roket's Dark Horse - "Azureus" Project

[roket]

this thread is inspired by the one DannyJ7 made for his EcoBoost, a place where i will keep things updated on my Dark Horse, including anything i modify on it. I always have specs and production process with dates in my signature

the project is called Azureus, because the car is planned to be blue and black, like the Blue Poison Dart Frog, whose scientific name is "Dendrobates tinctorius azureus"

my ultimate goal is to make something that would have a serious chance of beating the GTD on the street, the drag strip, and the track. comfortable, fast, and well handling

color key for the table below:

Color		Meaning
Red	██████████████████████	Modification is an idea, and no progress has been made on it yet
Amber	██████████████████████	Part(s) incoming or being installed
Green	██████████████████████	Part(s) installed or modification completed
Purple	██████████████████████	Modification has been removed
Blue	██████████████████████	Modification has been cancelled

Current plans for mods:

Item	Specs/Part Number	Installed Date	Status	Chance of Installing	Notes
Exterior Parts​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​
Project 6GR Seven wheels (flow formed)	19X11" ET +24 Front, 19X12" ET +46 Rear	9/14/23	Installed	Done​	Current daily wheels, planned track wheels
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires	325/30R19 Front, 355/30R19 Rear	9/14/23	Installed	Done​	Daily tires
Hoosier A7 tires	325/30R19 Front, 345/30R19 Rear	N/A	Not yet ordered	100%​	Track/Autocross tires for Seven wheels
EKW GTD-2G wheels (forged)	19X11" ET +30 Front, 19X11.5" ET +55 Rear	N/A	Not yet ordered	100%​	New daily wheels
Custom vinyl stripes	Custom vinyl stripes	12/9/23	Installed	Done​
Front PPF	Front PPF	12/9/23	Installed	Done​
Custom painted stripes	Convert the vinyl stripes and wrapped roof into paint, plus touching up the paint	N/A	Not yet started, requires Custom Widebody Kit and Custom Wing	70%​
Full PPF	Re-do the PPF, but this time on the whole vehicle	N/A	Not yet started, requires Custom painted stripes	60%​
Engine Cover Delete	N/A	3/11/24	"Installed"	Done​
Custom Widebody Kit	Custom widebody kit	N/A	Not yet started	90%​	Inspired by the Porsche 911 GT3 RS 992, McLaren 765LT, and Lexus RC F GT3
Custom Wing	Custom Wing	N/A	Not yet started	70%​	Inspired by the Zenvo TSR-S and Porsche Panamera
Smoked Marker Lights	Form Lighting Smoked Marker Lights	2/4/25	Installed	Done​
4th Brake + Reverse Lights	Form Lighting 4th Brake + Reverse Lights	2/4/25	Installed	Done​
LED Rear Reflectors	Form Lighting LED Rear Reflectors	2/4/25	Installed	Done​
Smoked Tail Lights	Auto Addict USA Smoked Tail Lights	1/31/25	Installed	Done​	Too dark, potential safety risk
Smoked Tail Lights	Form Lighting Smoked Tail Lights	N/A	Not yet ordered	100%​	Replacing the Auto Addict USA ones
Titanium Lug Nuts	Acer Racing 14x1.5 Titanium Lug Nuts	N/A	Not yet ordered	50%​	Will be anodized blue like the shift knob, really only for style
Black Valve Stems	Black Valve Stems	N/A	Not yet ordered	100%​
Amber DRLs	Amber DRLs	5/19/25	Installed	Done​
Interior Parts​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​
Convertible sunglasses holder	PR3Z-6304459-DA	9/29/23	Installed	Done​
Manual shift boot	PR3Z-7277-FA	11/27/24	Installed	Done​
Titanium shift knob	Billetworkz Titanium Shift Knob	11/27/24	Installed	Done​	Custom anodized blue
Dash cam	Viofo A-229 Pro 2-Channel	3/6/24	Removed	Done​	Had lots of "Card Slow" issues
Dash cam	Redtiger F77 V2	5/14/25	Removed	Done​	Had firmware and mounting issues
Dash Cam	Viofo A-329S 3-Channel	N/A	Ordered	100%​
Custom Interior Lighting	As seen in the DIY ambient lighting thread	N/A	In Progress...	???%​	Partially done, fiber optics are too poor quality
Cupholder MyColor Lighting	As seen in the cupholder ambient light thread	7/26/24	Installed	Done​
Custom Cupholder	Custom Cupholder	N/A	Waiting on parts...	70%​	Custom cupholder with ambient lighting, a better solution than the current one
Custom Windshield HUD	Custom HUD	N/A	Cancelled	0%​	No real good place to mount it without dash modifications
Screen Protector	ScreenProtech Screen Protection Film	1/3/25	Installed	Done​
Custom Paddle Shifters	Custom Paddle Shifters	N/A	Planning...	85%​
Custom Drive Mode Button	Custom Drive Mode Button	N/A	Planning...	85%​
Custom Aux Buttons	Heavily modified headlamp switch from a Bronco and F-Series. Additional buttons deleting the overhead sunglasses holder	N/A	In Progress...	100%​	Complete with custom etched icons
Performance Parts​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​
3.73 Differential gears	M-4209-88373	N/A	Not yet ordered	25%​
Slotted Brake Rotors	Baer slotted front and rear brake rotors	N/A	Not yet ordered	30%​
Supercharger	Whipple 3.0L Supercharger	N/A	Not yet ordered	???%​
Strut Tower Brace	VMP Strut Tower Brace that clears the supercharger	N/A	Not yet ordered, requires supercharger	???%​
???	???	N/A	Not yet ordered, requires supercharger	???%​
Upgraded Halfshafts	Driveshaft Shop No-Bolt halfshafts	N/A	Not yet ordered, requires supercharger	???%​
10R80 Clutch Pack Upgrade Kit	Suncoast Performance Category 4 10R80 Rebuild Kit	N/A	Not yet ordered, requires supercharger and ???	???%​
Cat-Back Exhaust	Valved Exhausts Titanium HH Pipe Cat-Back	9/17/24	Installed	Done​	Being replaced due to tone
Borla Cat-Back System	Borla S-Type Dark Horse Exhaust	N/A	Not yet ordered	100%​
HH Pipe	HH Pipe by a local exhaust shop	N/A	Not yet started	100%​	Corsa one is ~$600, where a local exhaust shop quoted me $220
Side Exhaust	Custom 2012/13 Boss 302-style side exit exhausts	N/A	Not yet started	80%​	Will include custom brackets and wiring to make the active exhaust affect it too
Ford Performance Oil Catch Cans for supercharger	M-6766-A50DSC	N/A	Not yet ordered, requires supercharger	95%​
Carbon Ceramic Brakes	Racing Brake Carbon Ceramic Brake Rotors and Pads	N/A	Not yet ordered, requires supercharger, ???, upgraded halfshafts, and 10R80 clutch pack upgrade kit	???%​
PowerStop Brake Pads	Powerstop Z26 Brake Pads	5/2/25	Installed	Done​
Other Parts​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​	-----​
Radar detector and laser jammer kit	Uniden R9	N/A	Not yet ordered	50%​
Titanium wheel studs	Acer Racing Titanium Wheel Studs	N/A	Not yet ordered	50%​	Needed to reduce chance of galvanic corrosion with the titanium lug nuts

