amgarrety's 2003 USDM B4 - 12/24 Exhaust Question

[rkrenicki]

My trunk was just about full of stuff for him. I was happy to clear out some room when he showed up. :)

Oh and... Post #1000.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[amgarrety]

And I get reply #1000. Sweet.

Yeah, it was definitely Christmas. Considering how little I buy for my car anymore, I'm pretty excited to have stuff to do!

[rstimpreza]

did you ever had the chance to do the write up for the flasher?

[Huffer]

Cool parts... very nice hookups. :)

[jverendia]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/13527663363_01f7aa4d88_z-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/13527882574_893ed35ae4_z-1.jpg


sorry to thread hijack but is this for sale? i haven't been on here in awhile and just saw this

[rkrenicki]

I build them on a case by case basis. I now have parts to build a few at this point, but I have not been making many of them. The one pictured here is the third I have made (and the first green version). The one pictured is specifically for an A-C Manual Transmission cluster.

In looking at this.. Did I forget to hit the heat shrink on the bottom side of the A harness with the heat gun?

[amgarrety]

did you ever had the chance to do the write up for the flasher?

I apologize, it's been awhile. Are you talking about when I switched to an electronic flasher so I could disable one of the bulbs from flashing? The only write-up I think I've done is the independent fog light mod, so I may have to go back and revisit it.


In looking at this.. Did I forget to hit the heat shrink on the bottom side of the A harness with the heat gun?

You know what? I didn't even notice myself until just now. Good thing one of us caught it before I installed it!

[amgarrety]

Also, I'm deeply sorry to you Legacy purists out there, but I've gone mad. Partially. As much as I hate false badging, this looks too good.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13593938984_a1245e08ed_z-1.jpg

But! As I just mentioned, I only went partially mad. I've had that badge for while, just waiting for the correct engine to use it with. But I got tired of waiting, so I scraped off all of the tape on the back, and instead installed 4 high strength magnets, like so:

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13593514725_296aeb2442_z-1.jpg

That way I can remove it and replace it at my leisure. MrLancaster's STI badging made me really want to install mine, and I can sleep at night telling the less informed that it is a sort of tS, in that it has a more aggressive body style without the extra power (like the 5th gen tS). Don't ask me why, but I need to justify it somehow. And when I feel like I can't justify it any longer, I can remove it :)

[thesavo]

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/03/13527579185_8b6cd45a97_z-1.jpg


I love this pocket with up fit switches. So factory, such design, must have.

[amgarrety]

It's finally car modifying season again! I was so happy to rip apart my interior for the first time this year. I got some minor stuff done today.

Firstly, I replaced my old light stalk. The one that came stock with the car was old and in bad shape (thanks to the previous owner), so I finally fixed that after nearly 3 years. Take a look at the comparison (the old one is on top).

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13678827505_de28836eb3_z-1.jpg

I also installed the single-din pocket/3 button combo thingy. I still haven't found a better name for it. I only installed 3 fog light switches for now, and none of them operate anything, but they will be replaced in time with blank switches that will have toggles drilled into them for different features. I have a plan, but I need a day or so to really dig into that project. These will hold me over for now. Please pardon the messy car. I haven't been able to clean it lately.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13679270644_7ec726b066_z-1.jpg

I also never showed off my new tires. I like them very much. In case you didn't catch which type I got, they are Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. And they're pretty great. Again, pardon the dirty car.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13678898195_2911735ec3_z-1.jpg

[thesavo]

There is a site that sells black stickers with Automotive icons. They are meant to light up the icon with light be hind it. I'll have to find the link. In essence, you could peal off the fog icon and replace it with a more appropriate one. It may not match entirely.

[amgarrety]

That would be perfect! I'd like to reuse these exact switches but I don't like the fog icon on all 3 of them. I know how to remove the fog icon, but I wouldn't know what to replace it with.

