My mod on B9 so far...

[TribecaAussie]

Hey guys,

Just make a new thread to include all my mods for this baby so far. I'll post the latest pics as soon as I got it though. Anyone needs some info about this please do ask. I'm more than happy to help.

1. Install front Chorme mesh grill. (DIY installation)
2. Install front black bottom mesh grill (right under number plate mount) (DIY)
3. install SideStep (big looking improvement and big door ding protection)
4. Install Chrome Rear gate bar (DIY)
5. Some painting.
6. Replace all interior lights by white led light (dome light, driver and map light, cargo light,... to match the white odormeter light and HID headlight)
7. Replace all brake/stop light, side signal light, backup light, parking light... by led light (Red, Yellow and white accordingly)
8. HID headlight.

Due to wanrranty issue so I haven't got a change to mod the engine yet, maybe 3 years later though.
Some mods considering :
1. put air intake insert from ebay (not sure it would improve mpg or not, idea anyone ???.
2. Change lower profile tire with 20 - 22" black/chrome wheel. This is big headache since my wife will damage the wheel as soon as I put it on (expericenced from previous car) :eek:
3. Install Mcintosh amp and replace all speakers ( not sure if I can DIY with this). I believe Aussie model doesn't have a sub under passenger's seat though. There is SAT NAV DVD unit instead).

I'll post the pic after cleaning up the car.

Cheers

[Hum]

Sounds like you really love your car. I'm also thinking of replacing my speakers, I'm not that happy with the sound, especially the Bass. I might go Infinity speakers they have a nice quality sound with good Bass. I really want to change might lights over, I just don't know what kind of LED's to buy. What did you use for the inside?
Thanks for all your help.

[Hum]

Mate, I forgot to ask you, with our rear tail lights, only one side light up, the side on the tail gate don't light up. With the U.S. models they both light up. Do you think the wiring is there to connect a bulb, you seem to be handy when it comes to the lights, please let me know, thanks.

[DizzyV6P]

The cheap air intakes found on ebay have been known to brake and be sucked into your engine, thereby destroying it. Save your money and get an AEM Cold air intake type system :) I'll check w/ AEM at the next SEMA later this year to see if they have any plans to make one for the Tribecas

[TribecaAussie]

The cheap air intakes found on ebay have been known to brake and be sucked into your engine, thereby destroying it. Save your money and get an AEM Cold air intake type system :) I'll check w/ AEM at the next SEMA later this year to see if they have any plans to make one for the Tribecas

Good to know man, thanks a lot. I'm more of electrical and audio stuffs, not smart at engine though. Let us know when you got info of AEM.

[TribecaAussie]

Sounds like you really love your car. I'm also thinking of replacing my speakers, I'm not that happy with the sound, especially the Bass. I might go Infinity speakers they have a nice quality sound with good Bass. I really want to change might lights over, I just don't know what kind of LED's to buy. What did you use for the inside?
Thanks for all your help.


Well, it's not a shame when we say we love our car, do we ? :p
Yeaah, agree that the base sound is not very good. Ifinity would be nice, but you should add some more power for them though. Good speakers can't be sound as its best without a good amlifier.

For the Led, you can go to Ebay and buy from this guy warden_jp2002. (http://myworld.ebay.com.au/warden_jp2002/)

Good shipping and cheapest price on ebay. Just mention me (Vincent from Sydney)to him so he can discount for me a bit later :lol:.
Note: try to buy kit with more LED on it as possible so the light will be brighter (mine are from 36 to 48 LEDs each bulb).

I.e: for front parking light and backup light I bought these "2pcs 168 194 Wide Angle 12 LED (Xenon White) Wedge Bulb"

For dome light or map light, I bought "31mm 3022 3175 9 LED (Xenon White) Festoon Bulb". There is 12 Led Bulb, but 6 leds facing down and 6 facing up, so I think it will not as bright as this 9 Led bulb with all 9 leds facing down.And I'm correct. The result was so good.

