Project Punisher S13 Part 3: Finished

With all the finishing touches completed, I grabbed a few pics.  I'm pretty happy overall with how this body shell turned out.

Project Punisher S13 Part 2: A Few Details

Even though I plan to run this body regularly, I wanted to add a few details to enhance the overall look of the car.   The thing that probably has the biggest visual impact is a roll cage.  It is made from .134" styrene rod that is bent with heat where needed and glued together.  I painted it to match the blue in the Rockstar logo to offer some contrast.

Project Punisher S13 Part 1: The Beginning

I've wanted to build and paint a D-Like S13 shell since they first released them.  I finally developed a concept that I liked and went to work.  I think that D-Like has the best looking S-13 on the market right now, and the fact that it comes molded with the great looking BN Sports body kit on it already makes it a great value.  If I had one gripe, besides worthless window masks (ok, that is two gripes), it would be how thin these bodies are in the bumper and rocker areas.  I'm sure it is hard to mold these things, but other manufactures manage to do a pretty good job of it.

PiPES Backfire Unit

I recently purchased a PiPES backfire unit, and really love this thing.

They can be purchased in a variety of configurations as single or dual exhaust, and include a pair of red LED functioning brake lights.  I chose a 12mm single exhaust for my soon to be completed S13 project.

The way it works is pretty awesome...

Sakura D4: Steering and Suspension Mods

As of right now, 3 Racing has not released any upgrade parts for the D4. But that doesn't mean some simple improvements can't be done in the mean time. I noticed that the center link in the steering has some flex as the angles get closer to full lock. It would have been nice if 3 Racing made a straight link for the RWD kits, but I am sure that keeping parts to a minimum is what helps keep cost down. Another problem with the center link is that it is a fixed length, so Ackermann cannot be adjusted. I made a center link out of two Sakura shock ends and incorporated an adjustable turnbuckle.

You have to make a little room for it first...

Sakura D4: Got lock?

I really like the design of the D4 overall, but as I have mentioned earlier, I feel like the front lower arms are just a little too big in diameter.  The insides of the wheels hit at full lock, and can stop the wheel rotating, inducing a spin.  I was able to gain a little more by adding 7mm hexes and 1mm spacers to get some decent angle, but the wheel still hit pretty easily.

Here is what it looks like with the wide hexes.  Not bad, but the wheel is hitting the y-arm at this point.