Mister's 2013 FR-S Build

[Mister]

I usually don't do build threads, but this is just as much for me as a place to document my build as it is is place to show off. I'll be adding slowly, but my goal is a ride that is a little more comfortable and ~200whp while maintaining a near stock appearance.


May 2013 - I purchased my Firestorm FR-S, trading in my Mazdaspeed3. I really loved my MS3, and sometimes still miss it but the FR-S is a fantastic car with so much more potential. After growing up on muscle cars I was missing RWD. <Picture>

June 2013 - The solid plastic knee pads were really bothering me on long drives so I picked up a set of JDM knee pads to add comfort and upclass the interior. I got these from Nigel-Jdm, installed using a DIY found on this site. <Links><Picture>

July 2013 - I found someone with the BRZ Spoiler willing to swap trunks, so I drove from NH to NJ, crashed on the in-laws couch and got the OEM Subaru spoiler and some time at the beach. It looks much better on the FR-S IMO. <Picture>

Sept 2013 - My eyes are pretty bad with night glare so I got the Subaru OEM auto-dimming mirror and mount. It was plug and play installation, I added thread-lock to prevent issues of it falling off like I have seen with other people. It sure is not held on by much for how heavy it is! <Picture>

Oct 2013 - I bought a set of 16" rims to use for winter. They were really ugly so I spent minimal time cleaning them up and painting them a gun-metal grey.

Nov 2013 - I purchased a fantastic set of 4 Blizzak WS70's for my winter wheels. They have been amazing this winter, and by far one of the best winter tires I have experienced.

Dec 2013 - I had originally just plugged the sound tube, but I decided to just delete it altogether and clean up some room under the hood. I installed the Perrin Inlet Tube to accomplish this, and I am extremely happy with the result.
For Christmas I received the Subaru BRZ Trunk liner and sound deadening material, but did not have time to install.

Jan 2014 - I installed deadening material in the trunk lid and put the liner on top of it. It made a noticeable difference in noise levels, although it was a bit time consuming. I was concerned about how the trunk shocks would support the extra weight, and they held up fine. As expected though on extreme cold days they were a little weak.

March 2014 - I installed the read of the deadening material in the trunk pan and along the wheel wells in the back. My starting noise level as measured by my HTC One was 90dB with snow tires at 70mph. Once completed I measured 80dB in the same scenario. A HUGE improvement and money well spent. I would like to do the floor pans and the back seat once I get my hands on some MLV.

Plans:
I am looking to get MLV and finish the floor pan to cut noise a bit more, although I suspect with summer tires back on the noise will probably be pretty low.
I do not like the plastic feel of the shift knob so I am looking to replace it with a TRD one.
More power! Ft86 Catted header, either Q300 or resonated perrin catback and an OFT will probably make me happy. I am looking to maintain all cats as inspection stations tend to be pretty strict about that in NH and they check on a yearly basis.


Pictures and links will be updated as I have time to do so.

[Mister]

Reserved.
One I find time to take pictures and put them up they will be in post 1, all explaining text will be in post 2.