Test Drives Unlimited

We chatted about this at the Essex meet this evening.
Not sure I agree with Knightryder - that torque dip is accentuated and is a huge weakness which I hoped would be addressed in this annual upgrade - obviously 'annual' in Japanese means 4 years development and 1 year 'let everyone know'.
Like? - stronger block with redesigned pistons/rods plus plus plus. New petrol pump. Half-decent rear wing. Subtle styling changes rather than the anticipated "whole body redesign" (which would have made current model's value plummet like a stone)
Dislike? - no 'high performance' version using the Toyo collaboration with Cosworth. Nothing to address the global demand for increased power. And these 'upgrades' are all aimed at the manual pudding stirrers, nothing to address the auto paddle pushers. A great shame, a little more concentration on a DCT version of the autotrans would galvanise their global market, as the current version is a poor attempt, in my opinion.
Spec K

There are so many more comments/replys/people here!
 
Twigman actually STOLE the idea from me So for those who missed it here's my install (and yes I struggled with the nipple like Twigman/Ian, just not for as long)
 
Begins:
 
Well hello boys and girls, after lots of waiting and some more waiting it's finally here, the highly reviewed and well thought of audio upgrade for the FRS in the US has landed on my doorstep, and its the weekend tomorrow...



The reference series includes new door woofers, tweeters and a sub, this box has the new carbon fiber cone woofers and tiny neodymium magnet powered tweeters, as well as a poster!





Then under these we find the carefully wrapped sub, inclosure, amps and a wiring harness.





It looks very nice, very well made and study, the look and feel is very factory fresh and of original equipment styling. I just had to pop it in the boot and see how it looked...



Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'll get it fitted hopefully! Will take some snaps as I go, but the supplied instructions and YouTube install video cover everything pretty fantasti...   THE NEXT DAY!  
It's in, done and working, only one niggle, but here's some pics. I didn't show everything as its identical to the YouTube videos and the supplied instructions are very good.



Started with fitting the new tweeters, simply pry up and remove the old tweeters, the new ones fit exactly using original mounts and connections.



Easy to get this trim off (it's already has the Senna velco treatment) but first time for me removing the radio, nothing massively of interest behind.





Rear connections of the standard UK head unit, for reference.



I notice there are lots of cables that go though various grommets and things out of the car, what are they all for? Anyone know what this white cable is?



Sub enclosure is fitted and a very good fit I have to say, looks like it's meant to be there. I also took the chance to apply some dynamat material to the inside of the car and wheel arch to dull some of the "tin" in the bodywork.



This ends the "easy" side of things, once the back is set and in, the manual says to start putting things back, I wouldn't do this. The loom you get is perfect in length, but if you don't have it placed just right you'll find you are short at one end of another, I ended up having to remove the trim a second time to fix this.







Stock speaker on left, new OEM+ on right.

Once fitted and wired up first impressions are very good, will have to give it a few days and see what EQ I like but a marked improvement over the original.

Annoyingly I have a rattle on the passenger door that I totally can't source, sounds like a screw rolling round somewhere, but I have no idea where, nothing in the door or the door card, but I'll get the bottom of it.

Hi All,
 
After reading through the supplied guide I decided to follow it but I did do a few things differently, I will also go in to a bit more detail for those that are considering the OEM Audio+ kit (which despite a few issues fits very well) I believe that my issues were perhaps due to me not providing as much info as I should have and the fact they were pushing to get the kit to me before Christmas.
 
Once I get my studio mic I will record some good quality audio from the car so that you can get a feel to how crisp it sounds. I will add you can achieve a better install for the money with aftermarket components. However if you want something that fits superbly well in to the factory headunit with a loom already made up, this is probably a kit you should consider... That said, it doesn't sound bad and definitely packs a punch.
 
The Guide
 
Step 1
 
First off you want to do the following:
 
1. Unlock both doors
2. Open the boot
3. lift the bonnet up
 
This is because you are going to disconnect the battery, if you don't do this you are sure to blow a few fuses along the way and you will curse yourself when sods law you don't have any spares in your garage
 
So disconnect the wires from the negative terminal, tuck them to the right of the battery so they don't pop back up and re-attach themselves.. Something they will want to do after being on the terminal for so long.
 

 
Step 2
 
Next you want to head over to either your driver or passenger seat and remove both the headunit surround and the headunit itself..
 
To do this get a flathead screwdriver and a thin microfibre clock of some kitchen paper will do also (to prevent any unwanted scratches) If you are a rebel, feel free to do without.
 
The below image shows where to place the flathead screddriver, there will be a small hole on the right side of the surround begin prising it off from here.
 

