All Things Motoring in Japan

[Wage Slave]

So, the topic comes up quite a lot but perhaps it would be useful to have a place to ruminate, share knowledge as well as blow off steam.

I'll kick off with things ETC. I recently bought a ETC machine on here for 2,500 delivered which I can easily get back in one trip if it's at the weekend or a holiday. Am I correct? It is still 1,000 yen for anywhere in Japan? In any case, it's a very useful and moneysaving bit of kit to have.

So, it came with an adapter for the cigar lighter which means I can just plug it in, pop it somewhere out of the way, stick the transmitter thing on the dashboard with velcro or something and I am away. That leads to my next question.

When get a card from Autobacs to put in it, is the account specific to my car or just an account that needs to be paid up? In other words, can I use the card in either of my cars or even lend it to my brother in law to use in his car?

I have more questions but that is a good start.

[allblacks]

I will lend a hand answering questions on ETC and anything else I have knowledge on.

Your car is a certain type. A sedan, a Kei, etc. Autobacs will program it to the type for you. Then you can just put it on your dashboard and plug it in.

You need to apply for a ETC card. There are a number of places where you can do that. http://www.go-etc.jp/english/introduction/index.html

ABs

[Wage Slave]

OK very useful link. So I get the card from my credit card company and the reader/transmitter is specific to the vehicle. In that case, it may as well be fitted "permanently".

My device is a three piece unit. the diagram shows it fitted like this:



So, more questions

1. Should the antenna bit be fitted on the windscreen behind the mirror in all cases or do some models (including mine) fit on front of the dashboard?

2. Where is a good place to take power from if I want to hard wire it in? I have a Honda Fit. The cigar lighter is very close to where the unit is in that picture.

3. Where do the cables run? For the antenna: Under the carpet then up the side of the dash by the door and then (Case 1) Up the doorframe and across the top of the windscreen or (Case 2) to the back of the dashboard and across the bottom of the windscreen?

4. For the power cable it all depends on where power is taken. In my case I suspect the easiest place may well be the back of the cigar lighter so the challenge will be to work out how to get at that. Might need to drill a hole in the fascia somewhere to run the cable but that is easy enough.

5. is the best way to secure the cables to use those nylon clips with double sided tape?

6. I was thinking of mounting the device itself with double sided tape as well. Is there a better way?/A special tape for this?

Apologies for all the questions. I haven't worked around cars much. Houses/flats, offshore oil rigs and bikes yes (a fair bit) but not cars.

[sampler]

It is still 1,000 yen for anywhere in Japan?

I believe that offer ends in June of this year.

[Wage Slave]

It is still 1,000 yen for anywhere in Japan?

I believe that offer ends in June of this year.

Aha! Well, will have to try and take advantage of it. I feel a trip to Kyoto coming on.

You get a discount over cash anyway though? I wouldn't be surprised if they extend it in the current economic climate.

[allblacks]

1. Should the antenna bit be fitted on the windscreen behind the mirror in all cases or do some models (including mine) fit on front of the dashboard?

It does not matter as far as I know. As long as the reader/sensor on the gate can acknowledge it.

2. Where is a good place to take power from if I want to hard wire it in? I have a Honda Fit. The cigar lighter is very close to where the unit is in that picture.

Taking your stereo out of a FIT is a pain in the arse as far as I know. There are screws that hold it in place that require a very long screw driver. Put pics up and I will help as much as I can.

3. Where do the cables run? For the antenna: Under the carpet then up the side of the dash by the door and then (Case 1) Up the doorframe and across the top of the windscreen or (Case 2) to the back of the dashboard and across the bottom of the windscreen?

Usually you run them from behind the stereo and under the carpet up the side using the casing and rubber to hide the wires. You will see what I mean.

4. For the power cable it all depends on where power is taken. In my case I suspect the easiest place may well be the back of the cigar lighter so the challenge will be to work out how to get at that. Might need to drill a hole in the fascia somewhere to run the cable but that is easy enough.

Yes that is true. Hide every wire in the trim. Its not too bad/hard to do.

5. is the best way to secure the cables to use those nylon clips with double sided tape?

