What's Next

Unlike his big sister, Daisy, it's easy to find stuff for little Nickie and cheap too! There's no point buying brand new original cosmetic stuff but I would settle for 2nd hand original stuff without blinking an eyelid. Replicas are in abundance without much compromise on quality and of course, they cost only a fraction of the original stuff. Besides, most of the stuff I put on Nickie don't stay very long. It's easy to flogged off replicas because there are many people like me who just want to change looks for the heck of it. However, I draw the line when it comes to engineering parts. No replicas, as far as possible. If it's an after-market part, I will do the research required to make sure it's safe to be used. For the time being, the engineering department is staying stock. I have the necessary parts like extractors, mid-pipe, exhaust, racing clutch, etc to convert the car into a little beast but that transformation is on hold.

What's next on the list? Well, I've decided the stock Recaro seats will be swopped with replica Bride Low Max Gias. I've never really like the Recaros because they don't feel like real Recaros having experienced the real stuff on Daisy. I will have to give up the side air bags but in lieu of that, I will have a 3-point racing harness installed instead. I figured that if DTM, BTTC or other track cars don't have side air bags and the driver is properly strapped down with a racing harness, safety will not be compromised. The passenger may not like it but hey, it's for their own safety. I was toying with the idea of having full-bucket seats but decided reclining semi-bucket seats will be more comfortable and convenient.

Next, exhaust tips. I am really anxious about this mod because it's something I've always wanted to do to change the look of the rear end. Currently, the exhaust tips are replica Spoon exhaust tips. I don't fancy them too much because firstly, they are heavy. Secondly, they are not 'big' enough and thirdly, they are too shiny! Thanks to a good friend (seems like I am blessed with many good friends) who gave me a pair of chrome black exhaust tips from his BMW 135 exhaust, I am going to morphed them onto the stock exhaust tips. A lot of work will be needed but it's going to be worth it...Nickie may be the only one with BMW exhaust tips.

A very expensive change will be the 18" Rays 57 MOTORSPORT G07WT wheels. They are 18 x 7.5" 5 x 114.3 Offset 43 and will cost a whopping $750 per wheel (not including tyres). And they will be white. These are the last set of wheels I am going to buy. No more messing around with wheels after this because I think these are the ultimate wheels for the car. They are not as light as the OZ but that don't matter as long as it is strong.

You would notice by now that I am taking a slightly different route in my modification madness. I am trying as much as possible to stay away from regular JDM stuff and taking the European route. I want to prove that a Jap car need not look like a Jap car (whatever that means) but it can be transformed tastefully into something more European-looking (whatever that means). Oh well, it's personal and at the end of the day, as long as I am happy with how the car looks, that is all that matters. You people should have fun modding your car too and don't let others distract you.

Back to the Good Old Rays

The OZs were replaced by the Rays about a week ago. However, the knocking sound is still there. So, it is not the wheel that is creating the problem. That's bad news. The next course of action is to strip the whole left suspension and check to see if anything is loose. We have already tightened every visible nut and bolt including the front strut bar. Let's see how it goes. Here are the pictures of Nickie with the Rays.

Back to the Rays

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your patience in reading my blog. It must be quite painful to read all about the things I do to Nickie because it seems I keep going around in circles. Well, this posting is not going to be any different. Before you start calling me names, I thought it is better I clarify, explain and reinforce the logic of the mods I do. Let's take this swopping from the OZ 18" back to the Rays 17" as an example. As much as I love the OZ rims, they are beginning to give me problems because of its size. The tyres rub against the coilovers when going over humps and we have this irritating knocking sound. Besides the sound, there is a possibility that the coilovers could be damaged from the knocking.

The OZ are 18" x 8J; which means spacers are necessary to prevent the rim from rubbing on the coilovers. It also means that camber adjustment is limited as too much negative camber means the tyres will also rub against the coilovers. This is applicable if you have a camber kit installed because in original form, the front camber of the Swift cannot be adjusted. That leaves me with 3 options; adjust the camber every time it runs off, remove the camber kit or replace the OZ with the Rays. I chose option 3 for simplicity and practical reasons. Having to replace 4 wheels is easier than having to remove the camber kit and most importantly, I can change the wheels myself. Obviously, the camber is misaligned and alignment would have to be done after I put back the Rays. Regarding the point about spacers, I would certainly not recommend having them on the car because it reduces the length of the securing bolt. Which essentially means the wheels cannot be tightened as much as you would want it to be. Although the chances of the wheels dropping out is highly remote, why would you want to take the risk?

