The Summer Prep

As summer time is approaching, and with a new season launching, the Machine Zealots team took the week to get things prepared; starting with a good old car wash. It was a tiring day, we spent almost six hours to wash and clean three cars. A third car? Well, the third car isn't really a Machine Zealots project car, but a car belonging to one of our own.

Puyang washing his white GTI. White cars get just as dirty as black cars.

Close to completion.

A humble guest joins the wash.

Clean and simple.

Just showing off!

While the first two cars were washed at the Machine Zealots HQ 2, the STI was washed at our main headquarters. Washing the STI was nice, but the shiny STI only revealed two door dings! People don't know how to open doors, or that they banged up my STI on purpose. It wasn't a real ding, but just some missing paint; which is annoying enough. The wash itself went by faster than usual because I had some help cleaning the wheels. She did a really thorough job; a lot better than what I could do actually. She actually asked for more tools so she could get the really tough spots. o_____o

We also found a fully built birds nest in the engine bay. A week previous to this car wash, I had realized the STI drank gas like it was nothing; I kept on thinking that maybe because I drove a lot harder, or that maybe I was just driving a lot more than I thought, but it was actually the nest blocking most of my TMIC!

I was thankful that there were no signs of cooked bird's eggs, so I removed the nest, and placed it on a tree. I personally prefer birds over rats living in my engine bay, and I found it funny that a bird would choose an STI for a home. Flattering.

Thank you for your hard work!

The nest was a bit torn up, because I'd tried to remove it before I was told to take a picture.

STI ready to do battle.

Nice clean wheels. They were pretty much dark bronze before this wash.

An end to a tiring day.

Are we back?

I have realized that I haven't posted anything in nearly half a year; which is quite a long time for a "break". For our current followers and friends, assuming you haven't left due to the dead silence on our end, I wanted to say thank you for checking up on us via private messages and YouTube comments. We were not seeking any attention while we were gone, but it was nice to know that people still think about us. As you can see above, I am still passionate about film making and video editing; hopefully, you'll appreciate the constant growth and effort put into the edits. I do apologize for not being as active on Machine Zealots as I used to be. As some of you know, we do this as a hobby, but mostly for the viewers. Both Puyang and I have jobs, and Machine Zealots doesn't make any money to sustain our daily lives. I wish we could just focus on Machine Zealots for a living, but I still have yet to find a way to do that. Again, we thank our Sponsor and friends who support us in various ways. (You know who you are, and what you have done to help!)
I am also personally moving into a different part of my life, so Machine Zealots will not be working the same way as before. We will no longer upload an episode every two weeks. We will continue to make videos and post them, but without a set schedule. We want to keep Machine Zealots as a fun hobby, instead of making it into a chore. I hope you guys can understand.

In other news, I am surprised at the growth of Machine Zealots subscribers. It's not crazy growth, but we are at 1500 subs with half a year of inactivity! Awesome.
Both Puyang and I have a couple of sponsored episodes to make during this summer; we got most of our tools ready for the videos too. I am not sure if we are going to force eighteen episode seasons anymore. It's still all up in the air, but perhaps ten episodes per season, or we remain with eighteen episode seasons, but with no deadline; which means we call a season finale at the end of eighteen episodes, regardless of what month we are in. I will update you guys on that later.
In the meantime, take a look at the goodies we have prepared for the installation episodes, and we will update you guys later.

Machine Zealots Promo Video

This is just a sneak peak at a video I've worked on over the weekend; we aren't starting the new season just yet. YouTube has really evolved their service over the years; the changes are especially oriented to benefit the video creators and content developers. One of their newest features for their YouTube partners is their Fan Finder program. You can create your own channel advertisement, and with their own relevant audience algorithm, attempt to find an audience that would be interested in subscribing to your channel.

It's a totally free service for YouTube partners, and I just thought it was very cool of them to do this.

Below is a storyboard of the final video. Hopefully, you guys will see this ad floating around somewhere ;)

DEI Titanium Exhaust Wrap

This season finale episode is sponsored by our friends at Apex Performance; they have been extremely hard working on behalf of helping us out with aftermarket parts. We are very thankful of their sponsorship.
The DEI Titanium Exhaust Wrap is a must have if you are trying to keep heat where it's supposed to be. It is slightly more expensive than your typical fiberglass wraps, but well worth the price. You don't need to wet this wrap, nor prepare any silicone spray. When breaking in your wrap, DEI claims that smoke may come off the wrap; this is normal, so don't panic.
The installation was pretty easy for the most part. It would be great if you have a working table with some huge clamps, that way you can clamp the pipe down so it would ensure a much tighter wrap. Puyang was supporting the downpipe as I was wrapping, so it wasn't too bad. At the end, we got a nice clean looking wrap so this downpipe is now ready for installation. The full review of the DEI Titanium Exhaust Wrap will come after the downpipe has been installed.
I'm sure you guys are waiting for the big install.
As winter is drawing near, the weather is becoming freezing cold, so like the previous years we are taking our production break; which means no more episodes for 2013!
If all goes according to plan, we have Season 4 pretty much lined up. If you have been following us for a while, you will know what exactly we've got lined up. I will be writing about our upcoming plans later on.
Again, please check out Apex Performance for your modifying needs; they carry over 150 of the most popular aftermarket brands, and they will match, or beat the competition in price!

STI Rear Differential Fluid Change

Changing your rear differential fluid is a very essential part of your car maintenance. Have a habit of changing your rear differential fluid every 30,000 miles; change it earlier if you track your car, or if you have a frequent habit of pushing your car harder during daily commutes. I highly recommend having some essential tools as shown in the video, especially the fluid pump. You don't need to buy this exact one, but having one will speed up the process; even with my simple to use fluid pump, the Wilmar W1139 Fluid Pump, it took me around ten full minutes to pump to the fluid limit; my arms were very sore by the end of it.
There are a couple of choices when it comes to choosing your rear differential fluid, but I've heard only good things on Motul gear oils, so I gave it a shot. I have been driving with the changed fluid and have had no problems at all; my rear differential seems to be liking this fluid.
A quick note: Depending on the year of your STI, you may not be able to use this gear oil, so please do your research before purchasing.
The whole process should really only take you an hour or two, including set up and clean up times. However, this isn't a competition, so take your time and be careful.