New Look for 2013

Happy New Year!

Ok, so for some people these may only be subtle changes, but for me they are pretty big, as the car has been pretty much untouched body-wise for the 7 years I’ve owned it. So this is how my car looked when I picked it up last Saturday (hood open as spark plugs had just been changed) from RAPT.

First, and most obviously yes I had the front lip spoiler painted body color, KR4.

As a reminder when I bought the car, I discovered that the previous owner had painted it black, and that black paint had begun flaking off. So it was always a matter of painting it (or wrapping it in 3M Din-oc) – I just had never thought it would look good in body color, preferring the black or carbon look. So what do you all think?

Second, as at least one person guessed from a previous post, yes, the car now sports Nismo 400R side skirts (complete with very cool functional ducts for brake cooling). 

Here is a close-up of the side scoops (lit from below):

Honestly, I am still not sure of this look, because I think the stock side sills actually give the rear more “flare” than these do… on the other hand these Nismo side skirts are taller and wider than stock, so give the car a new look. 

From certain angles (like above?), the car looks smaller than it did before, I think.  Plus, the functional side scoops are tempting me… shall I go for rear brake cooling, or some oil coolers?

Lastly, a repair. As I mentioned in that previous post, the rubber seal for the rear window had begun cracking and separating, so a new rubber seal was needed. Happy to report, that repair went perfectly, car now has a brand new seal around the rear window. Some peace of mind for me.

So what’s next? A couple of projects are still sitting in my garage, calling out for completion… I get the feeling 2013 is going to be a busy car year...