[SkittyDoogle]

Got the FEEL’S front fenders back from the body shop a few days ago. Left it with them maybe two weeks back when the shipping insurance paid out. I really gotta hand it to the body shop because they were excellent people. It was a place that specialized in auto and boat repair so they could handle it. I even asked if they could cut out excess material on the inside of the fenders while they were repairing them, and they said it would be very easy.

My original impression of the FEEL’S wide front fenders was that they’d, y’know, be wider than stock. That’s technically true. They’re wider, but only on the outside! They don’t normally add any extra clearance. But because they were wider there was quite a bit of extra material, maybe 6-7mm between the inner lip of the fender and the outside of the fender, so I asked them to cut it out. They cut both fenders but only repaired and refinished the left fender that was cracked. It looks even better that it did when it first arrived!

 

[SkittyDoogle]

Got fantastically lucky on another purchase recently. Basically it’s meant for my CRX but might as well post it here. Limited edition MAX ORIDO x NARDI steering wheel w/ stand. Normally these are only available through a website in Japan and therefore only domestic Japan customers. But my exporter of choice worked his magic and he got me one with a stand, and at a decent discount too! Shipping will eat up the money saved, though.

When I inquired they said they had only ONE LEFT in each color; red stitch or grey stitch. I picked the red stitch for the Mugen theme and he confirmed the order! Orido himself posted pics on Instagram signing some so I asked if my exporter could get it autographed. No confirmation on that yet, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

 

[SkittyDoogle]

As I am 99% sure I’m moving to Texas within a month I filmed a cold start for your listening peasure. Enjoy!
Remember: HPD supercharger, J’s Racing circuit converter, Mugen cat-back exhaust, 93 octane.

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[SkittyDoogle]

Recently remembered that I have a Mugen carbon fiber mirror cover for the interior. After the move I’m going to experiment with resin casting to make tools for forged carbon fiber pieces starting with this piece. Mugen stopped making them but they still have some left so I expect them to be sold out soon. If all goes well I can make replacements for all of the silver interior garnishes on the center stack and console. Happy new year, guys!

 

[SkittyDoogle]

The Max Orido Nardi wheel has finally arrived from Japan, and it arrived the day the AMS carbon wheel got back from the upholstery shop. I’ve never seen a real Nardi wheel before but I am in love with it. It’s similar to my Mugen Racing III wheel made by Momo, but it somehow feels just a tiny bit nicer.

As I noticed Orido was signing some wheels I did request my exporter in Japan ask for it to be signed. Lo and behold he delivered with a signed box and a signiature on the spoke of the wheel itself! Among all of the extra goodies the wheel came with it feels quite special to get a limited edition item from one of the famous drivers from Hot Version - I doubt many of these wheels made it to the US.

Anyways, I’ll dump all of the pictures for your viewing pleasure.

 

[SkittyDoogle]

THE BOOST LEAK WAS FOUND!
I was looking for a shop willing to diagnose the boost leak for me but several dealers didn’t want to touch it and the other shops I went to couldn’t find it. But I tried one of the flagship dealers in the area, to my surprise they were willing to diagnose it that day!

As promised, they were able to diagnose it and record a video to show me the problem. Turns out it was the bracket that mounts to the inlet pipe letting air out through the hardware itself. They showed a smoke test and sprayed it down to show proof. Hilariously enough, the part I ordered and discovered to be junk was the same one that’s leaking and this is the dealer I bought it from! Took it back to the parts department who’s working on the warranty claim.

(The pic above shows a bubble if you look closely.) They were also able to order all of the necessary parts for the fix including hardware and brackets. Basically they’re replacing everything in that area to be 100% certain that it won’t leak again, and we don’t risk another lengthly wait if we were to miss a part and waste more time. While it’s there and the front bumper is coming off I’m having them quote me on the supercharger maintenance including the belt, traction oil and traction oil filter. If they can’t get me those OEM parts then I’ll source some alternatives. I’m really happy that they were able to help out so I don’t have to drop the car off at King Motorsports and spend $1000 to ship the car down to Texas. I love King but I really don’t wanna blow that money if I don’t have to.

They did it the proper way, unhooking the intake to the throttle body and squeezing air past the blower. Not sure how Impulse Performance missed it but they couldn’t see it. Then again, the leak was really small so at a glance even the dealer couldn’t see it until they looked closed. Oh well.

 

[J1000]

Really awesome detective work. Love shops like that! It may just be a design defect with the intake pipe the way the threaded inserts are molded in might promote cracking or something. If you can't find an aftermarket solution you may get away with just JB welding it up. Not the most glamorous but I have JB Welded boost pipes before with great success.

 

[SkittyDoogle]

Really awesome detective work. Love shops like that! It may just be a design defect with the intake pipe the way the threaded inserts are molded in might promote cracking or something. If you can't find an aftermarket solution you may get away with just JB welding it up. Not the most glamorous but I have JB Welded boost pipes before with great success.

Yeah, the dealer did a pretty good job. The original pipe and new replacement pipe that I ordered to fix the issue had the same issue in the same spot, so I’ve already warned them to pressure test the next one before it goes on. The previous shop did try using JB weld on that area but it still managed to get through the threads of the bolts so I don’t think it’ll help anymore than it is now.

There aren’t enough people with these kits so I’m pretty much on my own with finding solutions. For example; maintenance. Three items are required for replacement: Traction oil, traction oil filter, and supercharger belt. The oil and filter are discontinued, so I’m resorting to Rotrex SX150 oil (used when the kit was installed) and a Jackson Racing traction oil filter. However, Honda still stocks the HPD belt so I had the dealer order that. Figured that I might as well do the maintenance while the front end is already torn apart even though I’d be okay for another 10 months.

 

[SkittyDoogle]

Just got the traction oil and filter in the mail!

At first I was confused. I know the traction fluid works because it’s the same stuff King ordered when the kit was installed, but the filter says it’s for automatic transmissions. Maybe it was a mistake? I hit up my corner shop friends and they told me it’s the same as a traction oil filter. Doing some digging I found that traction fluid is made for CVTs so receiving and using an automatic transmission filter makes sense. Would be nice to know from the seller in the future, but otherwise I’m satisfied with what I got!

Noticed that it’s made in Australia, so that’s kinda neat.