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Thursday, March 19, 2015

Injen Intake on the MKVI GTI


As we had mentioned in some of our earlier posts, the Golf GTI is sharing a much larger portion of screen time in this season. This was one of our biggest mods on the GTI, and it actually took longer to install than we had originally expected. Not because it was difficult, but because we ran into some "technical difficulties".

Well, not really technical difficulties, it's just that we broke a hack saw in the process. [Pause for effect] If you feel that cutting some intake piping is a bit intimidating, don't worry. Honestly, pretty much any cutting tool with some teeth will eat right through the intake piping. Though I would suggest cutting tools rated for metal cutting, unless you don't mind shortening the lifespan of your blade. I think power tools are the way to go though, but at the time, we couldn't afford any. This is what it means to be modding in your own garage, taking whatever you have and making it work!

As far as a bolt-on goes, this was a pretty straightforward installation. If you are going to be doing this as a first time thing, then expect to spend two to three hours on it. If you are a veteran, it would probably take you thirty minutes or so. Again, we took longer because of our broken saw, and also because we had to film each step.

We would like to thank our sponsor, Apex Performance, for their help on this episode. Modding can get expensive, but we can work on our cars a lot more often with their help. Be sure to check them out, let them know Machine Zealots sent you, and I'm sure they would take care of you!


Thursday, March 5, 2015

Kartboy Short Throw Shifter


The Kartboy Short Throw Shifter is probably one of the most popular short throw shifters out on the Subaru market today. I've heard tons of good reviews on this shifter when I was researching, and though many other brands had just as many good reviews, the Kartboy shifter seemed like a no brainer.

Needless to say, I am giving this shifter a five star review. The build quality is solid, and in some ways, it feels even more solid than the stock unit. The installation itself, as you can see in the video, isn't too daunting of a task. However, there are some little things we learned on the way to make the install even easier.

In one part of the video, we came up with an easy solution for re-installing the reverse spring pin. By using a paper clip, we bypassed one of the toughest steps in the installation. Try not using the paper clip, or equivalence, and see what I mean.

The only thing that could be a potential issue would be the reverse check cable under the car. Some people have had their cable utterly chewed up because of the spinning drive shaft. The solution to that problem is shown in this video, though it is referring to another video on the actual instructions on how to bypass it. If you are smart, you can do it just looking at this video.

The video it's referring to will be a future episode, relative to this one. However, once that video has been uploaded, viewers of this video will have the luxury of moving straight to that video.

I would say the difficulty of the installation is a 3/5. With the help of a partner, it becomes even easier. Installation time should be around an hour to three hours, depending on your skill level. Having the tools listed in this video will help the process as well. We know that people in the past have used substitute tools to do some of the tasks, but it's up to each person.

Again, overall super satisfied with this mod, and would recommend anyone who has a stick shift Subaru to pick one up. I'd say, a short throw shifter and a cat-back exhaust are the bare minimum modifications you must have on any WRX or STI.