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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Some Apparel for Season 3


Puyang and I received our new Machine Zealots' t-shirts today! The printing quality is even better than last year! We are both really happy with the finished products. You'll see us wearing these when we air Season 3 of Machine Zealots.

If you are interested in supporting us, or just like these t-shirt designs, please check out our Apparel shop for t-shirts and hoodies. You can also customize your own t-shirt or hoodie with our growing collection of graphics and artwork in our shop webpage!

With only two episodes left this season, we can't wait till 2013 where we'll be making more videos, and having tons of fun with our cars.


Thursday, August 23, 2012

Goodridge Phantom Stainless Steel Brake Lines


Braking power has always been an important aspect to me from the beginning. If you have a fast car, you better hope your brakes can stop you even faster. Stainless steel brake lines are a no-brainer when it comes to upgrading your overall braking efficiency and performance.

This particular set is the Goodridge Phantom Stainless Steel brake line kit, they are higher quality, but as a result, slightly more expensive. However, this installation tutorial will work for other brands of brake lines, so feel free to look for other brands that may better suit your needs.

There are a couple of things worth mentioning when it comes to the install. As in all of these videos, I try to make the installations as professional as possible. What this means is, sometimes it's not as easy as it seems on film.

The number one concern I have for you guys when doing this yourself is the 10 mm nut that holds the hard line to the brake line: It is extremely hard to break loose. Some people have used alternate methods to break the nut loose. I've read that people have been using vice grips, and extreme heat. Basically, it's so hard to break loose that the 10 mm flare wrench actually strips the nut, making it completely impossible to remove.

The front brake lines were much easier to remove because you could push the hardline upwards to work a cresent wrench on the brake line. Because both arms are pushing and pulling against each other, this was enough force to break it loose. The rear was slightly trickier since the hardline could not be pushed up. This meant you could only use the flare wrench. The WD-40 does help a bit it seems, but not as much as you would imagine.

If you are removing that nut the same way I am, just remember this: If you think you are using enough force, it's not enough. If you could find a flare wrench adaptor, and connect it to a breaker bar, you will break that nut loose in no time. Since Torque equals displacement multiplied by force, we can conclude that the longer your wrench, the easier it is to remove.

The only other thing I should mention is that the brake fluid leaks everywhere when you remove the lines. Take your time to do things right, but clean up the brake fluid as soon as you can. That stuff will eat through your paint, especially on your nice calipers.

After the installation, bleed your brakes (another episode), and check for any leaks. If everything looks good, take it out for a spin and feel how much more precise the braking becomes. I haven't had time to take it to the track or autocross yet, but even when the brake fluid isn't being worked out in racing mode, the braking feel is much improved.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

August 18th RevScene Meet Preview

On Saturday, August 18th, RevScene held their annual summer meet. Puyang drove us there, and we began to do our thing. The video will be officially aired in a couple of weeks. As for now, feel free to check out the full album on the Machine Zealots' Facebook page. That's it for now!




Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Summer coming to a close


Please check out our Project Cross page, this is a new thing the Machine Zealots' Team is trying to initialize and implement. It can only be done with the help and support of you guys.

Thank you!

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Apex Performance Brand Updates

Just wanted to add this list of brand updates from our friendly sponsor Apex Performance. Check them out for your modification needs!

