So I bought BoxheadTim's BRZ. This one: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/2013-subaru-brz-limited-w-reliability-mods-very-much-mine/196741/page1/
Mod list - from memory, might be missing a mod or two:
- FTSpeed catted header w/ HKS overpipe and Perrin 2.5" exhaust. Car also comes with the OEM header
- Openflash tune for the above, tablet comes with the car. Pretty much eliminates the torque dip
- JDM Aero underpanels
- Yellow Konis with stock springs
- Koyo Radiator
- Jackson Racing oil cooler
- Killer-B oil pickup
- Oil pan baffle plate (GReddy, I believe - I'll have to check)
- Mishimoto metal coolant header tank
- Metal coolant filler neck and silicone radiator hoses
- Minor brake upgrades - braided lines, Carbotech XP10 pads, Castrol SRF brake fluid that's a couple of months old
- Verus Engineering forged clutch fork
- Verus Engineering fuel flap
- MTEC clutch spring for better clutch feel. Makes the clutch slightly heavier, but it's barely noticeable and even I with my recurring clutch foot issues can easily manage it.
- Alpine headunit with Carplay/Android Auto
Some additional recent work on the car:
- Clutch replaced with a full OEM spec Exedy clutch kit when I had the engine replaced
- Engine mounts replaced with new OEM mounts
- Replacement engine started throwing the dreaded P0018 so I had the whole timing set and all four actuators replaced so we only had to go in there once
- All four brake calipers and rotors replaced last year - front were remans, rears brand new OEM Subaru. One front caliper replaced again in the last couple of months after it waved a white flag on the track
I drove it home on Wednesday. ~350 miles with no plates and only got pulled over once :) Averaged ~34mpg which I found pleasantly surprising. Much better than my Kia does on the highway (although the cost of premium right now likely cancels that out).
I had one passenger with me the entire way:
I still havent unloaded the car. I just registered it/got it plated, and now I have some issues to fix, thankfully they all seem pretty minor:
1) The rearview mirror is wobbly/unstable. Seems to be a common BRZ problem, and I already ordered the fix for it.
2) It smells like gas when the tank is full. On the most recent fill up I was careful not to do the "top off" with the fuel pump and it still smells. Enough that I will likely pull it out of the garage until I resolve it. I did some quick googling and it appears it might just be the fuel pump gasket not being properly seated/tight enough. Hopefully that's it, sounds like an easy fix.
3) The head unit is... not great. The reception sucks (NPR radio station is like 3 miles from me as the crow flies and sounds like garbage), the mic for bluetooth calls isn't hooked up, but perhaps most importantly, there is no volume knob. This would probably be acceptable with steering wheel volume controls, but this car doesn't have those. Not sure what I am going to do about this, but I will likely just revert back to the stock radio for a while.
4) Corner lights are loose. Seems to be another common BRZ problem, haven't looked into the fix.
5) I need to take the pads off and put something a bit more street friendly on.
Fix for 4 and 5:
4) Corner light delete. https://www.verus-engineering.com/shop/a0141a-carbon-fiber-side-marker-replacement-kit-frs-brz-gt86-672 (doesn't have to be this but I support Verus)
5) GLOC R6. AutoX compound that's great for the street (it's what I run for street).
hunter47 said:
Fix for 4 and 5:
4) Corner light delete. https://www.verus-engineering.com/shop/a0141a-carbon-fiber-side-marker-replacement-kit-frs-brz-gt86-672 (doesn't have to be this but I support Verus)
5) GLOC R6. AutoX compound that's great for the street (it's what I run for street).
Thanks. Honestly I'm leaning toward OEM pads for #5
For #4 - I need to check, but those might not pass inspection here, so I might need a solution that retains the corner markers. Surely there is a fix for the attachment. Stronger clips, backer plate, etc?