You should check to see how many you need, type of bulb and buy at one time to save on shipping fee ( although it's not expensive).

Also there is tricky with type of front and rear signal bulb (different type), brake/stop light so check careful to get the right once. Let me know if I can help.
These Led bulbs draw a very little power so we don't worry 'bout the battery when letting them on....

Have fun to work around mate....

[TribecaAussie]

Mate, I forgot to ask you, with our rear tail lights, only one side light up, the side on the tail gate don't light up. With the U.S. models they both light up. Do you think the wiring is there to connect a bulb, you seem to be handy when it comes to the lights, please let me know, thanks.

I think the US model got the same light with us though ! Anyone here has a check please ? Otherwise, there must be a pre-wire connection there. I was wondering 'bout that light right at the time of buying it as well. It would be nice to light them up.

[pqspin]

any pics?

[HB_Dad]

any pics?
That's what I'm wondering as well.


Hey guys,
2. Install front black bottom mesh grill (right under number plate mount) (DIY)


I'm cursious about this as I've been wanting this myself. I'd like to know what it took to fabricate and install the insert and what supplies are needed. Please post some pics of this.

[TribecaAussie]

That's what I'm wondering as well.




I'm cursious about this as I've been wanting this myself. I'd like to know what it took to fabricate and install the insert and what supplies are needed. Please post some pics of this.

Sorry guys, abit delay, it's raining dogs n cats here so, couldn't have a change to clean up the car. I will post on Friday.

Cheers

[SGT Goltz]

The cheap air intakes found on ebay have been known to brake and be sucked into your engine, thereby destroying it. Save your money and get an AEM Cold air intake type system :) I'll check w/ AEM at the next SEMA later this year to see if they have any plans to make one for the Tribecas

:Dunno: An aluminum pipe is an aluminum pipe. The one I used was plenty thick to withstand being sucked in by the engine. I have used E-bay intakes for years and the piping is the same. I purchased an Injin a number of years back and a E-bay one and compared the two. Aside from the injin sticker they looked exactly the same. I also don't see how a solid pipe with no welds can break unless your using it as a boost pipe. Even then it would never happen it would just collapse and then the cupler would pope off and it still wouldn't get sucked in. The E-bay aluminum piping is many times stronger then the stock OEM plastic intake. If you want the sound but don't want to use the E-bay intake there is a way too do it.

Step one: Remove the resonator at the bottom of the airbox.
Step two: replace the airbox right before the TB with a 90 degree 3" hose. Step three: pull the little airbox in the middle of the plastic pipe and cover the hole with something.

You will probably end up with it being louder then with an aluminum pipe as plastic tends to resonate a lot.

As far as the stereo it is really easy to add an amp to our cars i got the radio harness diagram from the dealer and it shows you the color of all the wires and where they go. You just get a good quality low-line converter and run RCA's like normal. the sound wouldn't be as good as if you had real 4 volt RCA's but I bet it would still sound better then the stock radio/speakers. If you pull the panels in the back there is a lot of room to mount amps or do a custom fiberglass sub-box. If the guy ever gets my door panels done I will be posting a detailed how to on adding a amp to the factory stereo.

[DizzyV6P]

Since he mentioned "air intake insert", I thought he was talking about those vortex type things that you put within the current intake system, not a mandrel bent pipe :)

If its a mandrel bent type pipe, then yeah, go for it. I'll update everyone on my discussions w/ the other manufacturers regarding building one for the Tribeca's.

[SGT Goltz]

Since he mentioned "air intake insert", I thought he was talking about those vortex type things that you put within the current intake system, not a mandrel bent pipe :)

If its a mandrel bent type pipe, then yeah, go for it. I'll update everyone on my discussions w/ the other manufacturers regarding building one for the Tribeca's.

