DVibe - 2003 Vibe GT

[DVibe]

Long time reader...first time poster...

From Long Beach, CA

Mods:
Injen CAI
Tein S-Techs
Hotchkis Front and Rear Sway Bars
Front Strut Tower Brace
Tint all around
Repainted grills
3M DiNoc Black Gloss Carbon Fiber Vinyl (roof, rear diffuser, front emblem, front license plate holder, some interior touches)
De-badged everything
Custom plates. (Handy Vibe or D Vibe...however you want it)
HANKOOK VENTUS V12 EVO K110 // 205/55ZR16 94W
Painted hub caps























Rear Sway Bar


Front Sway Bar


Tein S-Techs


Engine Bay

[DVibe]

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[DVibe]

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[A Psycho Martyr]

Very nice. Love the stance

....now to get rid of that rear wiper

[Mariachi]

nice! welcome to the forums!

[sideshowalan]

The roof is amazing. Did you have that professionally done or DIY?

[DVibe]

The roof is amazing. Did you have that professionally done or DIY?

Thanks! It was a DIY. The vinyl is from Metro Restyling. I had about 3 - 4 feet excess and it was about $280. I picked up a heat gun some squeegees and a razor blade. I clay bared before applying. Its a two person job. You cant afford to mess up doing it solo. It took about 3 hours maybe 4. Tedious but worth it. I will post some of the interior touches soon.

[A Psycho Martyr]

can't wait to see that interior

[thebarber]

Looks awesome

[DVibe]

can't wait to see that interior

[A Psycho Martyr]

wow, great job trimming that stuff.

Looks killer

[Wingnut]

Very nice Vibe!! Must have been a nightmare stretching that carbon fiber around those small parts.

[DVibe]

Here are some more 3M DiNoc Carbon Fiber detail shots:

[Wingnut]

How is that sticking in those tight corners? THAT LOOKS AWESOME! I had an idea a while back and posted it on here about wrapping the entire car in it. Would cost a ton though.

[DVibe]

How is that sticking in those tight corners? THAT LOOKS AWESOME! I had an idea a while back and posted it on here about wrapping the entire car in it. Would cost a ton though.

The carbon fiber vinyl is not too bad to work with. I did the roof first which was good practice for the rest. With a heat gun and the squeegee thing its not hard to manipulate an tuck. A good little(not box cutter) exacto knife is also key. The roof is the only part I even needed a friend to help with.

I also had the idea of doing the whole car in matte white. I actually have the 400 dollar roll waiting.... I did the rear tailgate. I messed that up real bad first attempt. The matte white was a lot harder to work with because it was thinner. I was planning to go on with the rest but i noticed that it gets stained with dirt and grime. It shows every blemish and it wont scrub very well! You cant clay bar it or us the rubbing compound stuff either. So I'm probably gonna sell the roll of white.

My cousin wrapped his A3 in matte black with his buddy. It looks real good. The black doesn't show the blemishes. Its days of work to do the whole car though. And too expensive to pay to have it done.

[Wingnut]

Yeah I looked into it and they would only warranty for 2 years and it costs almost $3,000.00 to do it. At that price I could have a buddy repaint it for me.

[DVibe]

Yeah I looked into it and they would only warranty for 2 years and it costs almost $3,000.00 to do it. At that price I could have a buddy repaint it for me.

Try picking up a small sheet of this stuff and messing around with it. I actually had a lot of fun with the carbon.

http://www.metrorestyling.com/3M-DI-NOC ... oc1170.htm

[Wingnut]

There is a print shop down the street from me that sells rolls of it pretty cheap. I looked into doing my roof rack, wings, side mirrors and maybe a set of vent shades but I just haven't had time. I've got a few other projects going on right now and I've decided to not do anything until next spring.
I've watched several tutorials about it and it seems pretty straight forward. Just like tinting windows just sharper turns.

[Mariachi]

I have some carbon fibber sticker on the interior of my car. nice!

[DVibe]

I have some carbon fibber sticker on the interior of my car. nice!

Yeah its fun stuff. You got any pictures of it?

[DVibe]

I picked up some carbon fiber vinyl stickers for the vents and emblem on the steering wheel from http://GrafxWerks.com a month or so back... just now got around to getting some photos











And while I was at it I got some rear angles

[maaadtrip]

Wow! LOVE the CF on white look. Damn fine! I've never worked with the stuff before, how does it stick to the interior trim pieces? Did you need to sand up the surface to get a good adhesion or did the stuff just grab on and hold? You've reeeeeally got me wanting to do all my interior bits.

[DVibe]

Wow! LOVE the CF on white look. (removed) fine! I've never worked with the stuff before, how does it stick to the interior trim pieces? Did you need to sand up the surface to get a good adhesion or did the stuff just grab on and hold? You've reeeeeally got me wanting to do all my interior bits.

Thanks! I've worked with both the 3mCarbon Fiber and 3m Matte White Vinyl. The Carbon fiber is a lot easier to work with because it is more rigid and does fold over on itself or wrinkle as easy. Prep is easy just clean with alcohol and make sure no dust etc. is on the surface, Apply with a heat gun or blow dryer, use a squeegee or fingers to apply pressure and to tuck it in the corners/crevices, cut with a sharp exacto knife (not a box cutter). Its been holding up for about a year now. The roof as got some scuffs from palm tree seeds or something. It still sticks (make sure to apply with heat because that helps the adhesion. Just pick up a couple feet of it to mess with and practice with. The cool thing is it not permanent.

