What did you do to your Vibe today?

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 12:43 am

I got the MWR short shifter installed on Friday. It was pretty straightforward but I had to fight with the shifter cables to get them back into the slots. Everything else was simple, despite the instruction sheet being a bit vague in some areas. It's a great upgrade, that's for sure. The shifts are way shorter than I was expecting. I also really dig the drop in height. It's been a blast to drive with.

I decided to revisit my shifter cable bushings with no luck. One of the original bushings is badly seized to the arm so I ended up admitting defeat. I'll be soaking it in Liquid Wrench but I'm not expecting any miracles. The one that I do have installed was a nice little tweak but I can't get full satisfaction knowing that the job is only half done.

Next on the agenda is the upgrade to Tein S.Tech lower springs. I sold some stuff on eBay but PayPal is holding the funds temporarily so it'll be a while before I can pull the trigger on those. I haven't ironed out all of the install details but I'll make something work.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Sun Oct 14, 2012 5:04 am

I could give you a hand if you were local.

Me and a couple friends took out the c59 from project doppleganger yesterday..

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 5:23 pm

LKShoes - You're an hour away from my grandparents' houses. If needed I may be able to give you a hand with the springs if/when you decide to go that route.

I soaked my battery strap in Coke, and cleaned the built-up battery acid, then repainted it. It looks good! But eventually I'll need a vented battery to keep the acid from eating the metal. I then gave my Vibe a final hand washing for 2012, since the weather was nice. Coming soon: touchless season!

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:54 pm

That would be awesome. I ordered the springs from a seller on eBay so they should be delivered within a week. I'm going to ask a couple of people that I know if they'd be willing to help but I'm not confident that any will be feeling up to the task. If it comes down to it, I'd definitely try to make it worth your while. I don't mind paying a shop to do the install but it would be great to give that money to someone within the community.

You guys sure are generous around here.

I didn't do much to the Vibe today but fill up the tank and enjoy the sound of the new intake (thanks to KITT222 and thebarber for helping me troubleshoot through that one). Gas prices dropped a bit. They were about $3.89 when I left town and were $3.68 this afternoon. That makes me feel a little bit better about the reduction in MPG I've been seeing (down from about 31 MPG a tank to just over 29 MPG as of late).

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Tue Oct 16, 2012 9:40 pm

No problem! I like visiting Iowa. I can fill up with premium for less than reg. costs! I know it doesn't do anything, but it's a fun little thing I always embrace. But winter blend has hit the pumps, so MPGs will be reduced for the foreseeable future.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 4:55 am

Mileage goes down when it gets cold as the engine needs to warm up, etc. Plus the colder air makes more power. Lift in 30* weather is great.

With my intake I was getting 31-35mpg all summer

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Wed Oct 17, 2012 11:48 am

I came pretty close to 33 MPG over the summer but I've never been able to get past that. Maybe next summer I can pull it off. I don't drive as much during the winter months so the drop in fuel efficiency shouldn't be too much of a burden. My average last winter was about 26 MPG so it's really not that bad to begin with. It's about as good as my younger brother gets in his 1999 300M on a good day in the summer.

---

The FedEx man just dropped off my Tein S.Tech springs. That was quite a surprise; I wasn't expecting them for a few more days.

---

I got the amps hooked back up to the battery (the cable running from the battery to the fuse broke off when I was installing the Cosmo SRI) and bridged the front speakers to make use of the two channels that weren't being used. It's nice having the full system in working order again.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 7:39 pm

Winter mode!

09vGT · Post by **09vGT** » Fri Oct 19, 2012 10:33 pm

Went to the dealer to get the blower motor looked at. They couldn't find anything wrong :/ Oh well, at least they didn't charge me

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:00 pm

I had to put in a new battery today. I was driving home from a friend's place last night and the whole car shut off. I was driving on a bridge and lost my lights. Luckily, I was able to pull off to the side after getting off of the bridge. My brothers weren't too thrilled about getting called at 3 AM for a jump.

I tried using the forward momentum to get the engine going again but it wasn't working out for me. The guy at Walmart tested the old battery and said it had some bad cells. The new one has been great, though. I haven't had a single problem getting it started.