will keep this as updated as i can

Sponsored

 

[Zig]

Gonna put 3.73 in an auto?

forgive me if not intended as a dd. Gonna be able to retune?

 

[Rio Lobo]

ok I'll bite. how exactly did you arrive at 3% chance of installing something?

 

[roket]

ok I'll bite. how exactly did you arrive at 3% chance of installing something?

the door release looks kinda cool, but I'm not sure if it will work and not 100% sure I want to get it

 

[roket]

new update: it's finished! the order tracker doesn't say "Built" but OASIS gives the details, which only happens once it's done

 

[roket]

tracker finally shows "built". also been thinking about the possible idea of making custom fenders and a wing, but again just an idea at this point

 

[Interstellar]

tracker finally shows "built". also been thinking about the possible idea of making custom fenders and a wing, but again just an idea at this point

I'll buy your spoiler if you do go the custom route : )

 

[sir5574]

Current plans for mods:

Item​	Specs/Part Number​	Installed Date​	Other Details​	Chance of Installing​
Project 6GR Seven wheels	19X11" Front, 19X12" Rear	N/A	Special ordered	100%​
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires	325/30R19 Front, 355/30R19 Rear	N/A	Not yet ordered	100%​

How does this affect the speedometer? Is there a way to re-calibrate it after?

