So FRESH and so CLEAN!

Time for an update!  I finally washed my car after two weeks yesterday.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot, but I hate i when I don't wash it once a week.  To top i off, I also got myself a set of wheels.  The wheels I got are Rota Torque 17x9 with a +48 offset.  The wheels are wider and sit more flush with the car.

Here are some pictures of the car just washed and with the wheels:

 I actually painted the wheels myself.  The paint I used was Duplicolor Black Wheels paint and Duplicolor Wheel Clear Coat.  The task was surprisingly tedious and annoying.  Prepping the wheels to be painted was the long and tedious part.  Painting was actually fun and a little painful.  I had my sister and law's boyfriend Kyle help me out.

To prep the wheels, I used 100 grit sand paper to rough them up really good and 400 grit to smooth everything out a little.  The actual spray cans said to use 320 grit, but I didn't read that until AFTER I started sanding down the wheels.  Never the less, the wheels turned out pretty good.

The painting process was actually pretty long.  I started at like 2 or 3pm and ended at around 10pm (of course taking breaks and eating dinner).  The first wheel was kind of experimental and it took 5 coats of paint to get everything nice with the right shade of black, the rest followed with only 4 coats and turning out better than the next except for the last wheel which ended up with bubbles and some running paint.  Everything turned out fine though.

I then added some Rota center caps I bought for $20 from another NASIOC member, but I'm thinking that I'll take them off.  We'll see though.  More to come!

Car update

For the past few weeks, Shirley and I have been getting a bit closer.  I finally did my transmission gear oil change about two or three weeks ago.  And I finally got around to doing my spark plugs.  The car definitely runs smoother and shifts easier.  But now, it's about time to do my oil change again and rotate my tires.

For the oil, I will not be using Rotella-T Synthetic 5w40 this time.  Although I said I would give another review based on an early oil change to clean out sludge, but there was a sale at Pep Boys that I refused to pass up.  This time, I'll be using the usual Castrol Syntec Full Synthetic 5w30.  This oil by far has been most deserving of my confidence.  My engine has never felt as loose with this as it did with Mobile 1 or as thick with Rotella-T.  The sale also included a PureOne Purelator oil filter, all for $30 bucks!  I'm thinking about getting another set for another oil change right before the sale ends.  I guess you could say that I wasn't too impressed with Rotella-T, but I wasn't disappointed either.  I guess I'll try it again later, but as long as this sale is around, Castrol Syntec it is.

As for the tires.  My front tires are almost done.  Firestone confirmed this when they refused to rotate my tires for liability purposes.  In any case, I think this will be my last rotation before I get new tires.  Not only that, but the tires will be put on the Rota Torques I just bought from Arco.  These wheels are 17x9 with a +48mm offset.  So, I'll be more flush with better performance.  The wheels will be coming with continental tires, which are perfectly fine for daily driving.  I'm thinking I will change that out for some Falken Azeni's or Dunlop's as soon as the continentals ends it's life.

More to come!