Artie’s Project Log: Don't call him purdy (but he is).

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:04 pm

Meet Artie. He’s a Blaze Red 2004 R/T, the Jewel’s younger brother, and my daily driver.

I bought him back on 1/03/09 with ~32,000 miles. As of today, 11/17/09, the odometer sits at nearly 53,000. Yupp, you read that right. I have a lengthy commute to work everyday, so almost all those miles are highway.

Here is a crappy pic from my cell when I rolled the 50,000th mile...

Current Mods:
- SRT shifter
- 'DODGE' and 'NEON' badging on trunk removed
- Rockin' the Jewel's old snowflakes

Mods to be done before winter sets in:
- Get an alignment
- Get new winter tires on the flakes
- Swap in new black housing headlights
- Possibly one last major clean and wax before the road salt comes...ugh

Spring time mods:
- Paint 16" R/T wheels (still undecided on color)
- Re-mount R/T wheels (currently ready to go with brand new tires)
- Install Kazera SS lowering springs
- Paint main part of muffler behind bumper cover

So, that's the plan as of now. And no...I will not be going nuts on this car like I did on the Jewel. This is my main transportation, so mods will be very minimal. I'm amazed with myself that I have owned it for almost a year and done next to nothing. Hooray for me!

Stay tuned!

TNK · Post by **TNK** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 9:10 pm

wow! can't wait to see what you do with this one!

j-king · Post by **j-king** » Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:09 pm

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:15 pm

1) the odometer shows mileage. The tachometer better never get near 53000!

2)holy 4x4 status batman!

car is very clean though Chris! primo!

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:23 pm

hul kogan wrote:r

So, that's the plan as of now. And no...I will not be going nuts on this car like I did on the Jewel. This is my main transportation, so mods will be very minimal. I'm amazed with myself that I have owned it for almost a year and done next to nothing. Hooray for me!

I said the same thing

....and I'm keeping it relatively mild. You can only have one crazy ass car, not two!

Your car looks to be in great shape

nice find!! It is tough NOT to do things though....

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 10:25 am

sidepipe87 wrote:1) the odometer shows mileage. The tachometer better never get near 53000!

2)holy 4x4 status batman!

car is very clean though Chris! primo!

Haha, wow. So...I just read back through my post because I didn't know what the hell you were saying that for. Not quite sure at all why I typed that. Awesome brain fart, go me. I'll just go ahead and change that, then go sit in the corner...

Hi, I'm Chris and I don't know anything about cars.

And yea, that's how I roll. I have my hydros all the way up. I like to leave them that way...big pimpin stylez, y0!

LilSparkPlug wrote:I said the same thing ....and I'm keeping it relatively mild. You can only have one crazy ass car, not two! Your car looks to be in great shape nice find!! It is tough NOT to do things though....

I'm still amazed I've made it nearly a year at this point with no mods. I just have to stretch out the minimal mods that I have planned to stave my modding appetite. MOAR mods!!

Tam · Post by **Tam** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 12:31 pm

W00t. I was wondering when you'd finally get off your lazy butt and post this log, lazy bum.

Pretty clean car! But I think the 03-05 R/T 5 spoke wheels look better on that car.

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Tue Nov 24, 2009 12:41 pm

Tam wrote:W00t. I was wondering when you'd finally get off your lazy butt and post this log, lazy bum.

Pretty clean car! But I think the 03-05 R/T 5 spoke wheels look better on that car.

Meh at your laziness comment. Now I need to post the Dark Jewel log. It's a commin' soon.

Oh, you are very right...they do look tons better. I took them off the day I bought the car, though, because the tires on them were bald as all hell. I then took them and got brand new summer tires on them and proceeded to not put them on all summer...lol. It's that laziness thing again. Well that and I wanted to get an alignment before I put them on and well, yea. You know the rest.

These are only my winter wheels. In the next month I will be getting an alignment and some new winter tires thrown on these wheels.

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 8:53 am

I knew I'd have to get a nice set of winter tires on the flakes because the craptastic tires have been on those wheels since they were on the Jewel.

So, I was texting yesterday with a buddy that works at a local tire store and apparently it was my lucky day. They had a very lightly used set of Blizzaks taken off the old store manager's car. I went to take a look after work and the damn things looked nearly brand new. Most of the factory marks and nipples from the mold were intact. I told him I'd take 'em then he balanced them and threw 'em on for me while I waited. I paid less for the Blizzak's (including mounting/balancing) than retail for some junk General snow tires.

It started snowing on the way home.

j-king · Post by **j-king** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:41 pm

good deal man

v95 · Post by **v95** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 11:55 pm

nice r/t looks clean and keep it that way. but its a plus

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 11:36 am

I have Blizzaks on Nee, never had them before and so far they aren't too bad but we've only had mild snowfall so far. Perfect timing picking those up. Mine are WS-50s which I don't even think they make anymore.

c987long · Post by **c987long** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:05 pm

looks great.. cant wait to see it around here in toledo..