 

[roket]

I'll buy your spoiler if you do go the custom route : )

if i do, i will definitely sell it to you. goodness, those parts new are so expensive

How does this affect the speedometer? Is there a way to re-calibrate it after?

for the front tires: new ones will be ~1.9% bigger around than the old
for the rear tires: new ones will be ~3.8% bigger around than the old
i bet ForScan will be able to fix it. i will probably have to search for the values manually but i'm sure it's doable

 

[Cindy42]

I had same scheduled week and same in production date for my Dark Horse. They must be traveling the line together.

 

[roket]

V1 of the fender idea, pretty heavily inspired by the GTD

 

[OppoLock]

V1 of the fender idea, pretty heavily inspired by the GTD

1000 bucks says the aftermarket is going to be pumping out GTD-style front fenders, unless you're intentionally going bespoke on principle

 

[roket]

1000 bucks says the aftermarket is going to be pumping out GTD-style front fenders, unless you're intentionally going bespoke on principle

you're probably right. if there is one released that i like the design of i might go for it, if not i'll give a shot at making it myself. in any case, it's still up in the air if i'll actually do any of this or not

 

[roket]

Gonna put 3.73 in an auto?

forgive me if not intended as a dd. Gonna be able to retune?

very sorry for the late reply. yes, i will be able to re-tune it (i actually made a tool for that here). it will be a daily driver, but there is a reason why i am considering the 3.73. i used a program called Engine Simulator to take a re-creation of the Gen 4 5.0L V8 paired with a 10R80 and did 5 0-200mph runs for 3.15, 3.13, 3.55, 3.73, and 4.09 diff ratios. here are my results from the tests

For Time	0-60	0-120	0-200	60-120	120-200
3.15	5th	5th	3rd	2nd	3rd
3.31	4th	4th	1st	3rd	1st
3.55	3rd	3rd	5th	5th	5th
3.73	2nd	2nd	4th	1st	4th
4.09	1st	1st	2nd	4th	2nd

For Fuel	0-60	0-120	0-200	60-120	120-200
3.15	3rd	3rd	3rd	4th	3rd
3.31	4th	4th	1st	3rd	1st
3.55	2nd	5th	5th	5th	5th
3.73	1st	2nd	4th	2nd	4th
4.09	5th	1st	2nd	1st	2nd

Average	3.15	3.31	3.55	3.75	4.09
Placing	3.4	2.6	4.3	2.6	2.1

the 3.73 isn't perfect, but does well overall in performance and fuel economy, especially in daily driving tasks, and is much better at everything than the 3.55 it comes with from factory

 

[Zig]

very sorry for the late reply. yes, i will be able to re-tune it (i actually made a tool for that here). it will be a daily driver, but there is a reason why i am considering the 3.73. i used a program called Engine Simulator to take a re-creation of the Gen 4 5.0L V8 paired with a 10R80 and did 5 0-200mph runs for 3.15, 3.13, 3.55, 3.73, and 4.09 diff ratios. here are my results from the tests

For Time	0-60	0-120	0-200	60-120	120-200
3.15	5th	5th	3rd	2nd	3rd
3.31	4th	4th	1st	3rd	1st
3.55	3rd	3rd	5th	5th	5th
3.73	2nd	2nd	4th	1st	4th
4.09	1st	1st	2nd	4th	2nd

For Fuel	0-60	0-120	0-200	60-120	120-200
3.15	3rd	3rd	3rd	4th	3rd
3.31	4th	4th	1st	3rd	1st
3.55	2nd	5th	5th	5th	5th
3.73	1st	2nd	4th	2nd	4th
4.09	5th	1st	2nd	1st	2nd

Average	3.15	3.31	3.55	3.75	4.09
Placing	3.4	2.6	4.3	2.6	2.1

the 3.73 isn't perfect, but does well overall in performance and fuel economy, especially in daily driving tasks, and is much better at everything than the 3.55 it comes with from factory

Any chance you have the ratios for gears 1-3?

Sponsored