ACL | ACPT | ACT Advanced Clutch Technology | ADVAN Wheels | AEM Electronics | AEM Induction | Aerocatch | Aeromotive | aFe Power | Agency Power | AGP | Air Spencer | AMR Performance | A'PEXi | APR Performance | Aquamist | ARC Japan (Abbey Road Company) | ARP| ATE | ATi Autotech Interiors | ATP Turbo | Autometer | AutoPage Remate Starters | AVO Turboworld | Axxis | BC Racing | Beatrush | Black Lightning (mechanics gloves) | BlackTop Aero | Blitz | Blouch Turbo | BLOX | BorgWarner | Borla | Bosch | Brembo | Brian Crower | Bride | Buddy Club | Bully Dog | Carbign Craft | Carbing | Carbonetic | Carillo | ClutchMasters | COBB Tuning | Cometic Gasket | Competition Cams | Competition Clutch | Corbeau | Cosworth | CP Piston | Crawford Performance | Crower | Cry02 | Cusco | Davies Craig | DBA Disc Brakes Australia | DC Sports | DeatschWerks | Defi | DEI (heatwrap) | Denso | DiabloSport | Driveshaft Shop | Drop Engineering | Eagle | EBC Brakes | Edelbrock | Edge Racing | Eibach | Energy Suspension | Enkei Wheels | Epic Engineering | Exedy | Ferodo Brakes | Fidanza | FiveO Motorsports | Fluidampr | Forced Performance | Forge | Fujitsubo | Full Blown Motorsports | Garrett | Gates Racing | GoFastBits | Goodridge | Gorilla Automotive Products | GReddy | GrillCraft | GrimmSpeed | GSC Power Division | GTSpec | H&R Suspension | Hallman | Hans Device | Hawk Performance | Hella | HJC | HKS | H.O.A. Imports | Hotchkis | HyperTech | INGS+1 | Injen | Injector Dynamics | Innovate Motorsports | Invidia | JE Pistons | JIC Magic | K1 Technologies | K&N Engineering | Kaminari | Kartboy | Kelford Cams | KICS Project | Killer B Motorsport | KING Engine Bearings | Koyo | KSTECH | KYB | Magnaflow | Manley Performance | MB Gauge Pods | MBRP | Megan Racing | Mishimoto | Mitsubishi OEM | MODE Racing | Moroso | Motive Products | Motul | MSD Ingition | MSI Competition Components | Mugen | Muteki | NGK Spark Plugs | NISMO | NRG Innovations | ODYSSEY Batteries | Ohlins | Okada Projects | Omni-Power | Option Racing | Perrin Performance | PLX Devices | Power Enterprise | PowerSlot | Process West | Prodrive Wheels | Progress Suspension | Project Mu | Prova Japan | PST Driveshafts | Pyrotect Helmets | RallyArmor | Race Ramps |RC Engineering | Recaro | Redline Oil & Fluids | Samco | Seibon Carbon | Skunk2 Racing | SPAL Automotive | Sparco | Spearco Intercoolers | SPEC Clutch | SpeedBleeder | SSR Wheels | Stance USA | STi Subaru Tecnica International (JDM & Group N products) | StopTech | STRI Gauges | Subaru OEM | SuperChips | SuperPro Bushings | Swift Suspension | Synapse Engineering | Takata | Takeda Attack | Tanabe Racing Development | Techna-Fit | Tein Suspension | Thermo-Tec (heatwrap) | TiAL Sport | Tokico | Tomei | Turbonetics | TurboSmart | TurboXS | Turn-In Concepts | Varis | Venair | Vibrant | Volk Racing Wheels | Walbro | Weapon R | Whiteline Suspension | Wiseco | Work Wheels| Zeitronix | ZEX Nitrous Oxide Systems



Thursday, August 2, 2012

Season wrap preview

We are coming close to this year's Season Finale. As some of you may know, we are taking a short intermission to complete the final three episodes for this season. The first of the last three episodes will be aired on the week of August 24th.

Here is just a sneak peak of two out of the three episodes coming to you guys later:

Airing on August 24th, another Apex Performance sponsored episode: Installing the Goodridge Phantom Stainless Steel Brake Lines on the STI.

An episode on flushing and bleeding your brake system. Will be useful for general maintenance, or racing events.

We also have some new episode ideas and concepts ready for the brand new season. We plan on finishing up three episodes at least when we start airing Season 3 in 2013. We also have big plans to "upgrade" the show. As of right now, I won't reveal too much, but we are very excited and we hope you will be too!

More updates later.