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The fun thing about being a shade tree mechanic is you get to learn from the pros and their experiences with snake oil based merchandise. I recently learned that I used J30R9 fuel injection hose for inside the fuel tank which is supposed to be J30R10 which is designed for submersible applications. I hope this will help someone not make the same mistake.
So...
J30R9 = Fuel injection hose external, where ever you want outside the tank.
J30R10 = Fuel injection hose designed for submersible applications. Thank you Pete_89T2
I pulled my fuel pump out and swapped the older J30R9 hose that been in there for a few years. It looked like it started to swell. I cut off the modified nipple on the pipe going to the fuel pump and cleaned the sharp edges of the tube. Now that the tube length is gone I had to put a clamp around the fuel pump to keep it in place. I installed the J30R10 hose with the fuel hose clamps and put the fuel pump back in.
Another thing I found was some older style Apexi silencers. The newer ones look like a wine glass, but these older ones have a perforated silencer in the middle. I look forward to trying them out.
Last edited by rotaryextreme; Jan 20, 2025 at 09:09 PM.
I had one of those silencers for my N1 on my FC back in the day. They will get SUPER stuck in the exhaust tip and can be tricky to remove.
The "wine glass" shape does have less surface area that contacts the inside of the tip so they can be a bit easier to get out.
You are gonna want to make sure you have a proper tool to get it out. After some heat cycles and a bunch of carbon build up that joker gets STUCK. Also, ALWAYS put the bolt in that holds it. If it is tough to install and you figure "it's in there tight, not coming out" good luck finding it in the ditch on the side of the road.
I had one of those silencers for my N1 on my FC back in the day. They will get SUPER stuck in the exhaust tip and can be tricky to remove.
The "wine glass" shape does have less surface area that contacts the inside of the tip so they can be a bit easier to get out.
You are gonna want to make sure you have a proper tool to get it out. After some heat cycles and a bunch of carbon build up that joker gets STUCK. Also, ALWAYS put the bolt in that holds it. If it is tough to install and you figure "it's in there tight, not coming out" good luck finding it in the ditch on the side of the road.
All from experience
Dale
Thanks Dale!
I did use the hardware supplied, looked like the nut was a stover type nut.. The other wine glass ones I have I did have to pull out with a long nosed 90 degree pliers - that was fun. The neighbor next door is gonna have a baby next month so I want to keep the car quieter (as much as I can) when I start it on the weekends, another reason I put the cat back on.
Maybe Ill get one of those metal spring loaded ceiling hangers that expand once it goes through the hole and just run some long all thread through it.
I had one of those silencers for my N1 on my FC back in the day. They will get SUPER stuck in the exhaust tip and can be tricky to remove.
The "wine glass" shape does have less surface area that contacts the inside of the tip so they can be a bit easier to get out.
You are gonna want to make sure you have a proper tool to get it out. After some heat cycles and a bunch of carbon build up that joker gets STUCK. Also, ALWAYS put the bolt in that holds it. If it is tough to install and you figure "it's in there tight, not coming out" good luck finding it in the ditch on the side of the road.
All from experience
Dale
i clamped mine on, to see if it worked, and it was fine, until i took it off to do more testing. when i put it back, it didn't get tightened enough, and popped off
and then it got run over by something, so when i went back, it was flat.
my exhaust didn't have the hole for a silencer, and the stainless was really hard. it took hours and several bits to get the hole in there
...Maybe Ill get one of those metal spring loaded ceiling hangers that expand once it goes through the hole and just run some long all thread through it.
I'd use a 3/16" steel or SS rivet - easy to install and easy to drill out if you want to take it back off. Also makes for a much cleaner installation
Perfect rear speakers for FD3S LRB rear interior !!!!
The 6x9 speaker boxes on top of my battery covers always bugged me. I finally found some decent rear speaker enclosures that tuck between the Cusco cage on the lower side panels of the LRB interior kit. It was a perfect match since the angle on the back side of the speaker where the speaker brackets bolt onto match the angle of the LRB lower side panels. I only had to modify one bracket to bolt them in. The Pioneer TS-X210 are separate 3-way speakers with the voice/woofer speaker being 5x1/4 inches and rated for 100W max which means they are designed to run off the stereo deck. My speakers system sounds so much better and balanced. On with the pics.
01 - Old Speakers
I removed the old speakers and battery box covers. Now that I no longer have cables going through the side of the covers, I will swap the sides to put the openings facing the speakers. This way when you look inside the holes will not be staring you in the face. I also found my notes on drill size for the rivnuts!
