OS Giken, Unitrax, Autoform, Fidanza - Vendor Review: Parts Rack

[dave6666]

- PRODUCT(S)/SERVICE(S) PURCHASED:

Fidanza aluminum flywheel GEN 2, Autoform vented cowl, OS Giken Superlock with Unitrax 3.73 gear set no core plug-n-play GEN 2.

- DATE PURCHASED:

Various

- DATE SHIPPED:

Various

- DATE ARRIVED:

Various

- PRODUCT/SERVICE QUALITY (1-10):

10

- CUSTOMER SERVICE (1-10):

9

- WOULD PURCHASE FROM AGAIN? (Y or N):

Y

- COMMENTS:

Competitive prices, great market connections to get things done, plenty of technical advise. Sometimes you have to beat on Jon a little to get the answers you are looking for but he claims to be a busy guy and I claim to be a persistent guy so it works out.

The Autoform cowl is a nice quality part. Worth not getting the Dremel out and playing butcher.

Finally, I'm pretty sure this lady took my order. Your luck may vary however.

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[Canyon707]

Have fun with the 3.73. Your now entering extreme bottom end power.

 

[VIPER BAZ UK]

DAVE !!!!!!!!!! Where you been.. Its been quite without my fellow hood vents....

Also had the 373's and did not like them.....

 

[uvbnbit]

I think he will with his 20" (I think) wheels. If memory serves, his gear will calculate to 3.45???
You'll like that.

 

[JonB]

DAVE !!!!!!!!!! Where you been.. Its been quite without my fellow hood vents....Also had the 373's and did not like them.....

Needless to say, my knees got a bit quivery when I saw a D6666-JonB review !

[Baz, he is holding out on you.....while I cannot reveal customer info, lets just hint that the VENTed Cowl is not necessarily, er, um, stock satin black.....he has options.]

And UBit is right, he's a meticulous guy, his BigWheel pkg nets a 3:45 final ratio....

Thanks Dave.......

 

[dave6666]

Just seeing if I can still post here.


Edit: And I can

 

[dave6666]

Some pics and further comments on the Autoform vented cowl.

First off, if you want a very nice version of a vented cowl that takes no fabrication skills, I highly recommend this part. There are many DIY versions of this but that takes skill and time, and even though I have both of those, I opted to save the time and go for the finished off-the-shelf version. Still glad I did and you should look at that too if you are considering this mod.

I'll break the grade on the cowl in to two grades - an A+ for aesthetics and an A- for fit. Most would give an A+ on the fit but I'm pickier than most.

The finish (paint) is very nice and the vent holes are as good of quality as anything else about a Gen 2 Viper. I doubt many non-Viper people would even know it's a mod.

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On the fit I'm deducting 2 points hence the A-. The factory cowl on my car basically fell on with a perfect fit. Stick the 4 screws in without regard to lining it up and you were done. The AF cowl took a little more than that.

I first noticed that the screws by the door hinges didn't line up quite right. Had to persuade the cowl toward the windshield to have hole A in the cowl line up with hole B in the car. Not a big deal, but I take a point off for that because it did create a slight misfit elsewhere.

Slight misfit elsewhere was at the wiper shaft holes. Because I had to push it to fit on the sides it rode up the windshield and was pinned against the side of the wiper holes. I of course pushed down to get it to line back up and get the screws in the center mounts, but the result went from pinned on the side of those holes, to just off center. As mentioned, my factory cowl fit perfectly. The AF cowl does not but it is well within anything I consider acceptable and I would buy one again in a heartbeat.

Here is the resulting fit at the wiper holes. Can't really see it with the blade on so like I was saying, maybe I'm just too picky

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Finally, it had been recommended to not use any seal along the windshield, like is on the factory cowl. Even more airflow was the point I think. Anyway, after the first trial fit it was obvious the lower unfinished edge of the windshield glass was exposed and it looked like hammered do-do. So contrary to the suggested format of no seal, I removed the rubber seal from my factory cowl and transferred it to the AF cowl. It was a pain to get off - very slowly with a modeling knife - but it came off with no damage to either the old cowl or the seal. Once I had it on the new cowl I tacked it on the back side with some black 3M weatherstripping adhesive every 6 inches or so.