 
For reference here is where the clips are situated on the surround
 

 
Once this is off you will need to remove the four 10mm Hex nuts holding the headunit in place, shown below in the image
 

 
Disconnect the following cables, you may want to reference this image later when connecting it all back up, though it shouldn't be a major issue!
 

 
Step 3
 
Next you will need to remove the drivers side trim pieces at the front (In the majority of aftermarket installs you would be doing this for both sides to prevent alternator whine, this loom will only run up one side)
 
Place your hand roughly where mine is in the image and pull straight up. I wouldn't be too worried about snapping it, it will take some pulling and is fairly flexible. Work along until it is off.
 

 
Next you will need to remove the trim piece around the bonnet catch, there is one pop rivet and two green panel clips holding this on, Undo the pop rivet shown in the image. Then get your fingers under the panel next to the door seal and push it out and towards the pedals
 

 
Note: Check both green clips come off of the chassis, if one is left on, remove it with either a clip removal tool or a flathead screwdriver(using a microfiber again)
 

 
Step 4
 
Getting there... now on to the rear, we need to remove the seat and the rear trim piece
 
First loosen the door seal around the back trim
 

 
Next up there is a 10mm hex Nut butting in to an L bracket holding the seat in place, remove this
 

 
With one hand push down on the back of the seat, with your other hand grab the L bracket and pull up, this will unhinge the seat
 

 
How there is one pop rivet which was hidden by the seat you will see which is shown below, remove this.
 

 
Drop the rear seats down, you will see two pop rivets, remove these also. That's all the pop rivets fixing the rear trim in place, unfortunately there are a fair few panel clips
 

 
The way I removed this panel, on the left side of the panel where the door seal was there will be a gap along this edge, begin pulling here.
 

 
Pull at the lower locations shown here also
 

 
Are you still struggling? Lets hope not, if you are, here is an image below for reference of where the clips are situated on the panel...
 

 
Ok we are going a bit too quick, by now around an hour should have passed if it's your first time removing these pieces, if not they tend to come off a little easier and you can do this in around 30 mins when you get good at it
 
Now go grab yourself a cup of tea and feel please that you got this far hopefully with no broken clips...
 
Step 5
 
Now we have all the trim pieces out we can start with the small amount of chassis modification that needs to be done
 
There will be two speed nuts, attached to the Subwoofer enclosure, get these off as we need to slip these on to some brackets.. 
 
Note: You will end up with two pop rivets left over after the install, this is where they have come from!
 
The first bracket can be found where the bottom pop rivet came out of that was holding the rear trim piece in place, there will be two holes on this and a bend on the bracket. Grab a pair of needle nosed pliers and bend it so that it is relatively straight. Don't worry about scratching it, you won't see it and honestly the speed nut will scratch it anyway.... Attach Speed nut to the bracket
 

 

 
Now in the boot there will be a pop rivet directly inside, next to the rubber seal, pop it off, pull back the carpet around the hole and there will be a bracket. Place the speed nut on here
 

 

 
It's important to place the correct speed nut on the correct bracket, the one on the allen bolt goes on to the bracket next to the rubber seal...
 
Step 6
 
Now we need to route the main loom, infact the only loom, and this is where my guide will differ. OEM + say to put the trim back after routing the cable, we won't be doing this until after we have got the wire through the grommet as it's a tight fit and will just waste your time when you realise you don't have enough loom at the bulkhead right? Correct 
 
One end of the loom will have 3 multiple pinned connectors.. From memory I believe they were a 6 pin, 10 pin and a 12 pin. This is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, unless you have a fetish for even numbers on electrical connectors....
 
We will start with the end with the most connectors rub it behind the seatbelts and in to the boot leaving roughly as much as i have, for those with the normal OEM+ Install you just need to leave enough loom to get behind the enclosure. For those with the Active suspension loom it will split, the Amplifier is mounted on the subwoofer enclosure however the DSP Amplifier will be placed on the left side of the boot (We will get to this later)
 

 
You will have an earth wire on the subwoofer loom (yellow shrink skin over the crimp terminal). Just beflow the rear quarter window is a gold connector, this is your earth. Undo this 10mm hex nut and place the earth wire on to of the earth wires already there.
 

 
Now that is done we can run the cable through the cable tunnel, there is a which oblong tube* (Do these even exist  ) It has 3 white clips running along it, unclip this and fold it back, the carpet is stapled to it. 
 

 
Now I will apologise here, i'm missing a picture for you, I forgot one (doh)... Within this tunnel there are more clips, undo these and tuck the loom in to this and clip it back up.
 
