What did you buy for your 5th gen today? - V3

[Syndicate]

...I'm finally getting my rebuild project started and purchased another VF54 Friday, I'll be shipping this one out to be upgraded.

[Falcor]

Bought a set of Group N front top hats. Found out where the clunking in the front end was coming from.

I think it has been mentioned before, if you install new struts, don’t use the KYB top hats, esp if you lower the car. They don’t hold up.

 

 

[Falcor]

Bought all the parts for the timing belt service and clutch replacement. 

[DrD123]

Picked up a new shift knob to try since it was on sale (it's a shift solutions BK-M with the carbon fiber center piece) - looks pretty good, and I have to say I like the feel of the larger knob.  Had to add a washer on top of the nut they provide (you have to put a nut on the shift lever before threading on the knob so that the knob doesn't sit too low and you can use the reverse lockout ring - it was tapping the bottom of the knob until I added the washer, now when the ring is all the way up, it has a fraction of a mm before hitting the bottom of the knob, so good to go!) - matches the interior pretty well.

Edited June 18, 2023 by DrD123

[Falcor]

Not bad, and it's not in your face like a lot of aftermarket knobs are. 

[Scubaboo]

On 6/19/2023 at 1:52 AM, DrD123 said:

Picked up a new shift knob to try since it was on sale (it's a shift solutions BK-M with the carbon fiber center piece) - looks pretty good, and I have to say I like the feel of the larger knob.  Had to add a washer on top of the nut they provide (you have to put a nut on the shift lever before threading on the knob so that the knob doesn't sit too low and you can use the reverse lockout ring - it was tapping the bottom of the knob until I added the washer, now when the ring is all the way up, it has a fraction of a mm before hitting the bottom of the knob, so good to go!) - matches the interior pretty well.

Did the US ever get the darker brushed aluminum interior that other places get with the facelift?  

That interior has the facelift relocated parking brake and steering wheel but the older bright aluminum panels.

It looks good now but that knob would look even better with the darker aluminum panels IMO.

[DrD123]

22 hours ago, Scubaboo said:

Did the US ever get the darker brushed aluminum interior that other places get with the facelift? 

We did not - I imagine we could buy the parts from japanparts or similar, but it would be expensive.  I got the cupholder and trim from them years back, then got the emergency brake switch and fabricated a harness (using a connector from TE connectivity that worked with the switch, and the cable on the OEM switch on the other end) - I always hated having the brake switch on the left side of the dash.

[Scubaboo]

12 hours ago, DrD123 said:

We did not - I imagine we could buy the parts from japanparts or similar, but it would be expensive.  I got the cupholder and trim from them years back, then got the emergency brake switch and fabricated a harness (using a connector from TE connectivity that worked with the switch, and the cable on the OEM switch on the other end) - I always hated having the brake switch on the left side of the dash.

Oh ok, that sucks!

Nice work on the conversion!  Do you have a DIY on the relocation, especially the harness?  Did you remove the old switch or just leave it there?

[DrD123]

I bought the connector from Mouser (their p/n 571-1318774-1) and the pins for the connector as well (p/n 571-1123343-1) - they are made by TE Connectivity.  I ended up pulling the old switch (see below) - for the harness, I picked up a length of 9 wire cable from a local electronics shop (you only need 8).  If you pull the old switch, there is a short cable segment that goes from the switch to the wiring harness (see pic from a switch on ebay) - I cut that and used that on the other end of the cable I made to connect to the car harness.  When I got the switch blank assembly to go where the old switch was, I found that the USDM hill holder switch didn't fit, so I had to improvise with the old switch housing to make it work.  Came out pretty good, I thought!

[Scubaboo]

8 hours ago, DrD123 said:

I bought the connector from Mouser (their p/n 571-1318774-1) and the pins for the connector as well (p/n 571-1123343-1) - they are made by TE Connectivity.  I ended up pulling the old switch (see below) - for the harness, I picked up a length of 9 wire cable from a local electronics shop (you only need 8).  If you pull the old switch, there is a short cable segment that goes from the switch to the wiring harness (see pic from a switch on ebay) - I cut that and used that on the other end of the cable I made to connect to the car harness.  When I got the switch blank assembly to go where the old switch was, I found that the USDM hill holder switch didn't fit, so I had to improvise with the old switch housing to make it work.  Came out pretty good, I thought!