Ah, I see where the disconect was. you had me woudnering there for a secand. Yea I wouldn't touch those vortex inserts for a secand. The whole point of swaping out the stock pipe is to get rid of the turbulance to allow for better flow.

Tommarow I will do a write up on how to size and cut out a grill. it involves some plastic wrap a can of spray glue and some carboard. :D

[TribecaAussie]

Ah, I see where the disconect was. you had me woudnering there for a secand. Yea I wouldn't touch those vortex inserts for a secand. The whole point of swaping out the stock pipe is to get rid of the turbulance to allow for better flow.

Tommarow I will do a write up on how to size and cut out a grill. it involves some plastic wrap a can of spray glue and some carboard. :D

Yeah man, you're right, but since I have 3 years wanrranty remain so nothing can be done with the engine until then. Just some minor tweaks to work around.... :lol:

[TribecaAussie]

I think the US model got the same light with us though ! Anyone here has a check please ? Otherwise, there must be a pre-wire connection there. I was wondering 'bout that light right at the time of buying it as well. It would be nice to light them up.

I checked last night and confirm that there's a hole in there on the tailgate actuallly, but Subaru seal it up by a screw and no pre-wire connector available there. You can see it by removing the small cover at the back of the gate (either side), the hole I'm talking about is just above the backup light.

[TribecaAussie]

Some night shots
Shots for HID and Led lights

[TribecaAussie]

Shots for HID and Led lights

Interior view with Leds

[Hum]

Awesome Pics, How can anyone say the Tribeca is ugly, your car looks hot. I can't wait to start playing around with mine, thanks for sharing.

[TribecaAussie]

Awesome Pics, How can anyone say the Tribeca is ugly, your car looks hot. I can't wait to start playing around with mine, thanks for sharing.
Hey, thanks mate... I love her no matter what people say... do you ? :p

Just got a lots of turning heads whenever my car passing by though, and hell I couldn't finish my car wash everytime taking her there, people just keep asking... :lol: ...

My very next job is 'bout to re-build sound system...but it's kind of PITA and timing consumption though.

A note on signal led replacement : you have to replace the Led flasher for them. Otherwise they will flash like crazy... you know what happen there...
Other parking leds, brake/tail, interior leds... are just fine, just replace with the old ones.

[hawker800mech]

I just noticed the Aussies get a different front valance than the States. I like yours much better. Looks a little more aggressive. Can someone ship one over for me?:)

[nycb9]

Interior view with Leds

Excellent mods...your truck looks great! I dig the mesh job. Also, where is all the blue light coming from bathing the center console? That looks so cool mixed in with the red. Please let us know how you achieved that effect.

Thanks so much...Joe

[DizzyV6P]

Excellent mods...your truck looks great! I dig the mesh job. Also, where is all the blue light coming from bathing the center console? That looks so cool mixed in with the red. Please let us know how you achieved that effect.

Thanks so much...Joe

He switched the red LED light that's located by the sunglass holder to a blue LED light ;) I'm actually considering doing the same thing.

[HB_Dad]

He switched the red LED light that's located by the sunglass holder to a blue LED light ;) I'm actually considering doing the same thing.

Forgive my ignorance on this, but is doing that hard, or is it as simple as a bulb change?

I love the bottom bumper cover. Looks sharp.

The chrome rails on the side look great! Do they get in the way of puddle lights though?

[timothyklam]

Where did you buy the Chrome Rear gate bar ?

Thanks, Tim

[TribecaAussie]

I'm crazy with the agreement everytime turning on the key to use the SAT NAV. I know it is somewhere on the DVD but currently its size is around 6Gb so couldn't find any blank DVD on market which has the same size to burn/mod the original one. Anyone got idea ?

[TribecaAussie]

Where did you buy the Chrome Rear gate bar ?

Thanks, Tim

I bought it from a local store here in Sydney.