Now I have to deal with my engine code. I'm throwing P0141 (O2 sensor heater circuit malfunction). It didn't show up after putting the new battery in until I had driven about 30 miles. I reset the code a couple of times before and it would pop up after about 5 miles. I thought I was getting lucky and that the problem went away.

silverbullet · Post by **silverbullet** » Sat Oct 20, 2012 7:26 pm

Well the same thing happened to me last week, combination of a dying alternator and some corrosion on the battery.

But that was last week, more import what have I been up today? Supercharger is in and running! Everything is running smoothly and monkeywrench Will be tuning her on Monday.

exciting weekend!

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Sat Oct 20, 2012 8:05 pm

silverbullet wrote:Well the same thing happened to me last week, combination of a dying alternator and some corrosion on the battery.

But that was last week, more import what have I been up today? Supercharger is in and running! Everything is running smoothly and monkeywrench Will be tuning her on Monday.
exciting weekend!

I hope the battery is the end of it. I was worried the whole time that my alternator would be the culprit. The old one was about 5 years old and had some nasty buildup anyway. It's nice having a fresh battery with a new three year warranty.

Congrats on the supercharger! That would be a blast to experience for the first time (and every time after that, I'd imagine

). You should post some videos; I'd love to see/hear it in action.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:21 am

silverbullet wrote:Well the same thing happened to me last week, combination of a dying alternator and some corrosion on the battery.

But that was last week, more import what have I been up today? Supercharger is in and running! Everything is running smoothly and monkeywrench Will be tuning her on Monday.
exciting weekend!

Don't forget to post your dyno

Took this the other day...weather is still warm enough for summer wheels..

silverbullet · Post by **silverbullet** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 4:43 am

I expect There should be a noticable difference in power when monkeywrench gets done with it, for now I have just adjusted the are to be safer with my emanage. Allthough it is already awesome when I took it for a drive yesterday. Now I really understand the supercharger whine I've been hearing about.

Not sure how to post a video on here. Would I have to link it from somewhere similar to using photobucket? Also my phone would have to do for recording something. I'll snap a pic today. I still have to pop the hood and adjust the idler pulley real quick. The belt is not actually rubbing. But its pretty close to the inside.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:28 am

I typically use photobucket to host my pics and vids

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:00 am

Don't ask me how, but my LED DRLs are now working. After replacing the positive leads (kinda because it was truly a mess of wire and I needed to clean it up anyway), the passenger side light, and both negatives, one with the original gauge wire and the other with thicker gauge wire, they are now working. I'm not questioning it, I just expected the solution to make more sense. Then again, maybe I over analyzed it. An electrical engineer I ain't. And this just proves that I'm probably not fit for it anyway.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 9:57 am

Houston · Post by **Houston** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 11:48 am

Am I the only one who thinks that any color other than silver, chrome or gray looks ridiculous on wheels? After 70 years, I've never seen a car on the road with colors other than those mentioned above that I thought looked good. The bottom line, I suppose, is that you don't have to like what I like and I don't have to like what you do. I love you young folks trying to come up with something different that might move me away from the past, but where wheels are concerned it just ain't happening.

vibenvy · Post by **vibenvy** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 1:53 pm

Houston wrote:Am I the only one who thinks that any color other than silver, chrome or gray looks ridiculous on wheels? After 70 years, I've never seen a car on the road with colors other than those mentioned above that I thought looked good. The bottom line, I suppose, is that you don't have to like what I like and I don't have to like what you do. I love you young folks trying to come up with something different that might move me away from the past, but where wheels are concerned it just ain't happening.

I think certain different colored wheels i.e. bronze, black, etc. look good on some vehicles and with certain exterior colors, but as far as my personal vehicles go, I will always stick with silver wheels. IMO silver wheels look best on any vehicle and with any exterior color.

MrHatchWagon · Post by **MrHatchWagon** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 3:35 pm

I'm a fan of gold wheels on red and blue cars, sometimes black. That probably stems from my love for all things Subaru and the colour World Rally Blue, with the gold wheels. I like seeing some cars with bright wheels as well, because it really draws the eyes to them. I'm rocking matte black wheels on my Vibe though, because it was love at first sight with the set I found.

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 3:40 pm

{rant:on]Gold wheels have never looked good on any vehicle, ever.[rant:off]

I'd say that aftermarket wheel purchaces are made on probably 95% looks alone. But colour co-ordination goes a long way...

