More on this later....
STAY TUNED!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
No to the visors, yes to the JDM 1-Piece Headlights
So I didn't win the visors as I had hoped....but I could of. The reason I didn't was because I decided to spend the money on a pair of JDM 1-Piece headlights.
More on this later....
STAY TUNED!
More on this later....
STAY TUNED!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Honda Accesories Window Visors.....
Project Legend Continues with a recent bid on a complete set of Honda's "Accessories" optional KA7 window visors, complete with all mounting tabs!
I've seen these go every now and then on eBay but they are usually in poor condtion and/or are missing mounting tabs. These aren't and the price is decent, so I'm gonna get 'em as long as the price stays reasonable.
Here's a pic....
More coming soon......
I've seen these go every now and then on eBay but they are usually in poor condtion and/or are missing mounting tabs. These aren't and the price is decent, so I'm gonna get 'em as long as the price stays reasonable.
Here's a pic....
More coming soon......
Friday, September 14, 2007
Aero-Parts vs Body Kits
While working on a build outline for Project Legend (more on that later...) I was doing my best to carefully explain the differences between Aero-parts and Body kits and was having some problems. I've been busy with school, work, gf, and family stuff as of late but recently came across an article that does an excellent job of explaining what I could not. So I thought I'd post it. The article is written by BEN SCHAFFER for Modified Magazine and can be seen if you click on this link....
http://www.therealjdm.com/archives/TheRealJDM03.pdf
Or you can just read it below, as I've taken the liberty of copy-pasting it to this blog.....
"AMERICANS are well known for their innovation and style. Our penchant for launching new trends can be quite apparent in what Japanese refer to as “spo-com”. Americans took Japanese tuning parts and techniques and transformed them into our own unique style. Without a doubt, the power of our persuasive trendsetting can be attributed to Hollywood which successfully exported the blockbuster, The Fast and The Furious to Japan using a new JDM title, Wild Speed. We effectively took Japanese culture, Americanized it and sold it back to them. Spo-com is a rapidly growing trend in Japan. Many youthful Japanese embrace American spo-com style just as passionately as we emulate Japanese tuning styles. In Japan, spo-com has had a minimal overlap in the performance tuning market.
Currently in Japan performance tuners and spo-com tuners are still considerably segregated. During my last visit to Japan, I was intrigued by a recurring theme in my discussions with various aero parts company executives. They were all surprised by the American market’s desire to mix and match aero parts while in Japan enthusiasts who buy high-end aero parts typically buy the complete kit as a functional system. I’ve been reflecting on why the two markets have such different uses for the same parts. One of the driving factors is that Americans want a unique look for their cars and in doing so they don’t want to be limited to a particular brand. Yet, aero parts from brands like C-West, Ings+1, and J’s Racing are designed as a complete system with maximum performance in mind. Real data is used to fine-tune each component so that they work in unison. When using only a fraction of a complete aero system, as spo-com tuners often do, a car’s aerodynamics will not function as the engineers intended and performance gains may be diminished. Is the difference between spo-com and Japanese style tuning due to different philosophies; perhaps that spo-com is based on image before performance and Japanese tuning based on performance before image? Evaluating terminology may offer insight on the difference of the car cultures: Americans often refer to these products as body kits while Japanese refer to them as aero parts. Or the difference in thought is simply because the average American enthusiast is uninformed on the background of Japanese performance aero products and the functional benefits.
Regardless of reason, the aforementioned executives have a valid perspective. The brands mentioned above, as well as many others, are well known in Japan for their functionality. The functionality of their designs is a result of extensive
development in a Japanese race series titled Super Taikyu. Simply put, Super Taikyu is essentially a street car version of the JGTC. Like most race series, Super Taikyu has a significant number of rules and regulations. Cars are classed in a method that keeps them very similar in power and weight, meaning that aerodynamics plays a key role in the success of each entrant. Super Taikyu is fun to watch because the aero parts and wheels on the cars are often the exact same as cars you see on the street. For example, the Asano Racing DC5 Integra competing in Class 4 uses a N-Spec Ings+1 aero kit which is available to the public. There are also three Honda S2000s with J’s Racing Type S aero parts that are also available for use on street cars. C-West aero parts find their way onto multiple Super Taikyu cars as well. It could be argued that the reason Japanese made aero parts are superior to American made aero parts for Japanese cars is because many Japanese companies use Super Taikyu as a test bed for development. Companies in America are capable of producing the same products with the same technology, but without a popular race series like Super Taikyu to give incentive, it’s rare that a US brand will create innovative aero parts for your Japanese sports car.
