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MY12.5 SSV Z Series Sportswagon

Commjunk

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Bringing this thread up to speed, it's been a productive few months of ownership with some subtle upgrades to the wagon. Starting off with the interior as mentioned in the list below, the HSVi steering wheel & leather console alone have made a world of difference in terms of comfort & feel over the original stock items, not to mention they spruce up the interior nicely also. Not long after, I added a genuine HSV gauge kit & gloss black dash trims, sourced from Lsxtreme. With the added benefit of new LEDs fitted to the gauges they should be trouble-free for years to come. Each to their own on the subject of mixing HSV parts to a Commodore, but I'd rather have some vital readings present than none at all, they look right at home too - so money definitely well spent & all done like it was from factory.

The exterior, only a few minor changes here as I don't want to go overboard. I had in mind a black on silver theme for the car so a set of staggered HF-20's went on to replace the chrome Redline 19's which dramatically changed the look for the better in my opinion & well priced out of the selection of new OEM wheels. Further removing the chrome accents around the car, another essential upgrade was the VF Phantom Black tailgate mold trim, which came complete including the improved reverse camera. With this in place of the chrome mold trim, it does tend to make the tailgate somewhat bland so I'll be playing around with refitting the lion badge again to see if it helps. Adding to the rear end, more recently I bit the bullet & bought a genuine rear wind deflector also, which sits atop of the tailgate spoiler. So far I am happy with it & it does seem to help with keeping the rear window & tailgate cleaner. It does interfere somewhat to the sleek roofline of the wagon, however it doesn't look completely out of place IMO, moreso it gives an added aero appearance slightly reminiscent of the deflectors fitted to the VN-VS wagons back in the day.

As I do fair amount of highway driving I have had an aftermarket bonnet protector sitting around waiting to go on also, however in 2 minds whether to fit it. Combined with the sports armour & rear deflector I have to make a choice on whether to remove one out of the mix to avoid the "cluttered" look, despite all serving a useful purpose I'd rather not ruin the smooth lines of the wagon, so I'm looking in the sports armours direction. A decision will be made once I fit the protector.

Among it all, some performance & noise has been added as well. Another job which has been waiting to be undertaken was to get the R8 headers + cats fitted to complete the exhaust system which I finished installing yesterday. Prior to that I had picked up a GTS H-pipe centre section & a set of Rapid Exhausts "Marriage savers" rear mufflers. All in all, this particular set-up has made for a drone-free system for the wagon but still with enough noise at idle & under throttle to make any V8 fan content. Performance-wise, there is no doubt some extra get-up-&-go now throughout the RPM range, however the note alone is enough to be happy with. For those that are curious, swapping out the stock SS "log" manifolds in favour of the tubular R8 headers results in the obvious deeper note & some noticeably improved engine noise (the good sort!) when planting the foot. She definitely feels & sounds awake now.

On a side note, the 02 sensor extension loom is a must for the peace of mind even with the stock HSV headers it's too tight of a fit without it (this tends to get neglected for a mention around the web I've noticed).

Pics to come shortly.

Interior:
- HSVi black leather flat-bottom steering wheel
- Genuine HSV gauge kit & trim
- Genuine black leather console lid
- Gloss black dash trims

Exterior:
- HSVi HF-20 staggered gloss black wheels w/ Bridgestone tyres (F- 245/35/20 R- 275/30/20)
- Genuine VF phantom black tailgate mould
- Genuine rear wind deflector

Performance:
- HSV R8 headers & cats (w/ LHS 02 sensor extension)
- HSV GTS "H-pipe" centre section
- Rapid Exhaust "Marriage Savers" mufflers

To be fitted:
- Tinted bonnet protector
- Rubber dust caps (for LED low beams)
 
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VS 5.0

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All sounds good but needs pics.
 

Commjunk

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A few recent pics taken after a wash yesterday. Bonnet protector fitted & the tailgate SSV badge removed, so far I am happy with either choice. Though, looking at the rear end I've concluded that I made the wrong decision in ordering a slim line plate, so a standard sized replacement may be on the cards next to fill that area & look "centralized" before my OCD goes off the charts! Other than that, I think a VF Redline rear brake upgrade to balance things out would have me pretty content with it.
 

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Treeman574

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Looks great! Really like the hsv tail lights :)

Imo the rear brembo calipers make a fairly small difference around town. Where they really shine is after a few heavy stops on the track. For a daily some nice pads and fluid will make a bigger difference.

How hard was the gauge cluster install? I've read the entire dash needs to come out and there's a bit of wiring to be done...
 

Commjunk

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Needs an Otr and tune mate;) livens them up nicely

So I've heard mate!

Looks great! Really like the hsv tail lights :)

Imo the rear brembo calipers make a fairly small difference around town. Where they really shine is after a few heavy stops on the track. For a daily some nice pads and fluid will make a bigger difference.

How hard was the gauge cluster install? I've read the entire dash needs to come out and there's a bit of wiring to be done...

Cheers! Yeah the tail lights are a favourite of mine as well, one of the first purchases I made for it. I was stoked to see they had finally released a new design after all these years.

Installing the gauge cluster was fairly straight forward & only needs 6 wires to be spliced in, the rest of the loom for the gauges is plug & play. There are various trim pieces that need to be removed to be able to take the stereo fascia out, but that's honestly as hard as it gets!
 

sleepa

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Looks awesome mate, very tasteful mods.
Might have to borrow some ideas.
 
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