Beginner's take on clubsport wiring - report

This here is my first wiring harness and I hope it's not my only one. I liked doing this, the research, planning, love how it all comes together in the end.

I would like to share some conclusions I have drawn, lessons I have learned and maybe make it easier for someone that's only just setting off.

First and foremost, YOU CAN do it. Trust the process, unknowns will unravel as you go.

While it can be done with cheap tools, trust me, you want the more expensive, better tools.

I used Superseal connectors, Ecumaster ECU and Toyota connectors. Despite common belief, Toyota terminals on a 1JZ are all the same.

Superseal crimping tool was 40€, perfectly adequate.

Small side cutters can be had from 10€ onward. Have multiple. These are used the most all around.

Sargent tool that HPA suggests for open barrel splices was around 140€. Not sorry I paid that much one bit. It is worth it!

Stripping tool was 25€. Spend more, buy better. Get the version that doesn't spread apart, but rather pulls one side, like Andre uses in the videos.

Iwiss universal crimping tool was 25€. I would replace it with any other crimping tool that's capable of crimping 0.35mm2 and 0.5mm2 wire. Sargent tool does larger.

For thick cables I used that hammer operated crimp tool. Does the job fine, cost 25€.

I didn't miss any tools beyond that. If I spent proper money on crimping and striping tool, I would be over 500€ in tools. Add the cost of materials and one might consider buying a pre made harness.

I spent more on shipping than materials it feels because in my general lack of experience I ordered little by little and always ran out. Better you order more at once and have left over. You will need more 0.5mm2 wire than you think. Buy a good few colors and don't waste money on 2m lengths. Go straight for 10m or more. That's also true for heatshrink. Don't buy 1m legths, buy boxes/spools.

Speaking of heat shrink, adhesive lined stuff is amazing. But you need both.

Another thing I could have used but didn't have is DR25. I used that protective mesh. Which is a really good product, but with a lot of branches it gets messy. So I would do a combination of the two, depending on location, number of branches etc.

I have 41 wires going into the ECU, lots more along the way. Marking wires is a big issue. I had the Ecumaster bundle of marked wires. Huge help!

I started the whole thing with documentation. I knew every terminal destination before I started. That's a lot of googling, asking questions and learning. Seems straightforward, but I like to know why something is the way it is. Why the flyback diode, why it's directional, how to tie in a resistor etc.

Afterwards, I did the wiring on the engine itself. I didn't use string like they suggest. It was mostly because some of the wires had connectors on them,so I couldn't play with the length and position much. At first I was going to reuse a lot of the OEM wiring, but then reused connector housings only. Connectors need to be depinned for anywhay to get heatshrink on.

This has gone longer than I intended, so I will end it here. I will gladly answer any questions you may have. Check out the build at @mjakob_s13 on Instagram.

Looks good.

Good write up too.

Thanks. Hopefully someone can take something from it and it helps streamline their project.

Tuning next.