LexTrueno's 魂の火 Track Build - Ver 2.0

[lextrueno]

Another late night installment for my build. Currently I am sitting at home on vacation from work. Something I needed really really bad after hitting many 80+ hr work weeks. Once you have worked that much for someone else, you find it super easy to get a lot done for yourself in a matter of days.

A few weeks back my coilovers arrived. Since I have installed them, I have experimented with a few ride heights. I really love how they perform on the street. They are a bit more aggressive than I was initially expecting for a coilover at the 1.3k price point. But I love them and feel like they are a solid choice for the street.









Once I get some autox or HPDE events in on them, I will be sure to jot down more thoughts. But I have had some friends who are non-86 people tell me how shocking the car feels. They described the shifter as one of the most positive transmissions they have ever felt. Something I attribute to the upgraded bushings and MTEC springs. They described the ride "like a go-cart" and one of "the most fun cars I've ever driven." The supercharger gives it enough bump to make it scary if you want it to be, and the suspension mods have elevated the handling to have minimal body roll and better response. I obviously still could use a lot more in terms of bushing replacements, but I believe its at a good place for now. With more time, I will look into more bushing replacements. The hard part is that you need a press for most replacements, which I lack in my garage.


I also was able to install some more cosmetics stuff. Primarily the Ortiz Gauge pod that no one should ever buy EVER. With the oil temp and pressure gauges. Along with that I installed the BRZ tS arm rests, they are comfy and tasteful as you would expect. I also ordered this carbon trim piece in Honeycomb to match my trunk. Surprisingly, an eBay seller that specialized in carbon fiber pieces made this. They are based in Texas and the cost wasn't too much more than most carbon trim I see online.




I have a Verus Aggressive diffuser in the garage waiting for installation tomorrow. I am also waiting on a BRZ MY17 bumper and Verus Carbon Sidemarkers to massage the front end into being beautiful. I am still trying to find a headlight solution for the swap. Obviously a lot of stuff happening and I am trying to keep up!

[janialambar]

Nice to see the input, man. Beautiful car, love it.

[lextrueno]

The new MY17 BRZ Bumper is in and I'm excited to get it on my car. I decided it was best to go with the BRZ bumper since it can be run without the grill/mustache for added cooling. I actually love the look of the 86 front end but it looked like I wouldn't get away with no grill. I also picked up a set of Verus Carbon side marker deletes. These things look phenomenal and I will be so happy finally have a more permanent solution to those dumb side markers.



Since the bumper is RAW right now, I decided that it is time to try a new color for my car. No more red, which honestly I am excited for but also too sentimental for. I know 100% I will miss the car being red. Red and Gold/bronze look so good together. But I think that going in a new direction is also a healthy thing. I decided to get after a similar paint to Bulletproof Auto's Concept One.



Only mine will be in the form of a wrap. Easy to revert, cheap enough when DIY'd, and extra scene/hot boi points. Plus the white on Avery Dennison's Satin Pearl White is incredible in person. I highly recommend buying the colors you intend on using on 6x6" swatches ($3 per swatch off MetroStyling) and slapping it on your car in certain areas to demo the color. My two points for reference were next to my carbon trunk, and in a really groovy part with the bumper. This was so I could see how the light would interact with the swatch. I almost went with Avery Dennison's Dark Basalt which was a metallic dark grey. Also incredible but the white was so unique I had to do it.



I am still out and about on the road so I haven't gotten nearly enough done with my car in terms of documenting. The exhaust (Q300) went on before I had left my home for California. Sounds like every other Subaru but its quiet enough for daily use with the supercharger.

Here are some pictures from when I was in Philadelphia and visited the local Mclaren dealership. Dealer sold me a nice hoodie and then let me sit in some HOTBOI cars.

[lextrueno]

Another installment of "I hate my life, lets try spending money to make me feel better." I was able to be home for a half week FULL of doctors/dentist visits. It was horrible but it also meant getting to spend time working on my car. Its awesome how therapeutic working on cars can be. No matter how stressed out I get, its addicting being able to work on my car.

My last entry had mentioned the new color I will be wrapping the car. WELL IT TURNS OUT THAT WRAPPING IS HARD AS SH@#. I thought if some 18 year old vaping chotch can wrap a car, then so can I. It is very much an art and does take the right know how and patience. Sadly, I have no mentor so it has been a lot of trial and error. I tried the bumper two different times now with similar results. I was able to wrap the hood which was a good break from constantly failing at the bumper. I will wrap the roof next once I get back home.







Sadly the foglight inlets are much more of a headache than the headlight curves. Leading me to feel defeated and annoyed. I may have to take it to a professional shop and have them wrap it.





I also got around to installing my turbo disguise. People hear noises and think TURBO. I did it because I thought it would sound cool which I was 1000% correct about it. Its massive and also makes me a little spooked since it sits pretty close to the belt. Haven't seen any rubbing so far so I'm sure it'll be fine.




To wrap it up I was able to also install the IRP short shifter in GOLD. Because I love it so much. Currently I am still waiting on my custom badges from Pete and also my JDL Bumper bar to keep that big BRZ smile happy. It should be an exciting time when all my parts arrive.

[Clipdat]

Originally Posted by lextrueno

Another installment of "I hate my life, lets try spending money to make me feel better."

Cool, glad to know that I'm not the only one who tries this, over and over. Although it rarely if ever has the intended effect.

[lextrueno]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Cool, glad to know that I'm not the only one who tries this, over and over. Although it rarely if ever has the intended effect.

I typically make DUMB decisions using this method but it often results in a good story. I think that working on my car is my true love in life. So if it means spending money on it to make me happy then oh well. Why limit yourself!?!?