02 - Pioneer Test Fit
The speakers come with brackets, hardware (not enough for all brackets), and really long speaker wire. I really didn't know how I was going to mount them, thus a reason for a test fit, but OMG... They friggin fit in between the Cusco cage on top of the lower side panels. This was such a huge relief, now I just had to figure out how to mount them.
03 - Pioneer Brackets
I had no idea how the brackets would look so I taped some cardboard on the back and slid the speakers in place. Once again to my surprise the brackets sit flush with the panel, only the one towards the back needed a 90 degree extension to get it to an area where I could bolt it into place. The back speaker bracket was cut to make it shorter and I riveted an aluminum piece on it to make it a 90 degree bracket.
04 - Pioneer Installed
I placed the speakers in place and marker where the bolts would go. For the 90 degree bracket, I wrapped the aluminum part to make it black. I removed the LRB lower side panels and installed rivnuts where the speakers would bolt to. I ran the wires and added connections on the speaker and car side. The extra speaker wire is so long I will be able to repurpose it for the harness for C.Wans JDM side markers on his fenders. I put the battery covers back on with the cut out for the wires facing the speakers. I also decided to mount it with the 5 and 1/4 inch woofer at the higher point for a better vocal sound. I'm so happy how it looks and sounds, I couldn't ask for anything more.
pictures
01 - Old Speakers and 02 - Pioneer Test Fit
I officially started rebuilding my car 8 years ago. A lot has changed in my life and the way I "feel" about things. As for the car, I am replacing parts that are more livable on a daily basis. Clearly the car would be nicer to get in and out of without the cage, but it's too cool to let go. As a side note, every part that is replaced means the old part is going to be sold in the near future. The first thing to be replaced is the exhaust. I considered many exhaust but since I wanted to stay with my HKS them I decided to go with the HKS Super Turbo Muffler that is JASMA certified. JASMA stands for "Japan Automotive Sports Muffler Association" and is sort the equivalent of CARB for California with the exception being that JASMA deals mainly with exhaust and does not **** block the automotive aftermarket scene in Japan! One thing I noticed is that all the JASMA certified exhaust do not have the manufacturers name on it, but you can sometimes find the brand part number on the exhaust. My HKS exhaust had the HKS part number stamped on it, but the HKS name was nowhere to be found. PSA. If your too lazy to read everything, the flange on the downpipe was off a little throwing off the whole system and causing the muffler to be miss-aligned.
01. APEXi N1 Dual Exhaust OFF
02. APEXi Exhaust Cleaned
03. HKS Super Turbo Muffler Unpacked
04. HKS License Plate
05. Shine Street Diffuser
06. HKS Exhaust Fitted
07. Remove Rear Bumper Lip
08. Diffuser Test Fit
09. Diffuser Final Fit
01. APEXi N1 Dual Exhaust OFF
When I first installed the APEXi exhaust I thought it fit ok. It was not touching the rear bumper lip or rubbing on anything. When I went to go take it off I noticed it had melted the rear bumper lip into 2 pieces. There was also a lot of plastic that had melted and stuck to the exhaust tip.
02. APEXi Exhaust Cleaned
Since I intend to sell the APEXi N1 Dual Exhaust I wanted to clean it up for the next guy. I scraped off the melted plastic with a razor blade and polished the mufflers and tips. I was a lot of work but the end result was worth it. The polishing also removed most of the gold color caused by the metal getting hot. After comparing the APEXi exhaust to the HKS exhaust, I placed it back into its original box for sale. It's also cool to note that the original instructions and exhaust gasket were still taped to the inside of the box.
03. HKS Super Turbo Muffler Unpacked
I decided to go with the HKS Super Turbo Muffler that is JASMA certified in hopes to be able to hear myself thinking while I drive the RX7. The instructions, gasket, and a cool chrome sticker were in a bag with a piece of cardboard to prevent them from being bent and damaged. The HKS looks high quality and the muffler and tip are so damn big!! The HKS is easily 10 lbs lighter then the APEXi. Also the HKS pipe diameter is 3 inch with a 4.5 inch tip VS. the APEXi 2.75 inch pipe diameter and dual 3.5 inch tips. The HKS carry's the JASMA certification but the only clue the exhaust is HKS is the part number stamped on the pipe after the flang: 31029-AZ001. The tip has all these slits and vents, it helps with sound dampening while driving. Here is the explanation from the HKS website.
HKS' original sound control technology created the "Slotted Tail" design.
