lordtygr's 09 Octane Blue GTS

Finally Decided to Make one of these. I mean it's only been a year, lol. but my HALO guys wanted a Forum Section over there, so i HAD to make one lol. Please Enjoy.

OEM Accessories/Options-

• Navigation Package
  Sun & Sound Package
  Hands Free Keyless Entry
  Handsfree Bluetooth
  Lancer Scuff Plates
  All Weather Floor Matts
  Cargo Mat
  Sunroof Deflector
  Window Air Deflectors
  Alloy Fuel Door

Current Mods-
Performance:

• RRM Timing Module (aka Testicular 3000)
  Works Exhale Axle Back Exhaust
  Injen Cold Air Intake (2.0L version)
  Hot Water Bypass/Throttle Body Bypass

Appearance:

• Black LED Tail Lights
  8000k HID Low Beams and Fogs
  Tint: 30% Charcoal Front, 20% Charcoal Rear, 40% Silver Sunroof
  Painted Engine Covers
  Carbon Fiber Shorty Antenna

ICE (In Car Electronics):

• (2) JBL GT410's
  Scoshe SA3002 Amp
  Dual 10in Sealed Hatchback Box

Current Stats-

• Weight (With all gear and 1 driver (me) on board): 3370lbs
  Engine: 4B12 2.4L MIVEC I-4
  Horsepower: 158whp (168bhp stock)
  Torque: ? (167ft-lbs stock)
  Fastest 1/4 Mile: 15.9sec
  Fastest 1/8 Mile: 10.2sec
  Best Reaction: .065

Planned Mods-

• RRM Piggy Back
  RRM Ver. 2 Crank Pulley
  Injen 2.4L CAI
  RRM CF Front Bumper Cap
  RRM CF Grill
  EVO X Side Mount License Plate Holder
  ARS 3D Eyelids
  ARS HL2 Front Lip
  Back Up Camera
  LED Accessory Lighting
  Upgrade to a mono-bloc Amp

Pictures (In Order, Earliest to Latest)- Click herefor my Mods Album and more pics.

Day 1! Taking Delivery (July 08)


It's Houston... First thing's First, Needed Tint!


Added POWER to the Trunk (Aug. 08)


First "Performance Mod" The Hot Water Bypass (Oct. 08)


HID's (No DRL Bypass Needed) (Feb. 09)


Exhaust (Feb. 09)


Intake and Painted Engine Covers (Mar. 09) I'm especially proud of the spark plug cover, check it in my gallery.


Vinyls! (Apr. 09)


Testicular 3000 (Jun 09)


LED Tails!! (Aug 09)


??Speaker Box Stabilizers?? (Aug 09) Best thing i could think of to call them


Re-Designed Engine Cover! (Sept 09) Night time shot. Need to post a better Daytime one.

 

1. The engine cooling system has a small line that feeds into the throttle body to help de-ice the plate and warm the engine up quicker in freezing conditions. however, it runs continuously, no matter what the outside temp is. Especially in south texas, where it's a major ordeal IF it gets below freezing, this is completely unneccessary, so i bypassed it. i did a write up on it in the 8g lancer knowledge base.

2. I have "Premium" Ballasts from Euro Effects which are designed with "electronic error cancelers" in the ballasts so that they work with the DRL systems in most cars. and will not throw trouble signals in high end luxury cars like BMW's without any extra wiring or harnesses.

 

Thanks for the props!

wow. so much about my HID's haha. ok let me tell you about them.

I actually had them a couple of years ago. i'd bought them for my mazda3 but never got them installed before i wrecked it. The people i got them from are called EuroEffects. They were at the Houston Auto Show offering their HID kits for ~$150. What you have to remember about these guys, is that they are a smaller company (like 3 or 4 people i think) and half of them are gone alot hitting car shows, etc. they sell a great product, as far as the HID's go. I havn't purchased anything else from them. but their service is pretty wonky. For example, they've had a website up ever since i bought the original HID's, however, they just finally added a shopping cart system within the past couple of months, and it still seems kinda broken. in fact, the HID's aren't even listed on the store, though it is in their catalouge still. They also recently changed the HID's from a lifetime warranty to a 1 year warranty. your best bet for getting these HIDs is to call them and order them or try to find them at your local auto show next year. I've been told, though this was almost a year ago, that if you try to order them direct, the "Premium" HID kits will run about $300 per set. so i'd probly try to catch them at an auto show. perhaps you can call them and find out if/when they'll be in your area. when you CAN talk to them, they are nice enough. when i needed to switch out the bulbs from my mazda3 to my lancer, i caught up with them at the 09 auto show and they swapped them out no problem. but like i said the service leaves a bit to be desired. One of my fog light ballasts went bad so i sent it back to them the friday before last (8/14) my CC was charged for shipping the replacement back to me last thurs. (8/20) but i still havnt received it yet (8/25). i know it'll be here, i just thought it would be much quicker. especially since when i phoned them about it, they assured me it was only a 1 day process for testing. i tracked the delivery and they received it last monday (8/17). i sent it flat-rate priority so it only took 2 days to send it. so i think i should have had it by now. i'm giving them until thursday then i start calling. lol.