Also side note: Fluidampr, Flex Fuel, Injectors, Fuel Pump, Verus fuel door has been ordered. Smaller pulley, E85 time.

[lextrueno]

I had a few days off for my birthday. So I got some more of my wrap completed during that time frame. Sadly it still looks like a pack of malboro reds.

With the help of some friends, I was able to wrap the roof on my birthday. The next day I wrapped the passenger door and fender. The bumper is a big pain and I'm still struggling with it but I think I will be able to get it done. I also got new headlights, mirror overlays, and my fender garnishes to help contrast the satin pearl look with glossy carbon. Last picture didn't have the fender bolted up but I couldn't resist checking out how the car would look with the majority of it white.

I will say there have been a lot of people who have told be that "wrapping is difficult" and that "I should instead take it to a shop." Yes I get that professionals could have had it done but honestly this isn't that hard. It takes time, patience, and perseverance. If you really want it, you can 1000% do it yourself. I've never done this before and despite some minor imperfections/hiccups. I am satisfied with the results I have gotten so far.

I've got 3 weekends to upgrade some parts, tune the car, and finish the wrap before my track day in October. Lets hope I make it.

[tehShirt]

Happy belated Birthday!



Great job on the wrapping. I've only tried small pieces and always end up with creases/wrinkles.


I can't wait to see the completed car!

[Clipdat]

I like your hat.

[lextrueno]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

I like your hat.

My girlfriend bought it for me from a company off instagram
https://www.gofastdontdie.com/
I love Coca-Cola especially from glass bottles so this was the perfect hat.

[lextrueno]

ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I LAST SAWWWWWW YOUUUUUU.

It has been a significant amount of time which means I need to write up another update on how my car is doing/what has happened over the past several weeks. Since the last post, I had ordered a mountain of parts to install. This is going to be a very pic heavy post since this is pretty much a 100% transformation of the car.



The first being my Bronze JDL bash bar, I am going grill-less with the BRZ bumper and showing that ugly crash beam wasn't the look for me. After that another easy part to put on was the grimmspeed strut tower brace I got for my birthday! Really easy install and looked great inside the red engine bay.
Since I was increasing the boost levels from 8 psi to 11psi, I swapped my Radium catch can for a Verus AOS. I followed their guide to delete the PCV valve and run both vents to atmosphere. Something to note that isn't on their guide, you will need to undo your A/C compressor to get to the crankcase vent.


I loved the look of the bronze Apex wheels. Since my old wheels are heavy, I didn't want to keep them on for a true track build. I wrapped them in Federal Tires since this wasn't going for any records. 595RSRR, loud but the grip is pretty good for the price.
17x9 with 255/40/17 on them johnnies.





So the wrap was a decent success. I think it came out well for my first time. There are obvious issues with it if you get up close. I started on the meat and potatoes as I ran out of easy parts to wrap. Obviously driving the clown car was getting old....





Peep the new tomei (it was a mistake).













I got the Verus package minus the small wing to finish out the function and also look of the car. As you probably noticed, the bumper was never wrapped. I ended up trying the bumper 4 times which meant about 400 dollars of material was burned trying to get it right. I think if I tried it 1 more time, I could get it but for now I don't mind how it looks. I did have some special badges custom made for the car and so I had to put some sort of material down to make it look "sort of polished" and this inlay really did the trick. I took the car down to Tougefest like I do every year and had a blast. It came down to the wire to try and get the car ready for the event. I was working on the car every weekend for 12+ hours and every evening that I was at home. The car woke up with 11psi and she eats. Its just super loud now.... Might need a turbo to fix it.... That is it for now. Sadly its getting cold in Ohio so I might not be able to enjoy the newfound power for much longer.








Its too loud:

[lextrueno]

Shout out to the people giving the build a SOLID 1 star rating for the thread lmao.

Recently the car started leaking pretty badly out of the header before the O2 sensor causing the car to go wildly lean. I checked vacuum lines, and I'm pretty sure its all just being caused by the garbage header. I have gone ahead and placed an order for a JDL UEL catless header to replace it and I'll probably be switching from a resonated frontpipe to JDLs Ultra Quiet 3" FP to help cut down on the noise for my own personal benefit. With the pandemic, JDL is expecting a 3 week lead time before it gets sent out to me. I went with Bronze coating on the header.

I also should be getting a Marsh Composite roof in forged carbon in the coming weeks as Joel is finishing it up. I have no plans to install it yet and I keep going back and forth between DIY and paying a shop to install it since its a lot of work. It looks good and it will break up the roof line nicely.

[tehShirt]

There are plenty of salty people out there unfortunately.

I love all your MPH goodies. Now you have to get the hood for the holy trinity of Marsh to be complete! Are you going to wrap the trunk as well?

[lextrueno]

Originally Posted by tehShirt

There are plenty of salty people out there unfortunately.

I love all your MPH goodies. Now you have to get the hood for the holy trinity of Marsh to be complete! Are you going to wrap the trunk as well?

Hahaha thanks man, I appreciate it. Right now Joel's current hood lineup doesn't clear my vortech. You end up trimming quite a bit of material back just to fit it and it didn't make sense to try and do that. I could do an OEM style hood from him But I really want to try and get a vented hood. I'm currently trying to find way to work around it. I'm hoping to get scans of the hood and engine bay and work alongside my brother who is also an engineer to model some vent options.

I won't be wrapping the trunk. I like the look of the exposed carbon a lot. With all the other existing carbon visible, it wouldn't be fair to Joel's craftsmanship. I have no idea what I will do with the bumper once I do get a carbon hood though.