Topic: Evolution of a Fusion - Geist's Mod Thread **2010 Sport Skirts Installed 6/10/10 (Read 3857 times)

Geist · « **on:** August 03, 2009, 10:45:07 PM »

For every car I've ever owned, I've sought out ways to make it different, so that it doesn't look exactly like the other cars on the road. Not long after driving it home, my mind already begins racing, thinking of ways to make this blank canvas an expression of myself. I believe that your car is like another layer of clothing that you put on everyday, it says something about your personality.

Over time I developed a vision of what I wanted my Fusion to look like. Once I had the picture in my mind, I set to work putting it all together, slowly and surely. Adding mods not in bunches, but one at a time, months apart - the result of hard work, dedicated saving of my money, and heartbreaking setbacks.

Every single mod I have chosen has been obsessively analyzed, meticulously planned, and thoroughly debated. Each piece brings my car closer to the final vision...

This car has become my passion. It is something I have truly come to be very proud of, a true labor of love. Here is a timeline of "Gillette" as she has been affectionately named, from the beginning to her current state.

It still a work in progress, and I'm enjoying every step of the way! I hope you will too...

In the Beginning...

Here's where it all started, sitting at the dealer lot. Slightly used (10K on the odo) but otherwise in great condition! I purchased my 06 SE V6 in August 2007, and I was so proud. A debadging was in order as soon as I got home, my mind was already working! The next morning I woke up early to take pics of it, I couldn't wait for the sun to come up. Bone stock but beautiful!

I had read somewhere that the man who designed the Fusion was a former Volkswagen designer, and had also put the pen to the VW Passat design. I actually own an B5.5 Passat, and over time I have found a great many similarities between the two, inside and out. I decided that I wanted to follow the European influences in the design, and go for a Euro sport sedan look in the end.

Geist · « **Reply #1 on:** August 03, 2009, 10:49:56 PM »

The first mod I set about doing was getting the windows tinted, I chose to go a bit darker than legal at 16% on the rear window and 20% on all sides. Dark enough, but not too dark to get me in trouble... at least not yet anyway!

I also quickly added some 3.5" exhaust tips, which did a lot for the car and made me first realize how sporty the rear end looked.

I quickly realized that I wasn't crazy about the chrome on the tails and wanted to change the look, but I wasn't sure how to go about doing it. My first attempt was to use some tint to black them out completely, but after two days I ripped it off - I just didn't like it completely murdered. I didn't even keep them long enough to take a pic!

So my next idea was pretty original, albeit flawed. I've always liked European cars, and I noticed early on that it had many lines similar to a VW Jetta. So I was inspired to try to emulate the look with some black vinyl, here's what I did:

I wound up hating the look, because it only looked good to me from directly behind. From the sides you could see that it didn't flow, and after about a month or two the tail lamp mod had to go. Two failed attempts to fix those darn taillights... I did not know at the time, but my personal solution would not arrive until about a year later...

Geist · « **Reply #2 on:** August 03, 2009, 11:19:31 PM »

So the next mod was the eyelids, with a twist. Instead of just the vinyl straight across, I used chrome pinstriping to "frame" the headlight, using the chrome housing inside the lamp as a guide. It creates an optical illusion and makes it look like the light ends right there.

It was not my idea, a member named FusionFury32 first did this, and I loved it. The only improvement I made was to cut the chrome strip at an angle matching the inner chrome housing, instead of traveling all the way across the lamp.

I chose a very aggressive angle for the eyelids, I wanted them to line up with the grill and go straight across. Later, after the introduction of the new Taurus, Edge, and Flex, my eyelids were right in line with the future Ford headlamp styling, which I thought worked out nicely! I also made my first attempt at blacking out my emblems, but they were too dark imo. Wound up someone ripped them off my car one day... oh well.

I always liked the chrome beltline on the SEL versions, it seems to accentuate a very sporty line on the car, imo. So I decided to be resourceful and create the look myself. I went to AutoZone and purchased some chrome trim with adhesive backing, 1/2 inch I believe it was. After a little measuring and trimming, I had the same look for around $10 i think it was.