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:02 pm

I've had a hard time picking rims for my two-tone '03 because the cladding just messes with the sporty flow. I haven't seen a lot of perfect matches but there are plenty of pairings that do a good enough job to deserve a "well done". In the case of thebarber's gold rims (since there seems to be a slight hubbub surrounding them), I'd give them a nod. It's a good look for that car. Unconventional? Perhaps, but that's part of the fun.

It has to be way easier to pick rims when you're rolling in a monotone Vibe so that keeps me from being so quick to criticize.

Houston · Post by **Houston** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 5:36 pm

I'm not criticizing, LarryKingsShoes, but am simply stating my preference.

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Sun Oct 21, 2012 6:23 pm

I didn't mean to imply that you were being malicious. We all have our preferences and we're all grown up enough to handle differing opinions. I could have been more careful with my wording, now that I look at what I said again.

Enough of that, I'm getting off topic.

I vacuumed the cargo area in my Vibe this evening. The weather was great and there's been stray chunks of packing peanuts sitting back there for a while. It looks a lot nicer now. The rest of the interior, on the other hand, could still benefit from a good cleaning.

---

thebarber, that picture of your Vibe and a chair reminds me of Juno and the "it started with a chair"... theme. I was trying to put my finger on it for a while and it just dawned on me.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 3:38 am

Houston wrote:I'm not criticizing, LarryKingsShoes, but am simply stating my preference.

im pretty sure calling my rim colour choice ridiculous is criticism, hoss

i understand though, genvibe has pretty conservative tastes relative to other forums im active on...

see, i wouldnt run non-oem rims (especially larger than stock rims) on a non-lowered car. shorter sidewalls exemplify the enormous wheel gap on the vibe.

my tastes have changed over the years. ive run gunmetal superleggeras on my silver matrix xrs, flat black flik ftd's as well. on my red yaris i ran gold wheels, bronze wheels, silver wheels, black wheels, big wheels, small wheels.

in the end on my yaris i stuck with black enkei rpf1's. why? because for that car they accented the colour scheme well, AND theyre the lightest, most badass wheels on the market - - all business.

in the vibe i had oem 16" alloys, 15" steelies last winter, semi-gloss black superleggeras this spring and finally ended up running gold rims for the summer

typically i dont find i end up liking silver wheels on cars too much....to me they always end up looking too stock for my taste. im getting off of black wheels because you can't really see what they are from a distance and people end up thinking you have steelies. bronze wheels are nice, but im still not sure they will go well with the burgandy of my gt. i have white celica gts wheels on my black vibe and i think they look sharp. i still like gunmetal, but i think it would likley bug me on a my dual-tone vibe that the wheels would be close-but-not-quite-the-same colour as the cladding. as for chrome? REALLY not my style...and the rims are usually heavy.

i would say generally my prefernce since the yaris is for LIGHT wheels. the superleggeras are strong rims, 17x8, and only weight 17lbs each. i have 17x7.5 5zigen fn01r forged wheels in my shed @ 13.9lbs/each.

now that i think about it, i wasnt sure about the gold on my vibe either, initially, but it turns heads, theyre strong and theyre light. functon > form

silverbullet · Post by **silverbullet** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:19 am

Just a little update. Backstory first. I've had a little engine ticking for a bit now that you really have to listen for. I discounted to valve lash and let it go. At monkeywrench for the tune on my supercharger and they noticed it and theorized it could be an easy fix and dangerous to let go if they were right. So we dropped the oil pan and lone behold rod bearings show abnormal wear. Much longer and they could have gave out and REALLY done some damage. Really glad they caught this. I Shouldn't have let it go though.

So new bearings are going in and the crank is being cleaned of old bearing shavings and checked out. Should be ok tho.

These guys are pretty cool to deal with by the way.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Mon Oct 22, 2012 4:28 pm

Wow, good thing they caught it...

I was fixing numerous rust spots on project doppleganger along the leading edge of the roof....decided to repaint the area with rubberized truck bed liner

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:26 pm

Thawed the frozen block that is now, once again, a windshield washer tank!!!

