WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR BRZ TODAY?

[Turkish]

Hit 200 mi on my way to work and filled up at 1/4 full. First fill up since picking C'thulhu up!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

[CoolBReeZe]

Added LED mirror covers and a backup camera over the past three weeks:

Mirror covers from the Diode Dynamics Black Friday sale.
Puddle lights come on with the interiors [pic out of focus, but effect shown below.]
White running lights show when parking lights or headlights are on.
Yellow turns work at the appropriate time.
Camera is a Rydeen Duo purchased off of eBay and installed using a custom harness http://ae64.com/Rear-camera-16-pin.htm.
Full instructions were provided in this post: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...=backup+camera

Camera lines were adjusted after the backup screenshot was taken.

Overall VERY happy with both mods; though the mirror cover wiring was more of a pain than I want to remember.

[chanomatik]

Sweet! Looks good! I accidentally disconnected the parts from the flasher relay on my side mirror connection on Tuesday and now they don't blink. I think it was from having to unplug and swap the flasher for my TOM'S tail lights. It's such a PITA to deal with that I'm just going to pay my shop to tighten the wires and connection. I hated being under the dash for the mirror and taillight swaps. Plus there's just WAY too much wire.

[CoolBReeZe]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Sweet! Looks good! I accidentally disconnected the parts from the flasher relay on my side mirror connection on Tuesday and now they don't blink. I think it was from having to unplug and swap the flasher for my TOM'S tail lights. It's such a PITA to deal with that I'm just going to pay my shop to tighten the wires and connection. I hated being under the dash for the mirror and taillight swaps. Plus there's just WAY too much wire.

Agreed. Running the 6 mirror wires through the passage between the door and door jamb was a real PITA. Once in the car, getting wires to the appropriate places was easy.

Making the "vampire tap" connections on the flasher harness [electronic for the existing LEDs] required stripping much of the protective covering back and then contorting on my back from the passenger side to get my big hands in a position to clamp them securely.

Puddle lamps didn't work at first until I discovered that the + spade connector had bent and wasn't making contact. Once resolved ... success!

The camera installation was easy by comparison ... about 5 hours from start to finish. I took my time after first testing the camera using a 9v battery and monitor. All connections were soldered and sealed with heat-shrink tubing. It looks and works like a factory installation.

After the requisite cursing regarding the mirror covers, I'm very pleased with both mods.

[Proof]

Installed Springs, Camber plates, Wheels and tires.


New low by aaronlancaster, on Flickr

Chillin with our new Forrester XT


DSC_0027 by aaronlancaster, on Flickr

Tucked away with the wifes 475hp STI

[t.chk]

Originally Posted by CoolBReeZe

Added LED mirror covers and a backup camera over the past three weeks:

Mirror covers from the Diode Dynamics Black Friday sale.
Puddle lights come on with the interiors [pic out of focus, but effect shown below.]

though the mirror cover wiring was more of a pain than I want to remember.

I want to do the same thing with the mirrors, but I think I am going to plasti-tint the lenses. The white kind of breaks up the look, make it nice and unnoticeable during the day and make it pop at night.

Thanks for the MOD, did you create a walk through for the wiring for us noobs...I mean, new modders ?

[navanodd]

Enough ice and snow finally melted for me to install my mud flaps. Definitely worth the $50.

[smbstyle]

Came directly from Germany - from Germany to my doorstep in 3 business days!

[CoolBReeZe]

Originally Posted by t.chk

I want to do the same thing with the mirrors, but I think I am going to plasti-tint the lenses. The white kind of breaks up the look, make it nice and unnoticeable during the day and make it pop at night.

Thanks for the MOD, did you create a walk through for the wiring for us noobs...I mean, new modders ?

I like the idea of plasti-tinting the lenses -- especially on my black car.

I didn't do a wiring walk-through since I thought that the Diode Dynamics instructions were relatively complete. [They ARE, but sound system installers probably know some tricks not included in the instructions.]

Not mentioned, but probably a good idea is testing each light before ever beginning installation. I used a 9v battery beforehand and after each step to confirm wiring continuity.

Simple things like peeling the protective inner plastic well-back from the upper-front corner of the door to gain clearer access to the mirror wiring are obvious in hindsight, but I was trying to minimize contact with the very sticky mastic that holds it in place.

The instructions do a good job overall with the exception of running wires between the door and car body. The factory harness runs a considerable distance into the rubbery "accordion". A long zip tie fed from one end came out a taped joint in the middle while feeding from the other end went into the factory harness and bound up. I ended up undoing the tape, feeding to the joint, making a small slit in the tubing, and then pulling/feeding the wire the remainder of the way. The joint and slit were then taped back in place to assure watertightness and protection of all wiring.

The remainder of the instructions were great until I got to attaching "vampire" taps to four wires on the short flasher harness. The instructions merely refer to making the connections. They should have added that the protective wrap must be cut back or otherwise removed by at least one inch. My 6' 1" frame and big hands were unable to contort to a position to properly position the taps and then use long-nose pliers to clamp them in place. After banging my head [literally] a couple of times and scraping my hands; I finally worked from the passenger side by laying on my back across the center console with my head in the driver's footwell. The resultant angle allowed me to manipulate the taps and pliers after a time [with a short break between taps to retain my equilibrium].

In short, parts of the installation are much trickier than than the provided instructions indicate. Taking your time [nearly three times the Diode Dynamics' "suggested" time] and double-checking every step of the way will eventually result in success.

Would I do it again? Yes because I like the additional functionality. I think I'd also ask a professional sound system installer how to snake wires between car doors and bodies. There's likely some elegant trick I could have used. My idea worked and looks factory, but only after much head-scratching.

I'm fortunate to have other cars to drive. Between the mirror covers and backup camera I used parts of four days to complete the projects. The car interior was partly disassembled overnight on each occasion and the car remained undriven until all was complete.

If you decide to make this mod; make sure you have space to open doors wide, take your time, double and triple-check each step [I panicked one evening when the windows wouldn't go up or down until I realized that I hadn't reconnected the driver's door harness ], and success will eventually be yours.

[BRZNutt]

Finished installing Rydeen Duo back up camera and extending my USB port...

[DSOmegaX]

More @JPM Coachworks goodies. This time the upper door armrests and custom JDM speaker pads (opposed to the standard ones)







More information about this little decal I placed on my window operation trim in my build thread:



And bear #2! (and soon 3 )

[00NissanNinja]

Drove it from Colorado to Ohio in one blow yesterday. Man, that was a long drive but the car handled it like a champ!

[2013GTRNate]

I finally hit 800 miles... Just 200 more and my break in will be complete.

[BRZtoni]

Did a Tire rotation 90ft/lbs??? found a nail in driver front tire no leaks . Gotta keep my eyes open for it now..