DIY replacement of headunit

It's been a while that the headunit was broken, the DVD doesn't play but the reverse cam still running.  My wife nag me a bit the other day and ask to replace the headunit as it is boring to listen to my singing during long trip outstation.

Hence, I had search online for cheap branded headunit to replace. It must have DVD player and reverse camera enable to be least. I had chosen a Nakamichi player previously, and it cost around RM400 online, prior to purchase I saw this Soundstream player which does the same thing and it cost less than RM300

 It is not the best player, it doesn't support android auto or apply play but it does have bluetooth connection, hence I still can connect the sound to the car.

The specification is pretty basic but it does have HD display and on the label it cost RM 500+, maybe I just got a great deal.

This is the photo after installation, it comes with a IR remote control and have a USB slot at the front.

 The USB will be connected to my Sharp ionizer for now.

The installation took me 2-3 days as I have problem with the reverse cam. I do not know which wire to connect the reverse camera to activate it when reverse gear is engaged.
After flip flopping for a few days, I had discovered that the original wiring of the camera have a red wire but it wasn't connected at the other end. Next since I can't find the trigger wire, I need to email to Soundstream to make sure which wire from the headunit to connect it to. Luckily Soundstream support does reply to me and confirm the colour of wire.
Subsequently, I need to find out which wire send the signal when reverse gear is engage from the car, an online search had found a little yellow wire. Once it connected, reverse gear engaged, the camera automatically activated on the headunit.
 Job done. This headunit also support for front camera which I not sure how it will be triggered or activated. Anyway, that will be leave to DIY project the other day.

B pillar door insulation

Have you seen one of these ? I saw them once before and it doesn't come cheap many years ago. Previously it was advertise manufacture by Korean but now the chinese produce them too, and it is cheap.
Hence I decided to buy one to try it on the car. Price is so affordable, but when I received it, it was a bit shorter than I think. 80cm for both strips instead of 80cm for 1 strip. However it is adequate for Isis. The sliding door on the Isis have good insulation on the left hand side panoramic door so the strips are good for 1 door.
I had install it on the car, 1 strip for the top and 2nd on the bottom, the curve on the middle part of the door seems trick to install as the strip doesn't bend well. After installing, there are a small gap of 1cm between both, but I am ok with it.

The cross section of the strip are as below. Inside is a metal clip to keep it in place on the door position. No glue or sticker are required, I prefer it that way.

Now what left is the road test to see will it block some wind noise. I will update soon on the result.
If you wanted to buy one, just search for B pillar insulation from any online store. Small sum for some easy DIY.

Houston Hayden Has Landed

The above picture show the location of the newly installed Hayden 676 on my Isis. I had decided to installed this after the car feel so sluggish climbing Genting Sempah during my trip to the east coast. Anyway, the ATF temperature shoot to above 110 and I feel there should be something I can do about it.

This is the tapping point for the Hayden ATF Cooler, notice the new piping at the bottom of the it with covered plastic cover.

Another view of the tapping point.

The cooling coil are install on the front of the air cond condenser for best heat transfer. The other benefits are the cooling coil can be cool during the air-cond fan operational during idling.

A top view of the hayden

How much it cost for the parts and installation ? Approx 1k
Where I did it ? Vision Auto/ Toms Racing (Sunway branch)
Effect after installing it ? A drop in ATF temperature. After a day of testing, the ATF temperature drop approximate 10% and this lead to better response and smoother gear change.
Worth the money spent ? It depends, let me test it on another Genting Sempah or Genting Highland run then I will tell you about it.

Remember there are some fake Hayden in the market and just a bit cautious when buying one. Anyway, just remember to regulary change your ATF fluid to protect your gearbox and installed an after market ATF meter to monitor it.

Links to Vision Auto / Toms Racing Malaysia :-
http://www.tomsracing.com.my/

Links to Hayden Transmission Cooler page :-
http://www.haydenauto.com/Featured%20Products-Transmission%20and%20Engine%20Oil%20Coolers/Content.aspx

Wald Supercharger for Isis ? Maybe

 I always fancy to put more power to my Isis 1.8. Since it is clearly underpower for an 1.8l engine to pull the heavy body of Isis, I need more power to propel it up Malaysia famous touge location, Genting Highland.
I speak of it with my experience going up Genting Highland with my Isis in full load and I really struggle to drive it up. I never drive something so slow up that mountain before. The engine temperate are going up and the ATF temperature hover around 110 during the entire trip.

For more power, supercharger or turbo kit is the simplest way, and I had discuss before of a supercharger kit by blitz for the 2.0l version of Isis and now I found this kit in the local website for Toyota Wish 1.8 or Altiz 1.8. Isis 1.8 share the same platform and engine as both so I think it will fit Isis too. Maybe the bonnet might not close properly but this is something good and juicy for Isis.

Now price, what this company wanted to sell it for ? 10k plus apparently and this really a big stop sign. I think it is a bit too expensive and my personal feeling is that I might consider this kit if it is selling around 7-8k.

Anyway, there are someone out there with deep pocket that can afford this, so fellow Isis owner faster grab this kit before it is gone as it is rare to found a new kit for sale in Malaysia.

Good luck and cheers


Links to TWY Trading :-
http://twygaragemeister.blogspot.com/2013/11/wald-international-supercharger-kit.html

NOS on Isis ?

I had heard supercharger for Isis before, but NOS ? This is extreme. The picture above show an Isis installed with NOS.
What is NOS ? Full name of is Nitrous Oxide Systems. It is a system that hook up additional fuel to your injector by adding nitrous oxide to the combustion chamber for better power. Normally this kind of setup are one to sports car and it is quite rare for it to be installed on a mini-MPV such as Isis.
nyway, Japanese do love their car and this owner really does love this car so much to invest and installed this kit to Isis.
This car is a platana model 2.0 D4 engine with aftermarket piggyback ECU (Emanage Ultimate) installed.
There are a video in youtube that show the tuning/dyno process.

The video are posted this year and this is quite a new mod done. I can't get the tuner details as mostly it is in Japanese and the translator aren't very good. I will update more once I get more information.

Links to the original page in Japanese :-
http://gold.ap.teacup.com/brucem/763.html

Tom's Racing for Isis

Here is another company that does aftermarket parts for Isis, Tom's Racing is another great company that does internal and external modification parts for Toyota cars.

Links to the company website :-
http://www.tomsracing.co.jp/products/car/typedetails.php?carID=1090&typeID=2108

WALD Parts for Isis

Wald International is one of the leading styling house for many Japanese car. They also produce styling kit for JDM Toyota Isis too and their car in black is very beautiful to my taste. The style that they bring is very smart and executive like.
They only produces external parts and not engine mod like other modification company.

Links to their website :-
http://www.wald.co.jp/parts_acce/carrange/toyota/isis/10isis/isis.html

TRD Parts for Isis

If you like to modify your car, TRD is one of the best modification house for Toyota. You can refer here for all parts for Isis (JDM) market. Always use google translate or any online translator to have a better understanding.

Links to TRD Japan website (Isis) :-
http://www.trdparts.jp/list_isis.html