Scwmcan · Post by **Scwmcan** » Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:10 am

That cold out your way already? Guess I should be paying more attention. Hard to think of cold weather like that when we are still getting 20 degree days. Note to self, get the snow tires mounted on the winter rims.

lannvouivre · Post by **lannvouivre** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 8:08 am

I drove up to Logan, NM, and bought Jason's old JSP hood. His vibe is pretty epic (and loud!) in person. Unfortunately, we had to get home fast due to homework, so Zach and I didn't go for a ride

Luckily, I'm pretty sure we'll have another opportunity to if we are really patient.

trb · Post by **trb** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 5:13 pm

Had to do my first mechanical repair to the 2010 GT today.

The tin foil exhaust shield started rattling Friday, and I finally got a chance to jack it up and take a closer look. The tin foil tore around the bolt and washer, letting the shield hit the exhaust. Easy fix though. Unbolted the bolt and attached washer and used a much larger fender washer to hold the heat shield in place. The bolt next to it was also tearing through, so I fixed that bolt also. A hard 20 min of work, including washing my hands and putting the tools back up!

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:49 pm

lannvouivre wrote:I drove up to Logan, NM, and bought Jason's old JSP hood. His vibe is pretty epic (and loud!) in person. Unfortunately, we had to get home fast due to homework, so Zach and I didn't go for a ride Luckily, I'm pretty sure we'll have another opportunity to if we are really patient.

Ooh! I look forward to seeing this.

Changed oil, and checked fluids. The tapping in my engine is kinda loud with the hood open. I'll need to see if it's anything too bad.

vibenvy · Post by **vibenvy** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 4:57 pm

4 years ago today, my mom's Vibe was "born"

!

09vGT · Post by **09vGT** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 8:40 pm

Had the blower motor and resistor changed. I also decided to wash and use a quick spray wax. He's very shiny. First wash in a long time.

Kincaid · Post by **Kincaid** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:04 pm

trb wrote:Had to do my first mechanical repair to the 2010 GT today.

The tin foil exhaust shield started rattling Friday, and I finally got a chance to jack it up and take a closer look. The tin foil tore around the bolt and washer, letting the shield hit the exhaust. Easy fix though. Unbolted the bolt and attached washer and used a much larger fender washer to hold the heat shield in place. The bolt next to it was also tearing through, so I fixed that bolt also. A hard 20 min of work, including washing my hands and putting the tools back up!

Shoot I have to do this too now. Just started rattling the other day. Added to the list of aggravations:

1. Rattling steering column.
2. Ticking blower fan.
3. Front tires rubbing on the fender liners (lowered and 10mm wider than stock tires so not GM's fault).
4. Rattling exhaust shield.

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Tue Oct 30, 2012 10:54 pm

I decided to put PlastiDip on my roof racks to see how it would look. I think it looks pretty good but I'll probably end up peeling it off and redoing it in the spring. I also decided to paint my engine cover with some of the spare rattle cans we have in the garage. Going from a dirty flat black to shiny metallic blue has made quite the improvement. I'm still waiting for the clear enamel to set a bit more before putting it back on but I'm liking what I see so far.

Also, I finally repositioned my tweeters. They were facing the windshield because I screwed them to the sail panel without giving it much thought. It only took about 10 minutes to rotate them and drill the new screw holes. The sound stage seems more open and spacious. I wish I would have done this sooner.

Next on the list is running some new USB/AUX cables to the back of my head unit to accommodate the cable from my phone mount. I'm just waiting for my USB hub to be delivered. I'm not entirely sure how I'll route the new cable to minimize clutter but hopefully there's a reasonable option.

Houston · Post by **Houston** » Wed Oct 31, 2012 3:42 am

Did this yesterday, actually. Had a coupon from my dealer for an oil and filter change and tire rotation for $29.95. Turns out it wasn't good for 5W-20 oil. Looks like the old bait and switch is still in action. Since I had already loaded the snow tire assemblies into the Vibe, I went ahead and paid the additional ten bucks to have it done. I'm kicking both of us.

lannvouivre · Post by **lannvouivre** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:59 pm

Almost done installing my projectors. Just need to paint housings and shrouds now.

Kincaid · Post by **Kincaid** » Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:26 am

Good news - turned out the exhaust shield was just bent. No torn bolt holes or even loose bolts. Just had to spread the shield away from the exhaust. Not sure how that happened as the first time I heard the noise I was starting the car in the garage, and after that I got the noise on every start up and shut down.

