Levant IX Progress

[MJ23FE]

2006 Wicked White IX MR
As she stands:

Power
Works Drop In Air Filter
Buschur Racing Lower Intercooler Pipe
Nisei Short Route Upper Intercooler Pipe
Full-Race Turbo Manifold 1st Gen
Works 76mm Downpipe
JUN B.L. Cat Back Exhaust w/ Test Pipe (V-Band from Test Pipe Back)
ACT HDSS
ACT Streetlite Flywheel
Walbro 255
Forge MBC @ ~24 psi (wayyy too much taper for my liking)
OEM Turbo
OEM O2 Housing
OEM Intercooler

Suspension
GTWorx Springs

Wheels/Tires
OEM MR BBS w/ OEM Advans (Out of Commission due to a blown tire. Extreme wear on the rest)
Volk CE28N Time Attacks 18x9.5 +34 (Out of Commission due to very worn tires)
OEM Evo VIII Enkei's w/ 235/45R17 Dunlop Winter Sport 3D (Current setup)

Future Plans
Sumitomo HTR Z III 265/35R18

CBRD FMIC - Coating TBD
CBRD BBK-B - Coating TBD
CBRD Oil/Coolant Lines - DEI Fire Wrap
CBRD Race Radiator - Coating TBD
All new OEM bolts/screws/gaskets
ARP Exhaust Manifold Stud Set

GSC Power-Division S2 Camshafts
GSC Power-Division 4G63T Titanium Beehive Spring upgrade
ARP Head Stud Kit

How it all started:
I picked up the car in June 2008 from one of my best friends. It came with the wheels and a bunch of other mods. It had the stock SUV wheel gap though.













Got sick of looking at the stock battery and the OEM UICP.


Installed the Nisei Short Route UICP, along with their battery tray for the Braille 11.5 lbs battery.




I than picked up a JUN B.L. Exhaust












I then changed my drivetrain fluids and gave her some AMSoil


I also picked up a set of GTWorx Springs during the ground buy and had them installed by my buddy, Sam. I made sure to swap that eccentric bolt around.








Euro Tire Aligned the car.






A year passed without any real issues. And I hit up the CBRD Thanksgiving Feast.






Thanks to Chad for throwing her on the dyno and hooking me up with a very nice base map.


A few days later, in bumper to bumper traffic, tragedy struck!








A few weeks later she was feeling much better!






I was having issues with the car when I got it back from the shop. It was randomly not starting and it was becoming a hassle. I figured it was my Mini Battery, so I got on the horn with my great friend, Rob, at Team XXX Racing and had him ship me a Braille 15 lbs battery. It has the same width as their 11.5 lbs battery so it fits the Nisei tray without issue, and since the tray is adjustable in length, it fit like a glove. After a week without issue, the problem came back. This time, the car sat in front of my gf's place for about 4 days. It had to be the starter since all the electronics worked perfectly. After tracking one down, I picked up a used alternator from a low mileage Evo, and within 30 minutes, she roared back to life.

That's where we are today.

Money is tight right now, and so things are moving very slowly. I help a lot with my family so priorities are just to keep the care safe and reliable.

My plans are listed above and once I've got the $$$, they will happen.

I'll keep you guys posted!

-Jalal

[awd-drifter]

damn, white evo 9s are so nice! good to know it's running well. was the frame bent?

[MJ23FE]

Originally Posted by awd-drifter

damn, white evo 9s are so nice! good to know it's running well. was the frame bent?

Nope, def not. Was such a low impact hit, and it was so slow. We were going like 10-15mph mph in traffic, and the dude in front of my stopped short just as I glanced to my right. When I turned back, I slammed my brakes and she dove and that's why my hood was bent. It was an old 90-93 Accord, and his bumper was just pushed in. All it needed was to be popped out.

The only damaged: hood, bumper, 1 head light lens, rad support.

I drove the car home that night and drove it for several days after that. Not a hitch. No leaks or anything. Everything worked perfect. I just couldn't open the hood. Was bent like a mofo. I def got lucky.

-Jalal

[Kracka]

Looks great!

[Matt D.]

Thanks for the write up, your car looks good.

[MJ23FE]

Thanks, dudes.

-Jalal

[mlomker]

Nice photos. CBRD's shop looks like all of his parts do--quality.

