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Today was the first engine bay detail since I purchased the car in December. Boy did it need it. There was every bit of 39k worth of dirt and sand in there.
I started by jacking the car up to access the headlight housing through the (pulled back) fender liner to swap out the marker lamps with some leftover pure white LED's I had.
When I was in there, I noticed the fender liner was falling down and missing a plastic body hardware fastener on each side, allowing dirt and the like to find it's way into the engine compartment...
This is the point where my OCD gets the best of me. A simple marker lamp swap turns into a several hour simple green and vinyl protectant fueled detailing frenzy.
So then begins the process of putting the car on stands, booting up the air compressor, taking off the wheels, fender liners, all weatherstripping, strut bar (which I found was only finger tight), engine cover(s), battery and master cylinder covers, etc.
The whole bay and hood underside had a Simple Green bath, every previously removed piece was cleaned individually, all gunk was cleaned out of weatherstripping with toothbrushes and chased with compressed air, wadding cloth polished the Injen pipes, fender liner fasteners replaced, and the strut bar torqued to spec.
I have to say it's probably about 90%, down to each individual fan blade. It got dark so I didn't get to get really picky about the underside of the bay, but this will hold me over until I can hit it again when doing my brake job.
Sorry for the crappy pictures. It was a lot darker than the pictures make it seem.
Anyone who loves detailing or is trying to learn new techniques should check out AMMO NYC on Youtube. The guy's name is Larry and also has a show called DRIVE Clean on the DRIVE network on YT. He offers a lot of great tips and also sells products on his website.
It's funny you say that. Now that it's an elective upgrade I like the idea. My last Maxima had hood dampers with NO support rod. WTF were they thinking? I had to get creative with make shift hood supports (my head) because I was too cheap and stubborn to spend the $200 on replacement dampers
picked up a new set of Hankook V12 Evo 255/35/19 Front 295/35/19 Rear. Shoutout to Terrasmak for helping me with the front wheel fitment. Had lower 225/35/19 in the front before...looked great but the front rims would get cracked often...the new tires look a bit "beefy" but i know they'll protect the rims better this time..and handling has also improved. Now thinking of dropping the whip with some springs...was thinking of 0.7 in the front and about 1 inch in the back...let me know what you guys think or if fender rolling will be required which i think it will. thanks!
Last edited by Kharloss1; Mar 16, 2015 at 09:28 PM.
many plans and customization for my 04 Z ahead...now that I finally have the time and income...was planning on dropping, getting some nice lip/skirts set and possibly plasti-dipping the wheels a diff color. wheels are Linea Corse IC818. Let me know what you guys think of the attached pics..i'm liking the black wheel look so far..but who knows. I used Photoshop for these images...and liked the Bottomline skirts the best. I can also do this preview images of what your car can possibly look like...just pm me. I do photoshop design for a living.
Last edited by Kharloss1; Mar 16, 2015 at 09:31 PM.
wheels are Linea Corse IC818. Let me know what you guys think of the attached pics..i'm liking the black wheel look so far..but who knows. I used Photoshop for these images...and liked the Bottomline skirts the best. I can also do this preview images of what your car can possibly look like...just pm me. I do photoshop design for a living.
What are the specs (size/offset) for those wheels?
I have a set of the same ones sitting in my garage doing nothing at the moment (came with my recent addition to the fleet) and was debating between selling them or maybe getting some super sticky "alternate" tires to play with on any of our three Neeesahns.
But the sizing of the ones I have isn't necessarily what I want for a set of gumball play tires. Just looking for some reference.
As far as your wheel color choice.... go with YOUR favorite. Only person you need to please with the color is yourself. You likey da black, hey, someone else is gonna be a hater. No biggee.
Finally got around to purchasing the Z1 Non-Brembo Brake upgrade kit.
Also, new leather/suede covers from Interior-Innovations and leather/suede armrests from Redline Goods.
I'll post pics here and my progress thread once everything is finished.