It will go in from the boot like this
 

 
And come out in the drivers footwell like this (run it to where I have annotated with red circle)
 

 
Next up OEM+ say to cable tie the loom to the grey cable shown below, this is located above the pedals. I would honestly leave it loose for now
 

 
Step 7
 
This part is probably the trickiest part of the install, they don't go in to enough detail on how to successfully get through the grommet, luckily this one isn't tricky if you know how to do it!
 
Above the pedals to the right will be this grommet (use a torch) there is a nipple on the other side that when cut will make a convenient hole (presumably there for the JBL OEM install) the hole is unfortunately on the top side of the grommet, i've marked roughly where it is below.
 

 
Now that you know where is is , head out to the bonnet and adjacent to the Master Brake Cylinder you will see the grommet with a convenient nipple on it, cut the tip with a stanley knife, the guide says to cut it all off, just put a slice half way through. This will be fine.
 

 
This is now the tricky bit, we need to get the power cables through this grommet, there is a 14 Gauge and a 12 Gauge cable so luckily not all that thick. Get a metal rod (which is not too thick and can bend but not too thin so that it bends when forge is on it. Get some electrical wire around 40cm in length each. Slice the elctrical wire and take one wire out of it. Tape this and the metal rod together with electrical tape. Now push the metal rob through the grommet. It should go through easily, if its not, wiggle it until it slides through freely. I can assure you there is already a hole there for it so no need to force it! If you force it you may slice one of the electrical wires already running through it.
 
Once it's through pull it through to the other side. Now remove the metal rod and tape the power cables from the loom to the electrical wire. Go back to the bonnet side and pull it through. (I've probably saved you around an hour of crying trying to get it through 
 
Step 8
 
Now that is all done, you need to route the loom up above the pedals and in to the headunit bay. I honestly can't get pictures of where to route these, but directly to the right if you look in the hole where the headunit came out of you should be able to see the pedals. It's best to get another pair of hands to grab the loom as you feed it up.
 
Once that's done, conenct up the OEM+ loom to the OEM loom as shown below
 

 
 
Next plug the OEM+ Loom in to the Headunit and also the other OEM loom connectors which are sitting around (Should be 3 of these) Once done it should look something like this..
 

 
 
Well done, now put the headunit back in! and clip the trim back on!
 

 
Guide to be continued....

Congrats and welcome to the club, glad you went with your heart and not with your head, never worry about what others think about your car, it's what you think that matters the most......but it is a bonus when others do like it I suppose.....so FYI, good choice, looks good!!!

How early
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Just Renewed my Membership via PayPal

Mine auto renewed, looks like you're stuck with me for another year 
 

A small amount compared to the effort put in by others to run the club

You crazy fool, what did you do that for!  

Just Renewed my Membership via PayPal

31 on commute, 35 mpg pump to pump, 36.7 on the trip computer (which doesn't count stationary idling). More usefully, 300 - 360 miles range without dipping too far into the reserve.
I'm spending £1000 a year less on fuel in this car than my last. I like this car, even if it is depreciating more than £1000 a year...

it will drop down a gear if your revs drop down to 1krpm or below which really is just for engine safety but it will just bounce of the limiter at the top end and will not upshift unless you tell it to
 
I've been sliding mine around, a clutch kick might've been useful once in a while but have had no issues initiating a drift without the clutch

My car already for Jap Day  and loaded up for the RX-8OC Stand Provisions




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My car already for Jap Day  and loaded up for the RX-8OC Stand Provisions




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yeah especially with the amount being crashed recently :/

Your more than welcome Nigel will keep you informed

Having a fantastic time around the Track
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I have driven that Track in snow before so rain not a problem
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Looks really good
I would like to do the whole of the top of the dash sometime like some of those high end motor cars
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Here you go





Looks great. Very happy.

Look forward to seeing all the pictures SR

Toyota are expecting this to really sell in big numbers and so are we as dealers.The crossover segment is growing all the time and is important for TGB as they are aiming for 60-70% conquest sales.
 

Yes, the 205 is with the exhaust bits on, but that's still pretty good for a few bolt ons, means it must have been making close to 200 stock I think.
Torque is good, very good. On the dyno it's hitting 170 lb-ft peak, but it's over 160 from 4000 right through to 7000, and it's above 150 from 2500 up. Went for a bit of a blast just now and it's really nice to drive, so much better than it was.
I also tried to record the exhaust sound for those interested, but my phone mangled it too badly. I'll have to have a try with the phone further from the car or try my proper camera.

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That display looks tacky as hell.