REALMS BRZ Build Thread

[JeremyR]

This thread will chronicle the build of my 2015 Crystal White Pearl BRZ Limited. I've never done a proper build thread before, so I figure with this new project I should start something to keep track of the work I'm going to be doing to the car. I've always been partial to Japanese car culture, and as such, will primarily be using Japanese brands to build my car. However, depending on the particular part or item in question, I may source from a non Japanese brand. This will only happen if I feel the quality, product support, company involvement in the community, or any number of other factor's lead the alternative to be better suited for my needs. My goal with this vehicle is definitely function over form. Every modification I make to the vehicle will serve a purpose, with reliability, drivability, and performance being the main focus of this build.

REALMS BRZ - Specifications

Exterior
TOM’S LED JDM Tail Light Set
TRD Rear Trunk Spoiler
STI Fender Garnish
STI Front Bumper Badge
OEM JDM Clear Front Side Markers
philips d4s 42402xv2c1 X-tremeVision Gen2 HID Bulbs
Diode Dynamics 5k White LED Side Marker Bulbs
Diode Dynamics 5k White LED Front Turn Signal Bulbs
Diode Dynamics 5k White LED License Plate Bulbs
Diode Dynamics 5K White LED Fog Light Bulbs
Diode Dynamics DRL Always-On Module
Subaru OEM STI License Plate Frame

Interior
Beastronix 86 Nanny
DEFI Red Racer Oil Pressure Gauge
Rally Sport Direct Galley Plug
Ortiz Custom Gauge Pods Cluster
Verus Engineering Throttle Pedal Spacer
WC Lathe Werks Titanium Sphere Shift Knob in Burnt Blue/Bronze.
WC Lathe Werks Titanium Reverse Lockout in Burnt Blue/Bronze
WC Lathe Werks Titanium E-Brake Button in Burnt Blue/Bronze
Joying Android Head Unit
2017 OEM Carbon Fiber Climate Control Panel
Alcantara Arm Rest (Red Stitching)
Sweidit Alcantara One Piece Dash Panel (Red Stitching)
Sweidit Perforated Black Leather Ebrake Handle (Red Stitching)
JPM Coachworks Alcantara Cluster Hood (Red Stitching)
JPM Coachworks Alcantara Speaker Trim (Red Stitching)
JPM Coachworks Alcantara Knee Pads (Red Stitching)
JPM Coachworks Alcantara Shift Boot (Red Stitching)
JPM Coachworks Alcantara Parking Brake Boot (Red Stitching)
JDM STi Push To Start Button
OEM Black tS Handle's
OEM Black tS Knee Pad Garnish's
OEM Black tS Shifter Surround
OEM Black MY17 Traction Button
Diamond Cut Dome Light Cover Smoke
86 Speed Super B.A.D Sage 3 6K Dome Light Bulb
Diode Dynamics 6k Vanity Light Bulb
Diode Dynamics 6k Door Light Bulb
Diode Dynamics Smart Tap Flasher

Drivetrain
OEM Subaru Slave Cylinder 3/4 Bore
Chase Bays SS Clutch Line
M-Tech Shifter Springs
HKS Oil Filter
Mobil1 0w40 Synthetic Oil

Suspension
HKS Hipermax IV SP 8K Springs F/R
Parts Shop MAX Lower Control Arms
Parts Shop MAX Toe Rods
Parts Shop MAX Traction Rods
SPL Eccentric Toe Lockout Kit
Racer X Adjustable Sway Bar End Links F/R
Cusco Rear Pillar Power Brace
Battle Version Solid Steering Rack Bushings

Brakes
2007 Subaru WRX 4 Piston Front Calipers
2007 Subaru WRX 2 Piston Rear Calipers
KNS V2 WRX Rear Caliper Brackets
Stoptech Slotted Front Rotors
Stoptech Slotted Rear Rotors
Carbotech XP10 Brake Pads
Chase Bays SS Brake Lines
Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace
Yperion Titanium Brake Pad Shims 0.65mm F/R