so anyway, be aware of how they operate. i think they would do better if they had more help and concentrated more on marketing and customer service. i mean, they don't even use any type or order tracking or RMA system, lol. but i kinda understand that they are trying to stay small, at least for now, especially with the current economy.

 

you could potentially save even more money if you trust your soldering skills. the bypass is a simple RC (resistor/capacitor) filter circuit made with components you can pick up from radio shak, fry's or other local electronics shop. there's a wiring diagram floating around one of the lancer forums.

 

YAAY! got my replacement ballast in for my fog light good as new! so, i sent it off on the 14th. got it back today, the 26th. for a total of 11 days, about a week and a half. so i guess it's not a bad turn around time, but i was expecting quicker.

 

true that. lol

 

i Re-counted the days... its actually been closer to a full month. not continuous of course, but a month none the less, lol.

updated the OP with a pic of the final product. well not the final pic, i need to take a better daytime one. it was already dark by the time i got home to put the cover on. you should be able to click these images to see the full size ones.

well we all know what the original cover looks like so i'll spare that and just show what my first attempt at just doing a semi-basic paint resulted in (which was fail, lol):


that's what happens when you try to do too much in too little time AND you have a lack of experience.

So i got this idea and started messing around with photoshop and came up with this concept:


i thought it looked neat and would definately be different from anything else i've seen on an engine cover, plus i was inspired by the Itascha cars in Japan (not that i'm going quite tht far, lol. but since i am an anime fan i thought it'd be pretty sweet.

So i got some QuickSteel to fill in the MIVEC letters, the 3 diamonds, the little slot space, and the "tubes" to make the cover as smooth as possible without actually cutting anything out and patching holes. this is filled and primered:


so i got several coats of Krylon Blue Metallic on it, then a couple of coats of clear. i tried several different methods of printing the image from my printer but finally settled on loading the image onto an SD card and going to Wal-Mart and using their Kodak Photo Printer there. The Image wasn't coming out the way i had sized it in photoshop, so i had to settle for cutting several of the strips off around the dipstick and bolt holes. i used 3M spray on contact cement to apply the image to the cover then hit it with some clear coat. once that first coat dried i just kept spraying coat after coat, especially around the edges to seal it. So here is the finish product!


I also got some Stainless Steel bolts to put in as a small improvement to match the spark plug cover bolts instead of the ugly black ones.

I know it would never match up with a handpainted image, but i figured between cost and trusting someone else to do it right and the fact that it's an engine cover, so it's not like too many people are gonna see it, this was the best way for me.

I must say, there was ALOT of trial and error on this little project. and it still has some imperfections. but i learned alot about painting (OMFG Wet-Sanding is the BOMB!). i think i wont be so nervous and am more likely to fix the rock chips in my hood now myself, lol. but first i'm gonna re-do my fusebox cover... after a little break from painting for a bit, lol.

Cost (estimated)(Remember... ALOT of trial and error!):
3 - 2oz. tubes of Quicksteel @ $6 = $18
3 - Cans of Krylon Auto Primer @ $3 = $9
2 - Cans of Krylon Blue Metallic @ $3 = $6
3 - Cans of Krylon Clear Enamal @ $3 = $9
1 - 8"x10" Kodak photo = $5
1 - pack of 80grit sand paper @ $4
1 - pack of 120grit sand paper @ $4
1 - pack of 400grit wet/dry sand paper @ $4
1 - pack of 2000grit wet/dry sand paper @ $4
1 - pack of Stainless Bolts and Washers @ $2
Total = ~$65

 

thanks. cant wait till daylight when i can post a better pic