Geist · « **Reply #3 on:** August 03, 2009, 11:50:42 PM »

The next mod wouldn't occur until half a year later. I had been debating on rims or a drop, which one first? On one of my previous cars (my old DSM, a 97 Mitsubishi Eclipse) I made the mistake of getting rims before the drop... ugh. I hate a 4x4 look on a car, and I knew that upsizing rims would only accentuate that horrible gap and create a bigger need for a drop. And the Fusion comes with fistfuls of gap stock, so I chose to get the springs first. One of my better moves, imo.

I debated long and hard and did a lot of research before settling on the H&R springs. I wanted the lowest drop I could get without spending the money for coilovers, and at the time it was indeed the lowest. I very nearly purchased a set of Vogtland springs, a well know German tuning company, but not being able to see installed pics of them on a Fusion and scared me off, along with not being able to find a reliable place to purchase them. Not many people had the H&R's yet, but I knew I wanted to go as low as I could so I picked them.

I love the even drop I got from the H&R's, advertised as 1.6" front and 1.9" in the rear. Even with the stock rims, Gillette had a great new look! I was stoked!

I love being in the weeds, so I was pretty happy with the look I had, but I wanted to go even lower but had to settle, not being able to afford coil-overs. Not long after, Lord Helmet pioneered the use of Mazda6 TEIN's on the Fusion (which wound up being exactly what I was looking for in the first place), and I felt quite unlucky. Oh well, still like how she sits!

Here's some before and afters of the wheel gap, immediately after the drop. The springs have since settled even further, to about one finger in front and one and a half in the rear.

Rear Before:

Rear After:

Front Before:

Front After:

Geist · « **Reply #4 on:** August 03, 2009, 11:56:47 PM »

Here's a few pics after the springs had settled a bit more a few months later. They would continue to settle even further in the coming months, happily for me!

Not a bad look, imo, even with the stock rims.

Geist · « **Reply #5 on:** August 04, 2009, 12:24:45 AM »

Another half a year would go by without any changes, but the fever was building. I wanted my rims, and the more I thought about it, the more it consumed me. I just knew it was what was going to really set my ride off... I just had to bide my time... but at long last, the mod I had been waiting and waiting for. Oh the scrimping and saving! Several times I was almost there, almost had the money, but something would come up and take a chunk out of that fund... The crying! The kicking and screaming! The wailing and gnashing of teeth!

Finally, that day arrived, time to purchase my rims! From day one, I had picked out three sets of rims. I knew for sure I wanted hypersilver or black chrome with a polished, dished lip. Here were the top three choices I had in mind:

The Tork Matrix Hyper Black w/polished lip staggered 18x8.5"F/9.5"R

The 5zigen Sport Engine Sc3000 Hyper Black w/polished lip 19"x8.5"

The Sportmax/XXR 502's in Chromium Black w/polished lip 18"x8.5" in a two-piece forged design

I must have looked at many hundreds of designs, but my eyes kept coming back to one particular set of rims - the Sportmax/XXR 502's in Chromium Black. I loved the 5zigen's and the mesh look, but they were just too far out of my price range at the time. The Tork's were hott, but I was afraid of complications that may have arisen from going with a staggered fitment. I've always said I'm a fool for a split five spoke rim, so the XXR's were a natural choice for me. They also fit in very well with the look I wanted to emulate, the Mercedes Benz C Class:

I believe with any of these three rims, I couldn't go wrong, and I am very, very happy with my final decision.

The 18" size came in two different widths, 7.5" and 8.5", and after consulting some great minds (thanks Jaysen and Waldo) I determined that the 8.5" width with a +35 offset would just fit. I love the look, it's exactly what I envisioned!