Whatever works for you. if you decide to hardwire, the RED AND YELLOW are + and the BLACK is MINUS. Make sure they NEVER touch each other.

6. I was thinking of mounting the device itself with double sided tape as well. Is there a better way?/A special tape for this?

Not that I know of. Autobacs can help with this though. If you dont give a shit about your car just get some superglue. Haha. Thats what I did.

Apologies for all the questions. I haven't worked around cars much. Houses/flats, offshore oil rigs and bikes yes (a fair bit) but not cars.

Haha. No worries. Any more let me know.

[Wage Slave]

So, the Apple chain , who I have had good experiences with, want 4,200 for fitting and 2,625 for setting it up. I think that is reasonable but will fit it myself anyway. Plugging it into the cigar lighter will do just fine. Now to get hold of some double sided tape. It won't be as nice a job but for 4,200 .......

[allblacks]

That is too much. Seriously. Autobacs will not give you shit about not doing it at their workshop. 4625 yen total and you are ready to roll. Easy peasy.

[Wage Slave]

Fitted and seems to work fine. I now get a woman telling me to put a card in it every time I start car. 90% of the wiring is nicely hidden away. Just the bit from the bottom of the windscreen to the front of the dash showing. I can live with that.

The card has been ordered so just the setting up to do. I don't think Apple insist on fitting either so they are asking 2,625 incl tax for the setup. Is 4.625 at Autobacs for fiiting and set up or just set up? In any case, I'll get one more quote before deciding. There are lots of places that can do it.

Now to plan a day trip to Kyoto for the cherries methinks.

[allblacks]

No mate I meant all including your funky DIY job.

For everyone else... I went to KONAN today. They had the lighter plug in that I gave wagey for 700 yen. If people want me to set it up ready to go I can do it inclusive of that for 2700 yen. If you are in Osaka I will do it for free if you come down my way. No paying Autobacs for labour. Otherwise I can provide support for installing it in your car.

[Wage Slave]

I see. Yep, I will be on the road for a touch over 5k all in. That is a huge bargain. If you stroll into Autobacs I don't think you could expect change out of 16k to achieve exactly the same object.

If anyone is in Chubu and needs help fitting a unit, I am happy to help out. It is no big deal.

[allblacks]

At the moment I have a navigation unit in my car. Admittedly it is all in Japanese but the way these things are now you dont only have navigation. Mine has a 20 gigabyte HDD for music built in. As I have a rather broad taste in music this comes in handy. If anyone needs advice on those Im happy to help.

As I have said elsewhere before I am not looking to make tonnes of money of the LJ crew. Free advice on navigation here! Get it while its hot.

[Wage Slave]

So go on then. I would be interested in Navi mainly because the maps are not very good and my wife is comically bad at reading them. We were once driving in London up the Edgeware Road when I realised from her directions she had turned the damn thing upside down. This on a road that runs due North/South.

I don't really need a music player as I have my Touch for that. As with all things motoring, economy is my main objective.

[Wage Slave]

Just had a little afterthought on the ETC units. Given the length of cable supplied I think you are supposed to get power from the fusebox or somewhere else in the engine bay. In fact figuring out how to run the cable there shouldn't be very difficult. Just a matter of looking in the engine compartment to see where all the others are run. As always with cars and electrics, actually doing it can be a real bugger though. The thing has its own fuses so there is no problem taking power from anywhere it is available.

[allblacks]

No mate. Usually it comes from behind the stereo. Wiring in a car is just like in your home. You can use double adapters to connect stuff. I bet there are wires left over on your stereo installation in behind the stereo itself. It wont be easy taking that off but you can. The black cord coming out of the ETC unit from the wiring is the earth. You can attach this to anything metal in the back of the stereo. That will earth it.

[Wage Slave]

OK. Corrected I wonder why the lead is so long?

[allblacks]

Probably because they want to cover all bases. I can tell you how to shorten it if you so desire!

[Wage Slave]

I suppose so.

No, it's fine. I will leave it as it is for now. Can't be bothered to do another splice.

[allblacks]

Do you have some of that black electrical tape? You should be able to tape it up really good with that.

[Wage Slave]

Yep and cable ties. It's all safely tucked out of the way. It was just an idle thought really.

