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After lurking here for a couple of months, I am very glad to say that I have finally collected my Polar White ES today! (Edit: I forgot to mention that it's a DCT! We do not get the manual here unfortunately.)
Day #1:
Please bear with me as this thread is going to be quite long
Anyhow, instead of boring you with details on why I bought this car, let me proceed to explain my build - I'm looking to turn my ES into a stealthy 'sleeper', hopefully sticking to a 'function-over-form' philosophy along the way. Truth be told, I do plan to track this car eventually, while also using it on a daily basis for work/groceries/family. As such, it would have to be a car which is fun and capable enough, yet somewhat look like every other normal sedan out there. Besides, I'm a modding junkie and there is just no way I'm leaving this car stock.
Finally! My white baby ready for collection at the dealership after 6 long weeks of waiting. Had the dealer send my car to have it tinted prior to collection (3M Crystalline - 60% front, 40% all around).
Modding begins immediately! I drove straight to my wheels vendor - I ordered a set of Wedssport TC105N over a month ago and had planned to have them installed asap. Here's a picture of the wheels ready to be loaded into the boot. Specs are 17x8.0J (ET42).
After collecting my wheels, it's time for fresh rubber. The stock 225/45/17 Hankook Ventus Prime 2 tires (Malaysian-spec) are decent, but nowhere near good enough for my purposes. I drove to my tire guy to collect my Yokohama Advan Neova AD08Rs (235/45/17).
My tire guy was curious how the tail lights looked when turned on. Gosh, aren't they just lovely?
The OEM 17" wheels for our Malaysian market. These wheels are unique to our country and are manufactured locally. Specs are 17x7.0J (ET45). Not a fan of its look to be honest, and it looked heavy.
Time for weight checks! The stock 17" wheel weighs 9.6kg (21.1lbs), while the TC105N weighs 6.85kg (15.1lbs). That equals a total reduction of 11kg (24lbs) of unspring weight.
Some serious JDM fans will immediately know that the Wedssport TC105N doesn't work with center caps if hubcentric rings/cones are used. Blame it on the design, but that means exposed hub centers. I had them painted black just to keep the look clean - a base silver coat followed by two coats of black does the job.
While waiting for the paint to dry, the Yokohama AD08Rs are mounted onto the wheels. Look at the meaty rubber! I'm glad to say that the TPMS sensors were rather easy to remove/install and works great with the new wheels. Do be careful though as they look rather fragile!
In keeping with the 'lightweight' spirit, I installed the new wheel/tire combo with TPI FN (Cold Forged Aluminium) lug nuts. These are significantly lighter than most steel lugs and are available in a titanium finish similar to the Wedssports, albeit in a darker shade. Looks good enough for me. Didn't bother weighing them though.
The front once everything is mounted.
Day #1:
Please bear with me as this thread is going to be quite long

Finally! My white baby ready for collection at the dealership after 6 long weeks of waiting. Had the dealer send my car to have it tinted prior to collection (3M Crystalline - 60% front, 40% all around).

Modding begins immediately! I drove straight to my wheels vendor - I ordered a set of Wedssport TC105N over a month ago and had planned to have them installed asap. Here's a picture of the wheels ready to be loaded into the boot. Specs are 17x8.0J (ET42).

After collecting my wheels, it's time for fresh rubber. The stock 225/45/17 Hankook Ventus Prime 2 tires (Malaysian-spec) are decent, but nowhere near good enough for my purposes. I drove to my tire guy to collect my Yokohama Advan Neova AD08Rs (235/45/17).

My tire guy was curious how the tail lights looked when turned on. Gosh, aren't they just lovely?

The OEM 17" wheels for our Malaysian market. These wheels are unique to our country and are manufactured locally. Specs are 17x7.0J (ET45). Not a fan of its look to be honest, and it looked heavy.

Time for weight checks! The stock 17" wheel weighs 9.6kg (21.1lbs), while the TC105N weighs 6.85kg (15.1lbs). That equals a total reduction of 11kg (24lbs) of unspring weight.

Some serious JDM fans will immediately know that the Wedssport TC105N doesn't work with center caps if hubcentric rings/cones are used. Blame it on the design, but that means exposed hub centers. I had them painted black just to keep the look clean - a base silver coat followed by two coats of black does the job.

While waiting for the paint to dry, the Yokohama AD08Rs are mounted onto the wheels. Look at the meaty rubber! I'm glad to say that the TPMS sensors were rather easy to remove/install and works great with the new wheels. Do be careful though as they look rather fragile!

In keeping with the 'lightweight' spirit, I installed the new wheel/tire combo with TPI FN (Cold Forged Aluminium) lug nuts. These are significantly lighter than most steel lugs and are available in a titanium finish similar to the Wedssports, albeit in a darker shade. Looks good enough for me. Didn't bother weighing them though.

The front once everything is mounted.