Rather than speaking subjectively on the matter, factual test data has been collected by News Publishing in Japan. The publications HyperRev and RevSpeed offer hard facts to convey the effectiveness of various Japanese aero parts. For example, C-West’s FD3S RX-7 is well-documented in HyperRev volume 91. The book provides detailed documentation of wind tunnel testing on the C-West N1 spec aero parts. They discovered that the C-West aero parts offered a 13.62 percent increase in downforce, and a 131.17 percent decrease in lift compared to a stock bodied car. Outside of the wind tunnel on the Tsukuba circuit, they tested the same car with astonishing results. The RX-7 posted a 1:07.39-second lap using stock body panels, compared to 1:05.45 with C-West aero parts installed.
In September 2003, RevSpeed Magazine
performed comprehensive testing on the Ings+1 DC5 Integra. In one test they data logged the car on the MINE Circuit and did a comparison of speed with and without the Ings+1 Z-Power GT wing installed. In every sector of the circuit the wing-equipped car carried faster speeds with a maximum increase of 7 mph during one particular section.
A second test was also done comparing engine bay temperatures with and without the Ings+1 aero hood. The results showed that temperatures averaged out to be 16.2°F cooler with the aero hood installed. Cooler engine bay temperatures can add more horsepower, thus reinforcing the point that aero parts can indeed offer horsepower gains.
Even in the case of simply installing a set of front canards, performance gains can be quite significant. Garage Defend produces a set of twin carbon canards they call Stingray. When tested on the Central Circuit in the wet with
a mildly tuned Honda S2000, installation of the Stingray canards alone resulted in a lap time reduction from 1:51.74 to 1:50.40. This can be directly attributed to the increased downforce over the front wheels, which in turn reduced understeer while improving turn in grip into corners.
Naturally not every driver using functional aero parts will see equivalent lap time reductions. The final result depends on how well the car is driven. Additional downforce is only important if you drive your car fast enough to actually utilize and benefit from the extra traction it provides. Aerodynamic upgrades are not beneficial for everyone, but those who push their cars to the limit should seriously consider functional aerodynamics. For enthusiasts who are less concerned with maximum performance and prefer a highly personalized image for their car, the spo-com style of mix and match customizing cultivates creativity that surpasses the inherent limitations of performance tuning. Members of both tuning religions have one significant common bond, they are all equally proud that the cars they build are a real life representation of their dreams."
http://www.therealjdm.com/archives/TheRealJDM03.pdf
Or you can just read it below, as I've taken the liberty of copy-pasting it to this blog.....
"AMERICANS are well known for their innovation and style. Our penchant for launching new trends can be quite apparent in what Japanese refer to as “spo-com”. Americans took Japanese tuning parts and techniques and transformed them into our own unique style. Without a doubt, the power of our persuasive trendsetting can be attributed to Hollywood which successfully exported the blockbuster, The Fast and The Furious to Japan using a new JDM title, Wild Speed. We effectively took Japanese culture, Americanized it and sold it back to them. Spo-com is a rapidly growing trend in Japan. Many youthful Japanese embrace American spo-com style just as passionately as we emulate Japanese tuning styles. In Japan, spo-com has had a minimal overlap in the performance tuning market.
Currently in Japan performance tuners and spo-com tuners are still considerably segregated. During my last visit to Japan, I was intrigued by a recurring theme in my discussions with various aero parts company executives. They were all surprised by the American market’s desire to mix and match aero parts while in Japan enthusiasts who buy high-end aero parts typically buy the complete kit as a functional system. I’ve been reflecting on why the two markets have such different uses for the same parts. One of the driving factors is that Americans want a unique look for their cars and in doing so they don’t want to be limited to a particular brand. Yet, aero parts from brands like C-West, Ings+1, and J’s Racing are designed as a complete system with maximum performance in mind. Real data is used to fine-tune each component so that they work in unison. When using only a fraction of a complete aero system, as spo-com tuners often do, a car’s aerodynamics will not function as the engineers intended and performance gains may be diminished. Is the difference between spo-com and Japanese style tuning due to different philosophies; perhaps that spo-com is based on image before performance and Japanese tuning based on performance before image? Evaluating terminology may offer insight on the difference of the car cultures: Americans often refer to these products as body kits while Japanese refer to them as aero parts. Or the difference in thought is simply because the average American enthusiast is uninformed on the background of Japanese performance aero products and the functional benefits.
