[ Alto Works ] Fender Flares, Part 1

Just when I thought I was close to “finished,” I came to the sad (yet, fun...) realization that no project car ever can be truly complete. I’ve always liked the look of simple overfenders on older cars, probably starting with the beautifully gorgeous look of modified early Fairlady Zs (240Z in the US). I wanted to install a set on my Miata back home, but never had the chance to put a set on.

Unfortunately, I’d say that the boxy look of the Alto Works doesn’t necessarily go completely well with the look of rounded overfenders when compared to the sleeker look of the Z or Miata. Besides looks, wider fenders provide a few other benefits, chief among those is the ability to install wider or spaced-out wheels. Wider wheels can provide better traction, grip, and potentially better handling…

Though more often than not, the drawbacks far outweigh the advantages. Cars are often designed and engineered properly from the factory, by engineers. Garage “engineers” try to improve upon essentially perfectly functioning cars, but I’ll be honest… we often do more harm than not to a car’s performance, reliability, or even looks. Cars are originally designed with a particular set of springs, dampers, and rough wheel size and weights in mind, not with the larger unsprung mass of wider / bigger wheels that we love the look of. On my Alto Works, for example, the wheel bearings, already stressed from spacers, will have significantly more premature wear over the coming months / years with wider-set wheels. How do we ruin the car as a daily driver? Add some potential for rubbing wheels on fenders. And how do we screw ourselves in Japan? Fail shaken is probably the main way...

All that aside, I still really wanted to try a set of overfenders out. I figured, worst case scenario, it would ruin a car that I could no longer perform shaken on next time. Best case scenario? Well, the car could look darn wicked with a widened track and some custom fenders. Weighing these options, I ordered a set of four overfenders for a super cheap price of about $50? USD, shipped. These are made as universal “front” fenders at ?mm long, about ?mm wide. Of course, given the price, I expected little in terms of quality. I even considered that it wouldn’t even fit the car. Though who cares if it won’t be a perfect fit? At this price, the experiment is worth a shot…

It turns out the fender quality seems to be pretty good. They are flexible under pressure, yet very stiff. I had no issues subjecting them to strong bends in an attempt to see if they would crack or shatter. The black shine also was fairly decent, though out of the box there were a few scrapes. If I had worried about them more, I’d refinish them, though since the car itself has bad paint, I didn’t bother.

Time to get them installed next time!

[ Alto Works ] Vinyl Stickers

If you look carefully, you might have seen some new stickers appear and disappear on my car from time to time. Thanks to RKADE and ORCA for all the sticker sponsorship so far! These gorgeous designs are absolutely badass!

There are two basic ways to put on vinyl, wet or dry. For most folk and for most stickers, the wet method is the easiest to lay down. The use of slightly soapy water allows infinite repositioning of the vinyl (unless it sticks onto itself), so mistakes can be easily fixed before drying. This also makes removal of those tricky, tiny air bubbles quite easy if done properly. However, this works extremely poorly for complex shapes and complex curves, as the benefits of easy removal make conforming vinyl over these surfaces hard to do; the wet stickers won’t stick easily and don’t work with a heat gun. (Of course, I’m not saying it isn’t a possibility, but in my limited experience it isn’t very easy to do.)

The other method is to apply the vinyl dry, in which case it is extremely useful to have a heat gun. Heating the vinyl allows it to stretch and shrink to some degree, conforming to curves and body shapes of car panels. For large sheets of vinyl, having two sets of hands to prevent vinyl from sticking on itself and help to push out the bubbles is a huge boon.

As I might have mentioned before, I wanted to adorn my car with an Evangelion theme. So I enlisted my friend Aleks to help me apply a decent size cut of vinyl of Sachiel for my front hood and right fender. This is actually my second attempt, as the first time I tried this, I failed to apply it cleanly. I had considered trying the wet method this time around since the curves aren’t that “complex,” but I thought it would be worth one more try.

With the extra set of hands and a heat gun, we proceed to lay it out, moving carefully a little bit at a time. The result was actually pretty good from a few feet away. There were a few air bubbles I failed to poke out, though, as this sheet of vinyl doesn’t have those “air release” holes or channels. No matter, as it isn’t anything a pin or razor couldn’t alleviate at a later time.

Now these next two are just for fun. As some of you may know, I am friends with Rodeo Cars and Matsuda-san. He has generously lent me the use of his garage and occasionally his expertise to work on my crap can… I mean, Alto Works project… So in a manner of speaking, I’m here to represent my “sponsorship” with him now that the car is at a point where I am proud of it’s looks. (Or less embarrassed?)

This was the initial plan, but I ended up ordering stickers a bit smaller due to the exponential cost increase with any larger sheets. In the end, the stickers still weren’t cheap. I won’t say how much… what do you think it costs?

