Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Strut Tower Brace
I just got my MRZ Performance strut tower brace as well as my billet oil cap, billet windsheild wiper fluid cap, as well as my electrical box billet place with a black shevy bowtie on it. They look sick. Will post pics soon
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Engine Parts
Well, the next phase that in my modifications came in the engine department. The first modification that I made was to order a cold air intake system. Before you order your cold air intake, you need to know some information about your vehicle. The size of the engine for example, mine is a 2.2 liter ecotec 4 cylinder engine. That along with the make, model, year, should suffice when ordering your intake.
You may be asking why would I want to put a cold air intake on my vehicle, what does it do? Well, a cold air intake is a device used to bring lowertemperature air into a vehicle's internal combustion engine, to increase engine power and efficiency. It also enhances efficiency through higher flow, and can increase the life of the engine by allowing it to run cooler. So cooler is better. Plus it gives the car a nice, low "whine".
The process for installing a cold air intake is simple. Most systems that your order today come with a step by step how-to, to install the CAI. These instructions, like mine, included detailed verbal and pictorial aid.
There are several brands to choose from, weapon R, K&N, injen. Simply go online and google the your vehicles type and the words:cold air intake, sift through the results and see which brand suits you best.
You may be asking why would I want to put a cold air intake on my vehicle, what does it do? Well, a cold air intake is a device used to bring lowertemperature air into a vehicle's internal combustion engine, to increase engine power and efficiency. It also enhances efficiency through higher flow, and can increase the life of the engine by allowing it to run cooler. So cooler is better. Plus it gives the car a nice, low "whine".
The process for installing a cold air intake is simple. Most systems that your order today come with a step by step how-to, to install the CAI. These instructions, like mine, included detailed verbal and pictorial aid.
There are several brands to choose from, weapon R, K&N, injen. Simply go online and google the your vehicles type and the words:cold air intake, sift through the results and see which brand suits you best.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Instructions
Hello again, I now have the window tints, the rims, the headlights and tail lights covered. At this point in my modifications list I was limited to what I could do next. The same factor applies, money. A cheap modification that I have described earlier is debadging and painting emblems. At this point I would like to discuss the details of what I did.
So depending on your make and model of your vehicle, i started off by removing the letters and that dealership name plate. The name plate I threw away. Now for the letters of the name of the car, COBALT LT, I took and using automotive trim adhesive, and "glued" the letters in order on the dash.
the picture below actually shows the placement of the letters. there are some other interior modifications as it were, but I will mention them all in another post.
the picture below actually shows the placement of the letters. there are some other interior modifications as it were, but I will mention them all in another post.For the bowtie, again depending on your make/model there are different methods for the back and the front.
Front: the emblem in the front, for mine, was held in place by two bolts. simply pop the hood and undo the bolts. once this is done the emblem is ready to come out. as far as the painting is concerned, I went to the dealership and got touchup paint that matches my vin number, (location mentioned earlier). Now if you just apply the paint there is a good chance that it will just come off later.
For a more permanent basis, take some sandpaper, 400 gradient should be fine. and sand down the emblem. When finished sanding, wash it off with water and dry it off. dont use soap, we want it without any grease, or anything else slippery so to speak. now just cover whatever part of the emblem you want with the paint, you dont have to use the same type paint as your vin number. once done painting, set it aside and let it dry.
While the front is drying, move along to the rear. this one is more than likely just like the lettering. It only has some automotive trim adhesive or 3m tape or 3m spray. something like that, so you can take a old credit card or something of the sort and peel it off. Same concept, sand, wash off, dry, paint, let it dry.
Now when they are both dry, this will help keeping the paint from chipping. 
Simply spray equal amount of the clear coat along the entire emblem. Set them aside and let that dry.
Simply spray equal amount of the clear coat along the entire emblem. Set them aside and let that dry.Once completly dry, reinstall the emblem, whether it be with the two bolts or more 3m tape.