The "Slotted Tail" was inspired by an owl's feather. The owl's feather-shaped exhaust tip has an advanced silencing effect. Releasing adequate air from the tail can reduce the air friction vibration which enables the sound to be reduced by approximately 2dB. HKS conducted intensive analysis of the sound level and frequency inside the vehicle's cabin and outside the vehicle. Therefore, the best exhaust tone was tuned for both inside and outside the vehicle. Also, the low frequency was eliminated to present more comfortable sound.
04. HKS License Plate
I didn't have a license plate frame, so I found a metal HKS frame because HKS.
05. Shine Street Diffuser
Since my rear bumper lower panel got melted in half from the APEXi exhaust, I went online to check prices to replace it and they were all like $280. Well seeing that I already have a diffuser, I guess I'm going to put it on a little earlier then I planned to. I got this diffuser over 10 years ago from SHINE while I was in LA for a massive discount due to the mold being slightly off. It was in the pick-up only oops pile. There are some runs in the gel coat, the CF is laid kinda weird over the fins, some spots were not polished, but overall a really nice piece. Maybe it was a practice piece.
06. HKS Exhaust Fitted
The install went pretty smooth with the exhaust until I went to put the rear hangers on. The muffler was about 1 inch off towards the gas tank and was almost touching the heat shield. So I have faith in the HKS exhaust and BONEZ high flow cat flanges, I think the culprit is the flange on the random unknown name 3 inch down pipe I have coming off the twins. This all makes since now why the APEXi exhaust melting so much of the rear bumper lip. So I loosened all the bolts on the downpipe to midpipe and midpipe to catback, and re-tightened from downpipe back trying to hold each flange with the most allowable play the bolt holes will give me. It still was not enough and I needed something to pull it....... thankfully there is an exhaust hanger right next to the subframe brace... I can work with this. I ended up using 2 worm drive clamps to pull the exhaust in place. It holds steady as a Chevy and now the muffler hangers line up with the body hangers. Thankfully when I re-installed the aluminum shield it cleared the clamps. The exhaust sits nicely in place, I just hope the bumper will not get to black over time. This exhaust also sits higher than the APEXi exhaust. Seeing this big HKS exhaust tip reminds me of when I first saw the Supra Twin Turbo single tip in the mid 90's - if you know you know.
07. Remove Rear Bumper Lip
Removing the rear bumper lip was a little tricky. 1st you need to remove all the machine screws. There 7 total, 3 in the middle, and 2 at the ends of the lip. For the top ones on each side, you will need to use a ratchet and a Phillips tip to remove. Once you have the screw out, take the screw clip off of the rear bumper lip and slide it onto the bumper cover where the hole is. 2nd, take off the 12mm nuts and pull the bumper back while using a screwdriver to push the rear bumper lower lip eyelets past the rear bumper bolt. The other option is to cut the eyelets of the lower lip leaving them bolted in place. Or, you can remove the rear bumper cover and everything else involved to do that - uh yeah, No Thanks.
08. Diffuser Test Fit
I had to hold the diffuser in the sun to see where the pre-made holes were. They were baby shallow dimples and I put a dab of white paint each time I found one. I put some bubble wrap on the exhaust tip to protect it while I work in that area. I drilled the holes and climbed under the car to install the diffuser. I'm glad I had the exhaust there to hold the diffuser up for me. The machine screw holes lined up perfectly. The left side diffuser was a little high on the edge as it curves around the bumper to rear quarter panel area, this prevented the lower outer part of the diffuser to sit against the body, it was out about 3/4 inch. Another issue was the diffuser was kitting the HKS muffler since it was so damn big.
09. Diffuser Final Fit
After making all the cuts the diffuser was still off a little, the back of the diffuser needs to shift towards the right side about 1/2 inch. Instead of drilling new holes in the diffuser, I took it off the car and drilled holes in the bumper skin 1/2 inch away from each hole towards the right side of the car from the original holes and moved the screw clips over. I re-installed the diffuser and everything lined up now. The 2 bolts on the gas tank, 3 center screws, 2 outer screws that go into the clips swapped onto the bumper cover from the rear lower lip all fit spot on. Next was to push the outer edges of the diffuser against the body and screw them in place with machine screw. I drew lines with a marker to the existing holes where the factory mud flaps go so that I could avoid screwing the diffuser to nothing. Everything lined up nice. The last thing I did was drill a hole in the unsupported diffuser section near the right side and another hole in the shield above it and used a metal zip tie provide support in case it should catch some airflow.
It was time to start the car, I really didn't know what to expect. Dude, the exhaust is so quite. I could barely hear it inside the car. It is such a relief to finally get the result you were looking for. Here are some videos of the HKS Super Turbo Muffler exhaust sound. Enjoy!!
