That's some VERY clean modding, Noobking! Great idea.
Looks like it would take dual wicks/ dual
coils as well, if you wanted to go that route. Also, it looks like the U-wick doesn't contact the center post or washers.
As far as how wide you can go with your wick, I've taken it to a bit over 95mm before, but 75-85mm is much more manageable and easier to roll to size.
Lots of people love the 500 mesh, although I'm using 400 twill which is somewhere in between 400 and 500 in terms of hole density.
Also, lots of people have done some really cool refinishing work to these- dsy5(?) I think had some great pics of his work on some threads in this subforum.