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:09 pm

Well, here is what 2009 looked like (in numbers) for Artie:

Drove 21,069 miles.
Average fuel economy = 31.22mpg
Filled the tank up 75 times.
Gallons of gas consumed = 683
Average price paid for a gallon of gas = $2.32
Total cost in fuel = ~$1,600

Pretty staggering to look at it this way, eh?

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:11 pm

I was doing that when I was driving to school. I racked up miles fast. I have a program on my desktop that you use to track all maintenance, etc for the car.

That's when it gets really ugly. Adding up oil changes, tires, alignments, gas *faints*

LilSparkPlug · Post by **LilSparkPlug** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 11:57 am

Craziness, but not too bad overall

I wonder how it compares to what the original price sticker states as far as yearly gas costs.

Tam · Post by **Tam** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:37 pm

Damn that's a lot of money. My car should be just around that amount too.

Post by **racer12306** » Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:40 pm

LilSparkPlug wrote:Craziness, but not too bad overall I wonder how it compares to what the original price sticker states as far as yearly gas costs.

He's probably higher because I'm pretty sure the sticker estimates use 15,000 miles/year.

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 1:32 pm

UPDATE
Wowwww. Long time, no updates. So yea, haven't really been doing much besides driving/maintenance. I think current mileage is around 66xxx.

At the beginning of summer I painted the Fat 5's graphite and threw them on there. Here are some crappy cell pics from the day I swapped them on...
Before

After

In other news, I've had a set of Kazera SS springs sitting around for over a year for this car. Just haven't decided to put them on yet. I kind of enjoy rolling 4x4 status due to the craptastic roads. It's nice to have a car that you don't have to worry about as much, especially with the ulcers I get driving the Jewel. So, the jury is still out on if/when I'll be installing those.

Finally, I've been considering trading off the Fat 5's for Silverstones. Anyone close-ish interested in that trade? I'm keeping the tires, though.

zhneon · Post by **zhneon** » Fri Aug 13, 2010 8:07 pm

MMM looks good. If you get silverstones with no trade I would totes magotes want those.

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:23 pm

hul kogan wrote:I've HAD a set of Kazera SS springs sitting around for over a year for this car. Just haven't decided to put them on yet. I kind of enjoy rolling 4x4 status due to the craptastic roads. It's nice to have a car that you don't have to worry about as much

I understand this... If I had new/better struts than the ones with 120k on the red car that'd be nice. I like to be able to just drive and not have to bust my back and kidneys on every expansion joint

Mr Josh Zombie · Post by **Mr Josh Zombie** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:33 pm

But, but, but, the Kazera's hardly even lower.

I say do it

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:44 pm

^To me it's not the height, it's the stiffness. Then again they might not be as stiff as the H&Rs I had which were pretty damn stiff. But you're right, the Kazera $$ isn't a huge drop

Mr Josh Zombie · Post by **Mr Josh Zombie** » Sun Aug 15, 2010 5:55 pm

and it's a direct copy of OEM ride quality

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 12:14 pm

Yupp, that is why I originally bought them. Just a mild drop and stock ride quality.

I'm just debating with myself about whether I want to roll them or not.

:: walks off to talk with self ::

FAC3L3SS · Post by **FAC3L3SS** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 7:01 pm

:: scratches head, wondering if people really pace on their own talking to themselves to help make basic decisions ::

:: contemplates offering help with the springs, but hesitates because this cat is experienced and doesn't need it likely ::

:: wonders if it would still be obvious that he just wants to get to the holy land (Toledo) to meet a few solid forum members ::

:: sits down to type response like an eager child, but wonders out loud since his mom wont get off his back about what flavor of jelly he wants ::

Just do et Chris, pussy. I'll even help so you can't whine about doing it alone.

:: feels good that that statement looks like I'm concerned about the car, not just super anxious to be with Chris ::

TheRandom1 · Post by **TheRandom1** » Mon Aug 16, 2010 7:21 pm

I say do it.

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 11:57 am

EHHH, UPDATE...?

Wow, apparently I really did walk away from this thread...and in the process completely missed Adam's slow-churned thought process and Sean's jprince-ish opinion (Though I will give you credit on using four words, capitalization and punctuation. Well done sir!).

That said...not a whole lot going on with Artie. I think I'm gonna wait until next spring to throw the Kazera's on. Might as well roll monster truck status for one more winter.

Also, I'm gonna post up a WTT...Fat 5's for Silverstones. When I take off the winter wheels in spring, I want to have a set of those to throw on instead of the 5's.

sidepipe87 · Post by **sidepipe87** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 1:10 pm

I want your 5s but I haz no stones anymore!!!! fudge. oh well. I guess I'll eventually get Dan to sell me his for $150 like I keep offering him

hul kogan · Post by **hul kogan** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 1:22 pm

Tell you what...you get Silverstones and I'll trade you. Done and done.

2GN.ORG

Artie’s Project Log: Don't call him purdy (but he is).

Artie’s Project Log: Don't call him purdy (but he is).

Re: Artie’s Project Log: The beginning.