Baby Steps

As mentioned in a previous post, we have started off this season a bit late due to circumstances in life. We have picked up the pace quite a bit in the last couple of weeks, and the ball should be rolling a bit faster now. With the weather finally getting warmer, we are prepping our tools and necessary components to tackle these upcoming mods and episodes.

An STI Episode.

A GTI Episode.

We've got another batch of tools coming in soon for other episodes, but we took some time this week to get two episodes done. They aren't heavily technical episodes, but they have been something both Puyang and I wanted to do in our cars for a while. If you follow us on Facebook, you'll see some of these mini updates as they happen, so be sure to check out the MZ Facebook Page.

Again, because of life circumstances, we are keeping our budget as low as possible on our modifications. However, it would seem that Puyang has a higher budget on the GTI than I do for the STI this year.

In keeping with budget restraints, I decided to create a camera dolly for sliding shots. Some of you may have seen it on our Facebook feeds, but here is the picture of the prototype:

K'nex slider dolly Mk I. (KSD for short)

KSD Mk I with automated sliding feature. (Battery powered motor attached. Working prototype.)

This was an idea that came into my mind about a month ago. I never really sat down and planned this out, but it occurred to me that I needed some tools to help with my film making. However, instead of paying upwards of $200 for a good slider dolly, I thought of building one myself. I'm not great at working with metal, nor wood, so I thought about these K'nex pieces. When Puyang and I were little kids, we got whole boxes of these K'nex building toys. I would create tons of my own stuff, and got relatively good at it. These toys had been sitting in boxes for years, so I'm glad I got another chance to use them. Cost? Well, these were gifts, so it really didn't cost me anything to make this. I spent about six hours on this so far, and I'm not done with it yet. It's sturdy, stable, and makes pretty great shots actually. (You'll see in future episodes.)

This is actually a pretty fun little project, so I am going to continue to do updates on this; we are called Machine Zealots after all, not completely limited to just cars you know. I won't be making YouTube videos on these things though, but will definitely be updating you guys via this Blog, and the Facebook page.

More information to come soon.

Crayons and Filters

Summer has officially arrived! The sun is shining, the weather is perfect, and the people are walking around in t-shirts and shorts! Granted, this depends on where you live around the world. If I'm correct, my friends in countries like Australia are now experiencing winter, and of course my friends who live around the equator have summer all year long!

Well, summer always gets me motivated to do things. As I am still currently communicating with Apex Performance, I had some time to get some things in order. I played with Photoshop and I painted the letters on my Bridgestone Potenzas. Honestly, I sort of like the look of them. Puyang said it might look beast if the STI was lowered, and a lot more modded. What do you think? I did some research on this, and tire paint pens go for $10 on eBay.

I love the idea of a cheap mod, but I suppose this can all wait until the STI is a lot closer to a show car. (If I can even get there.)

In other news, my circular polarizer lens filter just came in the mail. It's a great little addition to any camera lens setup. Not only does it make your pictures look richer, it also doubles as a lens protector!

This lens filter is made in China, but most of these sorts of things are from China anyway. This is a screw on filter made for a 77 mm lens. Guess how much it costed me? Most likely you won't believe me even if I told you, but it only costed me $8. That's right, EIGHT DOLLARS! I bought it on eBay. If you buy anything like this at a camera store, it goes from $20-50. Yes, I looked. This particular lens filter came from Hong Kong, so it took around two weeks to arrive, but it was worth it. Free shipping too.

Can't wait to shoot more photos and videos with this news lens filter! Take a look at some pictures I took as a test on the effectiveness of this lens filter.

The top photo is without the Circular Polarizer Lens filter. Look at the depth of the blue sky with the CPL. The colors on the leaves are also a lot more vibrant and rich. Also notice the reflection on the STI windshield.

(Excuse the blurriness of this photo. The focus was on the windshield reflection.) Top is without the CPL and bottom is shot with the CPL. Lens settings are the same in both photos. Completely removes unneeded reflections that may obscure your subject.

Needless to say, I love this lens filter. If you don't already have one, make sure you hunt on eBay for a CPL. It's worth the investment. We'll be attending an import car show this weekend, so I'll be using this lens filter at that event!

Oil Changes all around

Last weekend, Puyang and I finished shooting a brand new episode where we'll be changing the engine oil and filter on the 2012 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Puyang's GTI has already been broken in, and he'll be showcasing his stock GTI on the autocross course by the end of this year. Hopefully.

Screen shot from the GTI Engine Oil Change episode!

In any case, I had to get my oil changed as well if I wanted the car to be in tip top shape for carving the pavement at the upcoming autocross events. Since the last oil change, I had installed a brand new magnetic drain bolt on my Subaru. I took the time to take some pictures of this drain bolt for you guys to see. I think it's worth investing in!

Look at all those metal shavings caught on the magnet!

This drain bolt had gotten a tiny bit rusty. Mod time.

Painted the drain bolt with an old touch-up brush from the 2010 Camaro. It has a nice lacquer finish.

If you don't already have a magnetic drain bolt, I would highly suggest buying one for whichever car you drive. Puyang also installed a magnetic drain bolt on his GTI, but you'll get to see that in the full episode.

In the next two weeks, we'll be extremely busy. The first weekend will be spent at an import car show, and the following weekend will be our first autocross event of the season. In preparations for the upcoming car show, I have been trying to sharpen my knowledge on using the Canon EOS 5D Mk. III.

I am also expecting a 77 mm circular polarizer lens filter in the mail. Hopefully it will get here in time for the car show!

In the meantime, hope you enjoy some of the test photos I took with the DSLR.