[ZBVibe]

Any advice on painting the hubs black? I have a white vibe and think it would look better than OEM hubs if they were black. Thanks

[DVibe]

Any advice on painting the hubs black? I have a white vibe and think it would look better than OEM hubs if they were black. Thanks

I sanded down the OEM caps with regular old sandpaper (fine grade). Tedious work, but I think it was worth the effort. I originally painted it matte black, however what you see now is a gloss black. I also sprayed the steel wheels with matte black due to rust spots. Just make sure the spray paint you bye adheres to plastic and you should be good. Just one coat seemed to work. Two would not hurt. Its cheap and it should last a year or so before you need to add another coat. In my opinion tinted windows also make the black wheels look real nice on white cars.

[Brandort3]

I know that it's an older thread, but i was looking at your thread and saw the tien s-techs. Just a couple questions:
-How much did you end up getting them for?
-Were they hard to put on?
-Where did you get them?
and lastly,
-How do you like them?!

[DVibe]

I know that it's an older thread, but i was looking at your thread and saw the tien s-techs. Just a couple questions:
-How much did you end up getting them for?
-Were they hard to put on?
-Where did you get them?
and lastly,
-How do you like them?!

I this i paid $215... i cannot remember (shredded receipt) It was from ERACINGZONE but i just looked on their site and they don't have anymore. I just saw this on ebay for you: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tein-S-Tech-Low ... 0893826388" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (only one day left on the sale... decent price..)
http://www.partshawk.com/product/172-skl06-aub00" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is another, $113 plus $18 for shipping (not sure on the tax thought)

Seems like the prices are lower now across the board than when i got mine.

I have a buddy who is the top mechanic at a pep boys... i paid him 20 an hour to help me instal stuff at his house on his off days. So we rented a spring compressor for an AutoZone (you get 100% of your $50 back upon returning). I could do it again without his help...i just need his tools is all It wasn't too bad but you have to take the whole shock assembly off, compress the springs, cut the bump stop in half, compress the tein springs, and then put it all back on... it took us about 3 hours.. we were not rushing though. Oh yeah and we got lost looking for the bolts in the rear... i think we removed far more of the paneling than needed.

I like them a lot. No regrets. I love the feel and stance. I like driving hard on winding roads, but i deal with potholes and jacked up streets here in LA. I instantly felt more planted to the road and they take the bumps surprisingly well. I was worried the drop (about 2inches) would be too much...Its about identical to my wife's 2009 honda fit sport as far as scrape potential in dips etc. The ride quality is not too different than stock as they are softer than the stock springs (noticed that as they compressed easier with the spring compressor) It makes the ride feel just fine. I would say they are a good everyday setup that is affordable. I'm probably going to get those tokico struts soon like everyone else

[Brandort3]

I'm pretty convinced that those are the one's i would like to get! Just out of curiosity, why go to the tokico struts?

[DVibe]

I'm pretty convinced that those are the one's i would like to get! Just out of curiosity, why go to the tokico struts?

From what I understand Tokico HP struts are a good set if you are using lowing springs. I'm guessing there is not a wide selection for the vibe/matrix on after-market struts either which is probably why I have seen a lot of Tein springs with the Tokico HPs....its the more affordable alternative to getting coilovers. Im sure someone with that combo can tell you more about it.

[alpa109]

hey please tell me where u got that front emblemm i have a 2009 and i really trying to black out car but i need that where can i get it for front and back?

[DVibe]

hey please tell me where u got that front emblemm i have a 2009 and i really trying to black out car but i need that where can i get it for front and back?

You could try http://GrafxWerks.com but I am not sure they have them for your year. I used them for the steering wheel emblem.

The front emblem I trimmed by hand with a little exacto knife. I placed a large square of 3M vinyl over the emblem. The cross sticks out a bit so it was easy to find my lines when I pushed the vinyl around it. If you wanted you could mark you edges of the emblem with masking tape to no exactly where to cut. I just worked my way in (trying not to over shoot into the red. Its tricky and you would need a heat gun or a blow dryer. The cool thing is...if you mess up its just a sticker, so you can try again. Just try to cut lightly as to not gouge the emblem underneath.

[DVibe]

Of course I would just miss it!


Also, I was bored and added some carbon fiber to the glove box latch

[A Psycho Martyr]

clean install.
Man, you're good with that stuff

[DVibe]

I picked up some new tires yesterday. I also got my front brake rotors resurfaced (they were warped) and got new pads.

HANKOOK VENTUS V12 EVO K110 // 205/55ZR16 94W

[th3fr4nchi5e]

Looks good! The black carbon fiber suits the Vibe well, especially a white one!

[DVibe]

She's for sale! $3750 OBO. She just turned over 162000 miles.

[DVibe]

She's for sale! $3750 OBO. She just turned over 162000 miles.

Sold her today to a friend, I'm excited that he and his wife are excited about the car.

I picked up a 99 4Runner limited v6. Liking it so far.

[A Psycho Martyr]

Glad to hear you made the sale man.
Good luck with the Yota

[tpollauf]

Sold her today to a friend, I'm excited that he and his wife are excited about the car.

Awesome. Also this friend will know the history behind the car and any recent repairs done to it. Now have them join us here at GenVibe as a stipulation to the sale of the car