Converting my 2011 GTS into SLS

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johnhenrydale
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:08 am
Location: Miami Beach, FL

What's happening Kizashilandia ?
It's been a good while since I've posted in here, but rest assured I've been enjoying my 2011 GTS 6-speed manual on a mostly daily basis and, at nearly 60k miles, have encountered exactly zero major issues. I plan on keeping this car until it won't run anymore, so recently I decided to undertake a project I've been thinking about for a few years now: converting a GTS manual into an SLS Manual. My now ex-wife got the silver SLS that I originally purchased as part of an amicable divorce settlement and I kept the manual since she doesn't drive stick. I really love the manual driving experience, but I also really preferred the leather / heated seats, voice-controlled navigation, and back up camera that came on the SLS.

But as you probably are all aware, the SLS manuals are a very rare version of this car. I've looked high and low and haven't seen another one come up for sale since about two years ago when the last one I saw for sale was from Armykizyguy92 here on the forum. I believe that car ended up down in Florida, near enough to where I live in Miami that I could have gone and picked it up on a day trip. But having seen the history of that car here on Kizashi Club and knowing it had probably seen some "spirited" driving and more than a few mods (including the RRM turbo conversion as I recall?) , I decided against buying that one.

Soooo, fast forward to now and, on a whim, I started browsing the interwebs for OEM Kizashi parts, including leather seats and found a whole set of front and rear black leather seats from a 2011 SLS in pretty decent condition for $545.00 on Ebay from a used parts dealer called LKQ (http://stores.ebay.com/LKQonline).

Apparently a tree fell on donor car so the airbags have never blown. Almost all the other seats I've seen on used part sites have blown airbags, so these seemed like something I should probably jump on immediately. Once I clicked "Buy It Now" I realized I had just committed myself to my first major project on this car: a GTS to SLS manual conversion.

I also plan on changing out the head unit to the Scosche / Alpine carplay unit detailed by Chazyouwin from last year.
There is also an SLS climate unit on ebay for 75.00, so I can hook up the heated seat buttons.

Questions for @Kuronekko : were all the SLS leather seats heated ? Does the SLS have different suspension / shocks than the GTS. Can you point me to a full list of the differences between these two models ?

I'd also LOVE to be able to get a functional higher-quality-than-OEM-SLS reverse camera (which wasn't really that high quality) hooked up that will engage when I put the car in reverse.

Any suggestions on the best way to accomplish any of these interior mods will be greatly appreciated as this project moves forward. The leather seats should be here next week, so I will start posting up pictures and video when they do.

Thanks and look forward to probably being a LOT more active on this forum in the coming months.

JHD
2011 Kizashi Sport "GLS" 2WD
(GTS Upgrade project)
6sp MT
Azure Gray Metallic
Anthracite Gray Vossen CVT 19" / 5 x 114.3 +32
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KuroNekko
Posts: 5170
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:08 pm
Location: California, USA

Good to hear from you again. I recall a while ago that we discussed in PMs about you getting a '11 Sport GTS manual. You said after getting both Kizashis that they weren't too different but it looks like now you get to keep a manual Kizashi all for yourself.

As for Armykizyguy92's Kizashi, he actually traded it in before the turbo was installed. He had purchased the turbo kit but didn't come around to installing it before he traded in his Kizashi for a WRX. He stated the dealership was interested in the turbo kit but I have strong doubts they ever installed it. I think a stock SLS is much more valuable than a modded one for a used car dealer.

I wish I can give you more details on the SLS but I own a Sport GTS so I don't have first hand experience. However, I can probably answer some of your questions and hopefully other Kizashi owners can chime in with what they know or have experience with.

As for "were all the SLS leather seats heated ?"
Yes. All SLS models got leather seats and the fronts were heated.

"Does the SLS have different suspension / shocks than the GTS?"
No. The Sport GTS and the Sport SLS share the same suspension. If anything, it's the AWD system that has a factor in suspension components.

