Things are definitely happening with the cars now! Many many things.
A couple of weeks ago when we were at Balance fitting his new lip kit and bumper, we quickly threw on Alex’s new Advans just to get an idea of what the car would look like. He already knew then that his fenders would be needing some work in order to properly house the much more aggressive wheels, and the amount of poke we saw really emphasized that.
Last week Alex dropped the car off at Speedoptions for the fender work and they delivered with a super clean roll and pull on all four corners. From there he took the car straight back to Balance Auto and when I met up with him I found the TL up on the alignment rack with the gorgeous new Advans mounted.
Even with the rather aggressive pull, to provide peace of mind that his fenders wouldn’t be caught any time soon the camber was set to -3 degrees all around.
When the coilovers were installed last year camber kits were also added both in the front and rear, allowing for the fine-tuning of the alignment not only after lowering, but also for when new wheels ultimately made their way on.
While the car was in the air it gave me the chance to get a good shot of the branded exhaust tips. A little while ago Alex found a used ATLP exhaust locally so he quickly grabbed it and had it installed. It definitely gives the TL-S a nice tone while still being ‘mature’, if that’s the right way to describe it.
It was an absolutely beautiful day in Calgary so I was happily enjoying the sunshine while the TL was still up in the air. I had also been enjoying the weather a couple of nights prior when I was installing these new lights on the Focus; I’ll be sharing more on those soon!
With the stance dailed in the TL-S was rolled outside and we could admire the new look. After months of planning, saving, ordering, and waiting, Alex’s vision had become a reality.
For those curious about the exact wheel specs, these are 18×9 +22 Advan RSs, finished in Dark Gun Metallic.
As for the rubber, those would be 235/40R18 Michelin Pilot Super Sports.
It was hard to believe that the wheels – which had poked so much the last time they were fitted – now sat like this. The quarter panels hide their pull very well; I doubt that many will ever notice.
The pull is only really visible up front, if you know where to look. Even so, it too is fairly subtle even though quite a bit of work was done.
One final detail which couldn’t be overlooked was a new set of lug nuts to hold on the Advans. Alex opted for Project Kics R40s in Neochrome, which add just a little bit of colour to the otherwise almost exclusively silver/grey/black colour scheme of the car.
Following a quick car wash and settling of the bill at Balance, Alex and I made our way over to Stanley Park where a BBQ would be starting before too long. Funny side story – during our cruise over a police van pulled up alongside me and gave me a quick WHOOP WHOOP of the siren. Not sure what to expect, I looked over and it was a friend of mine just getting my attention so that he could wave at me. Phew! Haha
This is probably my favourite angle of his car currently. The clear tail lights work really well and the black on his rear valance ties in to the wheels nicely.
We didn’t stay at the park for too long but we got to see a few more cars roll in and admire the TL-S’ summer mode a bit more, before we finally called it a day.
The wheels really finished the TL-S off nicely and made a huge impact to the overall appearance of the car. During the quick trip out to the car wash and back I stuck the GoPro on the Focus and grabbed a few shots of the car which I put together into this quick little video.
That’s it for today but there will be more soon! I’ll be sharing more on the Focus’ new lights, and Mike at Rebel Devil has sent some photos over of what he’s been up to lately. Stay tuned!
-Bill