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Jays VVTi Single Turbo Paddleshift build thread


j_jza80

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So, something else arrived today :) I have mentioned a couple of times that I am unhappy with the stock tiptronic buttons...

 

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an AMG SLS has donated its wheel mounted paddle shifters to the cause. :cool: hopefully going to mount these to a stock 3 spoke Supra, Celica or MR2 wheel to retain the airbag and that oem+ look I'm aiming for. :)

Edited by j_jza80 (see edit history)
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Work has begun :)

 

I've replaced the original cloth rear seat with a stock black vinyl one, in preparation for my Recaros. I'm sure pics of a stock rear seat aren't necessary. :D

 

I then junked the crappy stock electric aerial, and fitted an S2000 one from the group buy.

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Looks much better :cool: There's already a detailed install thread, so I didn't think it was necessary to take any more pics. It is a straight forward job, and should only take circa 20 mins. Mine needs an amplifier, as it is not picking up all stations when scanning.

 

I've also fitted my Alpine CDE-136BT headunit from my Corrado.

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This has DAB, Bluetooth, USB etc, and a good base for a future install. The keen eyed among you will also notice some other changes in that picture too, a hint at some other things I have in the pipeline... ;)

Edited by j_jza80 (see edit history)
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Some of you may have noticed that I have given my Supra a nickname :D

 

Given some of the 'macho' nicknames I've seen for some of the cars on here (sorry, but they are a bit silly :D ), I thought something humorous might be more suitable.

 

Now it's official...:D

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Black and white sticker would suit the cars colour scheme more lol. The button shift is annoying alright but i've never had a problem driving it on the road, i dont think it would be good enough on track even if the car had an extra gear. Did you put the SLD2 in yet?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Time for an update :)

 

Due to a lot of ongoing work on my house, I haven't had much time to work on the car. My Dad has been helping me with my house build, which presented me with this photo opportunity today. There's not many estate cars that look more aggressive than a Supra, but this thing looks mean :cool:

 

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Thanks to a downpour this afternoon, I got a couple of hours to play with my paddle shifters. :eyebrows: Rather than mount them on an aftermarket wheel, I wanted to retain an OEM+ feel to the cabin, So I sourced a steering wheel from a MK3 MR2. The MR2 and Celica GEN7 use the same steering wheel as facelift Supra, just with a different airbag style. The Supra airbag does fit the wheel perfectly though. :)

 

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The reason I went for one of these is that they are plentiful, and newer than any Supra steering wheel. :)

 

Due to the design of the wheel, the paddles have to be mounted in the plastic cowl on the back of the wheel. Thankfully, they can just be fitted in the perfect position.

So, we start by marking the area of the cowl that needs to be cut. I found it easier to drill a hole in it first, so that the raised area on the back of the paddleshifter that accepts the fixing bolt doesn't stand proud.

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Once marked out, the cowl needs cutting. I would recommend a dremel for this, I used a scalpel and some modelling files, as my dremel is missing. Remember to make the hole slightly smaller than you need, and gradually increase it, so that the paddles fit snugly.

It should look something like this...

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The paddles can now be inserted.

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With the cowl refitted, it should look like this

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For the second paddle, it is just a mirror of the first. But remember, measure twice, cut once. :) Once fitted in the cowl, a hold needs drilling in the front of the wheel, to allow a bolt to secure the paddles in place. :)

 

This is what they look like installed

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The cables from each shifter then needs feeding through the wheel

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This is what they look like when done. :) Hopefully I'll get chance to fit the wheel at the weekend.

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The car's going in for a full underseal and cavity wax on Wednesday, as it should keep the rust at bay for years to come. :)

Edited by j_jza80 (see edit history)
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The buttons do have one upside. When you're driving in traffic they're really effective at engine braking the car, which can be done with one hand with the buttons. But, they are not sporty in the slightest. These AMG paddles have a satisfying click. :cool:

 

If you decide to go down the same path, give me a shout if you want any help. :)

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The buttons do have one upside. When you're driving in traffic they're really effective at engine braking the car, which can be done with one hand with the buttons. But, they are not sporty in the slightest. These AMG paddles have a satisfying click. :cool:

 

If you decide to go down the same path, give me a shout if you want any help. :)

 

The VVTI kicks down on steep hills into third without any input I noticed my old pre facelift autos didn't..

 

Is yours the same J?

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The VVTI kicks down on steep hills into third without any input I noticed my old pre facelift autos didn't..

 

Is yours the same J?

 

I'm not sure :) but I'll look into it.

 

Nice write up on the paddles Jay, they look completely OEM, the height etc looks spot on!!

 

Cheers mate, I spent ages looking at different setups, but these AMG ones were a much better overall package than any others.

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I got the car back on Friday, after having it waxoyled and undersealed. The Garage seem to have done a great job on it, and they said it was one of the cleanest cars that they had ever had on their ramps! Happy days.

 

So today, I set about fitting my new Paddle shift steering wheel. To start with I had to remove the old wheel, and we start this by disconnecting the battery to disable the airbag. The battery terminals are secured with a 10mm bolt. The car then needs leaving for 10 minutes, to ensure their is no charge left in the airbag system. I'm not sure if this is totally necessary, but it's not worth taking the risk! :D

 

Once the 10 minutes has past, we need to remove the airbag from the steering wheel. This is secured in place with 2x T30 Torx screws, one on each side of the wheel...

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The screws are stiff, and I needed to use a ratchet to remove them. Once unscrewed, the airbag/horn section of the wheel pulls forward with a bit of jiggling, leaving this...

 

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The yellow airbag cable connector needs removing, which is done by pressing the white tab in, and pulling the connector. The airbag/horn section then pulls free. Also disconnect the white tiptronic wiring plug just above, and the blue earth next to it.

 

Now to remove the wheel, which is secured in place by a single 19mm nut. The wheel then pulls off, with a bit of jiggling to free it from the column.

 

Once free, we need to remove the tiptronic loom from the wheel. There are a couple of cable ties to be cut, and then the buttons need removing. these are held in place by a single torx screw on each side.

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They simply then pull away.

 

As you can see, the tiptronic loom is soldered to the buttons

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These simply need cutting off, leaving as much wiring on the loom side as possible. Once this has been done on all four buttons, the loom should pull away from the wheel.

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Now we need the steering wheel that I made earlier :D

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The wires on the tiptronic loom need connecting to those from the paddle wires.

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To do this, the connectors need cutting from the end of the paddle shift wires. The wires with the blue sheath on the tiptronic loom signify the wiring for the 'down' buttons, and the black sheath the 'up' ones. As there are 4 buttons on the stock wheel, and we're only fitting 2 paddles, 2 lots of wiring will be redundant. These need insulating well with some tape.

 

The wires can then be connected up using some proper connectors, as below:

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The connections then need insulating, and then tucking out of the way inside the wheel. There is ample room for this. Do not leave them all over the place, as you don't want to cause any airbag issues!!!

 

Then reconnect the tiptronic wiring plug and earth. It should look like this when the wheel is put back in place.

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Reattach the airbag, not forgetting to reconnect the yellow airbag wiring plug, and secure in place using the T30s removed earlier.

 

Your finished article should look something like this...

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I can not recommend this upgrade enough to Tiptronic owners! :cool: It transforms the way that the car drives on decent roads, the AMG paddles giving a very satisfying 'snick' as the paddles are pulled. This is the car that the tiptronic Supra should always have been! I'm also very pleased with how it looks, although I'm tempted to go over the paddles with black Plastidip in the future, to make it a little bit more subtle.

Edited by j_jza80 (see edit history)
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