[yodamusic]

Sickspeed Spiked Lugs - in orange, of course! I got these in the mail a few days ago, and wanted to add them before the Midwest Dart meet next month. FYI, you will need the adaptor bolts to convert our wheels to lug nuts. The converters use a metric hex bit to install, and you will need a hex socket and an impact driver. The entire install only took a few minutes, and cost less than $100.00. My wife even snapped a pic when she saw them, and she never says sh!t.! My kids' friend asked if I could run someone off the road, James Bond, style. Then he asked how sharp they were, and if he could touch them - we took him to the hospital after that. (jk)

Installed:

 

[Exitus04]

Sweet jesus... these are what you wanted me to get??? My car would look so dumb with these... It doesnt go with the style on my car at all!!! Youre car on the other hand, these look right!

 

[yodamusic]

Ya - I was messing with you. Here's a better pic in the daylight, well... just because.

 

[yodamusic]

Not really a mod, more of a repair. Had to rewire my Unichip harness. Apparently it sat too close to the engine block and caused a short. What a total PITA to find and diagnose. Re-soldered and weather-proofed every connection, even soldered on a new mini ATX connector. I'm 100% back in action, all 5 tunes are loaded back onto the Unichip, and even flashed the firmware to the latest revision.
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24 pin mini ATX connector for the Q+ and Q4:

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[yodamusic]

Replaced my rear O2 sensor to correct a P0141 intermittent CEL.

 

[Exitus04]

Replaced my rear O2 sensor to correct a P0141 intermittent CEL.

We gonna steal the show at the midwest dart meet!

 

[yodamusic]

I'm so ready!

Dartlene, however, is very shy. You can see in this pic where she's trying to hide behind that tree!!

 

[yodamusic]

DIY - Side Splitters - Alternative to Mopar Side Skirts - Side Diffuser How-to

I bought a universal side lip a few months back - it doesn't really fit the Dart, but I made it work. It had the side wing on it already, so it trumped my idea to match the front splitter wings, as shown in my DIY aggressive front splitter wiki article. I had a hard time getting a hold of it, as it was backordered, and I ended up waiting months for it. It came with some mounting hardware, but didn't quite work, out of the box and a plug-and-play. First step was to mock it up to the car, and figure out a plan.

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My first hurdle was fitting to the front Mopar mud flaps. The angle of the flaps made it difficult to match this up. I tried a few things, but ended up trading the mudflaps for the Rally Armor ones, made for the dart. It fit the aggressive style a bit better. I ended up somewhat selling the Mopar flaps to @Exitus04, although he got a pretty sweet rent-to-own option. Lol.

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Here are the (flatter) Rally Armor front mud flaps:

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After I pulled off the EZ Lip, I found there were multiple plugged holes under the body. I found plastic inserts to catch a screw and attach to the holes. Found them on ebay, they clicked in, then pre-drilled the holes to line them up. This was easy b/c they were much wider, so it had some play.

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I could click them in and rotate 90 degrees to lock them in:

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I had to drill the holes, and then cut out a small square from the splitter, in order for it to sit flush with the side of the ride:

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Then I applied adhesive promotor (after thoroughly cleaning the surface with acetone) and applied the double-sided adhesive:

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[yodamusic]

DIY - Side Splitters - Alternative to Mopar Side Skirts - Side Diffuser How-to (part 2.)

Once I had the positioning perfect, I marked my cuts to angle the front of the lip. IMO, it was the only solid way to link the two together cosmetically. Any other way I tried, looked sloppy. This follows the lines of the car better, and solves the issue of matching the seams on a curved edge.

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I did this project on a 90 degree day, and I realized these may sag a little bit. They wouldn't come loose, but I wanted to make sure they were completely rigid. I took 2 long metal brackets, used for shelf supports, and fitted it underneath the lip. I used self-tapping screws to secure the metal support, as well as the fastened side splitters. I can say, the car has been well over 100 MPH several times since the installation, as well as several hundred highway miles without an issue.

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Finally, I used this carbon fiber-looking trim for underneath the front diffuser. I tried it on the sides originally, but it looked so good on the front.

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Here, you can see the front and side splitters, as well as how the Rally Armor mudflaps look. I'm lowered, and I may raise the rear mudflaps, just a bit.

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[yodamusic]

Uh oh! I did it! MPX Carbon Fiber hood - build is now complete! Now to decide, what do you think? I completed the hash stripes over the hood lip, to tie it in. I feel like it blends it in a bit better, but what do you guys think about the middle stripes? Should I continue the center stripes over the hood, like I did the hash stripes, or do I leave it as is? If I did it, it would only be plasti dip, so the matte black would slightly contrast the hood, and be completely removable. I just can't decide, and I want to finish it by next week at the Midwest Dart Meet in Chi-town!

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Here's a better look at the black over CF:

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Blurry Pic:

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I (quickly) mocked it up in Photoshop, to give a better idea of what I mean:

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[suzq044]

I'd say leave it as-is. With the additional stripes it starts becoming too busy, visually.

 

[Bullfrog]

very busy. less is more, your breaking up the body line flows to much.

 

[yodamusic]

very busy. less is more, your breaking up the body line flows to much.

Do you mean with the added center stripes, or with the hash stripes currently on there?

 

[yodamusic]

Exhaust video (2.5" exhaust with aftermarket resonator, muffler delete, and a cutout just below the downpipe that opens up at :30 in the video)


It backfires so hard on the first rev, the camera limiter kicks in and the video tries to re-focus! Lol - I love this car!

*Midwest meet in 9 days!


*edit - there is a better video

 

[yodamusic]

I think I'm removing the fender hash stripes, too. I loved them before, but with the hood, they don't look as good, IMO.

[/url]hash ???

 

[Bullfrog]

remove the hash stripes.. keep the racing stripe

 

[youngsmith53]

remove the hash stripes.. keep the racing stripe

I agree with @Bullfrog, @yodamusic. Keep the racing stripe, ditch the hash stripes (in my opinion they are way over done anymore). This makes it less busy and more free flowing with the contours of the body lines and brings the build together. Sometimes less is more.

 

[starscream5000]

I agree with @Bullfrog, @yodamusic. Keep the racing stripe, ditch the hash stripes (in my opinion they are way over done anymore). This makes it less busy and more free flowing with the contours of the body lines and brings the build together. Sometimes less is more.

Agreed.

 

[yodamusic]

Agreed. Done. Thanks! You know, I was thinking I was cool with the stripes 18 months ago, but now it does seem like everyone has them - I agree.

 

[yodamusic]

Final segment of the custom ground effects kit - the rear diffuser fins. This works with the existing OEM part, and mine has the dual exhaust, but it really doesn't matter. First thing I did was figure out a plan, and create a template out of cardboard. It took several tries to match the curve of the car. Any spaces and there is less for the adhesive to stick, plus it wouldn't look right - it took me about 4 revisions before I was happy with it.

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Once I had it right, I found a very cheap source for inexpensive ABS plastic - I traced these out and was able to fit 4+ on a sheet, and I only needed / wanted 4

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I sanded them down, used adhesive promoter, then plastic primer, then finally the black paint:

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I painted these black, as well. They were used on the bottom to secure them in. On the top, holes were pre-drilled and then screwed into the plastic diffuser.

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Finished product:

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