my day makes me think of that song by Daniel Powter (the American Idol loser theme song lol).

i finally got around to installing my powerslot plus kit today. what a pain.
first, i discover i'm missing some tools halfway through so i have to put everything back to go get some tools (nobody was available to give me a ride).
then, on the test drive after the installation i discover some terrible grinding noises.
then, i discover i needed to push back the dust shield. easy fix. i also found the wheels were rubbing against the calilper. although I have 18's, they rub because they are 3 piece (rubs where the barrel, lip, and disk connect). a spacer wont work since my wheels are 18x8.5 et30, which poke out too much already.
then, i grind down the calipers with a dremel. on a second test drive I find there is still minor wheel rubbing. i'm not concerned with the grinding since I'm looking to shave 2-3mm off. i had experience with this when I installed Audi TT brakes on my old GTI.
so i will spend another hour or two tomorrow grinding some more.
sigh.....

btw the way I dont notice any stopping gains, but I need to break-in (pun intended) the new pads and rotors.

powerslot plus kit + my wheels = rubbing


the beginning of my grind job.


pic before the install. i sold my cf hood. so weird seeing it all white. that goofy lady is my girlfriend.


before

 

are those rotors new? i thought they looked silverish? nice ride though,you must of got your girlfriend with that emmaculate looking carbon fiber hood.

 

bummer that it didnt make a diff. I think if you got some bigger rotors drilled,
like brembos or something stoptech maybe that it would look hella cool and stop better

 

they have a black/charcoal cadmium coating, which rubs off.

i grinded some more today and went for a test drive. everything seems okay...for now. i realized 2 things: 1)this kit added about 25 pounds to the front of my car. 2)the combination of: the heavier brake kit, thinner (stretched) tires, heavier wheels, and stiffer suspension will contribute to quicker wheel bearing deterioration. luckily the oem part is about $32 each, but install will be a pain. Hopefully my rear powerslot kit will arrive this week.





I took a mod from my old 240SX/Honda days and propped up the back of the hood using washers and longer bolts. in theory this will allow heat to vacate faster from the engine bay (similar to a reverse/inverted hood scoop). how effective it really works is negotiable, just like the powerslot kit. this mod cost me only $11 and doesnt hurt to try given the socal summer heat.

 

looks great. paint those calipers to achieve the ultimate show look in your wheel/tire combo.

and its kinda funny that you have 18s and you need to do some modifications to get the caliper to clear the wheel. then again those arent your normal 18s.

 

Where did you buy the fronts from? I have been waiting on my fronts for a month and a half. I got the rears but still no fronts!

 

sucks to read and the tC
still looks good without the hood.

damn, that song should be
theme song. ****.

 

that sucks about the clearance issue. i've heard the rotor plus kits are more aesthetic than functional but they sure do look good.

 

i hope u checked your spare tire fits over those calipers. dont wana be stuck!... car looks nice w/ or w/o the hood. but i prefer the hood. lol.. looks nice though. probably my 1 or 2nd fav tc here. SW's own!

 

good point. if it doesnt fit, then I can roll without it and save some weight (which is negated by the added weight of the kit lol ).


I got the front kit from LastLookCustom's sale in the Sponsored Sales section. I bought the rears from Shox.com (also in Sponsored Sales), who said they are on backorder.

 

I gotta say, even though you have lost the CF hood, and all the trouble you are having, your tc looks awesome. I am a fan. Way to go.

 

man i should have warned you about the brake disk cover hitting the back of the rotor, and yes they are heavier so i do question if that negates the whole mod, i noticed a difference when i heat them up.....
what pads did you get? also SS lines will help too.....
but it looks cool, i like your car without the C/F hood btw.

one thing that powerslot could have done to make the kit nicer is better bolts on the rotor hat...somthing anodized maybe?

 

That place looks fimiliar...are those pictures taken at pantera park @diamondbar???

 

Sell the hood to get the brake kit, or were you just tired of the CF hood?

Looks good by the way.

 

i like that idea of the hood being propped open, with my headers it gets hot in there.....what length of the bold did you use? threadpitch?

 

so thats how they did it... i just thought they installed the hoods wrong... lol!!!!

 

I got 20mm longer bolts and 20mm worth of washers (80mm total since there are 4 bolts) from a hardware store. i gave them a stock bolt and they matched the pitch/tread.

I sold my motorfx hood because I got a vis hood recently. I dont like to use CF hoods during Cali summers, since I'm concerned about the summer sun fading/yellowing the epoxy resin on the hood. I'll be rocking a cf hood again in September.
motorfx hood in the foreground, vis hood in the back.


the photos were taken at Pantera park. you got a good eye.

 

clean tC

 

yeah, try living in central cal where it gets to 110 and alot of stop and go traffic.....thanks for the tip!

 

whats the diff. in the hoods anyways???

love the stance though!!