Geist · « **Reply #6 on:** August 04, 2009, 12:52:47 AM »

Feeling pretty good about the exterior for now, I decided to turn some attention to the interior. A few months went by and I added a 26 piece Black Real Carbon Fiber dash kit. I also got a set of WeatherTech Custom fit floorliners, but I chose black instead of the matching tan... This was to more fully establish the two tone theme set by the dash and upper door panels, and also in anticipation of my future upholstery change.

At this point, I was fortunate enough to be chosen by FFC as the Sept 2008 Car of the Month and inclusion in the first FFC Calendar. I was amazed to be honest, and still I feel very honored and proud!

Geist · « **Reply #7 on:** August 04, 2009, 01:07:08 AM »

Not one to sit and rest, there was still more work to be done! First I purchased some smoked Lamin-X tint and put it to good use. I used it to first smoke my sidemarkers, but it wasn't dark enough for me, so I put a second layer of Lamin-X to black them out - a look I absolutely love!

Then with the remainder of the tint, I smoked my Ford emblems to try to remove the clashing blue color, but still have the Ford showing through. It came out much better than my initial attempt a year before.

I had some custom ideas in mind that I finally put into motion. After a year of staring at those tails and brainstoming, I finally came up with my solution to the chrome issue:

I taped off the red portion, sprayed 3 coats of VHT and 3 coats of clear, and I was in heaven! The chrome peeks through just enough to frame the red part nicely. This taillight mod has become one of the defining modifications of my car, and one that I truly love.

Here's a link to my original thread when I introduced my Tail Lamp design:
http://www.fordfusionclub.com/index.php?topic=124770.msg2650263

Geist · « **Reply #8 on:** August 04, 2009, 01:18:53 AM »

I was looking at an early rendering of the 2nd gen Fusion, and I was inspired by the fog lamp design. I thought to myself, I can create that look with a pair of the chrome fog covers and some black vinyl, and so I did. Another original mod, it's all in the little details.

After this mod , the car stayed in this state for a bit longer. I was very happy with the way things were going, and I needed some time to save up money anyway.

Geist · « **Reply #9 on:** August 04, 2009, 01:34:09 AM »

About 4 or 5 months went by, and I had been ready to make a drastic change with the interior. I always wanted darker seats to fully create the two tone look, and my opportunity arose after months of scanning eBay auctions... A set of black cloth seat covers from an 08 Fusion found their way into my baby girl, for only $50 bones!

Having never upholstered anything before, let alone a car interior, I was a little nervous, but I did my homework and old man lady luck did the rest. So I skinned my seats of that nasty tan cloth and reskinned them in black! No, not leather like I initially hoped for, but for $50 bucks, I am pretty damn happy! Now the interior was really starting to shape up, I think this one really opened a lot of eyes to new possibilities!

The process, slow going!

Damn headrests were a pain in the ass... I later learned that it's easier to turn it inside out... doh!!

My car did not have side airbags, but the seat covers came from a car that did... Needed a solution for this, so I came up with black adhesive felt, cut it to the proper shape - voila! To this day no one has ever noticed.

The final product, worth the effort totally!

Geist · « **Reply #10 on:** August 04, 2009, 01:55:50 AM »

The car would remain in this state for another half a year, here's some pics along the way:

Geist · « **Reply #11 on:** August 04, 2009, 02:02:57 AM »

Summer 2009 was rolling around, getting close to 2 years with the Fusion. It had been a few months since I'd done anything. As soon as I discovered the 2010 Flex/Fusion knob fit in our Fusions, however, I was all over it! What a beautiful interior piece, feels awesome in the hand, and ONLY $5!! You gotta be kidding me...

Next i looked at my engine bay and decided it was time to get rid of that huge ass snorkel. But I really wasn't feelin' the price of the Steeda Resonator delete, so I came up with another $5 solution. Picked up a universal oil filler plug at AutoZone, has an nice chrome finish and I got the look and function for a fraction of the price.

But the best was yet to come...

