Out with the old, in with the new?

So in preparation for a VR6, I parted some of the stuff I had on AEH11E. These included the badgeless grille and the BBS RS, just to name a few. Believe it or not they were the bigger things on my car, and for the foreigners reading my blog, they're pretty hard to come by down under.

In the last post I was saying how I'm not going for the VR anymore... which means I'm free to do what I want with the 2.sl0w again. I'm basically going down the same route I went a few months ago, as I really liked the look of it. I'm in the garage working on another custom badgeless grille (3-slat) but this time I'm actually welding the parts rather than crudely bondo-ing. It started cracking within a few weeks. Anyway, I'm debating whether to colour-code the slats or leave them textured. More on this later.

After the badgeless grille, I'm wanting to shave the front bumper. I used to be against it as the relatively large indicator/fog cluster was so characteristic of the Mk3, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. As for the front indicators, I'm thinking of going OEM+ rather than reuse the Mk3 items, as I think they look rather awkward with their squarish appearance (compared with the rear lights). With the paint, I'm considering two options. Paint it as it is like now (colour-coded, but textured top) or texture paint the whole bumper. The former I'd like to do to keep the car looking "normal" and to show off the shaved effect; the latter I'd like to do as it's slightly more different and because I've always liked the panda theme AE86. Also, if I go with the former, I'd texture paint the slats on the grille; for the latter, I'd colour code the slats on the grille so there's not too much black. Still deciding on this!

I've bought another set of wheels. And yes, they are another set of BBS RS :P Except I've turned back to 16's again. These ones are off a Toyota Soarer - 16"x7"/8" ET45. Steep offset = perfect with adapters. I'll be putting the VR6 brakes I bought a year ago into good use now. I'm thinking of running 20mm/30mm front/rear adapters for now (so that's 16x7 ET25 at the front, 16x8 ET15 at the rear) which should give me the look I want - some subtle poke. I'm thinking of widening the 7's to 8's so I can run a lower offset at the back, but this will be later when I put the wheels aside for a good refurbish (they've got some nasty gutter rash right now). I've got my eyes on a set of Work Equips in the same size (not sure about offset) so I'm thinking of picking those up to and running them while I have the BBS on the sidelines. They're only going for $350 which is stupidly cheap for a set of sick wheels.

With the wheels on stretched tyres, I'd really "need" to go lower! The 14's with the 185/60 rubber is already exhibiting some noticeable wheel-fender gap and 16's with 195/45's, with a smaller rolling diameter, would look the same, if not accentuate the wheel gap. I've already spent a grand on my current set-up which is only half a year old so I don't want to get rid of it. Months of trawling through the Vortex has led me to Ground Control suspension systems. They make coilover retrofits that are essentially sleeves that slip over the current struts. With custom springs, they allow the current struts to act like your run-of-the-mill coilover system by providing height adjustability. Adjustments are anywhere from 0" to 2.5" lowering, which is definitely an "improvement" over the 40mm I have now. Of course, this isn't necessary yet as it's only a matter of looks that I'm considering this for. I've asked for a quote and they come in at ~$437USD, which isn't too bad at all. I should be able to get some money back from selling my Koni springs easily. Also, on the suspension side of things, I'm really digging the Neuspeed rear anti-roll bars. I discovered that Ian (dub_rub_oi_oi on VWW and Vortex) had recently become a distributor of Neuspeed products and can ship the rear ARB for less than $400. Compared to a lower-spec, non-adjustable ARB from Whiteline at ~$250, I think it's a good investment. I've heard a lot about the improvements an ARB can do to the handling of the car. I definitely have autocross aspirations in the future so this should be a worthy upgrade. However, I don't know what to do first - coilover sleeve kit or ARB? Generally, I'm leaning towards the coilover for looks, and ARB for handling... I hate to say it but I'm really edging for the coilover kit!

Other plans so far include fixing the rust (probably replacing the driver's door), interior enhancements (headlining, pillars, just to update the appearance for my pleasure) and custom-modding a lip - don't want to reveal too much yet :)