Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

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kumquat
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Joined: Wed Sep 18, 2013 9:01 am

Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

Picked up 9/20/2013 used with 99,000 miles. Here it is the day I picked it up:

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Mods:
9/24/13 Bushwacker rear bumper protector (34011)
9/25/13 Yakima Q-tower rack w/48" crossbars and fairing
9/30/13 GM All-weather cargo mat (19170827)
9/30/13 JVC KD-X50BT receiver
10/1/13 Switch that turns on dome lights
10/1/13 Permanent mounts for GPS and phone
10/14/13 GM Splash Guards (19170820)
10/23/13 GM roll-up cargo cover (19171208)
4/18/14 Curt 12228 Class 2 trailer hitch
4/20/14 Wiper switch with intermittent adjustment (19184827)
7/22/14 Replaced lower center console cubby with Matrix clock

Some pics:

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Future stuff:
Fog lights
All-weather floor mats
Footwell LEDs
Glove compartment LED

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Last edited by kumquat on Tue Jul 22, 2014 11:46 am, edited 7 times in total.
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vibenvy
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Location: Sandwich, IL

Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by vibenvy »

Looking great so far Jon! I look forward to seeing more updates from you and your Vibe ;)!
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

Splash guards:

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Rayven01
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by Rayven01 »

Do those actually work? I've been debating flaps on mine and those things seem so tiny that I'm skeptical.
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

Rayven01 wrote:Do those actually work? I've been debating flaps on mine and those things seem so tiny that I'm skeptical.
They extend about 2" below and 1" out from the car. When I put them on, I noticed a lot of little scratches and paint chips in the area that the guards would have clearly prevented. That little white piece behind the front wheels had taken a good bit of obvious damage and there were a few small scratches near the leading edge of the door too.

They definitely seem like they'll help out.
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vibenvy
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Location: Sandwich, IL

Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by vibenvy »

I definitely think the mud flaps make a huge difference. I just wish they made the GM molded ones for the 2009-2010 Vibe GT :(.
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2009 Liquid Platinum Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
2009 Steel Blue Metallic Vibe GT - 5-Speed Auto – Garage
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

I also waxed the car today.

Waxing a plain white non-metallic car presented a rather unique challenge. It was like an elaborate magic trick where no one, least of all the magician, knows what the trick actually is.
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Rayven01
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by Rayven01 »

I feel your pain. A handheld light you can aim to find dull spots makes it easier.
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BaseWhiteVibe
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Location: Macomb, Michigan

Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by BaseWhiteVibe »

Wow dude I just realized that you and I have the same spec vibe! You even put the splash guards on! Best way to go!

I ended up tinting the back windows and am glad that I did. I also put Celica wheels on mine and got ride of the steelies, hub caps and ended up bypassing the tire pressure sensor FOREVER

My car needs a waxing BADLY! It has nothing but hard water ALL OVER IT! Took a while to get it off the windows with bar keepers friend but I won't chance it on the paint.

I also like your roof rack. Good choice! I ended up going OEM but yours works for sure!

Awesome car!
BaseWhiteVibe - As Basic As It Gets!
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

Someone asked about my phone/GPS setup, and I answered in that thread, but C/P here for reference:

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I've switched to a universal phone mount. The one I'm using is the Kenu Airframe, which is stone cold awesome. Easy quick one-handed mounting and removal of the phone and it holds securely.
http://www.kenu.com/products/airframe" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've attached the Kenu Airframe to the dash by:

1) Installing a Garmin-style sticky back ball mount to the Passenger Air Bag display area:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004MG ... UTF8&psc=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

2) Cutting off the excess portion of a regular Garmin Nuvi bracket and gluing it to the back of the Kenu with some epoxy:
http://www.amazon.com/Suction-Cradle-Ho ... vi+bracket" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For the GPS, all I did was buy a length of thin steel bar from Home Depot, then cut off a section about a foot long. I bent it into shape and used a pair of small bolts on each the top and bottom to affix it to the cubby portion of my stereo's dash mount. The GPS is attached with mounting tape.
gtv237
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by gtv237 »

Very beautiful vibe. Could you please post a little more info on your dome light switch and intermitten wiper switch?
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

Sure. The wiper switch is just a straight part swap from a Corolla/Prius/Vibe GT/Matrix. Part numbers:
ACDelco: D6334E
GM 19184827
Thread reference:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=40099&p=475159&hil ... 4E#p475159" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dome light switch (I'm working from memory here):

There's a purple wire running to the driver's door jamb button/switch. When the door is opened, this switch connects the purple wire to ground. I spliced a wire into the purple wire and ran it over to the little cluster area where the traction button is. I installed a switch over there that, when activated, connects that wire to ground (there was already a ground point installed under the dash for my remote start, but it's easy enough to use an existing bolt or to drive a self-tapping screw into the sheet metal down there somewhere).

Long story short: put a splice into the wire going to the door switch, then install a switch that when flipped connects this wire to ground.

Image
gtv237
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by gtv237 »

kumquat wrote:Sure. The wiper switch is just a straight part swap from a Corolla/Prius/Vibe GT/Matrix. Part numbers:
ACDelco: D6334E
GM 19184827
Thread reference:
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=40099&p=475159&hil ... 4E#p475159" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dome light switch (I'm working from memory here):

There's a purple wire running to the driver's door jamb button/switch. When the door is opened, this switch connects the purple wire to ground. I spliced a wire into the purple wire and ran it over to the little cluster area where the traction button is. I installed a switch over there that, when activated, connects that wire to ground (there was already a ground point installed under the dash for my remote start, but it's easy enough to use an existing bolt or to drive a self-tapping screw into the sheet metal down there somewhere).

Long story short: put a splice into the wire going to the door switch, then install a switch that when flipped connects this wire to ground.

Image
Awesome! But one question, does the door ajar light come on when you flip the switch?
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

gtv237 wrote: Awesome! But one question, does the door ajar light come on when you flip the switch?
It does, yeah. It also makes the lights fade in rather than just come on. It's certainly not an ideal solution, but I saw no other way to actually accomplish what I want without having to find and splice a lot more wires.
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kumquat
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Re: Jon's 2009 Ultra White Base

Post by kumquat »

Swapped out the tiny cubby for the clock from the Matrix today. See this thread for details: viewtopic.php?f=18&t=43514&p=498032" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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