Yeah the gaskets at the top of the fuel pump basket are very hard to get right, when I put in my Verus fuel trapdoor I did something subtly wrong that led to 2 driveway fuel spills and 3 visits to a shop, and I'm not 100% sure it's fixed to this day (been avoiding filling the tank to the top until I have time to rush it to the shop again if necessary). Check under the driver's side rear seat for any dampness from fuel seeping out. Often you can smell it before you see it or before it even pools under the car.
I've been running Powerstop Track Day PSTs which for street and autocross use, are much like ordinary street pads except a little noisy and very dusty. They're supposed to hold up to track use.
Re 3 - the new head unit is hooked up using a proper harness, so it's mostly a case of pulling out the headunit and removing the adapter harness.
The only wire that requires additional work is the emergency brake hookup. If you remove the silver shifter surround and the two panels on each side of the center console in the footwell, you can lift up the center console enough to unclip the cable that goes to the emergency brake dash light switch and reach in through the opening at the back of the shifter surround to unhook the wire from the vampire clip.
Oh, and I'm still surprised that your passenger made it all the way to NC. Then again, I was surprised that it made it all the way into town.
Ok, Item #1 (Rearview mirror) fixed.
I installed this Subaru kit: H501SSA041
Its really overkill for replacement... the part that commonly goes bad is the tiny aluminum plate shown in the lower right here. The rest of the parts are fine. The threads in the plate, which form when you run a screw into it, just deform over time and when you tighten it more it further messes them up. This one had a hilarious large sheet metal screw jammed in there (shown below as well) which provided zero help lol.
It went in pretty easy. I added some red locktite for good measure. I saved all the old parts, even the faulty plate. If this issue pops up again I'll put helicoils in it and fix it for good.
Ok, I addressed #5 and #4.
Pads have been replaced with some Centric street pads. I bedded them in pretty good and I'm sure they will be fine for most of my driving. If/when I get it back on the track or autocross I can always get something more aggressive, or toss the Carbotechs on which have plenty of life remaining.
The side marker issue that seems to plague BRZs doesn't actually seem that complicated. I replaced the Side Marker A Clip Bracket, which did almost nothing. Actually, my buddy replaced them. I drove the car to work the next day and arrived like this:
Then I replaced all of the clips, which are literally <60 cents each. The last time this part of the car was worked on some were lost and some were installed wrong, which lead to the issues. With all the clips present and in the right place the lights snap in very securely.
What I was working with on the driver's side:
Passenger's side:
The key seems to be to have extra clips handy any time you are going to remove the bumper or take the lights out, because some will pull out/break/fail in some way upon removal. So I will just keep a small supply on hand.
Aside from that, I have been driving the car around town quite a bit and its pretty damn fun.
That's a sharp looking car
Depending on your ultimate goals, I'd probably ditch that header/OP combo for something a bit better.
With the OFT, you can easily go E85 (most pumps are actually E70 which is fine since so you can't really make more tq past E50).
Is that the separate JR cooler, or the dual cooler?
I'm also not a believer in SRF fluid. It's horrifically expensive for the wet boiling point. If you're bleeding regularly, it's not necessary in any car.
Depending on how crazy you want to get, that car will fit 255/35 200TW on 18x9.5 ET45-35 on coilovers.
My plans are basically to drive it an not berkeley with it. Autox or track would only be occasional, so I'm not going to really chase extra power. Honestly if autox ever became something I was more interested in again I would run SSC, so I would likely have to de-mod slightly (in addition to getting springs).
Plus here on the east coast e85 isn't exactly plentiful, although it appears more common than it used to be.
255s on 9.5 would look cool on the street though :)
Not sure on the cooler, haven't really looked into it.
In reply to ProDarwin :
Yeah I loved the way my first gen looked on the 9.5 RPF-1s with 255/35 Star Specs.
The dual cooler just has the oil cooler built in to the radiator, so it heats the oil up quickly as well.
Too bad on the E85, it really pumps up the midrange while you giving you 15-20whp up top. But with the OFT it's pretty easy to switch back and forth if you get the itch.
Run the tank super low, fill with either fuel, switch tunes, drive easily for 30-40 miles while watching the fuel trim and IAM, once everything settles down you're good to go.
