When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Long time since my last post. I made the mistake of starting to install a bunch of parts that I’ve had sitting around in the basement for some time and I ended up in the body shop…
I had an oem clutch master and slave cylinder sitting around and decided to install it since I was having some pedal sticking issues. Long story short, after install and bleed, the car felt so good again that I wanted to do a little more…
So, I decided to get all of the little imperfections out of her after 160,000 miles.
First time she went under the knife was in a big way at about 40,000 miles. Lost control on a wet road in summer with worn Pilot Sports and took out a light post. Bad.
Second time was at about 115000 miles. Literally two days later one of my boys dragged their bike handbrake lever across the paint by the gas cap and scratched it all up. Argh…
Hopefully this is her last hurrah at the body shop. Debating whether to clear bra the front afterwards. Probably best to do so just to be safe.
if this all works out as planned, next mod will be to install the double din pioneer head unit and oem surround that has been sitting in my basement for probably 4-5 years. Then I might replace the Continentals with Sport 4S and that would be an end to the third time under the knife.
Anyways, I rationalize it because if I didn’t do this I would be fiending over some sports car that is 100k and instead for a few k I can have the fun of restoration and some nice upgrades without giving up my beloved G and blowing a wad of cash on a Boxster or similar.
What was the issue with the driver's rear fender? Do you mind sharing how much they are charging you for that body work? Regardless, it will be worth it in the end!
Nice! It’s great to see guys keeping an existing car and just keeping it nice. So many are constantly looking for something new and lose out on a nice car that they already have, and would be way nice if they just stuck a few bucks into it. Really excited to see your car finished.
I’ve always said that I was going to do clearbra on every new vehicle I get, but then don’t do it and regret it. I think it’s a good idea and will be worth it.
Also, not sure what double-din deck you have, but if you are doing an install, I HIiGHLY recommend getting a deck with CarPlay and/or Android Auto. It makes everything so much better and easier to use in the car without having to take your eyes or hands off of the road.
The drivers rear fender had rust bubbles in it way back when and I had it done once and it rusted again,
Honestly I’m not even sure what features the radio has LOL I bought it from Crutchfield in 2018 and it’s been sitting in my basement closet since then 😁. Had to order all of the harnesses today to get it installed,
I have lots of bizarre OEM parts in my basement. Brembo caliper rebuild kits, all of the weather stripping for the windows and doors, a front cowl, fender rock guards and the little rubber piece on the top of the mirror support that rots out over time - actually, I have a few of these bc these were really hard to find, clear corners and on and on…I tried to buy most of what were rare, wear items to be able to keep the car oem as much as possible.
Total cost was $2600, but some of that was covered bc they were re-doing the fender for free.
The drivers rear fender had rust bubbles in it way back when and I had it done once and it rusted again,
Honestly I’m not even sure what features the radio has LOL I bought it from Crutchfield in 2018 and it’s been sitting in my basement closet since then 😁. Had to order all of the harnesses today to get it installed,
I have lots of bizarre OEM parts in my basement. Brembo caliper rebuild kits, all of the weather stripping for the windows and doors, a front cowl, fender rock guards and the little rubber piece on the top of the mirror support that rots out over time - actually, I have a few of these bc these were really hard to find, clear corners and on and on…I tried to buy most of what were rare, wear items to be able to keep the car oem as much as possible.
Total cost was $2600, but some of that was covered bc they were re-doing the fender for free.
Can’t wait to pick her up tomorrow!
Thanks. My fender is having a rust issue as well despite not seeing a winter in nearly 10 years. It was my daily driver prior to that though so the damage had already been done I guess. Two years ago I had spoken to the owner of a collision shop that I've gone to in the past about fixing it, but it basically sounded like he didn't want to do that kind of work and didn't give me a dollar amount ("tens of hours of labor"). I'm still willing to put the money into getting it fixed, just need to go find another shop. Did they just use body filler, or did they replace sheet metal?
I've been starting to hoard parts as well - including a new double-din bezel, which unfortunately I can't find the HVAC controls for it.
Looking forward to seeing your G when it's finished.
I'd definitely recommend the clear bra if you do ANY highway driving. Makes a huge difference. The "front plus" one which also includes the fronts of the mirrors, the door handles, and a little piece in front of the rear tires down at the skirt is what I normally put on my cars.
About the Boxster though, my brother-in-law just picked up a 2006 987. I've worked on quite a few 986 and only one other 987, they're great to drive but holy crap are they a pain to work on. There is NOTHING that's accessible and even my small hands have a hard time doing basic stuff on them, repairs cost 3x-5x what it costs on my G too. That's not even factoring the cost of the car and he paid 35k for his...
