We reused the hose clamps from the original hoses on the new aluminum pipes. Interestingly Suzuki chose American hose clamps for its intercooler piping. We are pretty sure these are original as all four were identical. We gave them a quick scrub and lube before reusing the clamps.The new pipe kit did not come with any hose clamps. This meant we were four short. Fortunately, Dave Coleman gave us a perfect source of cheap, super high quality hose clamps. For the last 7ish years, whenever I hit a DIY junkyard, I always make a pass by the old German car section and raid the engine bay of every single Mercedes, Audi, and BMW I can that has hose clamps like this. Most of the time junkyard owners don’t even charge for a fistful of hose clamps. I picked out four of the appropriate size from my stash and put them to work in the Cappuccino.We found it was easier to remove the intercooler to fit the new pipes (since the old hoses had a lot of give and could bend in and out of position). Removing the intercooler is a matter of popping off the shroud and removing the three M6 bolts that secure it to the front bulkhead. You can see just how tiny it is here: it’s basically an oil cooler with pipes instead of fluid fittings. We’ve got a few ideas about how to make this better, but that is a project for another day. The intercooler pipes are a perfect fit. The silicone adapters are 4-ply and even include the step-down to the throttle body. For a no-name kit, this one is pretty good.While getting this car re-registered, the inspection found our exhaust was leaking just before the muffler. The old piping had rusted out. We used a patch kit to get us through inspection but we knew a new exhaust was going to be in the cards.We decided to replace the entire exhaust with a Fujitsubo Power Getter system. Fujitsubo offers a few different exhaust systems for the Cappuccino. The Power Getter is a full aftermarket-style exhaust that is designed to reduce weight and back pressure. Fujitsubo sells the exhaust in two kits. The first kit replaces the muffler and midpipe sections of the factory exhaust. The second kit replaces the front pipe up to the downpipe. You may notice a lack of catalytic converters: in the Cappuccino the catalytic convertor is cast into the turbo downpipe.
Duralast? Yuck. I wouldn’t count on any longevity out of that coil. Parts store brand stuff is awful quality in my experience unless something has recently changed. Looks like NGK and Delphi still supply coils for a 98 Metro for under $50. I’d go with one of those.
6 comments
This car is so cool. Thanks for the update.
Thank you! I’ve been enjoying learning all about this platform and I’m glad folks enjoy what I’ve put together.
What’s the part number for those NGK wires? I haven’t been able to find them anywhere. thx!!
RC-SE43. I actually found them on eBay if you can believe it. Search for EA11R plug wires
Awesome. 3 cyl motors sound a lot like straight 6’s the same way the inline 5s of RS3 and TTRS sound like their 10 cyl big brothers.
Duralast? Yuck. I wouldn’t count on any longevity out of that coil. Parts store brand stuff is awful quality in my experience unless something has recently changed. Looks like NGK and Delphi still supply coils for a 98 Metro for under $50. I’d go with one of those.