Do you know what color the BBE coating is? I hadn't considered coating a radiator...

[MJ23FE]

Originally Posted by mlomker

Nice photos. CBRD's shop looks like all of his parts do--quality.

Do you know what color the BBE coating is? I hadn't considered coating a radiator...

Matte Black.

This belongs to Erik @ Mil.Spec. CBRD OEM Replacement Radiator with Swain Tech BBE coating.








He said it was $185 plus $40 for shipping to Cali. Swain Tech is located in NY State. More info with cost can be found here.
http://forums.evolutionm.net/vendor-...-radiator.html

http://swaintech.com/store.asp?pid=10968

BBE Heat Emitting Coating
For parts where you want to get heat out of a part instead of holding it in a part, our BBE coating is applied to
help pull heat out of base metal. BBE is commonly used on intercoolers, air cooled cylinders, air cooled heads and brake calipers. Though the primary purpose of the coating is to improve cooling, the coating does offer a durable semi-gloss black finish.

-Jalal

[Kracka]

MAP has a matte black thermal dispersant coating too; I had it on my Rev.3 intake manifold (on the IX).

[MJ23FE]

Originally Posted by Kracka

MAP has a matte black thermal dispersant coating too; I had it on my Rev.3 intake manifold (on the IX).

I've seen that. Is it actually matte, or does it haev a shine? I HATE shiney black. Always looks rattle canned unless it's a Piano black finish.

Also, what kind of pricing does MAP have on coating? I know I can contact them, but does anyone happen to know off the top of their head?

-Jalal

[Kracka]

It looks very similar to the coating on the radiator above, I suppose it was closer to a semi-gloss black that a true matte black. I thought it looked pretty decent on my intake manifold. They charge $90 to coat an intake manifold which includes the thermal dispersant and also a thermal block on the flange face. Ceramic coating an exhaust manifold is also $90 (all prices according to their website).

[MJ23FE]

Yeah, I just took a peek. I'll keep them in mind. I saw the porting/coating that was done to a BBK and it looked real nice. That Swain White Lightning is definitely bad ass though.

-Jalal

[scheides]

Looking good buddy!

[MJ23FE]

Thanks, mang.

-Jalal

[v8klla]

Nice looking rid for sure, let me know if you would like to talk more about the radiator coating as well as those GSC Cams / Valve Springs as we almost always have them in stock

[MJ23FE]

Originally Posted by v8klla

Nice looking rid for sure, let me know if you would like to talk more about the radiator coating as well as those GSC Cams / Valve Springs as we almost always have them in stock

.
Will do, Chris! Thanks.

I'll definitely be contacting you guys about porting the hotside of my BBK-B, as well as getting it coated along with an O2 Housing from you folks (Megan or MAP). Is there much room to port match the turbo to either of these O2 housings? Does your coating fade a lot of discolor much after a lot of use? My car is daily driven hard.

Thanks.

-Jalal

[Super Bleeder!!]

I am LOVING the pictures in this thread

[v8klla]

Originally Posted by MJ23FE

.
Will do, Chris! Thanks.

I'll definitely be contacting you guys about porting the hotside of my BBK-B, as well as getting it coated along with an O2 Housing from you folks (Megan or MAP). Is there much room to port match the turbo to either of these O2 housings? Does your coating fade a lot of discolor much after a lot of use? My car is daily driven hard.

Thanks.

-Jalal

No there's not much to port on either of those two housings, and our coating has been holding up exceptionally well

[turbotalon1g]

^I have a manifold coated its about 4 yrs old and in great shape.
Over 70k miles.

[MJ23FE]

Originally Posted by Super Bleeder!!

I am LOVING the pictures in this thread

Thanks, mang. If you couldn't tell, I love photography.

Originally Posted by v8klla

No there's not much to port on either of those two housings, and our coating has been holding up exceptionally well

That's great to hear. Do you have any photos showcasing what your coating looks like on manifolds, hotsides or o2 housings after a good amount of miles? I'd love to see what they look like.

Originally Posted by turbotalon1g

^I have a manifold coated its about 4 yrs old and in great shape.
Over 70k miles.

Great to hear! Any photos that I can check out to see what it's like now after 4 years?

Thanks again guys!!!

-Jalal