Wheels
Advan Racing GT 18x9.5 +40 5x100 Semi-Gloss Black
Advan Racing Flat Center Caps Black

Tires
Falken Azenis RT-615K 265/35/18


The Journey Begins

My love of automobiles began early in life. The Back to the Future films were released when I was a small child, and I instantly fell in love with the Delorean. I grew up on Hot Wheels, Micro Machines, and Tonka Trucks. The first Fast and the Furious film came out when I was 14, and I was hooked.

During the early 00s, I fell in love with Japanese car culture, and obsessively played games like Tokyo Extreme Racer and Gran Turismo. My friends at the time were really into 90s Honda’s, and the Acura RSX had just been released. I spent countless hours on the ClubRSX forum just reading and soaking up as much knowledge as I could. I soon figured out that a brand new RSX was out of my reach, but thanks to watching Option and Touge Showdown videos, I realized that drifting and mountain runs were where I belonged.

I picked up my first 240sx in 2005. It was a 1992 Base model hatchback and it was stock. I added shocks and springs (Eibach springs, can't remember the shock brand), kouki tail lights, ST sway bars, a Nardi steering wheel, a welded diff, and an Injen intake.


Probably the best picture I can find of it..

I had it a little over a year, crashed it bunch of times, and then it was stolen from in front of my house. This was a blessing in disguise, as I was able to buy another 240sx that had not been driven into a pulp. My memories of that car are bittersweet, as I learned how to drive stick in it, and it was my first real sports car. My friends and I would be up in the hills most nights of the week honing our driving skills (or lack thereof).

So I saved up for a few months, and started searching for another 240sx. I found a guy selling one in San Bruno, it was an 89 240sx SE hatchback, without a sunroof. Luckily for me, the one I picked up already had quite a bit of work done to it. Usually I am against this, but I did not want to start over from scratch again, and it was cheaper to buy something with a good amount of mods done to it already. It came equipped with a rebuilt sr20, full suspension, and an aero kit. I proceeded to replace every part that I did not like, or want, with brands that I preferred. The suspension was completely replaced with Powered by Max components. I then dropped a considerable amount of money on upgrading the motor to accommodate a GT2871r and nismo 740cc injectors. I got lucky with an APEXI Power FC ECU that came with an awesome tune for the setup I was running. The car ran great for a few months, and then I threw a rod. I parted out the motor and replaced it with an s13 blacktop SR with an S15 turbo and a PBM high mount intercooler kit. The car stayed basically in this configuration for a few years until I wrecked it.

Here are the pics of the car in somewhat on an order...

































If I can dig up some more pictures of the 240sx, I will add them to this post.

Here's the setup right before I totaled it:

Drivetrain
S13 SR20DET Redtop
S15 T28
Spec stage 2 clutch
ACT lightweight flywheel
nismo clutch pivot
Powered By Max high mount intercooler
Powered By Max hard intake kit
Koyorad Radiator
Odyssey PC680MJT Battery
Circuit Sports Flex Downpipe
Catco High Flow Cat
Circuit Sports Exhaust
Chase Bays power steering kit
Greddy oil pan
180sx 5-bolt differential with 4.36 gears and KAAZ 2-Way LSD

Chassis/Suspension
Nismo power brace
Circuit Sport tension rods
Apexi front strut bar
Powered By Max Coilovers 8k/6k springs
S14 5-lug front/rear
S14 Front lower control arms
Brembo front calipers
Brembo conversion brackets
300zx rear calipers and ebrake
RP Sport subframe brace
GT Spec subframe brace
Powered By Max subframe risers
Powered By Max rear upper control arms
Powered By Max traction rods
Powered By Max toe rods

