Say Chi Sin Lo

Thanks!

The titanium shift knob has more of a dull/frosted appearance, right? That's the only visual difference I can think of.

vishaalidoiswin

Yup, I believe it's darker too

Deckoz

they look similar. the aluminum one weighs a little over a quarter pound or 117 grams if I remember right. the titanium knob is in the 300 gram range.

Say Chi Sin Lo

Yeah that's another appeal for me, I prefer a heavier knob. But at ~300grams, it pales compared to my James Barone Racing shift knob. The shift knob in my Mazdaspeed 3 clocks in at 625grams:

Cylindrical Shift Knob - RED [MAZ-CYL-6RUL-RED] - $75.00 : James Barone Racing, Aftermarket Performance





It helps that it matches the interior of my Mazdaspeed 3 perfectly as well.

Wolf95

Another 2000 Silverstone here!

Welcome to the gang.

Say Chi Sin Lo

Well, looks like you guys were right, I had a dead clutch master cylinder.

Today I got into my car and started driving it. Immediately I noticed something was off, clutch pedal became uncharacteristically light, engagement point became an inch off of the floor, and most importantly, getting into 1st, 2nd, Reverse, ANY gear... Getting into the gear became a workout.

After driving for half the day, giving my arm a workout with every gear engagement, combined with the suddenly lightness of the clutch pedal, I decided this can't be normal. So I drove into my mechanic and explained my situation. They inched my car forward and backward several feet and basically said my clutch master cylinder was dead and leaking, it won't be long before I can't engage any gears. They were surprised it even lasted half of the day.

Got the car back 2 hours later and WOW. What a difference!

Kyle

Meh....I keep toying with the idea of replacing my master....I might just go ahead and do that for peace of mind.....even though my car is lower mileage I can drop the hundred or so bucks to know it won't be an issue. I don't wanna be stranded lol......Even after I did the shifter rebuild/regrease I've noticed that the gear selector still requires a decent amount of effort....not crazy, but it still feels a little notchy and not as blissful as people who herald the s2000 transmission to be one of the "best ever" in terms of feel make it out to be. Personally I think the cable shifter in my 8th gen civic is a lot smoother and more buttery feeling. I'm not going to close the book on that until I do my clutch job, replace the master cylinder, and get new fluid in there along with a new SS clutch line.

Say Chi Sin Lo

I don't want to freak you out and I'm just sharing my experience here, but that was me roughly 3 weeks ago. And I only drive it on the weekends. Also, for the past 2 weekends, I've been going snowboarding.

So realistically for the last 3 weeks, I've driven my car less than 5 days and have used maybe 1/3 of my gas. My mechanic (Joey) told me it won't be long until I can't even engage the gears. I don't know how long your car will remain shiftable if it's already becoming a workout for you.

xxyion

Hey Man congrats on the car! I just purchased my 2005 Around the same weekend you did. I think I actually saw the car you were looking at on Craigslist but I was dead set on an AP2 and under 60k miles. Managed to get a 2005 with 58k miles Suzuka Blue Pearl (I also posted in this forum category). I'm over in the East Bay so if you're ever near San Jose area let me know and we can go for a drive. This was also my dream car when they came out with this car while I was in Highschool and ive been wanting one ever since. Its actually been my second AP2 since I had to get rid of the first one due to financial issues. I'm super excited to get back into this platform.

Also, kudos for owning one of these in SF. I'd be way too scared of dings and dents to even want to drive this through SF lol.

Say Chi Sin Lo

So, any kind of headlight cloudiness/fogginess/yellowing bothers me. Nothing dates a car more than cloudy headlights. I've tried several "kits" and honestly, none of them gave me good enough of a result. I do think the available kits out there are good and most will provide you with instant gratification. It's just... meh and not long lasting. So I went and got my own materials and got to work. I watched a few videos on how to restore your own headlights, and followed the general principle of most of the headlight restoration kits out there. Sand, polish, seal.

Now, why don't I just go with a kit if I was going to follow the same general principle? Most of the kits provide you with sanding papers that are already cut in a way that's not compatible with sanding block. Sanding with a piece of paper in your hand is both tiring and doesn't yield the best results. Also, most kits will provide you with some sort of UV sealant as well, but most are inadequate. Some even don't provide you with a sealant! Mother's kit ends with the polishing step.

*GET A SANDING BLOCK, you'll thank me later*

I took pictures along the way when I was working on Creamy McDreamy the Beasty Marshmallow.

1) Tape your bumper/fender, makes the job much much much easier.

2) Wet-sand with 1000 grit sand paper. Spray water whenever you feel the surface starts to get dry. You can go nuts with the water here.


3) Wet-sand with 2000 grit sand paper. Once again, go nuts with the water here:


4) Wet-sand with 3000 grit sand paper. Go nuts with the water once again:


5) Wipe it down with a towel. Dry the surface of the lens as much as you can.

6) Apply polish in a circular motion, let it sit for a minute or 2, then wipe away with a clean microfiber towel:


7) APPLY AN UV SEALANT. Chemical Guys Jet Seal requires 15 minutes to cure. Or do this again in about 2 - 3 months. More on that later


8) Wipe off the UV sealing coat with a microfiber towel. Remove the tapes and you're done!





Here's a before and after comparison:



Finally, here is the finished process for Grey Fox (only used 2000 grit and then 3000 grit, it wasn't as severe as Creamy McDreamy. 1000 grit not needed):









***POLISH***
You're going to want a decent polish to give your lens their original shine back. I just used the polish from my (now abandoned) Mother's headlight restoration kit. Hated the kit, but the polish is not bad at all:

***UV SEALANT***
A lot of kits in my experience, include questionable UV sealant. Some (like Mothers) don't even include a sealant. Meguairs has moved onto a spray-on coating, that's not precise enough especially when you're working on headlights and their curves and angles. Sylvania has a decent kit but their sealant feels toxic in my hands, and I just don't like it. Not to mention is barely enough sample sized included with the kit don't leave you with a lot of room for error.

So, I got my own separate UV Sealant, and I went with Chemical Guys Jet Sealant WAC_118. I went with a bigger bottle so I can work on my uncles and aunties cars as well:
https://www.chemicalguys.com/JetSeal...wac_118_16.htm

I've heard great things about Chemical Guys and the products. I've never used them before, but the specificity of their products gives me a good amount of confidence.

***Recap of materials used***
- Several clean microfiber towels (wipe off the sanding residue, wipe off the polish, wipe off the sealant)
- Spray bottle + water
- Universal Sanding block
- 1000 grit sand paper (optional, only if your lenses are in horrific condition)
- 2000 grit sand paper
- 3000 grit sand paper
- Your favorite polish for plastic lens
- Your favorite UV Sealant