Car Modifying #3
From the window tints, i now had the headlights (which have a black background), the tail lights, the window tints. Hmmm, what missing. the rims. its not unlike anything else ive put on the car. So I jumped back on the web and started searching. The website that I mentioned earlier, cardomain, was a big help. i was able to see the wheels on actual cars and was able to determine for myself what looked good and what didnt. Well at least in my opinion. There was really only one factor that I had going against me, money. I had to find just the right wheels and for just the right price.
My search took me through me sites, some sites were from the brands themselves, lexani, konig, etc. and some took me through sites that sold the rims. 360tuners.com, kingsource.com, others. I finally found a set of Konigs, that a local Discount Tire Company were selling. they were reasonably priced and i liked the look of them.
Well, surprisingly it only took them three days to arrived at the store and I went and had them installed. Cost me $119 a peice.
My search took me through me sites, some sites were from the brands themselves, lexani, konig, etc. and some took me through sites that sold the rims. 360tuners.com, kingsource.com, others. I finally found a set of Konigs, that a local Discount Tire Company were selling. they were reasonably priced and i liked the look of them.
Well, surprisingly it only took them three days to arrived at the store and I went and had them installed. Cost me $119 a peice.
Window Tints(Part 4)
Go peel the film and carefully lay it into position without creasing it or touching the adhesive side, or letting it touch anything but wet glass. If it hits a dry spot of glass it will grab, so be patient and go slow, don't be afraid to rehearse how you are going to get in the car without using your hands holding a long strip of film. Once it is in position, carefully squeegee it out, prepare the next section of glass as above, and lay the next piece in. Once the second strip is squeegeed out, cut the butt seam at the defroster line.
Try to cut on the top edge of the defroster line on the glass and not in the metal of the line. Make sure to cut firmly through both pieces of film to get a good clean seam the first time. Make sure to use new high quality stainless steel razor blades to reduce unavoidable glass scratches. After the cut is done, remove the extra pieces. to remove the piece that is under the second strip, peel back the corner of the second strip just enough to grip the extra piece, and pull the strip of extra film out slowly as you spray a little soapy water to keep any dry spots from grabbing. Once the excess pieces of film are gone, squeegee both the first and second pieces firmly, prepare the next section of glass and repeat as above until all 4 pieces are in and all three seams are cut.
In my state, its illegal to have any film on the windsheild, so i dont have a written explanation but the if you can follow this entire process you shouldnt have any problem tinting any window.
Try to cut on the top edge of the defroster line on the glass and not in the metal of the line. Make sure to cut firmly through both pieces of film to get a good clean seam the first time. Make sure to use new high quality stainless steel razor blades to reduce unavoidable glass scratches. After the cut is done, remove the extra pieces. to remove the piece that is under the second strip, peel back the corner of the second strip just enough to grip the extra piece, and pull the strip of extra film out slowly as you spray a little soapy water to keep any dry spots from grabbing. Once the excess pieces of film are gone, squeegee both the first and second pieces firmly, prepare the next section of glass and repeat as above until all 4 pieces are in and all three seams are cut.
In my state, its illegal to have any film on the windsheild, so i dont have a written explanation but the if you can follow this entire process you shouldnt have any problem tinting any window.
Window Tints(Part 3:Rear Window)
For the back window, most shops will do them in one or two peices(depending of course on your vehicle make and model). this step is accomplished by the heat shrinking method. This is a very tricky technique, and is very easy to mess up if you dont know what you are doing. Again taking your time with this step is essential.
Lets get started.
If you can't heat shrink the film for the rear window, you can use seamed pieces, usually 4 pieces of film will lay flat on most rear windows, some can be done in fewer strips(which ever you fell most comfortable with or in case were patience is wereing thin(ME)). Cut the strips so that the pieces will overlap each other on a defroster line (if the car has them), then, when you are laying the film inside you can cut both pieces at once along the line, to make a 'butt seam'.
Make sure to use new high quality stainless steel razor blades to reduce unavoidable glass scratches. Try not to use carbon razor blades or olfa knives on glass, the will almost certainly scratch the glass, especially on the outside! Most rear car windows have a compound curve, a curve on the horizontal plane and a curve on the vertical plane(up and down/left and right). This prevents the window from being tinted with a single piece of tint.