I certainly hope I have clarified my actions. It all bothers on time and situation. Pictures will be posted once the replacement is done. Thank you for reading.

Additions, Deletions, Replacements

Here's another round of cosmetic changes. Decided the side moldings on the door needs to be taken off. This is the second time I have put it on and taken it off. There's really nothing wrong with it. It gives protection from people who might put a dent on the door. I've been wanting to take it off but could never find a reason to do so until the plastics started to peel off from the double-sided tape. It was easy to remove 3 out of the 4 pieces. The last one was horrendous to take off because it was stuck on using 3M double-sided tape. It was baked onto the car and took me almost 4 hours to remove it with lighter fluid, wax, polish, WD40 and anything I could lay my hands on. Good thing patience prevailed and I did not make any scratches. I swear, from now on, unless my life depends on it, no more 3M double-sided tape on anything that might come off later. The side moldings actually makes the door panels look smaller since it divides it into 2 halves. Anyway, they are put into storage again and if anyone wants to buy it, I would sell it.

Added the Monster rear lip add-on. It makes the rear end looks a little lower and makes the car appear more balanced when seen from the side. It was sprayed the same color as the side skirts to maintain the color flow and coupled with the front carbon fiber splitters.

The clear tail lamps have been replaced by the stock ones because the authorities consider all after-market parts as illegal. Can you beat that? Now you know why every other car looks like the other one in Singapore.

The exhaust tips have also been changed to Spoon look-alike. They are screwed onto the exhaust pipes. The authorities deemed my previous exhaust as illegal because the tips were welded on. As you know, the stock tips are screwed on the exhaust pipes. Apparently, any cut and weld marks on any part of the exhaust system constitutes an illegal modification. Can you beat that? You buy an expensive car but the authorities decides what you can and cannot do.

I am not sure this will be the final look. The grill is starting to bother me and I am thinking of putting back the stock grill. Most guys I meet like the grill because it's different and gives the car character. I even have a special logo attached! Anyway, it will stay for now until it's time to go.

More Lips and Wing Tips Pics

Enjoy the pictures taken during the day.

Lips and Wing Tips

I admit I've never been a fan of carbon fibre. That was the main reason I did not install the Kansai front lips because it only comes in carbon fibre. I wanted it to be in FRP so that I can spray it red in order to obtain a singular colour on the front end. But alas, things are not meant to be when a good friend offers you 2 Kansai carbon fibre front lips at an unbelievable price. As you can see, they look incredible. It gives the front end a more aggressive look and not only that, it provides some down force also.

See the wing tips? They have been changed to carbon fibre ones but notice that the design is no longer the Kansai-type. The same friend gave me those wing tips to match the carbon fibre front lips. These wing tips are meant for the GT spoiler. So, the holes are not aligned and the wing tips don't actually fit the stock holes. Well, with some ingenuity and a drill, yours truly converted it to match the spoiler. So, it's no longer a Kansai spoiler, neither is it a GT spoiler but it's a Nickie spoiler. The size of the wing tips are much bigger than the Kansai ones. I've just realised that doing 'big' things on Nickie makes 'big' differences.

Next on the list? The rear bumper needs to be lowered and a project is being hatched while we speak. Check back in a couple of weeks and see for yourself. Enjoy the grown-up Nickie pictures.

Old Shoes with New Clothes

Decided to re-install the OZ Superleggera 18" rims back on Nickie. They were nicely re-sprayed before being put into storage since September 2008. Figured it is time to give Nickie a new look as some aspects of the car's exterior has changed. As I was changing the rims, I realised how light these rims are compared to the 17" Rays 57. Anyway, the rims are gonna stay on Nickie for awhile since they are kinda nice and the Rays 57 can take a break. The next thing that needs to be done is to re-install the after-market headers. I miss those things the most. The Sunline centre-pipe will have to come off and replaced with the stock mid-pipe or else the boys in blue will nab me for sure. The Exedy racing clutch will also be re-installed since I think I might have blew the clutch after the last track day at Sepang. Bought over a second-hand Hot Inazma Pocket from a fellow forum guy for my motorbike but decided to try it on Nickie first. Wow...that is an amazing product. The lag in 2nd gear seems to have disappeared and my senses tells me that the car is definitely much more livelier. Where there used to be some hesitation during idle, all these seem to have gone away. There are people who sneered at such products doubting their effectiveness. For me, I listen to what they have to say but no matter what, the decision is mine to make. If it works, good for me but if it doesn't, then I just ditch it. Hopefully someone will buy it over but not without feedback from me. Enjoy the new pics although they are not well taken because it was turning quite dark.