[amgarrety]

Big thanks to yaya for this tip. I still can't believe it is just plug and play. I just installed automatic up and down switches for both my driver's window AND my passenger's front window. Yes, rkrenicki and I bought our switches on the same day after seeing it in yaya's thread :razz:

Here is a side by side comparison of old and new.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13706851335_94f5ac3941_z-1.jpg

And the switches installed in the stock bezel.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13706867343_4f8cbb2d6a_z-1.jpg

As I said to rkrenicki, I'm in shock at how plug and play it is. I was expecting to maybe have to re-pin a connector or something. But nope. This is literally a >5 minute modification. It shouldn't be that easy, but it is. I'm even further in shock at the coincidence that this part even exists and fits so perfectly.

To answer any questions that may arise, each is a standard 2-stage button. Hold it down or up gently to use the window normally, and push it down or pull it up to have the window work automatically. The rears are simply single stage.

Also, since I know the question will be asked, here is the link on eBay. I can't thank yaya enough for the heads up that this exists. eBay Link CLICK HERE!! (http://www.ebay.com/itm/330872851766)

And yes, it is completely plug and play for any 3rd gen (as far as I'm aware). BE, BH, BT.

[geckoboy86]

I want this for my 4th gen....Grr

[soba noodle]

Wonder if this switch will work in my JDM wagon, don't have that "LOCK" button at all (what does that button do anyway?).

[rkrenicki]

Wonder if this switch will work in my JDM wagon, don't have that "LOCK" button at all (what does that button do anyway?).

That is the door locks. On JDM cars, it is part of the door handle mechanism instead of a separate switch like here.

[yaya]

:smt023

[MRLancaster]

I love the idea that it's plug and play!!! :O I want to do that for mine now!

[amgarrety]

I love the idea that it's plug and play!!! :O I want to do that for mine now!

Someone needs to get another 3rd gen ;)

[Lancaster6]

I love the idea that it's plug and play!!! :O I want to do that for mine now!

Someone needs to get another 3rd gen ;)

Ooh I totally agree with this statement. Give in to peer pressure, Tanner :twisted:

[amgarrety]

Small update, my BFM is back to blue halos.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2014/04/13831532295_8058306cb1_z-1.jpg

I don't think I posted about it awhile ago (I don't know, I may have), but I removed my original blue bulbs over a year ago because, due to the bulbs being just slightly oversized, they wouldn't fit in the bulb socket all that well, and would end up eventually falling out, causing a halo or two to appear burnt out. I went back to the original incandescent bulbs last year, and I finally got around in reinstalling smaller LED bulbs this weekend. Looks much better blue!

[thesavo]

There is a site that sells black stickers with Automotive icons. They are meant to light up the icon with light be hind it. I'll have to find the link. In essence, you could peal off the fog icon and replace it with a more appropriate one. It may not match entirely.

Link to the symbol sheet.

This site looks promising for factory "looking" switches and mods.

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/V ... lights.php (http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/switches/warninglights.php)

[amgarrety]

So, no update to the car recently. I've realized I'm very happy with the point I have it at.

This may change soon though, only a little.

Quick question, does anyone happen to know the PA laws (and complications related to those laws) regarding straight piping my exhaust from the cat back?

The reason I ask is because my beloved exhaust that I have now has separated under the car due to low ground clearance. It's been a long time coming and I knew it would happen. So what I effectively have right now is a straight pipe exhaust that ends right after the cat, and the rest of the exhaust is just hanging on for show. This is obviously unsafe and what not. The problem is, I absolutely love the sound. It's a bit loud for my taste but it sounds incredible. I was thinking, with a straight pipe, I can keep the sound, inprove the ground clearance, and get rid of the ugly low hanging exhaust all in one move. Providing I want to pass a pretty to-the-book inspection, and also not get pulled over for it, is there anything I should know? I'm afraid to take a chance on another muffler because I don't think anything will sound as good as my current exhaust (which was adapted from a WRX exhaust, hence the less than sutible fit to the car).