[allblacks]

I just got an absolute crapload more ETC. Ready when people are. ABs

[Wage Slave]

Here's a page with all the discounts explained. Pity I can't read it beyond (I think) 30% off at normal times, 50% off at peak times and unlimited use at weekends and public holidays for 1,000 Yen.
http://www.driveplaza.com/dp/ETC

[allblacks]

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_ur ... =Translate

babelfish cracks me up!

[redbar]

Has anyone here gone to driving school (car/bike) in Japan? I know the prices are astronomical, but it's probably cheaper than taking an extended holiday to go back home and do it...

[allblacks]

I have not. My licence was just converted to Japanese and there was no driving test as such.

One guy I knew went to driving school and though it was a while ago I still remember what he said. Apparently they are really strict there. If you go outside the lines they have you get all kindsa shit from the instructors.

[In The Know]

Apparently they are really strict there. If you go outside the lines they have you get all kindsa shit from the instructors.

Oh, that's the same brainless fuck who, after his shift at the driving school ends, runs red lights, parks and talks on his cell IN A DRIVING LANE, tailgates, and generally thinks he owns the road.

Imagine the revenue stream for the government if they would hire traffic cops who just wrote tickets all day for all the blatant traffic offenses and illegal parking that go on everywhere. Talk about a cash cow opportunity.

[allblacks]

These people are the ones that encourage their students to cross painted lines on the roads so that they can push in. I saw this with my own eyes the other day on the WANGAN Highway. Their cars are very hard to miss. As I was driving I couldnt look over and see who was actually driving but the wife said the instructor took the wheel at that moment.

[Wage Slave]

One habit I have noticed here that I haven't seen anywhere else is actually making an effort to speed up in an attempt to deter someone turning right from the opposing direction. I find the mentality behind the last one frankly baffling. It doesn't make a rat's arse of difference to me whether you make your turn or not but I am going to burn a bit of extra petrol just to try and prevent you. Your loss is no gain to me but I will go out of my way to make it happen even if it means taking a risk of a collision.

[SamhainP8]

One habit I have noticed here that I haven't seen anywhere else is actually making an effort to speed up in an attempt to deter someone turning right from the opposing direction. I find the mentality behind the last one frankly baffling. It doesn't make a rat's arse of difference to me whether you make your turn or not but I am going to burn a bit of extra petrol just to try and prevent you. Your loss is no gain to me but I will go out of my way to make it happen even if it means taking a risk of a collision.

That's a National sport here in Aus.

[MacGyver]

This could have gone in the greats thread but it seems more apt here.

A work mate and I were having our regular afternoon stroll down a one-way street that was just a bit wider than a car due to metal poles on each side of the road. As we crossed the street at an intersection, where 3 or 4 cars were waiting for the green light, a copper on a patrol motor bike (shirobai) cruises up and squeezes his way in front of the last car waiting, which was a cab. We didn't think mucvh of the bike until that point when it become clear the bike was trying to pull over the car, although he didn't have his lights flashing or siren wailing. Then suddenly the driver of the cab hits the accelerator and hoons it in reverse back down the street whence he came. The copper then starts talking rapidly into his mike and opens out the throttle on his bike in pursuit.

At this point, the cab stops just before another intersection, where the road has widened because there is no poles on either side of the road. The copper stops his bike perhaps 20 to 30 meters in front of the bike in the middle of the road. We were speculating that perhaps the cabbie was reversing to pull off the road so as not to block the road. But not so as just then the cabbie floors it and charges the cop. We thought he was going to ram the copper! But just as he gets to the copper he swerves around the bike and flings the cab right around the corner just as the light was turning red. The cop slowly turns his bike around, flicks on his lights and siren, and opens the throttle in hot pursuit. As he gets to the intersection and turns right, he has to stop cause he doesn't know which direction the cabbie went in. By this stage, he would have been out of sight so he picks a direction and flies in pursuit of the cab!

Quite amazing. I've never seen anything like it anywhere, except on TV. We later assumed that the cop stopped his bike in front of the cab cause the copper must have tried pulling the cabbie over on the main road that led onto this road and the cabbie just kept going. We walked around the area looking to see if the cop caught up with the cabbie but to no avail...