Regardless of reason, the aforementioned executives have a valid perspective. The brands mentioned above, as well as many others, are well known in Japan for their functionality. The functionality of their designs is a result of extensive
development in a Japanese race series titled Super Taikyu. Simply put, Super Taikyu is essentially a street car version of the JGTC. Like most race series, Super Taikyu has a significant number of rules and regulations. Cars are classed in a method that keeps them very similar in power and weight, meaning that aerodynamics plays a key role in the success of each entrant. Super Taikyu is fun to watch because the aero parts and wheels on the cars are often the exact same as cars you see on the street. For example, the Asano Racing DC5 Integra competing in Class 4 uses a N-Spec Ings+1 aero kit which is available to the public. There are also three Honda S2000s with J’s Racing Type S aero parts that are also available for use on street cars. C-West aero parts find their way onto multiple Super Taikyu cars as well. It could be argued that the reason Japanese made aero parts are superior to American made aero parts for Japanese cars is because many Japanese companies use Super Taikyu as a test bed for development. Companies in America are capable of producing the same products with the same technology, but without a popular race series like Super Taikyu to give incentive, it’s rare that a US brand will create innovative aero parts for your Japanese sports car.
Rather than speaking subjectively on the matter, factual test data has been collected by News Publishing in Japan. The publications HyperRev and RevSpeed offer hard facts to convey the effectiveness of various Japanese aero parts. For example, C-West’s FD3S RX-7 is well-documented in HyperRev volume 91. The book provides detailed documentation of wind tunnel testing on the C-West N1 spec aero parts. They discovered that the C-West aero parts offered a 13.62 percent increase in downforce, and a 131.17 percent decrease in lift compared to a stock bodied car. Outside of the wind tunnel on the Tsukuba circuit, they tested the same car with astonishing results. The RX-7 posted a 1:07.39-second lap using stock body panels, compared to 1:05.45 with C-West aero parts installed.
In September 2003, RevSpeed Magazine
performed comprehensive testing on the Ings+1 DC5 Integra. In one test they data logged the car on the MINE Circuit and did a comparison of speed with and without the Ings+1 Z-Power GT wing installed. In every sector of the circuit the wing-equipped car carried faster speeds with a maximum increase of 7 mph during one particular section.
A second test was also done comparing engine bay temperatures with and without the Ings+1 aero hood. The results showed that temperatures averaged out to be 16.2°F cooler with the aero hood installed. Cooler engine bay temperatures can add more horsepower, thus reinforcing the point that aero parts can indeed offer horsepower gains.
Even in the case of simply installing a set of front canards, performance gains can be quite significant. Garage Defend produces a set of twin carbon canards they call Stingray. When tested on the Central Circuit in the wet with
a mildly tuned Honda S2000, installation of the Stingray canards alone resulted in a lap time reduction from 1:51.74 to 1:50.40. This can be directly attributed to the increased downforce over the front wheels, which in turn reduced understeer while improving turn in grip into corners.
Naturally not every driver using functional aero parts will see equivalent lap time reductions. The final result depends on how well the car is driven. Additional downforce is only important if you drive your car fast enough to actually utilize and benefit from the extra traction it provides. Aerodynamic upgrades are not beneficial for everyone, but those who push their cars to the limit should seriously consider functional aerodynamics. For enthusiasts who are less concerned with maximum performance and prefer a highly personalized image for their car, the spo-com style of mix and match customizing cultivates creativity that surpasses the inherent limitations of performance tuning. Members of both tuning religions have one significant common bond, they are all equally proud that the cars they build are a real life representation of their dreams."
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
JDM This, JDM that, Blah Blah Blah....
A recent search on eBay with the query heading of "JDM Legend" resulted in two Alpha Touring Edition grills, a set of window visors, brushed aluminum door sills, and about 3-4 sets of one-piece headlight popped up. Two uber-rare Mugen wings have been listed in the last two months alone........and thats for a a 12-17 year old car thats not (even to this day) a very popular model.
