my jack under the car with the sideskirts lol. I need to find a better way to jack my car up on my own…

While I was at it, I asked Ben to throw in a AJRC Type-O diffuser as well to spruce the rear up a bit more and balance the wing out. I was debating for months on whether to get a Valenti 4th light or just screw it and get a cage. I still don’t know what I want to do… But I’ll have to decide before the car comes out of hibernation finally. It’s been a long ass winter mainly cause the weather has been pretty shitty.

It’s always exciting to have some parts laying around waiting to be installed!

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The diffuser. Plain Jane for now – mainly cause there isn’t a diffuser that I “love”. Hopefully one day something cool comes out.. *Cough* Voltex

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Until I have time, they sit on my desk collecting dust…

Hiatus

December 11, 2016 / jasonhoang / 2 Comments

Man, has it been a while. I haven’t posted since October! This has to be a record – some of you might have thought I left this for good or went and died or something. Obviously I didn’t, but it has been a busy few months. You’d think having a newborn would be easy – all they do is sleep and eat and poop and repeat. Well that is actually all they do but they require a lot of attention while they’re doing it all.

I haven’t had much time to focus on the car – we’ve got a handful of weddings next year and that’s where all my car funds have gone LOL. I’m pretty stoked – we’re heading to London and Dublin in April so it should make for a wicked vacation. I’m still trying to figure out where I want to go with the car… I have a bunch of parts in mind, I just can’t figure out which one I want to get first. Looking at a Runduce BBK… A cage maybe… Some titanium strut bars… I guess I’ll figure it out when I get there. Either way, it’ll come… Some of you might be wondering what’s going on with the FRS. I still like it for those of you wondering if I’m planning on selling it already. I know, I haven’t had a great track record for keeping cars but this one is my fave still.

I did want to write up a post to thank my friends – Punit, JC, Gopesh, Aldo and of course Diana and my sister Julee for picking me up more parts for the car for my birthday. It’s all I ever really want to be honest. If you ever took a look at my wishlists, it’s car stuff and my parents hate it cause they don’t know what the hell it is or where the hell to get them LOL. They were able to grab the finishing pieces to the exhaust system – T1R front pipe and T1R overpipe. The front pipe hasn’t arrived yet, but rest assured, I’ll have pics up when it gets here. It’s still a few more months before they go on the car so they’ll just sit in my office until that time comes…

Anyway – just wanted to write to keep everyone updated. It’s slow so I’m sorry I can’t put much more effort right now. I think when Aria gets bigger for the summer and we’re able to actually go places with her, I’ll have a lot more content coming your way. Until then – thanks for continuing to stop by! If I don’t post before Christmas – I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

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Breath of Fresh Air

January 22, 2016 / jasonhoang / Leave a comment

Sorry! Been dead as hell around here – I’m lucky I even had content a few weeks ago thanks to Ricky’s Japan pics.

Nothing new on my front – I’m pretty much done with getting all my parts. Now all that’s left is to get the kit painted and installed. I’m booked in for the End of February for that and then it’s pretty much ready to go. I’m a little bummed because the one last thing that was on my list to get was a rear diffuser to kind of even out the rear end with the Voltex wing. It’s unfortunate that our dollar has plummeted so much and so quickly that a $450 diffuser ends up costing nearly $900 when it’s finally in my hands. I’ll pass on paying double for something that’s not worth that much right now…

Anyway, I finally stopped being lazy and brought the car out this afternoon since the weather was way too awesome not to. I’ve been meaning to bring it out and install the Craft Square mirrors a little better than how I did it the first time. The rubber behind the mirrors were still showing and it just looked shitty and it made me lose sleep at night LOL.

I ended up rolling it out because all my neighbours were outside and a cold start with the new headers is loud as f*** inside the garage. It literally shakes all my pictures in the garage and rumbles the entire house. Once it idles for a bit, it quiets down significantly… I just didn’t want my neighbours hating me this early on in the year lol.

I also did it because I wanted some shots of the rear – ever since I put the wing on, I’ve never actually seen what it looked like! So I took some quick snaps while it got some fresh air…

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