A good analogy is trying to wrap paper around a basketball, the paper will not lay flat without creases and folds. One way to overcome this is the same way a basketball is made, with pieces and seams. Most rear windows can be done in four pieces of tint with three seams. The seams can be hidden by the horizontal defroster element. You should first cut all of your pieces to shape, and then install them.
word to the wise: make sure that the razor blades that you use are new, high quality stainless steel blades, other wise you could stratch the glass.
Preparing the rear window for film installation should be done after all the film has been cut. Spray the inside of the glass with soapy water and scrub it with a dish sponge, paying extra attention to the edges. Squeegee the glass dry and wipe with a paper towel to lift up any residue the ceramic edge gives off, (This will help the film to stick to the dots.) and spray the window again, this time squeegee very carefully to get all of the water off. Now flush the window from the top down, avoiding the very top and the dots, if the window has them, to prevent dirt from bleeding down. Just flush the area thats going to receive the strip of film.
Lay the cut film on the wet table, so you can pull the liner off without it laying over onto itself (if dry adhesive surface touches itself you will need to start over as it will stick firm causing you to issue a few choice words).
Wash the windows in preparation to receive the film one at a time. For the back window, use a white dish scrubber not a green one (it will scratch), go peel the film, and spray it with soapy water too, pick it up and lay the film onto the wet inner glass, position it until its just right, use the squeegee to get as much water out as possible, then lay the next piece, squeegee both, then cut along the defroster line to make a butt seam making sure not to cross and cut any defroster lines as they will no longer work, also some cars have the radio antenna on the window with the same type of line, do not cut these as your antenna will not work anymore! Remove the cut away pieces as you lightly spray soapy water where you lift the film away from the glass, squeegee out the seam, then lay the next strip and so on.
After you apply the film wait a little while before you put the panels back on, or removing the masking tape from the flap. After all the film is laid and cut, here and there parts of it might pop up, push them down with a bondo card then blot any excess water from the window film with paper towels.
If you are still with me, proceed to Part 4
Lets get started.
If you can't heat shrink the film for the rear window, you can use seamed pieces, usually 4 pieces of film will lay flat on most rear windows, some can be done in fewer strips(which ever you fell most comfortable with or in case were patience is wereing thin(ME)). Cut the strips so that the pieces will overlap each other on a defroster line (if the car has them), then, when you are laying the film inside you can cut both pieces at once along the line, to make a 'butt seam'.
Make sure to use new high quality stainless steel razor blades to reduce unavoidable glass scratches. Try not to use carbon razor blades or olfa knives on glass, the will almost certainly scratch the glass, especially on the outside! Most rear car windows have a compound curve, a curve on the horizontal plane and a curve on the vertical plane(up and down/left and right). This prevents the window from being tinted with a single piece of tint.
A good analogy is trying to wrap paper around a basketball, the paper will not lay flat without creases and folds. One way to overcome this is the same way a basketball is made, with pieces and seams. Most rear windows can be done in four pieces of tint with three seams. The seams can be hidden by the horizontal defroster element. You should first cut all of your pieces to shape, and then install them.
word to the wise: make sure that the razor blades that you use are new, high quality stainless steel blades, other wise you could stratch the glass.
Preparing the rear window for film installation should be done after all the film has been cut. Spray the inside of the glass with soapy water and scrub it with a dish sponge, paying extra attention to the edges. Squeegee the glass dry and wipe with a paper towel to lift up any residue the ceramic edge gives off, (This will help the film to stick to the dots.) and spray the window again, this time squeegee very carefully to get all of the water off. Now flush the window from the top down, avoiding the very top and the dots, if the window has them, to prevent dirt from bleeding down. Just flush the area thats going to receive the strip of film.
Lay the cut film on the wet table, so you can pull the liner off without it laying over onto itself (if dry adhesive surface touches itself you will need to start over as it will stick firm causing you to issue a few choice words).