Like the Sachiel decal, I will do this dry to allow it to go over the necessary surfaces.If you look super carefully, you might see the mistake I made with the pink side of the sticker. Otherwise, from a few feet away it is otherwise not so noticeable. Not to mention the colors are so bright and contrasting, most won’t be staring that close...

...but I notice it...

[ Alto Works ] TRUST / GReddy Produce Carbon Fiber Rear Wing Spoiler, Part 2

With all the overall benefits and drawbacks of a wing considered, I decided to put a bigger, sportier wing on my Alto Works. There were a few existing ones from some manufacturers like Jaws Yamamoto and TAKE OFF, but I came across this gorgeous TRUST / GReddy carbon fiber wing. While it wasn’t in perfect condition, as it came used, it still is absolutely beautiful and it would really go well with the rest of my modifications.

Wait, you might be asking, “Does GReddy make a CF rear wing for the Alto Works?” (Okay, maybe you’re not asking that.)

You better darn bet they don’t! This wing comes courtesy of my Suzuki Swift Sport, which was removed in preparation to sell the car. I know well the lack of value aftermarket parts have on cars, if not devaluing a used car even more due to the sign that the car was modified. Further, the GReddy spoiler, while quite beautiful in these photos, have long since succumbed to outdoor weather in the years it was installed on the car with the clear coat faded and some discoloration present. With a professional clear coat, it might be once again worth a bit of money, but in its present state it would have only ruined the Swift’s otherwise beautiful appearance.

Hence, the wing was removed before I decided to sell the Swift. On the second hand market, the spoiler, even in its current state, might fetch 5000￥ or more, given that it is a model-specific, full CF piece no longer in production, made by a reputable manufacturer. What would be even better would be to give it life on my Alto since the aforementioned hatchback spoilers go for around the same cost and they are nowhere near as fancy.

I’ll admit a drawback, however. Since it is not model-specific, I’ll have a few issues. First, the fit. It may not even work right or it could be loose. Secondly, it was not tested and designed for this car, so the aero benefit may be minimal, if at all. It may even cause unnecessary drag or unbalance the car.

But this is a project car, after all. Why don’t we give it a shot?

Spoiler on a spoiler so you can spoiler. This is a joke… though I was half-serious about doing this.

The original spoiler came off with four screws and a lot of old, dried, rotted double-sided tape. Sadly, due to the 3 decades since, it has become semi-permanently attached to the back of the car.

Before the other spoiler goes on, it was time to try to get the old stubborn tape off using the rubber decal remover I used on my ugly side decals awhile back. After that failed to get the desired results, I resorted to a heat gun and pointy, sharp objects. I know it won’t be perfect and I’ll likely damage the paint, but as you can see, the paint isn’t that great to begin with.

This is probably as good as it’s gonna get without resorting to sandpaper or something harsher. The edges where the double-sided tape were created a little area where rust formed, so there are now tiny little bubbling paint spots. For now, it is all primarily surface rust. Hopefully a little touch-up is adequate for now.

And with the removal of the four screws, there are now four rubber mounting points which I cannot easily plug without a lot of filler… Well, there were 4 rubber mounts. One rubber grommet fell apart and into the roof. (No matter, I managed to fetch that out later.) Since there is no easy way to plug up the holes without going through a lot of trouble, I decided to remove the remaining rubber mounts and cover up the remainder with some CF vinyl. This will clear up the look a bit in the rear and not only hide the holes, but cover up the ruined paint back there.

There are 4 total screws holding the spoiler in place on the Swift, but due to the width of the car, in reality only two can only be used due to the mounting surface. To mount the two screws, I drilled some holes and used some blind M6 rivnuts.

Surprisingly, it was super secure with only two points of mounting. But leaving it like this would be a half-baked job.

I drilled and installed some rivnuts to my car and the spoiler to install support rods. These support rods are commonly added for extra support on the backside of spoilers and wings or in front wind splitters. They are simple threaded stainless steel or aluminum bits. Since the purpose of these supports here are to help hold the spoiler in place and the fact the spoiler isn’t designed for significant downforce, they should be more than enough to help secure it.

The wing is bolted on and super secure! You can literally shake the whole car by the wing and rods.

Overall, this project was a simple one that really enhances the look of the car. Although upon closer inspection, one can tell this wing was not made for this car, but even then it still gives off a very custom, racing aura. Definitely one of my best appearance modifications so far.

But I have more to do yet!

[ Alto Works ] TRUST / GReddy Produce Carbon Fiber Rear Wing Spoiler, Part 1

I’ve previously touched on aero enhancement as one reason to add front lip spoilers, adding downforce and separating upper air from underbody aero. I left out one, precious part of the aero equation, the rear. More specifically, I’m going to talk about spoilers and wings.

Sure they look racing and sporty, but why do people add them?