[rougeben83]

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=29349 (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=29349)

you know you want it! :p

[amgarrety]

No turbo :/

And I'll even be in NYC on Saturday.

[elislider]

The only rules really are:
- maintain emissions equipment (or: maintain something that visually resembles emissions equipment and trick the O2 sensor into reading normally)
- volume below local ordinances

i dont know what your local laws are for vehicle noise

[Dead91silvia]

elslider pretty much has it. They are Federal laws for exhaust pretty much. There is a Db level for most places, but I dont see any reason you couldnt do it. I'm not a fan of straight pipes, but sometime they are ok.

We have a Mazda Protoge 5 that we just repo'ed and the girl had a straight pipe installed and it doesnt sound that bad.

[amgarrety]

Had a mini meet tonight with nikolaus.conrad, xoSubieLegacyxo, and SuzieQ
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/02/a6aee9d29da5fb7687a6904e5ab8d841-1.jpg

(Chad has left before that picture)

Nothing like cool cars and hot wings.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/02/ccdb759eb4778a634b96ed1e2492433a-1.jpg

Always good to have some down time with these guys (and girl).

[chevyman1968]

Hey man in regards to your exhaust question. I ran my exhaust up to inspection how yours is now and loved the sound, my shop wouldn't pass it because of PA inspection law which is you have to have cats and a muffler so what I did was I took it to miles muffler in York and for 100 bucks had then weld 2.25 piping from the cats out the back with an 18 inch vibrant resonator. The whole thing cost under 200 bucks. You can have it look stock and with a slight rumble at idle, but when you are cruising it flows through the resonator so fast it doesn't dampen the sound. Make sure you have the shop weld the resonator real close to the cats so it sounds the same as it is does currently. If you have any other questions let me know. We could meet up and you could take my car for a cruise to see if you like the sound as well. If you want to have the slanted straight pipe look take it somewhere else cause Miles will not do it.

[nikolaus.conrad]

Definitely had the dirtiest car in the area hahahaha

[Dead91silvia]

Red85Celica has a Blitz muffle for a BE5 he's trying to sell. Thought you might want to know.

[Yamazaki]

@Red85Celica (https://sl-i.net/FORUM/member.php?u=2989) has a Blitz muffle for a BE5 he's trying to sell. Thought you might want to know.

Is the BE5 the exhaust came from turbo? I think amgaretty would've bought Ben's exhaust already if he had a turbo setup. No shipping fees and all that.

[98legwag]

If its just a muffler, not a cat back or turbo back, it should work right?

[Dead91silvia]

I think it would need some mild mods, but just like pipe length.

The one I was talking about was off of an RSK if I remember right.

[amgarrety]

New intake today. The inner fender portion (which my car didn't originally have) was a PITA to get in, but being able to use the Green filter I bought years ago is worth it. It runs and accelerates so much more smoothly.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/2ee89b93f15553aa248e0b22d4537c12-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/04/0afa529bb74d762fc5a5dc7b61d68117-1.jpg

Also changed new wipers, new fog lights, and hard wired my dash cam and radar detector to the ignition. It's been a productive day.

[rkrenicki]

Did you fill in the hole where the MAF used to be? Otherwise, it looks much cleaner than the normal intake for the generation.

[amgarrety]

It'll look drop dead gorges after it gets cleaned up, in my opinion anyway.

Yes, I have it covered with a cap from a medication bottle and electrical tape until I can make something a little better looking. The only issue I'm having is the intake sensor has no where to attach, which is throwing a check engine code. I may have to cut a hole in the intake for it, right about where it was on my old intake. You can see it just chilling there left of the throttle body and right of the verticals support.

Imagine my excitement when it all mounted up perfectly, especially all of the trouble I went through inserting the inner fender portion without taking the fender off. I know it's supposed to fit, but I was astounded by the mounting points that existed but we're completely unused that were devoted just to this intake. There was a piece of metal sticking straight up with just a hole in it in the engine bay, that sat there for 12 years completely unused until today.