Wash the windows in preparation to receive the film one at a time. For the back window, use a white dish scrubber not a green one (it will scratch), go peel the film, and spray it with soapy water too, pick it up and lay the film onto the wet inner glass, position it until its just right, use the squeegee to get as much water out as possible, then lay the next piece, squeegee both, then cut along the defroster line to make a butt seam making sure not to cross and cut any defroster lines as they will no longer work, also some cars have the radio antenna on the window with the same type of line, do not cut these as your antenna will not work anymore! Remove the cut away pieces as you lightly spray soapy water where you lift the film away from the glass, squeegee out the seam, then lay the next strip and so on.
After you apply the film wait a little while before you put the panels back on, or removing the masking tape from the flap. After all the film is laid and cut, here and there parts of it might pop up, push them down with a bondo card then blot any excess water from the window film with paper towels.
If you are still with me, proceed to Part 4
Window Tints(Part 2)
Use the factory edge of the paper against the bottom flap of the car window, (so you wont have to draw the bottom line).Start off by drawing the sides with your pencil, then lift the of the paper about an inch away from the glass and roll the car window down until the upper edge is exposed. Use the edge of the pencil lead to trace the top edge of the glass. You should now have a perfect, REUSABLE representation of the car window.
Now using the pattern that you have produced, lay two pieces of the film( one for each side), with the liners opposing, under the pattern. Spray a little water in between all of the layers to keep them still as you cut the film. When finished you should have two pieces that are in the shape of the windows you want to tint.
At this point there are a couple of options, but the one I am describing will prevent any fingering or movement underneath the rubber flaps and the bottom of the window seals. So this is called shrinking the door pieces, to do this, place the film on the wet outside about an inch above the bottom flap and about an inch to the left or right of the side felt(if yours have felt, it maybe plastic), squeegee the film so that its tight on top and all the excess is on the bottom, then wet shrink the excess film on the bottom.
When you're ready to tint the car window, start with the glass rolled down so that the top of the window is about a half inch from the felt, Clean and prepare the glass to receive film, lay the film near the bottom of the SOAPY wet glass first and slide it down into position as you lay the top into position. Then squeegee from an anchor point to keep the film from moving, working from the middle out. Roll the window up and squeegee the bottom out. Blot any water from the sides with a hard card wrapped with a paper towel.
This is the main thing about window tinting, keeping the dirt to a minimum. Especially if your car,unlike mine, has felt near the windows. The felt when wet releases "hairs" that when the film is dry REALLY sticks out.
You may ask, Well how do i minimize felt contact with the window and or the film. Well to answer this, grab some masking tape, and tape it all up with the window being down before hand.
Even after all this, if you dont handle the car tint well, it will get dirty. Peel and apply the film.
As you are squeegeeing, (on roll up windows) do the top first, work down avoiding the edges until last, stroke them downward, some times a thin card, like a credit card cut into a triangle to squeegee the last stroke down the edges, it depends on how tight the frame is. Spray the film and squeegee it again, more firmly this time, to remove more water from under the film.
repeat for the other window....when finished and you still are not frustrated with this(you need a trophy if you are cause I dont have the patience) proceed to Part 3: the rear window...
Now using the pattern that you have produced, lay two pieces of the film( one for each side), with the liners opposing, under the pattern. Spray a little water in between all of the layers to keep them still as you cut the film. When finished you should have two pieces that are in the shape of the windows you want to tint.
At this point there are a couple of options, but the one I am describing will prevent any fingering or movement underneath the rubber flaps and the bottom of the window seals. So this is called shrinking the door pieces, to do this, place the film on the wet outside about an inch above the bottom flap and about an inch to the left or right of the side felt(if yours have felt, it maybe plastic), squeegee the film so that its tight on top and all the excess is on the bottom, then wet shrink the excess film on the bottom.
When you're ready to tint the car window, start with the glass rolled down so that the top of the window is about a half inch from the felt, Clean and prepare the glass to receive film, lay the film near the bottom of the SOAPY wet glass first and slide it down into position as you lay the top into position. Then squeegee from an anchor point to keep the film from moving, working from the middle out. Roll the window up and squeegee the bottom out. Blot any water from the sides with a hard card wrapped with a paper towel.