Interior
Nardi Gara 3 Type 0 350mm Steering Wheel
FET quick release and hub
180sx Gas pedal
D-MAX Checkered Floor Mats
Nismo GT Shift Knob
JDM Automatic Climate Control
Dual DIN stereo from an Altima
Defi Water Temp Gauge
Defi Oil Pressure Gauge
Defi Boost Gauge

Exterior
180sx Kouki tail lights
180sx Kouki position lights
Ganador Mirrors with blue tint
326 Power Wing
30mm rear over fenders

Wheels
Volk TE37 gloss white
17x9.5 +12
18x10.5 +15

Tires
Falken FK452 235/40/17
Falken ZIEX912 235/35/18


I was very active in the local 240sx/car scene in San Jose from 05-11. I have a lot of great memories of mountain runs and drifting from that time period. After I wrecked the car, I was pretty depressed and parted the whole thing out. I could of tube framed the front, or swapped to a new chassis, but I was burnt out on having a car that I was constantly working on that I couldn’t daily drive. I took a break from cars for a while and pursued other interests.

I was watching the development for the twins for quite some time, and even joined this forum in 2012 despite not being active in the car scene. In 2014 I bit the bullet on a 2013 Honda CRZ. The idea of a sporty hybrid seemed nice, and I had a long work commute at the time, so it seemed like the perfect car. This is the car that made me fall in love with newer automobiles and the creature comforts they offer. Sadly, I only had it about a year. My commute went from one hour to five minutes, so I didn’t see a use for it anymore, as I still had a 2006 Ford Escape that I wasn’t driving. I then soon realized that I need to be back in a sporty rwd car.

I did a lot of research on the current offerings of the last 10 years, and started to narrow down my choices. 350z, 370z, Genesis, RX8, all ran through my head. I delved deeper into what features these cars offered, and how the aftermarket support was. Coming from the 240sx world, you really are spoiled by the sheer amount of quality aftermarket parts available for the car. I started doing more research on the twins, and realized this is the car I needed. But which version? What options?

There is a lot of variety in the USDM OEM offerings. I knew I wanted a BRZ. I preferred the front bumper, and loved the boomerang headlights. I wanted a white model. I was inspired by the very clean builds of some of the members here (who I’ll mention later) and found this to be a great color (and one that my girlfriend approved of, or else I would of gone with WRB) After doing research, I realized that depending on the model year, you either get SWP or CWP. I decided that CWP was the color for me, so that narrowed down my options to a 15-17 BRZ in CWP. I may be the odd one out, but I don’t like the front bumper or headlights of the MY17 BRZ, the headlight seems just too busy, and I plan on a C-West half lip, which isn’t available for that year anyway (at least not yet). So now we are down to a MY15 or MY16. I then really had two options, a premium or a limited. I figure if I’m going to buy a used BRZ, I might as well spring for the extra creature comforts the limited model offers.

My last and final demand: one that does not have the front plate drilled into the bumper. This alone made my search a nightmare.

I had spent close to 6 months trying to find this combination of BRZ, and it was been tough. I’ve had dealers who would not sell me a car without attaching one, no matter how much I begged. Eventually, on 01/18/2017, I found a car in Gallatin, TN that had a great price, plus met all of my requirements. I plan on keeping this car forever, so it will pay off in the long run to get a model with a couple more bells and whistles.

Now the wait begins..


The Arrival
The car arrived in CA on 02/07/2017 in the middle of the night. Apparently the truck it came in on broke down and I had to drive to Union City to pick it up. Luckily I got a discount on the delivery for the hassle, so it worked out well. Unfortunately, it was dark and I really had no chance to inspect the car that well. To my surprise it came equipped with a Homelink mirror, and Blue footwell LED's, as well as the rubber trunk liner. All pluses in my book.



The next day, I was finally able to inspect it. And I found a few things wrong with it. There were several small paint chips on the car, some of them with surface rust already forming. Also, it appeared the front and rear bumpers had been resprayed, as they were a different (brighter) shade of white than the rest of the car. Also, it must have been a rush job, because they did a very very poor job of masking off the mustache and the trim. Disappointed, I felt I had reached a point where I did not even want the car. I quickly realized, the whole point of me buying used instead of new was so I could save some money, and have more available to modify the car, which was always my intention. The money I saved vs. buying new was more than enough to fix the small problems with the car, and still have plenty to modify it.

Waiting at the DMV for vehicle inspection on 02/10/2017:



Here you can get an idea of the mis-matching paint, poor masking, and overspray:


Rust pot on fender:



Depending on the weather, or lighting conditions, or how clean the car is, sometimes you can't notice it at all:



The first mod, a Top Secret Keychain:



I had been buying parts for the car since October 2016, just various things like interior pieces and such. JPM was going to stop making BRZ trim pieces so I picked up everything that I could. I also bought a bunch of LEDs from Diode Dynamics, and clear side markers from FT86SpeedFactory. I wanted to get the exterior and interior to a good point, with some minor cosmetic upgrades. I picked up a set of JDM Tom's Tails from a member here as well.

The exterior of the car is looking good (for now) but the blemishes and imperfections still drive me crazy... I'm thinking about replacing the bumpers and having them repainted and blended correctly. SO anyone knows any good body shops, I'm all ears.

The first real mod to the car, after all the lighting upgrades, would be a Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace I picked up from a buddy of mine who was putting his FR-S back to stock.

I'm taking a different approach to this car, than I did with my 240sx. With that car, I was more concerned with the engine and suspension, than I was with the exterior and interior. That's part of the reason why I started with the lighting, to at least get the car to a good base starting point, of how I felt it should of came from the factory. Nicer lighting, nicer interior, etc etc. I have a Nardi Gara 3 Type 0 that was left over from my 240sx part out, and I thought it would be cool to incorporate something from that car in this one. It's not high on the priority list, at least not yet. Surprisingly, I quite like the steering wheel in the BRZ, and how it handles too..

First Impressions
I must admit, it had been a while since I've driven a proper sports car, so finally getting behind the wheel of a BRZ was nice. I was really surprised at how stiff the suspension is stock, and how well it handled. I believe a large part of this is because the sway bar attaches directly to the strut, which is different than cars I've driven in the past. The road noise is a bit much, and the stereo is completely horrid. I'm a bit of an audiophile, and I must say, the stock system in my 2006 Ford Escape sounds MUCH MUCH better. Although, I didn't really buy a BRZ for a stereo, so it's really not much of a buzz kill.

The stock seats have a good amount of grip, and although a set of Bride's or Recaro's would be nice, I don't think I will be upgrading them anytime soon. I bought this car for one reason, to drive it, and drive it hard. My plan is to build something functional, but practical (by my standards) to still be driven everyday. I know I said I was focusing on the exterior and interior first, and in a way, that still is the goal. Coilovers and Wheel's count as an exterior mod... right?

Kintsukuroi
I started to feel like purchasing this car was a mistake. I can be a perfectionist, and a neat freak, and borderline OCD at times. It's been an ever growing problem for me that stems from my childhood. I was actually starting to resent buying this car. Maybe I was foolish to think a cheap used car that I never got to inspect would arrive to me in perfect showroom condition.

I started to think, should I trade it for a new one? should I just get rid of it? The small problems just lingered in my mind. Japan has a concept, called Wabi-sabi, which basically is an acceptance of life's imperfections.

In a way, I believe this car is here to help me, as such as I am here to help it. I feel that I rescued it. If I had not purchased it, who knows what would happen, and with some of the paint chipped and starting to rust, it might not be long before the whole car is ruined and sent away to be crushed somewhere.

