Nacron Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 they have this feature in the new Ford focus and most btw Chrysler cars...I wouldn't mind an addon Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Cars throughout Europe are pricier for a few different reasons, the main one being customs/duties and taxes, including VAT. Another issue is the volume of new cars that are sold in America - it helps justify a lower price for the manufacturers, if you sell 400k Camry's per year, for example. Some cars in the US are almost at 60% of what they cost in EU. Especially a few years ago, when the Euro to Dollar exchange was favorable. I know a few people who brought cars in from the USA and even after all the transportation costs, customs, and taxes saved over 25%. Still waiting for my magic black box to be able to run the 3 blink turn signals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fahr_side Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Sure, there are those reasons, and then more, like higher contributions to health insurance, pension funds, payroll taxes etc. Higher cost of doing business all-around. Obligatory '[URL="http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/2008-gh8-238668.html?t=238668"]build thread[/URL]' Increased capacity to 2.7 liters, still turbo, but no longer need spark plugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Sure, there are those reasons, and then more, like higher contributions to health insurance, pension funds, payroll taxes etc. Higher cost of doing business all-around. This would mainly apply if the cars were produced in the EU. Most are not; yet they still cost a lot less in the US. I guess one can always look at the purchasing power parity using the price of a bigmac, to see how things really stack up between the US and the rest of the world. So, in other words, we are lucky here in the states when it comes to new car prices (but probably not for long, the way things have been going over the past and present centuries). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjweb Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I would guess it has a lot to do with supply and demand. Europe is roughly 3.8 mil Sq. miles vs US 9.83. Imagine travel in the US without a car. Plus we are a nation of consumers. The media, advertising, etc. has convinced us Americans that we need need need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 The module came in the mail last night. I will most likely put it on later tonight and report back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelino1968 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 This would mainly apply if the cars were produced in the EU. Most are not; yet they still cost a lot less in the US. Subarus sold in Europe are Japan-built. Yen-Euro exchange rate in 06-08/2009 had reached peaks of 135 Yen for 1 Euro (="strong" Euro) and went down to 99 Yen for 1 Euro (="weak" Euro) by the end of last year. Plus, add Japanese labour cost, overseas transport, import duty fees, etc. etc. Subarus sold in the US are built in Indiana, so NONE of this applies. They source local sub-suppliers, so if something in the US is not available it's due to a decision taken by SOA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Subarus sold in Europe are Japan-built. Yen-Euro exchange rate in 06-08/2009 had reached peaks of 135 Yen for 1 Euro (="strong" Euro) and went down to 99 Yen for 1 Euro (="weak" Euro) by the end of last year. Plus, add Japanese labour cost, overseas transport, import duty fees, etc. etc. Subarus sold in the US are built in Indiana, so NONE of this applies. They source local sub-suppliers, so if something in the US is not available it's due to a decision taken by SOA. While it is true with the Legacy. How about the STI sold in the US, for example, that is made in Japan... your logic does not work in that case. Look at other makes, such as BMW, Audi, Volvo, VW etc. They are much more in the EU, even though they are often made in the EU. Let's get back to the topic at hand... the triple blink module. Should have it in the car before the end of the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 It was 86F today and I didn't feel like sweating balls, so I decided not to put the module in today. It requires tapping four wires into the existing turn signal relay, which is located just underneath and to the left of the steering wheel column under the dash. two pieces of the dash need to come out first... there are many fasteners (pop-its and screws). The harness needs to be unplugged from the socket and stripped of insulating tape in order to tap into it. The main issue is the utter lack of slack in the wiring and the ultra tight surroundings in there. It was a little better in the 4th gen car, but still tight. It looks like it will be equally hot tomorrow and Thursday, so I may not get to it until Sunday, which should have a high of 65F. It would be nice to find someone with tiny hands too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBopper Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I can relate. Good Luck! http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/ab160/BigBopper_01/P1010009-1.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michelino1968 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Look at other makes, such as BMW, Audi, Volvo, VW etc. They are much more in the EU, even though they are often made in the EU. BMW and VW have production sites in the US for the N.A. market: http://www.bmwusfactory.com/manufacturing/bmw-worldwide/#BMW-Group-Production-Network http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Volkswagen_Group_factories Volvo Passenger Car is Chinese now Audi plans to go US http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/07/audi-us-auto-factory-non-union-vw-southern-state-/1#.T2nUZo5irLI Besides, premium-price AUDI's sold in Italy are made in Poland :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 OK, let's set this straight here, since you won't let it go. I work in the industry and have been to most of the automotive plants in the US, and a few overseas. BMW only makes their SUVs here in the states. Same applies to other car makers - VW just arrived in the US after over 25 years of not manufacturing here (in TN) to make the NA market Passat (for now). Mercedes has a facility in Alabama, BMW is in SC, we have 10 Toyota plants and 1 Subaru plant, a few Honda plants (motorcycles are now made in Japan), Nissan is here, Hyundai/KIA are here as well. These are complete operations that spit out complete automobiles. Initially, those auto makers were producing cars mainly for the North American market. Now, all X-series BMWs (except X1) are made in their Spartanburg plant and all but X5 are exported to other countries. There are still many cars that are made/assembled in the EU, yet they still cost a lot more than the same exact car (made in the same factory) sold in the US. Tell how what other than taxes, duties, government regulations are the main reason? Even with the unfavorable exchange rates, these same cars are a lot cheaper in the states than in Europe. There is not a single Audi that is made/assembled in Poland. There are a few factories, but the biggest and most significant component that comes out of that country is a diesel engine. My wife had an A3 a few years ago that had engine bay components from Slovakia... so what? Fiat used to assemble the new 500 and still does assemble Panda cars in Poland, however. Yes, Volvo was bought by Geely (a Chinese auto manufacturer) who purchased it from Ford's PAG group a couple of years ago, but their manufacturing is still predominantly in Sweden and in Belgium (old joint venture with Mitsubishi) that export Volvo cars globaly. They also have assemblies in Asia, but those are market specific and all are joint ventures with local companies. Here is a curve ball... look at pricing of overseas delivery programs here in the US. In case of Volvo, their OSD program pays for your flight (2 people) to Gothenburg, offers a couple of nights at a nice hotel, factory tour, and gives you insurance coverage for up to 30 days to travel throughout the EU. Once you are done, you drop the car off at one of the predetermined ports and it gets shipped to you home dealer, where you pick it up in 3 weeks. OSD purchased cars are even cheaper than buying a car and picking it up from a dealer in the US! Anyhow, still waiting for the heat wave to subside, so that I can install my blinker module... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmcphee Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 Can you please take some close up pictures of your blinker module, from all the sides with writing (e.g. part number) on them, and the back (unplugged) showing the pinout, when you locate it? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 Yes I can take pics of the plug itself. It is a little tight in there, but I should be able to remove the module and take pics of it too. Will post here when I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmcphee Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 If I recall, the flasher module plugs into a socket that is itself tied or clipped onto something nearby (the relay box?). And if you can unclip that it would be easier to access the taped bundle of wires going to the flasher relay plug. Was a long time ago, so fuzzy memory. Could also have changed over the generation gap between your's and mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie_Mick Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 Did you ever get this installed? How does it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 Slacking off. Pain in the ass to get to... and I am busy with moving to a new house. Will attempt to install tomorrow and take some pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenlounge Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Bump for updates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 OK, finally got around to installing the tap turn (triple blink) module from Scott Mcphee - he used to be on here a lot more than he is now. He is the original designer of this microprocessor based module. He provides very clear instructions on how to install this module. You can PM Scott on here or go to his website and reach out to him from there: www.autowindow.com. He was kind enough to post a how to on making the module, so go ahead, knock yourself out and solder your own! The module works as described. Since I always use turn signals, when turning and when changing lanes, this mod gives me a smile, every time I use the blinkers. I used to have the module on my 2005 LGT and this new one works just as well on my 2011 LGT. The installation is a little more involved, due to having to unplug a host of connectors (parking brake, ESP, etc.) under the dash panel. Other than tight spaces to work with, anybody can do it and it should take less than 1hr (if you take your time). Here is a brief write up with pics from me: You first have to take off the side trim cover from the dash. It pries open and is held in place by three tabs - be careful not to break them. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6968.jpg http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6967.jpg Then, you will need to remove the trim piece under the dash, by the pedals. It is held in place by three plastic philips pop-it screws. Move the panel aside, but you don't have to remove it completely, as it is held in place by wires and a connector. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6966.jpg Next, you will have to take off the main dash trim. There are three metal philips screws holding it in place (two on the left, one on the bottom right). It is also retained in place with a few tabs... it takes a little pulling to get that trim piece free. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6954.jpg http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6955.jpg It will still be held on by the many wires/connectors that you'll have to unplug to gain room to work on the module and wiring. Take your time unplugging them - having a small flat head screwdriver helps. You do not need to disconnect the HVAC air tube, just the connectors on the left hand side - move the trim piece out of the way to the right side. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6963.jpg http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6964.jpg You'll have all the room you need to access the blinker module. You can locate the module by having your hazards on and feeling around for a beige Denso box. You will need to unplug it and remove it from the metal rail to gain more working room. The white box attached to the bottom of the flasher unit below is the module that I had just mounted onto the flasher. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6965.jpg http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6960.jpg http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6959.jpg http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6961.jpg The white plug with twisted wires and electrical tape (already stripped it in the pic below) is where you'll be hooking into. The kit comes with 3M tap connectors, so nothing needs to be cut. Take the electrical tape off and follow the instruction that come with the kit. The only difference is that the 5th gen LGT does have an all green ignition wire, not a green/black like in the instructions. http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h378/strom-rider/IMG_6956.jpg Once you tap into the wires plug the connector into the flasher unit (relay) and mount the unit back onto the metal rail. Using the supplied double-sided tape, mount/stick the module onto the flasher unit. Test the module by turning the ignition on and briefly holding down the turn signal stalk in both directions. If all works well, button everything back up and call it a day. Voila! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenlounge Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 Just PM'd him. I really miss the triple blink from my Audi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacron Posted May 5, 2012 Share Posted May 5, 2012 I need this. Emailed him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gene4ace Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 its really nice but i would like an adjustment like the prova unit, is this possible??? Also a price paid would be nice. Prova one sells for about 140ish(price as of today) but has way more adjustments. I might go with the prova one but its kinda expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tytek Posted May 6, 2012 Author Share Posted May 6, 2012 Scott's module is not adjustable, but it only costs around $70.00 shipped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Almatti Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 This would really be nice added to sideview mirrors that had Lane Changer blinkers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmcphee Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 Thanks for the install write-up tytek, I'll point others to this thread who have the current gen body style Legacy. Gene4ace : what kind of adjustments are you talking about? Number of blinks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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