Sorry couldn't help you there... V

[boostnscooby]

i noticed that your taillights have amber in them for the turn signal. do all tribecas in austrailia have them like that? if so, is there any way you could post a part number from the dealer? i live in the u.s. and im not a fan of red turn signals in the rear, not as noticable. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Magic Marker]

i noticed that your taillights have amber in them for the turn signal. do all tribecas in austrailia have them like that? if so, is there any way you could post a part number from the dealer? i live in the u.s. and im not a fan of red turn signals in the rear, not as noticable. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Having amber rear turn signals would be a nice subtle difference. Although no one would really even notice unless it was a B9 owner.

[boostnscooby]

Having amber rear turn signals would be a nice subtle difference. Although no one would really even notice unless it was a B9 owner.

thats my kinda style. subtle and unique. doing things to a car that only an enthusiast would recognize is what im after with this tribeca.

[Magic Marker]

thats my kinda style. subtle and unique. doing things to a car that only an enthusiast would recognize is what im after with this tribeca.
True, I agree on that point. It would just be very expensive to get those tails over to the US. If you get them, let me know how the order process went.

[SubOperator]

True, I agree on that point. It would just be very expensive to get those tails over to the US. If you get them, let me know how the order process went.

Once we know the part number, we should be able to order them through one of many online stores that allow one order any Subaru parts by part number. After all, all Tribecas are manufactured in US and I don't think they would bother swapping taillights at the port of destination/dealer site overseas.

The only forbidding factor can be price. Amber ligths are cool (and safer to ride with IMO) but I don't feel I am ready to shell out couple hundred bucks just for that.

[Magic Marker]

Once we know the part number, we should be able to order them through one of many online stores that allow one order any Subaru parts by part number. After all, all Tribecas are manufactured in US and I don't think they would bother swapping taillights at the port of destination/dealer site overseas.

The only forbidding factor can be price. Amber ligths are cool (and safer to ride with IMO) but I don't feel I am ready to shell out couple hundred bucks just for that.
I keep going back and forth on my opinion of rear amber turn signals. Back in the day I had red turns on my Chevy Cavalier wishing they were amber. Then I bought my 96 Civic which had amber. I liked them for a while, but ended up swapping the tails for a clear lens turn signal w/ amber bulb. So I kinda like amber, but my tastes always change depending on the car.

BTW, as B9's go are Austrailian B9's the same as UKDM? Do they even have B9's in the UK?

[SubOperator]

Just checked https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html and tail light lenses are under $70 each. Now I wonder if those are US spec or worldwide spec. For that much money I can totally see putting amber turn lights on our Beca.

[boostnscooby]

thanks. i e-mailed them to find out about the amber. i'll let you know if they have amber lenses or not.

[Magic Marker]

thanks. i e-mailed them to find out about the amber. i'll let you know if they have amber lenses or not.

I'd be interested if you were able to get some amber turn signals.

[SubOperator]

Ok, the story continues. I had a day off today and stopped at the dealer. Unfortunatelly the parts guy was out too :) but I talked to some other folks at service dept and they said that they should be able to track exact part number only if they would have a VIN number. So, say if I give them VIN of our Beca, the system would come up with part number for that particular VIN and as far as lenses go, system would give them part number for US spec tail light.

So, if they were to track rest-of-the-world tail light lens (amber turn light) part number, they would need VIN from a Tribeca that is manufactured for the rest of the world.

Here comes the request to any member of this forum who owns a 06-07 Tribeca outside North America - could you post the VIN number for your car ? Or, of your dealer is friendly enough, could you find out what is the part number for non-US spec tail light (one with amber turn light) ? Thank you.

Apparently people who own grey-market delivered Tribeca can't help cause it would be US spec VIN anyway.

[Magic Marker]

That is very interesting that they can only look up parts by VIN.

[boostnscooby]

I'd be interested if you were able to get some amber turn signals.
they e-mailed me back. all they sell is US spec parts. they only have red the lenses.