Kintsugi and kintsukuroi is the Japanese custom of reparing broken pottery, and highlighting it's flaws. Now, I'm not going to use gold or silver to highlight the flaws of my car, but I will do my best to repair and fix and keep this car running as long as I possibly can. Earlier I mentioned that I wanted a car I could grow with, and that I didn't want to buy a car that I would feel bored or tired with at some point. I am not naive, I know the car will undoubtedly acquire more nicks and chips and the likes, I do intend to drive it hard, after all. I've already corrected and fixed a lot of the weird, minor problems the car came to me with, and will continue to look over and search for things to fix or repair with obsessive detail. Whatever horrid life the car had before, it deserves better.

[JeremyR]

Stock, but not for long..

I believe cars are an extension of yourself. The way you maintain, modify, and build your car is a reflection of yourself. When building or modifying a car, you have to think about why you have chosen those parts, and what your goal and intention is. I've seen too many piss poor jobs where people threw together whatever parts they could find, or get for cheap. In the end, this results in a less than stellar vehicle. Now, I'm not saying you have to drop massive amounts of money into your car. Having a plan, and building your car with more thought and care put into your parts selection, will ultimately end you up with a better vehicle. Modifying it for the sake of modifying it, is not the right approach.

Right off the bat, I booked an appointment with Neal @ The Racers Line. I'd been following the shop for a while, and this this is a completely new car and chassis to me, felt it was best to get the stamp of approval from an expert.


03/11/2017:
Neal was able to squeeze me in on a Saturday, so my girlfriend and I drove up. Neal did a complete vehicle inspection, as well as an oil/tranny/diff fluid replacement. Turns out my intake hose was loose so he tightened that up. It was good to finally check out the under carriage of the car, and look for any other issues with it (there were none). We chit chatted about the twins, 240sx, and our experiences working in the auto industry. Neal's a really great guy and I look forward to bringing my car back to him for more work.




Now that the car had a seal of approval, it was time to start buying parts and changing everything. When modifying cars, I try and upgrade things in a manner that makes the most sense, and try to group together parts that compliment one another.


04/22/2017:
For the BRZ, I wanted to change a few things right from the start. I hated the stock tail lights and side markers, so I replaced them with JDM TOM's Tails and OEM clear side markers. The TOM's I bought from a member on here, and the Clear side markers I bought from FT86SpeedFactory.






04/26/2017:
Did a mini photoshoot with my buddy.










05/04/2017:
A friend of mine got me a killer deal on some HKS Hipermax IV SP coilovers.





05/10/2017:
Finally got my vanity plate installed! Initials + Chassis code.



After this I decided to replace the front and rear bumpers. The mismatched paint, and over spray all over the grill/headlights/fog light housings was just annoying me. I got a great price on the parts, and a buddy of mine recommended a family friend for the paint.


05/17/2017:
Paint was done. The car looks much much better. They did a great job masking off the black portions of the bumper, which was something I was really nit picky about.




And of course I had to take it for a drive to break in the paint



The exterior is now looking pretty good. Bright LED bulbs and nice tail lights. I replaced the HIDS with 5k bulbs, and have an Always-ON DRL kit and LED fog light bulbs on order as well, which should complete the exterior lighting upgrades.

Next I wanted to tackle the interior. I was pretty dead set on a BRZ for the past year and a half, so I bought a JPM Coachworks interior set before they closed back on 10/2016. The only thing I wasn't able to grab was a one piece dash panel, so I would have to source that elsewhere.

Thanks to the feedback on this forum, I knew the stock headunit was a joke. I decided with the very OEM-looking Joying unit. An android-based stock looking unit? Yes please!


05/20/2017:
I was able to score the new 2GB Joying unit. Only downside is it has a CD slot, but no actual player. But I don't listen to cd's so not a total set back


Removal of the stock deck:



Soldering all the connections on the new harness:



It was at this time I confirmed that my reverse camera was aftermarket. Not a huge issue, but I did need to order a custom harness from autoharnesshouse.com in order to get it to work. For whatever reason, the metra ax-toy28swc harness DOES NOT fit into the vehicle's 28-pin, so word of caution. A few other people on this forum have had this issue, so I urge you to go through autoharnesshouse for this.


