After many trials and tribulations, I made some mods to my sedan. I added a set of AT Italia Riva wheels 18x8 40mm offset wrapped with 225/45ZR18 Bridgestone SO3 Pole Position tires. I also had the side sills painted to match. The sedan looks finished now with the black plastic gone. If I can hook up with some of the SoCal folks, Id like to see some other local G's. I will be adding more pics to the Rides section.

TallG35
2003 G35 Sedan, Garnet Fire, VIN #398<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by TallG35 on 01/28/03 10:08 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

19000-g359.1.jpg

 

Damn that looks pretty good...nice choice on color btw...I might have to do the same (with different rims).

Red/Canadian

 

Anything difficult about painting the sills??

 

I had a local body shop paint the sills. The only difficulty is that Garnet Fire is a VERY difficult color to match, and it is a 3-stage paint process (1. flat red, 2. metallic silver, 3. clear coat). There are 4 shades of Garnet Fire listed, they shot one sill first and it was too light, they ended up going darker and it's great. The body shop removed the front and rear bumper and side sills to paint. I also had them repaint the entire rear bumper as from the factory it was far too light and almost silvery - a poor match. Every Garnet Fire sedan I have seen has a mismatched lighter-colored rear bumper. The rear bumper is now slightly darker than the other panels, but as it curves, it tends to catch more light and looks like a perfect match from most all angles. It definitely looks better than the factory mismatch.

I also had them remove the rear G35 logo- it really cleaned up the rear of the car. There are no locating holes on the rear G35 logo if you wish to remove it.

I decided to keep the lowest "lip" on the front valence raw black plastic in case it scrapes on steep driveways as I don't want any paint scraping off. It also makes the whole job look factory instead of the entire thing sprayed.

I am very picky with my cars and am quite pleased with the quality results of the paintwork.

TallG35
2003 G35 Sedan, Garnet Fire, VIN #398

 

Sweet. Kinda makes the car look like a Benz or something... Can't quite put my finger on it...

Ivory Pearl/Premium/Xenon/

 

What body shop painted your side-sills? Would you mind sharing how much it set you back? I've thought of painting the sills on my platinum sedan, though I'm also toying with the idea of going with a darker shade for a two-tone effect, instead of matching the color.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

Hey TallG35:

Looks Very nice!

1) Will you be at the Feb 1 LA meet? (Details in the west forum)...

2) Where did you get it done and at what cost? Im thinking of also doing it depending on the cost..


Thanks

..pestilence..

 

Looks beautiful. Do those rims come chromed? Where did you purchase and if I may ask, what did they set you back? Looks classy, and fills the car out beautifully. Nice choice.

'03 Premium, Xenon, last Twilight Blue in Chicago

 

The body shop that performed the sill and bumper painting is Santa Clarita Collision Center in Santa Clarita. The phone number is 661-252-2277, and ask for Gary. I am acquainted with the shop so expect to pay a bit more-I’d estimate around $600-$700. Keep in mind, they removed the front bumper, rear bumper and side sills, prepped, did a 3-stage paint job (base, metallic, then clear) and put it all back together. I liked that they did not shoot the panels while still on the car. They had the car for four days and the quality looks factory.

As far as the wheels and tires, I got the wheels on closeout from Tire Rack for $299 each. One of the main reasons I went with these wheels was the value- a lot of wheel for the money. I also liked the deep lip look, the fact that the lip is polished stainless that matches the window trim exactly, the 5 spoke w/rivet design is one of my favorites and the way the valve stem cap looks like one of the rivets- a truly neat touch that when pointed out, receives oohs from the car nuts. I really do like the SSR GT3 wheel, but the stratospheric price put me off. The AT Italia Riva wheels are no longer offered in 18” for the G35, just 17” and 19” according to Tire Rack. For scc above, they are not available in chrome.

In regards to ride quality, 18's are harsher than the 17's and yes it is noticeable. Is it unlivable? No, but you will notice the harshness more. I did not want to go with 19's due to cost and ride quality, and I never even considered 20's for the sedan (coupe maybe, but not the sedan). Now that I have the 18's, I am glad I did not go with 19's due to the ride. Yes, the 19's would have made my wheel choice look perfect as the lip style wheel tends to look and inch smaller, but the tradeoff in cost and ride quality would not have been worth it IMHO.

I am still considering Eibachs or NISMO springs when they are available, but I would like to ride in an Eibach-equipped sedan before I buy. My last two cars (a 91 and a 93 Taurus SHO) with Eibachs needed aftermarket struts (Konis on one and Tokicos on the other) to ride correctly with the Eibachs. I am not sure if the OE G35 struts can handle Eibachs without that "pogo stick" effect. The SHO really pogo'd with Eibachs and stock struts before I went to Koni or Tokico.


TallG35
2003 G35 Sedan, Garnet Fire, VIN #398

 

TallG35, thanks. Unfortunately, I'm down in San Diego, and Santa Clarita's a bit too far away. Does that estimate include your rear-bumper respray? My bumpers look fine to me, so I'd be looking at painting the black sills only. There's a body shop down here that repaired my wife's Grand Cherokee after a fender bender, and they do things the same way you're describing. I guess I'll go give them a call.

2003.5 G35 Sedan Desert Platinum/Graphite Premium/Sport/Aero/Nav/Winter

 

No body shop is worth a 3 hour drive IMHO. Yes, my total included the rear bumper repaint. Sounds like you have a place you trust locally. Finding a trustworthy shop is 90% of the battle.

Good Luck!

TallG35
2003 G35 Sedan, Garnet Fire, VIN #398

 

Can we see a few more pics? Perhaps of the off-set down the side of the car, and maybe a rear shot if you have it? Thanks.

'03 Premium, Xenon, chromed factory rims, last Twilight Blue in Chicago

 

See my car in the <a href="https://g35driver.com/rides/detailride.php?vehId=436">Rides section here</a> for many pics of the wheels from diferent angles.

TallG35
2003 G35 Sedan, Garnet Fire, VIN #398

 

This is my first post - not sure how to add a picture, so I'll make it a link for sure. I have a 2003.5 Desert Platinum with AT Italia Flash Sports (18x8) with 235/45 Continental Conti Sport 2's. I'm real happy with these.

http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/jsc...d2-3AT1000.jpg

If someone will tell me how to post the picture to the thread, I'll do it. Don't have time to figure it out tonight.



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