Converting my 2011 GTS into SLS
Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2018 3:59 pm
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
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