Making Sweet Music With Leroy
I came to the realization that the aftermarket full-range speakers in my car were in need of replacement, both due to the diminishing sound quality and the physical evidence - one of the paper cones up front was noticeably warped and one of the rear tweeters was torn. That's where the wonderful people at Clarion came in to hook me up with all new JDM units for my hatch.
Yokohama Advan RZ Wheels/Falken Fk452
Tires/Project Kics R26 Lugs
For the past three years, I've relied on a set of Time Attack-edition Volk TE-37s and while they've stood the test of time with regards to weight and durability, I felt like the IS could use a more grown-up look. ADVAN launched a successor wheel to the RS with the RZ, which basically takes the 10-spoke RS Standard Design and twists it into the twin 5-spoke GT-R Design where the spokes dip towards the center of the wheel, allowing for larger insets and caliper fitment. So, on a car with high offset like mine, I can get a more full-face look without having to modify my fenders and go with a lower offset wheel. Because of this, I upsized to 19-inches in the Dark Gun Metallic color, running 19x8 on the fronts and 19x9 on the rear, all at 45+ offset. Additionally, since I was using RAYS Engineering lugs made specifically for the Volk Racing line, I switched over to a set of Project Kics R26 lug nuts provided by Mackin Industries. They work better for the RZ because of its thin-wall design and are pretty tough, stronger than most aluminum racing nuts.
For tires, I chose a set of FK452s from Falken (225/35R19 front/245/30R19 rear), which at first stuck out REALLY close to the fenders (looked dope!) and rubbed on bigger bumps (sounded not so dope!), especially on the rears. To fix this problem, Pit Crew Motorsports cut some of the rear fender off where there's plenty of metal from the factory - now it barely rubs, except on big bumps or on fully-cranked turns. As far as the tires' capabilities are concerned, this is a really good street tire. They're built with a silica compound and have grooves that take well to wet weather and are reasonably quiet. I haven't had a chance to really push them yet, but for everyday use, they grip nicely and respond quickly. Falken offers the FK452s in sizes from 16-through-22 inches and come highly recommended.
Source:
www.mackinindustries.com
www.pitcrewmotorsports.com
www.falkentire.com
EBC Brake Pads And USR Slotted Rotors
Big on my list of things-to-do these past couple of months was to service my rear brakes, most of which had been worn down to under 25-percent life after inspection. A call was made to EBC Brakes USA to get a fresh set of Redstuff pads since I was already using them on the front calipers along with their Ultimax BlackDash (USR) slotted rotors, and this time asked to complete the set by seeing if they had rear rotors - and of course, they did. Armed with a fresh set of Redstuff pads and USR rotors for all four wheels, I brought the IS to Aaron Cassan at Import Car Doctor in Covina, CA, who has helped service plenty of project cars for both Super Street and Project Car over the years. Not only would he replace the worn OEM and EBC parts, but he would also do a full brake fluid flush, a much recommended procedure from the doc himself. Don't have to twist my arm to do preventative maintenance.