Let’s be clear: wings are not spoilers and spoilers are not wings. While people may colloquially call spoilers wings and vice-versa, those are misnomers. Spoilers are meant to do just as the name implies; spoil the airflow passing over it, often with the sole purpose of decreasing drag. Wings are meant to add lift on an airplane, but on a car, wings add downforce, essentially multiplying the weight as air pushes down on them.

Spoilers
As mentioned, spoilers act on the airflow passing around and over it. There are a multitude of reasons why you’d want to do this, but let’s start off with a simple, daily-driven car like a Prius. In an effort to be more fuel-efficient, the car needs to cut through the wind and create less turbulence in its wake which would add drag to the car. The back of the car is much like a box, so it would potentially create drag as the air swirls behind it. To combat this, a little lip is added to the back which forces the air to separate cleanly further behind the car where it won’t affect it. In fact, most hatchback-styled cars have some such lip for aerodynamic efficiency. This may be only one example, but it’s quite commonly seen.

For well-designed spoilers, there are almost no drawbacks to having them on. Aftermarket stick-on spoilers not designed by the OEM or aero-tested by a third-party may potentially provide no benefit or at worst case, can negatively affect the airflow as engineered by the manufacturer.

Wings
The difference between spoilers are wings are small but very important. They also act  on airflow, but are purposely angled so wind passing over them actually push down on the car, increasing weight where the wing is. The angle and design of the wing is just as important as the location of the wing; properly tested ones will add downforce on the car when “weight” at high-speeds is critical. Model-specific or proper wings need to be placed in the path of airflow which is often high up on the car. As strange as it may look driving around the street, tall uprights and large wings can be important on the track. 

Of course, wings also have to be designed and placed at a proper location to work. Cheap ebay “universal” wings are definitely not designed for the airflow of any particular car, but can be made to work if properly mounted and tested. Low “wings” on typical sedans work more as spoilers than wings though they might have the shape.

Moreover, the location and manner of mounting is also important: much like roll bars, they need to be installed on structural or stronger weight-bearing parts like trunk edges, fenders, or better yet, directly to the frame. Likewise, a wing in the middle of the trunk (A90 Supra excluded) is probably not the best place. Mounts can vary widely, but frail, adjustable arms like some cheap universal-types are probably not going to cut it.

But the drawback of even the best-designed wings is that they add drag, limiting top speed and reducing efficiency. Unless they are active wings or spoilers, adjusting based on speed, they all work best at a certain set speed; this means the sharpest racers tune their spoilers based on the track. At low speeds, wings are simply a drag since downforce is usually not needed below 60 or so miles per hour. (around 100 km/h).

Simply put, on a car with sportier intentions, wings are amust. By that I mean they are a must for people who want the attention. Let’s be real here, my tiny, 63-HP Alto Works does NOT need a wing and it already has a hatchback spoiler. But stock is never enough.

[ Alto Works ] Japan Dry ABC Powder Fire Extinguisher, Part 2

Now that we have our Japan Dry Chemical PAN-3AG fire extinguisher, how do we keep it in the car safely? It can’t roll around under the seats and can’t be secured with velcro or the like… at least safely. The last thing I need is a 3kg projectile inside the cabin if I get into an accident. Not to mention many race sanctioning bodies, at least in the US, require a securely mounted metal bracket with bolts and nuts.

The most typical mounting option is in the footwell in front of the driver or passenger seats, bolted to the floor or the seat mounts. As mentioned previously <l>, the fire extinguisher needs to be accessible when I am tightly buckled into my seat. I initially liked the idea of a footwell-mounted extinguisher, as it is quick and easy to access, but given that this is a tiny kei car, legroom is already at a premium.

On race cars, mounting to a roll cage, such as on a harness bar, is another common solution. One would only need to reach around and grab the extinguisher. Unfortunately, there is no harness bar and the other bars are far too inconveniently out of reach.

This leaves only the rear passenger footwell to mount an extinguisher and I think it’s still a pretty good location. I can easily reach back around with my left arm, flick open the metal band, and grab it should I need it. Most importantly, the rear seats cannot be currently used with my roll bar, so there will not be any rear passengers.

Mounting it will be another matter entirely. The transmission tunnel is rather slim, so it is not wide enough to accommodate both bolts drilled through. The second bolt will have to be mounted by an extended stainless metal plate.

This is my mockup shot. As you can see, only one bolt can be mounted directly. With the extra bracket, it seems fairly secure. The only issue is I had to ensure that the two bolts clear the rear parking brake wires. Since this is not an AWD car, there is no rear transmission shaft.

A simple two holes drilled through the tunnel, deburred, and painted, the mount is ready to go on. I cut a bit of the carpet to allow the screws and bracket to clear the dampening foam underneath. With some stainless screws and silicon to seal out the water, the fire extinguisher is mounted!

A simple and quick project, one well-worth the addition if the need ever arises!