Geist · « **Reply #12 on:** August 04, 2009, 02:18:59 AM »

With the summer break (I'm a school teacher, I get the whole summer off paid

), came summer fever. And my summer bonus! Modding fever plus bonuses equals major plans...

I've always wanted to get the Street Scene body kit, I love the look a lot (still do). But the more I looked at it, the more I grew to like the smooth lines of the 3dCarbon front lip better. So I thought, why settle for one or the other, I'll mix and match the parts to get exactly the look I want!

So I've decided to go with the 3dCarbon front lip, but the Street Scene side skirts! No one has done it yet, but I believe it's going to be a look that will be fantastic and smooth. So first, I decided to get the front lip. jpdfresh gave me lots of pics of his car to help me finalize my decision, and after scouring the web I found the 3dC lip for a price I could live with!

Fitment was ridiculously perfect, and install was a breeze. My buddy and I installed it in his garage at 9:00 that night, I was so anxious that I couldn't wait another day. And the rest is history.

The next morning I cleaned Gillette up and took a proper photoshoot. I just couldn't believe how it changed the look of the car, now people I know who don't pay much attention to cars are telling me they like my car. "Dang, that looks good, did you get a new car?" "No, man, I've had this for years!"

Geist · « **Reply #13 on:** August 04, 2009, 02:35:03 AM »

I went ahead and took my car to my local Satan to have the PCM/TCM recalibrated, and let me say that the new Ford tune does an excellent job of adding some life to the car! Throttle response and shift timing is improved quite nicely!

So for awhile I've been craving a better sound, it's time to add a little grunt to the ol' girl. I was debating and SCT tuner or an exhaust system. I mentioned before that I used to drive a 2nd gen DSM, a 1997 Mitsu Eclipse. One of my fav mods on it was a Magnaflow Catback system - I miss the tone of a nice exhaust. In the end I decided to wait on the tuner, because I wanted to be able to enjoy the pleasing sound of a nice deep tone from a good exhaust system. So I sold a bunch of stuff on eBay to raise enough to get a new Magnaflow Dual Catback for Gillette, and boy do I love it! Worth every penny, imo, and at $486 shipped, I feel it was a pretty good deal! Even the wifey likes it, and if the wifey likes it, then the car gods are truly smiling down on you!

Geist · « **Reply #14 on:** August 04, 2009, 02:43:26 AM »

The latest mod is another interior one, I ordered a blue plexi glass piece from shawngreen so that I could finally get rid of that nasty green glow in the gauge cluster. I hate it passionately - I'm so spoiled by my 03 Passat's beautiful blue and red display, that I had to emulate the look in the Fusion. But I decided instead to leave some parts white for a 3 color display. A little planning, a lot of little pieces of tape, and I was quite proud of the result! Not a perfect attempt, but a hell of a lot better than where I started!

So now this is up to date. You've just taken a journey with me, from my car's humble beginnings to it's current state. I hope you like what I've done, but if not (and I know that some of my mods are not for everyone), at least you might appreciate the hard work and planning that has gone into this.

Of course I'm not finished, does it ever really end? Next I'll be painting my calipers, hopefully within the next few weeks (weather permitting), and I'm saving up to get my Street Scene side skirts... so stay tuned! If you read this far, thanks for taking the time! .... Until the next inspiration...

20louie06 · « **Reply #15 on:** August 04, 2009, 03:01:26 AM »

I was waiting for you to be done before I posted.
Your car is gorgeous. Truly one of the best in this forum.
You've put a lot of work into it and it shows. I got my H&R's because I loved how they looked on your car.
Keep up the great work.

bigb252 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 04, 2009, 03:03:29 AM »

One of the best post's I've gone through on FFC. You have a real looker here! I also have a 2006 SE V6, but without the fogs (boo hoo

) and the sunroof. I personally think the best thing about the car is the rear, the taillights look PERFECT! Having some of the chrome trim left around the red lens makes it look really good. I also liked what you did with the fogs, makes the front even more unique -

Couple things I wanna do that you did

:
1)The chrome trim beltline. We only have a Western Auto (kinda Advanced Auto Parts, just wayyy less stuff down here)
2)The drop
3)Some wheels and tires, I like how these look on eBay:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330338388366&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AVRI
4)Chrome exhaust tips

TheUkrainian · « **Reply #17 on:** August 04, 2009, 11:53:58 AM »

Great looking car! I think more people should do this, pretty much everyone on the Mazda side of the forum has their own car thread.
Keep up the great and creative mods.

