OG's VX Build: HyperMile Driving with some JDM Styling

[iceyinferno]

The Vxs have sound deadening beneath the front seats only. You can see that it was painted red in the second to last picture. Other than that...they don't get much as far as sound deadening other than the firewall mat. Lightweight

[RPM]

Thanks for the info. They really went all out then! Must be quite the noisy car.

[MetroMPG]

I was going to ask the same thing: I've heard several people say they can't tolerate driving a car with a stripped interior.

This one's still got the dash & side plastic, but I wonder how noisy it is. Would the efficiency improvement be worth it, assuming you didn't care about the aesthetics?

[BabyDiesel]

I will take a photo of my interior later this afternoon and upload it. Mine is pretty well stripped. I have taken the carpet and coverings out of the back, the back seats, door panels, and some random panels here and there. Aesthetics it does NOT have

I will say that it is louder than stock. The "mod" that gave the highest decibel increase was taking the rear seats out. This opened up the back end, which is non-insulated.

The sound is like an exhaust though. Eventually, you become use to increased sound. I could see it being annoying if you did not drive everyday to become accustom to it. I will be taking more carpet and my dash out eventually, so it will only get louder

BTW OG, your interior pics have motivated me to clean mine out. It is rather dirty, more brown than red LOL

[BabyDiesel]

My interior went from this brand new:



To this as of today, pre-cleaning. Excuse the mess :

[OG VX]

Update 5/22//15: Tint + Interior Restoration Continued (Panels Dyed Black)

I began a new job this week, so it was a good bit hectic. However, I did manage to move forward with the project a bit.

I found a great deal on tint about 20 miles from me in Lincolnton, NC. The Tint Shop; owner Joe working on the car:



He’s a “car guy” and we had a great conversation at drop-off and pick-up. He wanted to know more about ecomodding and why the car looks the way it does. After my visit, he ended up posting a pic of the car with a blurb on his FB page. I told him 72mpg highway, not 76mpg. But hey, I’ll take it, ha!



Here’s the “after” pics. 35% tint all-around (darkest legally allowable in NC):





You may notice in the pics that I had Safelite Glass come out about 2 weeks ago to replace the front windshield, due to a crack from a rock on the highway. Since I’m not running sun visors, I had Joe add a thick (circa 9”) banner to the front windshield, in aggressive tint (probably about 20%). Here’s the view from the inside. This helps greatly with holding of f sun glare. View from inside the cabin:




I then cleaned out the inside of the car with soap and water.



I also cleaned all of the lower (black) plastics to prepare for re-install:



I then set to paint the upper plastics (light grey from Honda) black to match the rest of the interior. I had a bear of a time, though. I cleaned them and sprayed them with an SEM flexible plastic primer. However, it bubbled and flaked right off, and would not stick to the upper plastics. I think, for one, it was an older can. What I get for shopping at Napa... Aside from that, it was just a terrible product, which I’ve never experienced with SEM. But, after a round of sanding all the chipping primer off, I was finally able to move forward with adding the SEM “Color Coat” Laduana Black paint. I used 2 cans to do all the plastics in the below pics.







Here’s how I painted all of the small items:







This weekend, I hope to wrap the headliner, and get the interior back together. We’ll see what else I can get done and I’ll be back with all of the progress.

Until then, thank YOU for ecoTuning in!

[OG VX]

Sorry I didn't respond earlier about the sound deadening. Yes, as has been mentioned, the VX models only came with sound deadening on the front footboard areas. I, too, was surprised by this. I don't see that the trouble of removing it is worth the potential weight savings.

With the "gutted interior" yes, the car is much more noisy. Too much so for my tastes. You can also hear every rock or small object that pings the underside of the car. My plan is to run it with everything BUT the rear seats for a while. After seeing the mpg gains without all of this, weight savings have now enticed me enough to try seeing if I can bear a touch more noise/drone.

Additionally, this is no longer my "daily", so I can get a bit more radical now.

Also, I have not forgotten about the exterior work. Plan at this point is to wrap the headliner tonight and get the interior back together. Tomorrow afternoon I will begin the fender work. IF it goes quickly (and not bankig that it will, OCD always kicks in) there is a small chance that I can prep the car for paint and deliver it to Maaco Tuesday. Reason for the push: the deadline to submit applications for entry into the Honda Day CLT show VIP area is 5/31.

Working down to the wire!

[Daox]

Looking very good!

[BabyDiesel]

You're tint is looking sharp! You will enjoy it and never go back to the "fishbowl". I got 20% last week and loving it

I found that post on the Tint Shop and had to say something

The painting looks great! Cannot wait to see the re-installed pictures!

I can get a bit more radical now.

Does this mean we will see a 3-wheeler+Basjoos hybrid boattail coming about????

[OG VX]

Update 6/1/15: Re-Wrapped Headliner + Seat Cleaning

Hello all,
I just got back from a week in ATL for training with my new job. I hardly ever fly, so I took lots of pics and videos!





Here’s my headliner restoration:

















Also, yesterday, I spent the morning cleaning off the new Prelude seats and rear hatch hatch carpet.

Man, I love these 4G Prelude seats! Can't wait to mod the brackets and get them in the VX.











I spent the majority of the weekend getting some work done on my (neglected) F150. After some fresh BFG 33” AT’s and a fresh coat of Bedliner, she’s now all nice and pretty and ready to be sold to a new owner (wife wants an SUV).



Not huge updates, I know, but I wanted to get something new into the thread. Starting my new job has me a good bit slammed, but I’m plugging along on this interior restoration as fast as I can. Honda Day is fast approaching! I did put in my application to be included into the VIP area of the show. I now await the show organizers decision on my entry.

Thank YOU for ecoTuning in!