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Yeah, I'm pretty sure this shift **** is hospital trip waiting to happen in an AZ summer, if your car gets left outside. Mine just sits in a garage all day though since I work from home, so I'm not too worried about it.
I know there's another version that's not strictly metal, it might be half duracon or something more Arizona-proof if you like the design.
Small update today - Tanabe oil temp gauge showed up today, so my trifecta is complete. Should be getting my seats back this weekend as well, and then it's time to install gauges and downpipe.
Upholstery shop finished with my seats today - between buying the kit and the installation, I ended up paying less than it would have cost to have one seat reupholstered from scratch.
The company I purchased the kit from warned that there would be some wrinkles immediately after installation, but that they would work themselves out in short order. Overall, I'm pleased with how they came out.
Hmmmm, hopefully the wrinkles will tighten up quickly. Can't they steam them or something to tighten things up? Appears to be a brushed leather. Is that so?
Alright, so spent a few hours over the weekend starting to get my gauges wired up and installed. I ran the lines for the boost gauge and installed the boost sensor in what may end up being a temporary location, as well as installing the t for the water temp sensor.
I may have used too much teflon tape, I wasn't able to thread the 3/8 barbed fitting into the t as far as I wanted to after applying the tape. If it ends up leaking I'll pull it apart and try again.
Used a wire hanger to run the sensor wires down into the fender.
Got the fender liner partially disconnected so I could run the wiring into the cabin through the free hole. Getting the liner off was a big pain, some of the plastic connectors were old and didn't want to come off like they should, so I need two new ones to replace the ones I mauled in the process.
Pulled the cover and ring off, pre threaded the wiring through them after poking a hole through the cover, and used the hanger again to fish the stuff through.
Got a few bruises laying on that seam in the doorway and pulled the wires through, then ran them through to the center cubby after removing the stereo. Ziptied the wires up and out of the way to make sure they wouldn't come into contact with the steering column or pedals.
And that's it for today. On my lunch break tomorrow, I'm going to go and pick up some t taps and and connect them to the now unused stereo harness. Also need to pick up some plastic shrouding/loom so I can make sure everything in the engine bay is hidden.
Also, waiting for the oil temp banjo bolt from Corksport so that I can install the sensor for the oil temp gauge. I made sure to run the wire today though so I don't have to go back through this again.
There are a number of threads on the forum debating location for the water temp gauge sensor. The two choices that were most often selected, based on the research I did, seem to be either drilling the thermostat housing, or in the coolant line off of the throttle body, where I have it.
I chose this location because it was simple, reversible if necessary (although I'm pretty sure getting to the bottom connection on that line will suck) and will read when the tstat is closed. But mostly...because it was easy
I wired the gauges to the radio harness, because the power harness that they came with is *very* short. I actually think that's poor product design on Tanabe's part. I used t-taps, which are insulated and easy to work with. The gauges are tapped into both a constant and a switched power source, so they come on as they should with the key in accessory position, but then reset with the car cranks as the car channels power to the starter. They then resume operation as normal once the car is started. I assume that I can remedy this by removing the tap to the switched power source on the radio harness, and running it to the main ignition wire in the center column, instead. I'm unsure if I feel the need to do this anytime soon, so maybe when I get around to installing a new head unit.
Happy to report that after idling the car to about 150-160F, the water temp sensor fitting I built and installed doesn't appear to be leaking or anything.
Corksport oil cooler banjo bolt should be here soon - for anybody who has never seen one, they have a fitting that allows you to thread an oil temperature sensor into it. I've already run the power wire for the sensor, so I just need to install the bolt when it shows up and the gauge will work propery. It is currently daisy chained in with the rest of the gauges (they only require one to be powered/grounded/etc and the rest connect via provided daisy chain wiring), so all I'm waiting for is the bolt.
I can go in one of a few directions next. In my garage, I have a Mindtrain downpipe that I could do as my next little project. I have a Famspeed metal AST on it's way from Japan, which I'd probably do at the same time.
Another option would be the Tein Flex sitting in a box in my office, but I'd like to wait to do those until I order a bushing/pillowball kit so I can do it all at once. This would also involve me probably cleaning off all of the arms I remove and either painting or powdercoating them, as well.
Most likely, I'll order up a single DIN head unit and a pair of speaker adapters, remove all of the (non-functioning) Bose components, and go for a super basic headunit/door speaker-only setup as the next order of business. I don't drive the car much, but I don't think I'll be able to deal with staring at that open center cubby for very long.
On a related note, after looking at my interior for awhile, I kind of really don't like the yellow accents on the steering wheel. I'm thinking of wrapping the yellow strip in tan leather or vinyl that matches the interior (would be quite small and hopefully tasteful looking), and painting the yellow "Momo" print on the spoke black. Thoughts?
Yeah the power harnesses should be super long, but really you could extend them pretty easily. I've previously tapped my power and switch off of the fuse block in the driver's footwell with vampire fuses or whatever you call them. Draw on gauges and sensors is super low, so no biggie and easy to reverse.
Agreed, I could just solder on whatever length I need, but I imagine I'll just run into the same issue going to the fusebox. I'm guessing I need to be tapped into something in the actual ignition circuit to maintain full power to the gauges while cranking?
Realistically it's really not very annoying, but it is a little detail I'll go back and sort out when I do the radio soon.
Also, for anybody reading noting the (I'm sure) many rookie mistakes I'm making or will make, this is the first car I've owned where I'll be at least attempting every project on my own, rather than paying for labor... poor car
Subscribing! I will be in a very similar boat in a few months. My DD is a 2013 WRX Hatch and hoping to secure a nice clean rx7 very soon. Been wanting once since I was in Jr High. Fiance getting matched in March and I get to find out where I will be. I have no idea what I am doing, but this community is really awesome.
Subscribing! I will be in a very similar boat in a few months. My DD is a 2013 WRX Hatch and hoping to secure a nice clean rx7 very soon. Been wanting once since I was in Jr High. Fiance getting matched in March and I get to find out where I will be. I have no idea what I am doing, but this community is really awesome.
Awesome! Well, if you guys somehow end up down here in the desert, it'll be nice to have another FD around
Slight edit - the power harness to the gauges wasn't secured (in the gauge itself) all the way. I fixed it and now they boot up properly, even during cranking.
Aware I'm raising a thread from the dead - but after reading through your build I was curious about further updates! I have no idea what I'm doing and I'll be getting my FD in the next couple months. Your updates/build is really good to follow and I hope to follow a similar path of doing a lot of research and carefully trying some mods myself, building up my knowledge, experience and skill.
07-24-15, 08:47 PM