Allow me to explain from my perspective at least. When I first stardted reading about JDM or at least people who were into it, was a couple of years ago in a Honda Tuning magazine and I believe the hightlights of the article, were that the guys civic had an amber displaying digital clock in it instead of whatever color the the USDM was and up until that point, most people equated JDM with RHD conversions and little fire extinguishers with jpanaese writing on it.
Now the NORM is JDM.
More on this later....
Allow me to explain from my perspective at least. When I first stardted reading about JDM or at least people who were into it, was a couple of years ago in a Honda Tuning magazine and I believe the hightlights of the article, were that the guys civic had an amber displaying digital clock in it instead of whatever color the the USDM was and up until that point, most people equated JDM with RHD conversions and little fire extinguishers with jpanaese writing on it.
Now the NORM is JDM.
More on this later....
Friday, August 31, 2007
Good News, Bad News, Good News.
Good news is I won the auction. I was running late but my brother came through and helped me win the auction. SO....soon I will be in posession of a bonafide JDM Air Refiner.
Bad news, like I have stated before, is that it isn't the Air Refiner trim that I'm seeking....
I don't know if you can make that out in the picture, but its the one I need (with the woodgrain)
Whatevers whatever though. I got it for a good price and if I happen to come across a woodgrain trimmed unit, I always have the option of re-selling it.
Good News: I was searching through some japanese websites (as I often do) and came across one that lists the steering wheel that I got used awhile ago (refer to prior post) and after googling the Yen to Dollar conversion; found out it costs like $780.00! I got it for like a hundred AND it came with a the hub and wiring/switch that allows for the maintaining of Cruise Control!
Now bear in mind that my steering wheel is used, and the center garnish is faded....
as compared to brand new....
.....but whatever....I don't even mind. I'm actually thinking of a couple of ways as to retaining a new woodgrain center garnish anyways.
Bad news.
You know how when I got that Mugen Wing I had said that I'd only seen one other listed before and I had to jump on the one that I eventually bought? Well, someone else not only listed another one, but this one was in WAY better condition....
and its wiring is completely intact whereas mine is not.
compared to.....
AND however listed it, did so for like $300 bucks + shipping!
So that pretty much it....hopefully my next post won't have any "bad" news in the subject heading....
Bad news, like I have stated before, is that it isn't the Air Refiner trim that I'm seeking....
I don't know if you can make that out in the picture, but its the one I need (with the woodgrain)
Whatevers whatever though. I got it for a good price and if I happen to come across a woodgrain trimmed unit, I always have the option of re-selling it.
Good News: I was searching through some japanese websites (as I often do) and came across one that lists the steering wheel that I got used awhile ago (refer to prior post) and after googling the Yen to Dollar conversion; found out it costs like $780.00! I got it for like a hundred AND it came with a the hub and wiring/switch that allows for the maintaining of Cruise Control!
Now bear in mind that my steering wheel is used, and the center garnish is faded....
as compared to brand new....
.....but whatever....I don't even mind. I'm actually thinking of a couple of ways as to retaining a new woodgrain center garnish anyways.
Bad news.
You know how when I got that Mugen Wing I had said that I'd only seen one other listed before and I had to jump on the one that I eventually bought? Well, someone else not only listed another one, but this one was in WAY better condition....
and its wiring is completely intact whereas mine is not.
compared to.....
AND however listed it, did so for like $300 bucks + shipping!
So that pretty much it....hopefully my next post won't have any "bad" news in the subject heading....
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
School is in Session and an Air Refiner is listed.
So school is back in session and more parts for my build have been listed on eBay. Most notably an actual working JDM "Air Refiner" from a KA8,(btw "KA8" is the chassis code for a 91-95 Legend Coupe and NOT a sedan, the sedans chassis code is KA7), complete with remote
and mounting bracket.
Now although I have seen this item listed before; it is on a rare (and i mean RARE) occasion that i do. This particular Air Refiner, however is even more rare than the rest of the ones I've seen because its from and actual JDM Legend (i.e. Legend specific) and as such, is emblazened with the words "air Refiner" in gold eteched italics, whereas with most basic "air Refiners" they have a different font all together.....
Pretty nice right? Well, heres the downsides:
1) Its coming from a KA8 and am not sure whether or not its going to be really hard to fabricate it to work with a a KA7's rear dash storage compartment. Probably not all that hard, but mentionable to say the least.