Nice, thanks for sharing!

I'd like to do this too eventually and those aftermarket plugs and wires may be cheaper than an OEM harness

Edited June 22, 2023 by Scubaboo

[NVAKeith]

Casually browsing IAG’s webpage last week got my parts-itch twitching.  Led me down a rabbit hole of visiting various aftermarket parts sites that ended with me finding and buying the DAMD steering wheel I’ve wanted forever. I watched all the group buys on NASIOC over the years but couldn’t justify the $500 price. Missed the one or two used ones that popped up on our classifieds. 
 

Last Wednesday Kamispeed had one in stock with the had-to-have gray stitching and it was listed as new but marked down to $325!  Ordered immediately is an understatement. It arrived today. Stoked beyond belief.  Customer return?  Cancelled special order?  IDK, it’s back to normal special order price on their website. 

[Falcor]

23 hours ago, NVAKeith said:

Casually browsing IAG’s webpage last week got my parts-itch twitching.  Led me down a rabbit hole of visiting various aftermarket parts sites that ended with me finding and buying the DAMD steering wheel I’ve wanted forever. I watched all the group buys on NASIOC over the years but couldn’t justify the $500 price. Missed the one or two used ones that popped up on our classifieds. 
 

Last Wednesday Kamispeed had one in stock with the had-to-have gray stitching and it was listed as new but marked down to $325!  Ordered immediately is an understatement. It arrived today. Stoked beyond belief.  Customer return?  Cancelled special order?  IDK, it’s back to normal special order price on their website. 

 

I asked my wife if I could buy that exact wheel from Kamispeed and she said no. Tried to convince her since it was so cheap. 

Enjoy. 

[Falcor]

On 8/1/2023 at 4:17 PM, NVAKeith said:

Casually browsing IAG’s webpage last week got my parts-itch twitching.  Led me down a rabbit hole of visiting various aftermarket parts sites that ended with me finding and buying the DAMD steering wheel I’ve wanted forever. I watched all the group buys on NASIOC over the years but couldn’t justify the $500 price. Missed the one or two used ones that popped up on our classifieds. 
 

Last Wednesday Kamispeed had one in stock with the had-to-have gray stitching and it was listed as new but marked down to $325!  Ordered immediately is an understatement. It arrived today. Stoked beyond belief.  Customer return?  Cancelled special order?  IDK, it’s back to normal special order price on their website. 

Did you get the steering wheel installed?

[Falcor]

Picked up a couple parts for the GT with the sales going on. Got the Perrin Super Shift Stop upgrade and an East Detailing steering wheel wrap/cover.

[DrD123]

17 hours ago, Falcor said:

Picked up a couple parts for the GT with the sales going on. Got the Perrin Super Shift Stop upgrade and an East Detailing steering wheel wrap/cover.

Will be curious to hear how the forward/back stops impact shifter feel - for the main shift stop, make sure you get the X-PSP-INR-019 - that one is flat vs. the -018 which is ramped - the Legacy shifter will ride up and over the -018 (found that out the hard way!)

[Falcor]

2 hours ago, DrD123 said:

Will be curious to hear how the forward/back stops impact shifter feel - for the main shift stop, make sure you get the X-PSP-INR-019 - that one is flat vs. the -018 which is ramped - the Legacy shifter will ride up and over the -018 (found that out the hard way!)

Same here. I have the WRX STI short shifter and the -018 had the same problem. Perrin sent me the -019 after sending them a video. I’m getting the upgrade parts that go with the -019.

A friend of mine has a 2023 WRX, and it takes the exact same kit.

[Falcor]

Got a P0420 code Last Sunday and twice today. Bought a downstream O2 sensor (Denso) and will install it next weekend. Hopefully that will fix the issue. Thankfully with the AP I can clear the code for now. 

[NVAKeith]

On 11/21/2023 at 1:54 PM, Falcor said:

Did you get the steering wheel installed?

Yes, finally!  Ordered new radio/cruise buttons to go with it  

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by NVAKeith

[Falcor]

It's funny, I have never had a vehicle that had to have the starter greased. I had to do this on my 2010 Outback and the GT a couple times.

