Interior 1st Gen Swap Possible? Differences between '04 and '06

Discussion in 'Tuning and Performance' started by GeorgeCo, Jun 9, 2011.

  1. GeorgeCo

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    #1 GeorgeCo, Jun 9, 2011
    Last edited: Jun 9, 2011
    I think I found the new(ish) car I want to buy so I was wondering if any of my old parts could swap out.

    I have a 9/03 build, MY 2004 MCS with Premium, Sport, Cold Weather Packages, Leather Upholstery, and the HK stereo w/DSP (pre-MP3 version).

    I love my car, but it's getting up in miles (147K) and any MCS with a sunroof isn't really a good starting point if you're trying to build a track car. Until I can (fix then) sell my E30 trackrat, this car will also have to be my daily driver so I don't want a complete hair-shirt of a car either. So here's what I found:

    2006 MCS w/45K miles. Cold Weather Package (a must in my book anywhere north of the Carolinas, at least until your put in race seats...), Limited Slip Differential, 6 speaker CD, cruise, and fogs. That's it. Oh, and leather (at least until I sell the interior.)

    Could I swap out some of the tech bits from the '04 and possibly put them in the '06? Not sure I want to since it's headed for the track but like to know if it's an option before I put the '04 up for sale. Specifically I'm thinking about:

    1. The tach. Is it the same part or changed because the steering wheel/housing has changed? Mostly I want to grab it because I have a shift light, volt meter and boost gauge already attached and I'm lazy.

    2. On-board computer. I've been told OBC is tied to VIN and ECU. Is that true? There's not some module I can just swap out and buda-bing, range and gas mileage in addition to temp?

    3. Aux input. Same cable to the back of the head unit?

    4. HK Boost. Can I just plug the boost unit into the pocket in the boot? Only likely to do if it's required to get #5 to work, otherwise, I'll pull out 4 of 6 speakers to save weight.

    5. Blitzsafe adapter. Along the same lines, can I just plug in the same blitzsafe adapter into the CD changer wiring for the xmdirect module?

    6. DSC. I usually drive with it off, but this car only shows ASC. Given that it comes w/factory LSD, do I care? Is it a plug & play module, if so where?

    7. Springs. In '04 the "Sport Suspension Setting Plus" was standard. Also the case in '06? I abandoned it pretty early on in the life of the car, but I think I have the bits around some place. Mostly I'm interested if the spring rates were the same from '04 - '06 as I'll likely put the stock '06 suspension on the '04 to sell it and move the Konis/H&R Sports over to the new car eventually.

    8. Lower Control Arms. Were the '06 control arms made out of the same tin foil as the earlier versions?

    9. Any known weak points in the '06 cars? The '04 proved to be pretty stout. Other than going through 3 oil pans and 4 gaskets I can't say I had any repeat failings. Any thing to watch out for in the later cars?

    10. Factory LSD. I had a Quaife. How do they compare?

    11. Exhaust hangers. Is the only difference the orientation of the outermost hanger? I think the '04's run lengthwise with the car, and at some point they changed to perpendicular (or other way around.) Same basic position? Can I just heat and twist or have to reposition and weld if I want to bring my exhaust over? How about putting the stock exhaust from an '06 on the '04? Production date of this car is April '06.
     

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