This is the main thing about window tinting, keeping the dirt to a minimum. Especially if your car,unlike mine, has felt near the windows. The felt when wet releases "hairs" that when the film is dry REALLY sticks out.
You may ask, Well how do i minimize felt contact with the window and or the film. Well to answer this, grab some masking tape, and tape it all up with the window being down before hand.
Even after all this, if you dont handle the car tint well, it will get dirty. Peel and apply the film.
As you are squeegeeing, (on roll up windows) do the top first, work down avoiding the edges until last, stroke them downward, some times a thin card, like a credit card cut into a triangle to squeegee the last stroke down the edges, it depends on how tight the frame is. Spray the film and squeegee it again, more firmly this time, to remove more water from under the film.
repeat for the other window....when finished and you still are not frustrated with this(you need a trophy if you are cause I dont have the patience) proceed to Part 3: the rear window...
Window Tints
Ok so the next thing that was in my process was to figure out how I wanted my car to look. Really this could be your first step and most of the time it will be. With the headlights and tail lights I was just impatient I guess. Anyways, I wanted to have my car all one color. The dominant color is black. The background of the headlights are black. So I proceeded to just black out the car. The windows were something that I couldnt do by myself at the time, and was relatively inexpensive to do. So I went on to google, pulled up the yellow pages for my geographic location and searched for local businesses that tinted car windows. If you proceed to do this your self it is not all that hard to do, just time consuming. But if you want to do this your self there are some general guidelines. First make sure that whatever tint you use is in accordance to any federal, state, or local regulations such as tint percentages. For example, in Texas you cant have anything darker than 25% on front windows. This information can be found online or by contacting your local DMV, DOT offices. Being patient is critical so as to prevent air pockets from forming in between the film and the window. some basic rules of thumb to follow in this would include: 1.) start with a clean car, relatively dust and wind free environment. The tint is applied on the inside of the windows using soapy water, also in order to proceed with the rear window you may need to remove the 3rd brake light and or rear deck if they are against the clear part of the glass,(you may need to do some research before attempting this due so many different car models have different layouts). 2) Preparation and materials:First get the right equipment and materials for the process. These items include a heat gun, tinting squeegee (they come in long strips so you can cut your own however you want it), spray bottles(can pick up at Walmart or old cleaner bottle), hard cards, Bondo cards, red devils, a cutting surface(something that wont damage the film, glass maybe) butcher paper (needs to be plastic covered on one side) a snap off razor blade or exacto knife, baby shampoo, paper towels (shop towels are better) and some hands tools. Go ahead and seperate everything so that nothing would get in your way. As well as around the window area that you want to tint. It may be necessary to remove the door panels.( again this is not car specific, research your car model if you have to remove the door insert).3) Side windows:There are a couple of ways to cut the paper for the windows, one is on the window itself. Place the window film on the outside, with the liner side facing up, the film then can be cut with the knife to the approximate shape of the window. Or to conserve film, or prevent trial and error, use something else to make the shape of the window, such as freezer paper. Also cut the piece a little bit larger than the window. Make several cuts along the side of the paper, maybe an inch or less long and about 4-6 per side. Side will help making the paper lay flat when you tuck the edges into the frame. Then proceed and spray down the outside of the fully rolled up window with UNSOAPY water. Having a sharp pencil handy, lay the paper over the glass, plastic side down and go over it with the hard card. NOTE: keep the paper side of the plastic paper DRY. Using the pencil trace the edges of the film onto the paper. due to the length of this post, please proceed to part 2
Car Modifying #2
Hello again. For those of you who have read the first post and are now comfortable with more dificult modifications or just wanted to find out more he it is. So you want an easier way to find specific car parts. Again google is the best bet. For me, in the process of modifying my own car I started with the exterior and worked my way in. From google I wanted to maybe see if there was anything available in the headlight department. I knew from past experience that headlights can be upgraded so to speak. Sure enough, when I typed in cobalt headlights in the search field, the results did not dissapoint. It listed abunch of sites that offered aftermarket headlights. These headlights came in a variety of styles and colors. For the most part the projector headlights interested me the most in comparison to the exact type of headlights that i already had on exept the background changed color. 