2) Its not the right color. I'm not sure if this has been stated in a while, but the color combo route that I am going to go in regards to the the interior of PROJECT LEGEND... this combo is black on black leather with Italian burlwood woodgrain, brushed alumninum for trim, and gold lettering accents. Although the lettering matches the theme, the overall color of the plastic is navy-bluish instead of black. The trim around the front of the unit is also not the correct color as it is white/blue marble.....
and NOT the woodgrain accent that I so desire.....
With all that said, based on the prices, the rarity of the item, and the fact that this is such an overlooked JDM item; (being that it isn't really performance oriented) i'm gonna bid on it. And I bid to win. As of right now there is 10 hours left on the auction. I'll let you know how it goes.
Keep those fingers crossed!
and mounting bracket.
Now although I have seen this item listed before; it is on a rare (and i mean RARE) occasion that i do. This particular Air Refiner, however is even more rare than the rest of the ones I've seen because its from and actual JDM Legend (i.e. Legend specific) and as such, is emblazened with the words "air Refiner" in gold eteched italics, whereas with most basic "air Refiners" they have a different font all together.....
Pretty nice right? Well, heres the downsides:
1) Its coming from a KA8 and am not sure whether or not its going to be really hard to fabricate it to work with a a KA7's rear dash storage compartment. Probably not all that hard, but mentionable to say the least.
2) Its not the right color. I'm not sure if this has been stated in a while, but the color combo route that I am going to go in regards to the the interior of PROJECT LEGEND... this combo is black on black leather with Italian burlwood woodgrain, brushed alumninum for trim, and gold lettering accents. Although the lettering matches the theme, the overall color of the plastic is navy-bluish instead of black. The trim around the front of the unit is also not the correct color as it is white/blue marble.....
and NOT the woodgrain accent that I so desire.....
With all that said, based on the prices, the rarity of the item, and the fact that this is such an overlooked JDM item; (being that it isn't really performance oriented) i'm gonna bid on it. And I bid to win. As of right now there is 10 hours left on the auction. I'll let you know how it goes.
Keep those fingers crossed!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
JDM Windshield Wiper Activating Rain Sensors..
Due to the fact that I'm still trying to get back on track financially from that Mugen wing, I have been unable to purchase more parts for Project Legend as of late. However, that isn't stopping me from researching and looking for more!
First off, one of my main sources on ebay listed a JDM Honda Accesories optional rain detector/windshield activator for the KA7. Apparently they were making these options for luxury sedans even way back in the early 90's! However, the sensor was the ridiculously gaudy three inch plus plastic/electronic contraption thats made to sit on the top of the hood near the windshield. I had seen it before in a scan of the Accesories brochure but never new what it was for until I saw it on eBay.
I considered it bidding on it....but the looks of the thing on the hood were just so....um..."unsightly"? Yeah...that about does it. I did not like it. Plus it went for like three hundred plus. Amazingly rare? Yes. Worth the three hundo? Nah. I mean, I considered maybe fabricating a newer sensor from a similar system so as to make it still work while being less obvious (and I still might if one comes up again for a better price) but for me......especially right now....its not happening. After the auction ended I thought about copying the pics so as to upload them on this blog and show it to you (the reader), however, I am a procrastinator, and as such, waited far too long and now they don't exist.
Oh well. I learned something new at least.
More blogs coming soon.
First off, one of my main sources on ebay listed a JDM Honda Accesories optional rain detector/windshield activator for the KA7. Apparently they were making these options for luxury sedans even way back in the early 90's! However, the sensor was the ridiculously gaudy three inch plus plastic/electronic contraption thats made to sit on the top of the hood near the windshield. I had seen it before in a scan of the Accesories brochure but never new what it was for until I saw it on eBay.
I considered it bidding on it....but the looks of the thing on the hood were just so....um..."unsightly"? Yeah...that about does it. I did not like it. Plus it went for like three hundred plus. Amazingly rare? Yes. Worth the three hundo? Nah. I mean, I considered maybe fabricating a newer sensor from a similar system so as to make it still work while being less obvious (and I still might if one comes up again for a better price) but for me......especially right now....its not happening. After the auction ended I thought about copying the pics so as to upload them on this blog and show it to you (the reader), however, I am a procrastinator, and as such, waited far too long and now they don't exist.
Oh well. I learned something new at least.
More blogs coming soon.
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