[Magic Marker]

they e-mailed me back. all they sell is US spec parts. they only have red the lenses.
Someone out there must have amber tails.

[Tribeca_PL]

Do you have different rear view mirrors (bigger than US type) or it's just an illusion ?

Thanks

[TribecaAussie]

Do you have different rear view mirrors (bigger than US type) or it's just an illusion ?

Thanks
Yeb, it's definitely much bigger than any other crossover vehicle here (Ford teritory, Mazda CX7, Nissan Murano, Lexus, X-trail....) and we are extremely happy with it for blind spot...

[jamaitin]

Those are the mirrors that come on the 2008 model in the U.S.

[puffyy]

Well, it's not a shame when we say we love our car, do we ? :p
Yeaah, agree that the base sound is not very good. Ifinity would be nice, but you should add some more power for them though. Good speakers can't be sound as its best without a good amlifier.

For the Led, you can go to Ebay and buy from this guy warden_jp2002. (http://myworld.ebay.com.au/warden_jp2002/)

Good shipping and cheapest price on ebay. Just mention me (Vincent from Sydney)to him so he can discount for me a bit later :lol:.
Note: try to buy kit with more LED on it as possible so the light will be brighter (mine are from 36 to 48 LEDs each bulb).

I.e: for front parking light and backup light I bought these "2pcs 168 194 Wide Angle 12 LED (Xenon White) Wedge Bulb"

For dome light or map light, I bought "31mm 3022 3175 9 LED (Xenon White) Festoon Bulb". There is 12 Led Bulb, but 6 leds facing down and 6 facing up, so I think it will not as bright as this 9 Led bulb with all 9 leds facing down.And I'm correct. The result was so good.

You should check to see how many you need, type of bulb and buy at one time to save on shipping fee ( although it's not expensive).

Also there is tricky with type of front and rear signal bulb (different type), brake/stop light so check careful to get the right once. Let me know if I can help.
These Led bulbs draw a very little power so we don't worry 'bout the battery when letting them on....

Have fun to work around mate....

How easy is it to install the LED front lights. Also where the ones inside the dome easy to change.

[puffyy]

Well, it's not a shame when we say we love our car, do we ? :p
Yeaah, agree that the base sound is not very good. Ifinity would be nice, but you should add some more power for them though. Good speakers can't be sound as its best without a good amlifier.

For the Led, you can go to Ebay and buy from this guy warden_jp2002. (http://myworld.ebay.com.au/warden_jp2002/)

Good shipping and cheapest price on ebay. Just mention me (Vincent from Sydney)to him so he can discount for me a bit later :lol:.
Note: try to buy kit with more LED on it as possible so the light will be brighter (mine are from 36 to 48 LEDs each bulb).

I.e: for front parking light and backup light I bought these "2pcs 168 194 Wide Angle 12 LED (Xenon White) Wedge Bulb"

For dome light or map light, I bought "31mm 3022 3175 9 LED (Xenon White) Festoon Bulb". There is 12 Led Bulb, but 6 leds facing down and 6 facing up, so I think it will not as bright as this 9 Led bulb with all 9 leds facing down.And I'm correct. The result was so good.

You should check to see how many you need, type of bulb and buy at one time to save on shipping fee ( although it's not expensive).

Also there is tricky with type of front and rear signal bulb (different type), brake/stop light so check careful to get the right once. Let me know if I can help.
These Led bulbs draw a very little power so we don't worry 'bout the battery when letting them on....

Have fun to work around mate....


Hi there I have a question about your front parking lights. You say that you order them from ebay. I order the same one's you say. "2pcs 168 194 Wide Angle 12 LED (Xenon White) Wedge Bulb" but they don't fit in the front parking lights, did you use these LED for the backup lights. Please help me out.

[qarlik]

Hi
How you install HID With DRL?

[Hum]

We never got DRL in OZ so it wasn't a problem!