However if I was wanting a sports coupe with an automatic then the PDK transmission would DEFINITELY be my first choice.
Any radio from 2018 probably doesn't have Android Auto or Carplay, so I'd almost say it's worthless having used those.
With regards to the DDin install... having enjoyed the Pioneer DMH-WC5700NEX (which has a modular screen and wireless android auto / carplay), I'd pretty much recommend it for any install. You could mount the control box in the glovebox and the screen in the factory nav location or make a mount where the non-nav storage is and just leave the factory radio and climate controls installed. You'd have to do a little custom splicing to have the audio come from the Pioneer while keeping the factory radio in a semi-functional state to keep the climate controls happy, but it's not too complicated. Considering the cost of the JDM trim and controls these days, having a great radio and not dumping money into trim kits is probably the best bang-for-buck right now.
I'd definitely recommend the clear bra if you do ANY highway driving. Makes a huge difference. The "front plus" one which also includes the fronts of the mirrors, the door handles, and a little piece in front of the rear tires down at the skirt is what I normally put on my cars.
About the Boxster though, my brother-in-law just picked up a 2006 987. I've worked on quite a few 986 and only one other 987, they're great to drive but holy crap are they a pain to work on. There is NOTHING that's accessible and even my small hands have a hard time doing basic stuff on them, repairs cost 3x-5x what it costs on my G too. That's not even factoring the cost of the car and he paid 35k for his...
However if I was wanting a sports coupe with an automatic then the PDK transmission would DEFINITELY be my first choice.
If I were to go the route of the Porsche, it would be the 4.0L with a manual. That combo will be iconic at some point and I’ll give up the performance of the PDK for the fun to drive of the manual.
Having said that, I sat in my friends Boxster recently and the car is just too tight and too ridiculously low for me. I thanked them bc I no longer had to obsess about the Boxster because my G was just way more comfortable overall and would save me $100k LOL,
The new paint looks so good that I asked my buddy if we could just do the rest of the car as well…
So, dropping her back off on Sunday to get the rest done while I’m away next week. Will be a great present to come back to and I can justify that it is better to drop a few thousand than 100k on a new one 😁
I’ll take some pics shortly, but overall it looks amazing,
Cleric - I will probably end up doing the clear bra just because you only get a chance to do this right once, I did the clear bra full front on my black FX50S and couldnt be happier. Keeps the car clean, eliminates swirls on the black paint and of course absorbs all of the road punishment. It wasn’t cheap, but I can’t say it wasn’t worth it.
Will post full pics once the work is done. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to drop her off before I left for travel, so it’ll be two weeks now before everything is done.
Any radio from 2018 probably doesn't have Android Auto or Carplay, so I'd almost say it's worthless having used those.
With regards to the DDin install... having enjoyed the Pioneer DMH-WC5700NEX (which has a modular screen and wireless android auto / carplay), I'd pretty much recommend it for any install. You could mount the control box in the glovebox and the screen in the factory nav location or make a mount where the non-nav storage is and just leave the factory radio and climate controls installed. You'd have to do a little custom splicing to have the audio come from the Pioneer while keeping the factory radio in a semi-functional state to keep the climate controls happy, but it's not too complicated. Considering the cost of the JDM trim and controls these days, having a great radio and not dumping money into trim kits is probably the best bang-for-buck right now.
@Wrathernaut Thank you so much for this post. I own a 2005 G35 6MT, which my son has driven since high school. My goal is to keep it in good shape and mechanically sound, which my wife and I “pay” for, til he completes his residency. He really wants an Apple play radio. The father in me wants to have a new DD installed, but the seemingly impossible availability of a JDM dash kit, and the $400+ price tag for the rare one out there, makes an install very expensive. The metra kit looks cheap to me and I would rather not go that route. All my local audio installers are pushing the metra kit.
Your suggestion of the pioneer with a remotely located control box seems like an awesome solution. Is this Pioneer model still the one you’d recommend? I’m not very handy with this type of work, so I will be looking to hire someone to help with the install.
Also, I’m very impressed with your sticky on the audio DD replacement. Thank you for taking the time to help so many people.
@Wrathernaut Thank you so much for this post. I own a 2005 G35 6MT, which my son has driven since high school. My goal is to keep it in good shape and mechanically sound, which my wife and I “pay” for, til he completes his residency. He really wants an Apple play radio. The father in me wants to have a new DD installed, but the seemingly impossible availability of a JDM dash kit, and the $400+ price tag for the rare one out there, makes an install very expensive. The metra kit looks cheap to me and I would rather not go that route. All my local audio installers are pushing the metra kit.