LarryKingsShoes · Post by **LarryKingsShoes** » Fri Nov 09, 2012 3:44 pm

I had my lowering springs installed this week and they feel/look great. The car seems so much sportier now and the rims look less awkwardly small. It's been a win in every way imaginable.

cptnsolo77 · Post by **cptnsolo77** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:28 pm

I finally took the time to remove the roof racks rails. I have to say for such a small mod the car looks wayyyy better. Without the racks the car doesnt look so freekin tall. Since I had the roof rack caps & antenna off I bought some Krylon Fusion paint ( satin black ) & painted them. Looks great too ! I found a F150 forum where members are using Krylon Fusion for the exterior trim with great results, no chipping or fading & its cheaper than trim paint. $5 a can at walmart. I want to try it on the cladding but no grey...ugh !

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 2:52 pm

Well .... Guess what .... I actually DROVE it today

Then I actually had to put gas in it. The last fill-up was July 8th upon returning from the Erie GenVibe gathering

That's 125 days between fill-ups. Tomorrows nice weather should give me a chance to wash & wax it. Soon the winter tires will be going on it

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 4:44 pm

Brought home two sets of winter tires. These eight fit better than four did. I'm obviously doing something wrong when I only carry one set.

But I can't decide when I want to put them on. This next week it will range from 30's to 40's.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Sat Nov 10, 2012 5:41 pm

Better do it sooner than later...below 38f winter tires are better. I put mine on a few weeks ago when it was warm....I didn't want to put them on when it was cold. winter tires aren't going to wear out from driving them for a couple weeks when its still hitting a daytime high in the 40's or even 50's. Not sure about you, but its dark and cold in the mornings and evenings during rush hours...

ColonelPanic · Post by **ColonelPanic** » Sun Nov 11, 2012 5:52 pm

Had a freak 70 degree weekend... Used the (presumably) last good day before winter hits to detail both our cars.

Vibe got washed, waxed, Back To Black'ed, and thoroughly cleaned inside. Looks great! Now the rain will be here soon.

tpollauf · Post by **tpollauf** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 4:48 am

Well this was done Sunday, just like ColonelPanic, Washed, polished, & waxed Junior's Vibe which had the road debris scattered all over the driver side of his car. Hot water with lots of soap & major elbow grease is what pretty muchy did the trick. Lots of "chipping" with my finger nails to remove the large chunks of debris and 4 hours of time. The car looks 100% better

The front bumper though, has hundreds of pinhole chips and where the bumper meets the fender. It is VERY noticeable but acceptable for now. Need to do our other two Pontiacs now before the snow flies!

KITT222 · Post by **KITT222** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 2:33 pm

Snow tires swapped on

15's look odd with a lowered Vibe. Ride is softer, less responsive, and noisier, but more efficient with these tires as opposed to my Nexen N5000 all-season tires. But that tread pattern... it makes it look like my car is ready for some off-roading.

vibenvy · Post by **vibenvy** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 3:15 pm

Tim, Jr's Vibe looks great! I keep telling my dad he needs a 2009-2010 Vibe GT in that color (his favorite color for vehicles; his 2001 s10 is the same color) so we can have a 3 Vibe family

!

Nick, those 15s do look tiny on your Vibe. Us 2009-2010 GT owners wouldn't even be able to fit 15s on our Vibes because of the huge brakes.

This coming weekend, my mom's Vibe will be getting a full exterior detail (wash, clay bar, wash again and Mother's 3 Step Ultimate Wax System), along with getting the winter wheels and tires put on. Mine will get the same treatment at some point over the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend next week.

thebarber · Post by **thebarber** » Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:25 am

got the car in hate-the-look mode for winter

15" jetta steelies and 195-65-15 hankook ipikes....had them on before halloween

also got some new business cards i made from a vibe photo (not pictured) and some shirts made in homage to the yaris (miss you!)

cptnsolo77 · Post by **cptnsolo77** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:30 pm

Removed the rear wiper & painted it with black Krylon Fusion. Came out great. Next are the front wipers & grille area. Getting my 5 bucks worth ! Also threw on 3 fresh coats of refinish restorer for the cladding. Florida & plastic do not go well.....