PHASE 2 - DIY CENTER DASH GAUGE POD completed

well well... couldnt sleep last night... so i ended spending 4 hour sanding and 2 hour painting... feel like zombie now...

lets start....

i apply plasti-bond that i bought on bunnings to the gap between the 2 panels.... and also on the gauge holder (coz its surface have texture and i dont like it....) and scrape the excess...



then i start sanding... start with 60 grit, 150, 400, and then 800... u dont need to do this.... but i just want a perfect surface ^_^ its good for painting foundation...



now, test fitting before painting



and start painting.... i use that light to warm it up, coz its bloody cold atm...

and keep sanding between layer using fine 1200 grit.... i put about 6 thin layers...
i use this anti-glare matt black paint...


now before the final layer... i sand the whole thing with 2000grit... and the result was amazingly smooth!!!

finished painting...


colour matched, texture matched...


and i know its annoying, but colour is very important to me... so i spray my light silver gauge ring to the darker silver... closer to mazda3 silver interior hi-light


and FINISHED!!




now i just need to learn how to hook up those bloody gauges.... any hint?

first accident :(

went to Great Ocean Road with the ozmazdaclub ppl... and i had accident on the way back.... lucky my gf was fine and the car has no structural damage...

around 10pm, we were driving slowly... on one of the 'S' turn near the entry gate.... not so tight but downhill abit... i was on 2nd gear, not accelerating, not braking, just rolling, not understeering, doing around 30kmh... all of sudden my rear start sliding out when i turn.... and about 2 secs later i spun 180degree... hitting a pole across the street on the other direction...

possible cause:
1. my front tyre still using bridgestone RE070 which is grippy on wet... but i the rear is only normal radial no brand... brand new... but not as grippy as the front....

2. my rear seat, space tyre, and the whole rear interior wasnt on... so it might be lighter at the 'tail' so it flips out easy...

3. wheather, was pouring, and very dark....

but above all that possibility... i think the main mistake is on the driver... me! if i had more experiences, i probably can handle the spun easily.... stoopid me

i just dont get why the rear just flips out... there was no bumps and i didnt even realise i was sliding till i spun nearly more than 90degree and keep sliding till i hit the pole... its all happend only in 2-3 secs... still cant sleep till now...

if it was becoz me speeding and crash, then at least i know i'm pushing too hard... but this really stress me out coz i didnt know what i did wrong... lol.. thats embarassing...

oh well... next time better... thx God my gf was ok... and its better then falling off the cliff (hmmm MPS3 would be nice)... thx for everyone that night... sorry for delay...
here are the pics...

if you noticed from the tyre position, it seems that i try to fight the tail oversteering and fail dumbass... now i need new door, side skirt and side moulding...

PHASE1 - DIY dash mould gauge holder...

ok guys... here we go...

i bought the gauge pod for wrx... i chose that coz is the closest on to flat and its easier to mod and fit into our flat dash pieces....

so i make the pattern from cardbox and draw it to the mazda3 dash piece. and then cut it with dremel...



for the rounded edge, i cut on angle and mark the surface lightly with dremel... reason being, the dremel cant cut small curves coz of the size of the blade...


then i use hand saw with the finest teeth to cut according to the curve line... still abit rough....



then i sand the rough bit off.... i also sand the gauge holder for paint preparation.... if you see in the pics, i stick the gauge holder to mazda3 center piece.... i use epoxy glue... just temporary, coz im planning to put plastic bond on it later...

if you notice, at the back of the mazda3 dash piece, there are plenty of plastic bone structure... becareful when you cut them off.... dont cut too much or you will make the plastic very flimsy.... just cut what you need...

here is the view from the top...



and here is the test fist for the 52mm gauges... i bought oil temp, oil pressure and one ricer gauge (vacuum gauge) - its mean to go up and down as u throttle up or down... i actually only need the oil temp and oil press, but since i get one more space, it wouldnt hurt if i rice it up a bit...





tonight, i'll do the second post... the surface of both plastic are different, but it can be fixed tonight with plastic-bonding, sanding and painting... i want to make it look OEM as possible... ^_^ so wish me luck... hope doesnt look too ricey and tacky...

Modified 4-1 Header

after 4 months development... and 2 prototype (was gonna make the 3rd prototype but i cbf anymore).... so here we go...

i copy draxas and cosworth design, and 1-3-2-4 stacks... but i increase the primary pipe to 1.9inch and 2.5 primary pipe with 20 inch length in total...

has been finished last month but had to send it away for ceramic coating... which took ages coz the guy who did it is a lazy bastard...

anyway... here we go... will try to install it tomorrow or thursday....