The image to the right and below are the type of headlight that I ordered. Also check different sites, there is alot of competition out there are which includes competitive prices. they are simple to install. there are just two bolts with the size of the bolt labeled on the top of the bolt. for mine the size was approximately 9.8 mm. So a 10mm socket worked perfectly. just remove the bolts holding the headlight in place and pull it out. Yours may require that the grill be unbolted to help remove the headlight. some adice on these though. they are department of transportation approved, so cops cannot give you a ticket just because you have them. they can however give you a ticket if they, just like the originalls dont work properly. for my car and these headlights run around 260 bucks. From the front end i then moved to the rear and looked, using the same google method, for the tail lights. I wanted led tail lights, leds are simply smaller bulbs but much brighters than standard bulbs. The ones right below are a picture of the ones that I have on my car. At the end of this post I will give a link to a site that allows people to register for free and post pictures of your car. This is a good site to go through because you can see other cars and view exactly what they have done and what the name of the parts and where they get them from. You can ask people like yourself about pretty much anything. people rate your car and give advice about what they think should be your next step. 
The image to the right and below are the type of headlight that I ordered. Also check different sites, there is alot of competition out there are which includes competitive prices. they are simple to install. there are just two bolts with the size of the bolt labeled on the top of the bolt. for mine the size was approximately 9.8 mm. So a 10mm socket worked perfectly. just remove the bolts holding the headlight in place and pull it out. Yours may require that the grill be unbolted to help remove the headlight. some adice on these though. they are department of transportation approved, so cops cannot give you a ticket just because you have them. they can however give you a ticket if they, just like the originalls dont work properly. for my car and these headlights run around 260 bucks. From the front end i then moved to the rear and looked, using the same google method, for the tail lights. I wanted led tail lights, leds are simply smaller bulbs but much brighters than standard bulbs. The ones right below are a picture of the ones that I have on my car. At the end of this post I will give a link to a site that allows people to register for free and post pictures of your car. This is a good site to go through because you can see other cars and view exactly what they have done and what the name of the parts and where they get them from. You can ask people like yourself about pretty much anything. people rate your car and give advice about what they think should be your next step. the link here goes to my car:http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3146230
Car Modifying
Many people these days want a unique way to stand out from the rest of the population. Some just want to have a nice car other than what a car dealership or manufacturer can provide. So they begin by modifying their vehicles. Customizing ones vehicle consists of alot of work, time and money. Certain things if not careful could result in being illegal and could very well void the dealerships warranty. Examples of something being illegal could include window tints being to dark, or an exhaust system that lacks a catalytic converter or otherwise would fail an emmisions test. Something that would void a dealerships warranty would include "bolt-ons" that increase the performance levels of a car whether horsepower, torque, suspension (handleing) to a level higher than the stock (higher performance than from a manufacturer) that was or is not installed, approved by a certified dealership, mechanic, or specialist. So, people may ask, where do I start? Go online. Start by using google. Simply type in the model of you car and go from there. Sift through the results until you see something that does not offer the whole car for sale. Until you feel more comfortable about the level of difficulty in the modifications to your vehicle or dont have a lot of money to start with, start small. Examples include anything that you can stick on using 3M tape. This is a double sided tape that will stick and hold to your vehicles exterior trim. Also removing exterior trim might interest you. Debadging the car makes alot of difference in its look. Makes the car look more sleek. For example the lettering on the trunk. The model emblems such a chevrolet bowtie or a lexus L could be painted to match the VIN number of the vehicle. To do this go to a dealership that sells the make and model of your car/truck and ask in the parts department for touchup paint that match your vin number. They will know where it is located, but its located right in from of the driver, you will have to look for outside the drivers door and underneath the windsheild. Once your more comfortable with moving on to more challenging modifications see next post.
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