NefCanuck · « **Reply #18 on:** August 04, 2009, 03:12:15 PM »

Very nice pictoral trip down "memory lane"

Always amazes me to see a car come together bit by bit and your post shows that gradual progression from stock to "not quite stock"

My last major project for this year looks to be the Steeda lowering springs and I'll get some photos of my car at that point. It'll probably be as dramatic a shift in the exterior look as yours was looking at the beginning and where I am at that point.

NefCanuck

shawngreen · « **Reply #19 on:** August 04, 2009, 08:16:03 PM »

Pretty cool exposé! I don't think I've ever seen your car before you started modding it. Keep up the great work!

Akpride · « **Reply #20 on:** August 05, 2009, 01:19:45 PM »

Hey Geist
Where did you get that carbon fiber dash kit? and how much did it run ya?

Geist · « **Reply #21 on:** August 05, 2009, 07:09:00 PM »

Hey Louie, you must have been up pretty late man, you posted right after I finished! Thanks for the excellent compliment, my man!

Thank you very much bigb, glad you like what I've done. I think those rims look pretty good, they have a real Euro look - reminds me of the OZ Superleggera. Good luck with the modding!

UKR, thanks bro, you know that's kinda where I got the idea from. I was browsing the Mazda3 forums and I liked all those mod threads! Come to think of it, FusionLife has had his going for some time now, we do need more!

Hey Nef, thanks for reading, can't wait to see your ride with a drop, it's gonna be badass!

Shawn, thank you man, yeah it looks pretty different now, huh? I loved the car back then, but I also knew then that this was what I had in store for it, so it was just killing me! I still have so much I want to do, mainly right now the side skirts...

I'm also heavily considering a rear spoiler, but I am not sure at all. I'm looking at every possible avenue, but I think if I do, it needs to be a flush mount - I sometimes think I want something like a smaller "whale tail" to balance things, but my wife and brother say no way, stay spoiler-less... I do love the clean look back there, gonna keep analyzing it for sure.

Akpride, I got that from www.bdtrims.com, it's actually on sale now for $137, you'll have to pay 20% more for real carbon fiber though - I did and I think it's worth it. Good luck!

SIKFORD · « **Reply #22 on:** August 06, 2009, 09:41:59 PM »

Very nice Geist your fusions has come a long way from stock great mods cant wait to see what other mods are coming in the future

Geist · « **Reply #23 on:** August 07, 2009, 06:55:33 PM »

Thank you for the great compliment SIKFORD , I'll be continuing this thread with all my future updates...

Akpride · « **Reply #24 on:** August 10, 2009, 05:13:28 PM »

hey geist
how hard was that carbon fiber interior kit to install? would a rookie (which i am) be able to install it without any problems?

Geist · « **Reply #25 on:** August 10, 2009, 09:50:53 PM »

Quote from: Akpride on August 10, 2009, 05:13:28 PM

hey geist
how hard was that carbon fiber interior kit to install? would a rookie (which i am) be able to install it without any problems?

well, I guess it all depends on your ability... if you have an eye for detail, and are good at eyeballing straight lines then you should have no problem. it was easy for me, but like, as a kid i was always good at putting decals on my model planes and GI JOE accessories... LOL

make sure you test fit each piece before removing the adhesive backing. take your time and follow all directions - it's especially important to prep the areas with the alcohol swab and adhesion promoter. it sounds complicated, but it's not - if you buy from bdtrims.com, your kit will come with great instructions and everything you need. good luck!