[amgarrety]

Picked up those JDM mirror covers from Yamazaki. My mirrors were beginning to chip (see below), and instead of repainting them, I just got the covers, which I'll paint off of the car.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/c99bb53ea3c2fe0d1b6288e77e1545e8-1.jpg

I think it's a pretty decent fix. I mean, it doesn't fix the main problem, but the mirrors are plastic, so they won't get any worse. So I'll leave them like they are until I go to sell it. The covers will do a great job for now.

So here are the mirror covers unpainted. I'll be fixing that problem this week most likely.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/d09890fe381e4c482943edd7b2358001-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/4c9455287d68e5ec7c3c07df87c953f9-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/23875c3ae78fd2b908420226b01aaba8-1.jpg

[amgarrety]

Also don't pay attention to all of the other small things. The grille needs repainted as well, and the entire car could use a little love. I'd love to really fix the bumper, that thing has an incredible about of wear on the bottom (thanks, lower suspension).

[amgarrety]

JDM mirror covers painted. This is before clear coat but results look promising.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/6ac2fe63496db7c968afc64284ff77e2-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/fedb20984f7ae1cdbdd9361e246be3bf-1.jpg

[amgarrety]

Some picture of the process for those who are into that sort of thing.

Wet sanding:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/57a21f214d9bcc6352c3424892d011ee-1.jpg

First pass:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/ac793af715ba424626da22d5c2f876be-1.jpg

Closer to the final product:
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/d6eefd00f704fd2ad5a0a5d96c5741aa-1.jpg

And of course, gotta get those hard to reach places.
https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/4c21bea13b0259bcd74ce2cfa90ff638-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/bce40135c17d951f4f6c787916e3d718-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2015/05/fbfb168d929d897586fae7c5630ba7d5-1.jpg

[MRLancaster]

That's a nice touch!

[elislider]

I was skimming through this thread, the part where you installed the KPH/MPH converter for your black cluster.
I feel compelled to mention that if you have the speed sensor signal converted so the cluster reads in MPH, then the ECU will get a slower signal than it expects.
If you're running the USDM ECU, it will think you are driving notably slower than you actually are
This means if you reset the ECU and are trying to reach OBD readiness for emissions check purposes, you likely never will, since one of the readiness test states is driving at highway speeds (over 50mph or something like that).
I found this out the hard way. Had been driving for months and the ECU was STILL not ready. realized this oversight, unplugged my speed sensor converter (i made a patch harness with it so i could unplug it later) and within 1 day of driving the ECU hit readiness.

[rkrenicki]

It depends on where the adapter is installed. If you have it connected at the speed sensor (before it is split to the cluster and the ECU), then it slows down to both. If you have it connected in right at the cluster (after the split), the ECU sees the normal signal, and the cluster sees the altered signal.

The adapters that I made (which amgarrety has here) inserts the adapter right at the cluster. this also prevents a speed discrepancy between the ABS, ECU, and TCU (if present), even if that speed disagrees with the cluster.

[elislider]

I thought the speed signal went from the sensor > cluster > ECU? I must be thinking of the older models with cable speed sensors.
i bought one of these because I was lazy: www.iaperformance.com/product_info.php?cPath=44_45_2075_2269_2337&products_id=2241
and then i still had to swap out the plug to make it PNP and easily removable for my car.

guess i should have just bought this one: http://www.iaperformance.com/product_info.php?cPath=44_45_2075_2269_2337&products_id=2208&osCsid=03bu0ifl9nguopefhibl9mu9q5
and wired it at the cluster!

thanks for the tip

[rkrenicki]

The BD/BG cluster is like that where the cluster back feeds to the ECU/TCU. The BE/BH is just fed from the VSS or the TCU.

That E0021 is the same adapter is the one that I use, but I was getting them cheaper (about $50) from the UK dealer I was using at the time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk