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

[OG VX]

Originally Posted by AbramWagner

You do Great work!

Originally Posted by BabyDiesel

I get back on after a short hiatus, and witness this. Marvelous work OG!!!

Thank you guys for the encouraging feedback. Im having a ton of fun with this project, and so glad that I found this site about this time last year!!

[OG VX]

Update: 8/9/2015- CF Vinyl and Decals on Roof

Hello friends. Here's some more vinyl work. Finally, after several attempts to "fix" the appearance of the roof, I've come to resolution.

Ebay CF Vinyl (4 ft x 6 ft ); used the new "bubble free" vinyl option. Added a custom graphic.

The roof was tough. I found that spraying a soap/water mix to aid in the install of vinyl creates a mega-fail situation. Yep, a code red fail. So, after another roll of CF vinyl arrived 5 days later, I actually decided to follow the instructions. Degreased the heck out of the hood (and roof moldings) with Purple Power, then used Isoproyl Alcohol to get it "squeaky" clean. Then, the vinyl stuck. A Harbor Freight-sourced heat gun, an exacto knife, a squeegee, and a lot of patience were also used to help things along.

Outcome:
















A big thank you to D.I.G. (Designer Ink Graphics) in downtown Mooresville for their help with my custom graphic design and printing for these last few updates. They are a great company to work with!

Until next time, thank YOU for ecoTuning in!

A big

[oldtamiyaphile]

At least in hot climates, a matt black roof is the opposite of ECO, unfortunately.

[OG VX]

Originally Posted by oldtamiyaphile

At least in hot climates, a matt black roof is the opposite of ECO, unfortunately.

I do see your point oldtamiyaphile. However, I consider this mod an "eco" one in terms of being economical. It saved me having to do a paint job for a while. The roof was a real eye-sore. Here's a before:



Also, it's been helpful already in spreading more "eco" knowledge. I took a cruise last night and got a bunch more people looking at and asking questions about the car. I didn't think it would make that much of a difference in the cars impact, but apparently, it does. Since most people are higher than me on the road, the matte black helps the decal to pop out, and drives the point home for eco-awareness more.

I'll deal with the additional heat. No worries!

[OG VX]

Shameless plug here, but I have some items for sale in the FS section of the forum.

- My old grille + fog block set up.
- The templates to the cutaway fenders I created (not trying to make any profit here).
- OEM front and rear seats for my VX.

Check them out at the link below!

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...tml#post489518

[BabyDiesel]

Excellent work OG! Top notch!

What kind of fuel economy are you getting now on trips?

[OG VX]

Originally Posted by BabyDiesel

Excellent work OG! Top notch!

What kind of fuel economy are you getting now on trips?

Thank you BabyDiesel! I'm seeing 55mpg on this tank. I've been "on this tank" since about May though, ha! So, it's unfortunately not an indicator of the cars performance. Most of my driving has been pittering around the yard to move the car under trees/to the garage port to work on it, back to the driveway pad to wash it, etc... I've also taken it to the store a few times, but you know how that goes (plenty of stop lights), etc... Been to the drive through twice. Basically, hardly hypermiling.

I've taken only one trip that was over 25 miles since I switched jobs and began the interior overall mid-May.

I will say, though, that on the extended highway portions of some commutes I had this past weekend, I was easily sustaining 100mpg consistently at 50mph, and about 75mpg at 60mph. That's the best I've seen with the car. I'd love to take a long roadtrip and try to break 75mpg for a tank. I believe it is possible for me, if it was 90% highway. I believe I could break 80mpg if I just ran half a tank (full to half full).

[Baltothewolf]

I would have used plasti-dip on the roof but that's OK, looks good nonetheless!

[OG VX]

Update 8/27/2015: Interior Complete (finally)

What's up guys, the interior restoration is finally complete. Planning to take the VX out to it's first "show" for Cars and Coffee here in Charlotte around the first of September.

Here's some pics. My thanks to Jay at Stitch2Fit here in Mooresville for his help with the upholstery work. The original OEM door card and armrest fabrics were re-used, with the addition of some "eco-green" stitch accents. As detailed in a prior post, the door card fabrics were first dyed from gray to black.









Prior to re-wrapping, I added some foam to the arm rest to give it a more plush feel. I found the foam in a package that was shipped to me. Turned out to work great!



I ordered a Sparco lumbar pillow off of Ebay, and had Stitch2Fit add some elastic bands to the back of it. It now works as a plush head rest, but mainly serves to handle an important safety concern I had with the seat. This older Sparco seat model has a very minimal amount of cushion in the headrest area, so I added this to help in case of an accident.







Jay from Stich2Fit also helped me to mend up the seems I had to remove in order to take off the splitters on the OEM bra. Nice and smooth now, for better aero!











Trip average has been 63mpg for inner-city short commutes. Highway average is pushing 85mpg. This is all on 87 grade gas, which I purchased completely by accident (haven't been to the pump with this car in a while, out of practice, ha!) I really want to take a long highway trip. I think I would stand a chance at breaking 80mpg on a good 150 mile run. I just don't have the time or need to travel in my schedule right now...

That's all for this post. More to come! Thanks for ecoTuning in!

[vrmouseyd15b]

Dude. Your door skins look so awesome! And I like the matching armrest. .

Thanks,
Victor