[Falcor]

Ordered the upstream O2 sensor and valve cover gasket set. Hopfully this will fix the P0402 code and the leaking valve cover.

Edited January 8 by Falcor

[Brunzo]

On 6/21/2023 at 1:50 PM, Scubaboo said:

Oh ok, that sucks!

Nice work on the conversion!  Do you have a DIY on the relocation, especially the harness?  Did you remove the old switch or just leave it there?

I did DIY manual some years ago. Here it is:

 

[Humble Rumble]

Some recent purchases I've made. These are mostly to switch up my car's visual style, but some will also have some performance/efficiency effects as well. 

First up, a Nismo Z-Tune/URAS/D-MAX style hood vent from g.r.a.m.s. styling. My thought with this is that a vent of this style makes significantly more sense for a 3.6R than a scooped GT hood would. This will greatly improve heat evacuation from the engine bay, improve front end grip and aero with the air coming out of the hood going over the car, and cut a good chunk of weight by replacing a fairly large area of steel with lighter FRP. Short term plan is to cut the hood and rivet the vent into place to get it up and functional, long term plan is to fiberglass mold it into the hood to make it look OEM-ish. 

Next up are two country/continent/hemisphere firsts (to my knowledge). Firstly, Gialla Sportivo side skirts, to my knowledge the first set in North America. These are absolutely NOT direct fit, but fortunately enough, the forward-most and rear-most underside mounting holes are identical to USDM (the rest are not for some dumb reason), so it can at least be roughly mounted in place, and the front-to-back length is identical. It will take some trimming and fiberglassing to get the fit right, but my plan is to complete that and then get them 3D-scanned so that they can be more easily reproduced and finally give USDM a REAL side-skirt option that isn't just a tack-on. 

Lastly is the one I'm most excited about, and surprisingly might be the easiest to complete: North America's first S-Craft Front Aero Bumper, with dedicated carbon lip! Ordered this new from S-Craft in mid-April, 75-90 days production time, similar shipping time via container ship (hey I'll take a 3 month ship time to spend <$100 rather than $20k+ for freight lmao).

Typically to use any of the cool JDM aftermarket front bumpers, a full JDM front swap is required. This includes JDM hood, JDM front bumper support, JDM light brackets, JDM grille, and of course the JDM/aftermarket bumper/lip of your choice. A JDM bumper+grille -can- be fitted to a USDM hood, but it will leave a gap above the grille due to the difference in shape between the two grille. Since the S-Craft bumper has an integrated grille, my plan with this is attempt to simplify the conversion with the S-Craft front end to eliminate the need for the JDM hood (which is typically the most cost-restrictive part of the swap due to size, weight, and shipping costs) and only need the bumper support and light brackets. I have a handful of ways I can go about this. My first thought was to cut the top edge of the integrated grille off and cut up a USDM-shape mesh grille frame, and attach the top edge of the mesh to the place where I cut the integrated grille edge off, and fiberglass them together. Alternatively, I could leave the S-Craft grille edge in place and just attach the USDM frame edge to the top of it to fill the gap. This would also create a unique "double slot" visual style as well. Lastly, I could just leave it as is run it, as the gap above the grille really isn't all that atrocious, and would provide a touch of additional airflow. I probably won't go this route, but it is at least an option. I haven't gotten a JDM bumper support and light brackets yet, but I was excited and did the best I could to fit up the bumper with the USDM crash bar. This is as close as it will fit (I didn't feel like removing the crash bar because my trans cooler is attached to it. 

Cut and replace option:

Attach on top method:

Test fit with USDM crash bar: 

Edited January 23 by Humble Rumble

[Falcor]

Ordered a new gas cap. Took the car on a 5 hour round trip yesterday and the P0420 code came back. But is was about 20 min after I put gas in at the halfway mark. Other than that it did great.   

[NVAKeith]

Ordered low beam VLEDs last night because a headlight burned out on my way home. To help pick a brand I read through the headlight bulb threads on here and was surprised that some were only getting a year or two out of the halogen bulbs. My popped bulb was 8 years old from when I swapped to the 13/14 style headlights.   

[creep_nu]

if it's not too late to cancel, DrD has a set of vleds for sale in the forum just fyi