"Can you point me to a full list of the differences between these two models ?"
Fortunately, I can but for MY 2012. This is because I actually went into a Suzuki dealer in late 2011 or early 2012 and took home a Kizashi brochure. At the back, it features a chart listing the differences in the trims. Here they are:

Sport SLS Model (includes all Sport GTS features plus):
Exterior:
- Automatic headlamp control
- Automatic Rain-sensing wipers
- Rear sonar parking assist
- Heated Outside Mirrors (may only be for AWD)

Interior:
- Leather-appointed interior with heated front seats
- 4-way power front passenger's seat.
- Homelink remote wireless control system
- Automatic day/night rear-view mirror

Available Equipment:
- Navigation (deletes streaming audio) with traffic and rear vision camera
- XM Satellite Radio.

While it shouldn't affect you much, keep in mind the manual trans Kizashi started getting dumbed down after MY 2011. In MY 2012, they eliminated the moonroof and the power driver's seat for manual Sport GTS models. In 2013, they got rid of the manual transmission for all but the base S model. The model year after, Suzuki wasn't selling new cars in the US.

Best of luck in your quest. I personally think it makes more sense to upgrade the car as you desire rather than trying to make it exactly like a stock Sport SLS. Upgrading the seats and nav with a better camera makes a lot of sense but the automatic headlamp control and rain-sensing wipers seem more trouble and money than they're worth but that's just me. As you know, I like to put my money and time into lighting mods and I strongly suggest an HID or LED kit for an upscale Kizashi if you haven't already.

I look forward to seeing how this comes along.
2011 Suzuki Kizashi Sport GTS 6MT (Black)
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johnhenrydale
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:08 am
Location: Miami Beach, FL

Thanks Kuro !
Yes, I can definitely live without automatic headlamp control and rain-sensing wipers, so this won't be a fully accurate GTS>SLS conversion. I can also live without the parking sensors if I have a decent backup camera, but will try to find out if it is, in fact, possible to retrofit an SLS bumper with sensors to a GTS. I did like having parking sensors as an extra safety measure since the OEM SLS backup camera's resolution was not great and did not include any graphical overlay guides to guage distance to objects.

I think the real trick here will be to make the Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Adapter fully integrate into the steering wheel functions. I know chazyouwin had some difficultis on this particular aspect of his Scosche/Alpine ilx-207 install, but this is pretty critical for me as I always use the steering wheel controls for phone calls.

I'm going to look into the HID light upgrade too later on as Iike the modern HID/ LED look too, but my starting points on this project will be interior seating, stereo, and reverse camera installations. This should be a fun project so stay tuned !
2011 Kizashi Sport "GLS" 2WD
(GTS Upgrade project)
6sp MT
Azure Gray Metallic
Anthracite Gray Vossen CVT 19" / 5 x 114.3 +32
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Woodie
Posts: 1167
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 10:09 am
Location: Laurel, MD

I wouldn't touch the stereo. The Rockford Fosgate front end is the best choice. If you must have a back up camera, then get one that displays in the mirror.
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johnhenrydale
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:08 am
Location: Miami Beach, FL

The original RF fascia is not a bad look for sure, but I really want Carplay and Spotify etc. on a modern touchscreen as well as navigation on something bigger than my phone screen. I really thought chazyowin's build looked pretty good too with the Scosche adapter. It's a tasteful update imo.
2011 Kizashi Sport "GLS" 2WD
(GTS Upgrade project)
6sp MT
Azure Gray Metallic
Anthracite Gray Vossen CVT 19" / 5 x 114.3 +32
User avatar
johnhenrydale
Posts: 100
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:08 am
Location: Miami Beach, FL

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2011 Kizashi Sport "GLS" 2WD
(GTS Upgrade project)
6sp MT
Azure Gray Metallic
Anthracite Gray Vossen CVT 19" / 5 x 114.3 +32
SamirD
Posts: 3074
Joined: Thu Dec 05, 2013 4:07 pm
Location: HSV and SFO
Contact:

Nice work! How much further have you come along on this?
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