Your suggestion of the pioneer with a remotely located control box seems like an awesome solution. Is this Pioneer model still the one you’d recommend? I’m not very handy with this type of work, so I will be looking to hire someone to help with the install.
Also, I’m very impressed with your sticky on the audio DD replacement. Thank you for taking the time to help so many people.
David
Louisville, KY
Yes, I still recommend this radio. The modular screen is still a pretty unique feature. Still installed in my 2005 G35 6MT, and if I have to nit-pick, the only thing I would change are the capacitive buttons on the side of the screen. I greatly prefer physical buttons for volume, but that's what the steering wheel is controls are for.
If you can get to central PA, I can help with an install.
Shops that can follow instructions will definitely push for the Metra, since, with JDM parts becoming rarer and rarer, and no Scosche option for 2005+, it's really the only option for a plug-and-play solution. However, any truly competent installer could handle splicing the wiring to keep both radios, but competence does come with a price.
But essentially, what I would recommend right now is, in enough detail that a competent installer could follow, but not a step-by-step:
Remove the old radio and factory navigation system from the dash, including the nav control unit above the glovebox.
Use power for the factory nav control unit goes through the ROEM-NIS2 and into the pioneer unit.
Speaker outputs from the factory radio get spliced to attach to the ROEM-NIS2.
Factory navigation screen housing gets gutted and cut where needed to hold the pioneer's screen. You might be able to cut enough out that you don't need to trim the pioneer's screen housing, but I cut some from both.
Route the pioneer screen cable through the dash - hopefully this is long enough, because the extension cable is pretty expensive from Pioneer. You might be able to put the Pioneer unit deeper in the dash to reach without an extension.
GPS receiver for the Pioneer goes on the dash for optimal reception, microphone goes up near the sunroof controls, attach backup camera as appropriate using back-up lights as trigger/power source, and connect e-brake wire to the parking brake signal in the center.
Route the USB cord to the glovebox for easy initial pairing between the phone and radio, but rely on wireless in the future, since you can put a high-powered USB-C charger elsewhere and have your phone charge significantly faster than when directly connected to the Pioneer's USB.
With that done, the factory radio will just remain "off" and factory climate controls will do their thing. The downside to all this is that you're still reliant on the factory radio not dying in the future (as it tends to do) to keep the climate controls functional.
Yes, I still recommend this radio. The modular screen is still a pretty unique feature. Still installed in my 2005 G35 6MT, and if I have to nit-pick, the only thing I would change are the capacitive buttons on the side of the screen. I greatly prefer physical buttons for volume, but that's what the steering wheel is controls are for.
If you can get to central PA, I can help with an install.
Shops that can follow instructions will definitely push for the Metra, since, with JDM parts becoming rarer and rarer, and no Scosche option for 2005+, it's really the only option for a plug-and-play solution. However, any truly competent installer could handle splicing the wiring to keep both radios, but competence does come with a price.
But essentially, what I would recommend right now is, in enough detail that a competent installer could follow, but not a step-by-step:
Remove the old radio and factory navigation system from the dash, including the nav control unit above the glovebox.
Use power for the factory nav control unit goes through the ROEM-NIS2 and into the pioneer unit.
Speaker outputs from the factory radio get spliced to attach to the ROEM-NIS2.
Factory navigation screen housing gets gutted and cut where needed to hold the pioneer's screen. You might be able to cut enough out that you don't need to trim the pioneer's screen housing, but I cut some from both.
Route the pioneer screen cable through the dash - hopefully this is long enough, because the extension cable is pretty expensive from Pioneer. You might be able to put the Pioneer unit deeper in the dash to reach without an extension.
GPS receiver for the Pioneer goes on the dash for optimal reception, microphone goes up near the sunroof controls, attach backup camera as appropriate using back-up lights as trigger/power source, and connect e-brake wire to the parking brake signal in the center.
Route the USB cord to the glovebox for easy initial pairing between the phone and radio, but rely on wireless in the future, since you can put a high-powered USB-C charger elsewhere and have your phone charge significantly faster than when directly connected to the Pioneer's USB.
With that done, the factory radio will just remain "off" and factory climate controls will do their thing. The downside to all this is that you're still reliant on the factory radio not dying in the future (as it tends to do) to keep the climate controls functional.
Again, thank you so much for the detailed information. Not sure of the exact distance between Louisville and your location, but your hep would be greatly appreciated! Need to see how the travel costs would compare to the cost of paying a local, albeit maybe not as knowledgeable, installer.
One advantage I do have; here in Louisville we have a shop that does repair on factory audio units, including those is a g35.