Did I mention that I hate doing wiring? Becuase I do.


Everything works! Hooray!



06/14/2017:
Did a little photo shoot of the car in it's "mostly stock" configuration before the coils and other bits go on.















06/30/2017:
Coil over install time! And for good reason, since my friends and I rented out the skidpad at thunderhill for the Fourth of July. A friend of mine is an auto tech, so he's been letting me use his tools + lift to do most of the work on my car. He is well compensated in food for this.


We were all drifting that weekend, so we all had a bunch of work to get done on our cars.




07/04/2017:
Drift day! Now I should make something clear; I didn't buy this car to drift it, as I never really intended to. But my friends basically begged me to go, and a lot of car friends from the past were going to be there, so I thought at the very least it would be good to see some old faces, take some pictures, and give my car a proper shakedown.

It was hot at the track; to say the least.


My buddy James came out and took some pics of me sliding.






07/05/2017:
The very next we were pack at the shop, and I swapped out my stock wheels for the set off my buddy's 2011 WRX. The 234/45/17 is almost identical in size to the 265/35/18 I plan to run, so it gave me time to dial in my suspension and get it pretty close to where it will be once I get the new wheels and tires on. I should of taken more pics of it, but here is the car with just the HKS coils (factory settings) and WRX wheels installed.



07/12/2017:
Next up it was time to install my PBM Lower Control Arms. I have a long history of using Parts Shop MAX parts back from my 240sx days. The dedication and passion these guys possess is insane. They put a lot of time and effort into R&D on their products. Now yes, a lot of their parts are manufactured in Taiwan. However, a lot of Japanese brands do this, so to cast a shadow over all Taiwanese manufacturing as horrible is unfair. The quality control on PBM is great, and these guys truly stand behind the product. I've beaten the shit out of my PBM parts in the past and have never had any issues. I expect the same (if not better) performance on these as well.


The install was relatively easy. They offer two mounting positions for your coilovers, 25mm lower or 40mm lower. I don't plan on slamming my car, so the 25mm position was perfect for me. The HKS coilovers come from the factory with about a 1 inch drop in front, and a 1.2 inch drop in rear. I also started work on the ride height as well. My buddy and I were supposed to attend the SubieWerks meet on Treasure Island on 07/15/2017, so I was inclined to even out the car. It's better, not perfect, but better. Front needs to come down maybe another 6-10mm more, and maybe bring the rear up a few 2-6mm



07/14/2017:
I had always planned to run Dunlop DZ101/102 tires on the car. A few of the guys I took inspiration from used them, so I knew the look, fit, and performance of the tire would suit my needs. Since my wheels would be arriving within the next few days/week (God willing..) I decided to buy the tires. Much to my surprise, I found Falken Azenis RT615K on closeout, and 25 dollars less per tire than the Dunlops! This was too good a deal to pass up for some 200UTQG tires. (The Dunlops are rated at 460 for the same 265/35/18 size I need)



07/21/2017:
RacerX F/R Adjustable End Links! AEL are often overlooked when lowering your car. If you lower your car and don't go to adjustable end links, you'll end up with binding issues and other not so fun problems.



07/28/2017:
While I still wait for my wheels to arrive, (ETA jumped another two weeks.. :/) I decided to work some more on the interior of the vehicle. I had finally received my STI start button, and black interior panels. I've been dying to install my JPM Coachworks panels, so now it was time to rip apart the interior.


Before:







After:





08/11/2017:
This car has horrible pedal placement from the factory, making it very difficult to heel-toe downshift. Luckily Verus Engineering solves this problem for us with an adjustable throttle pedal spacer. Install was a breeze and although it is adjustable, I left it in the recommended position. It was an immediate difference that was very notable at first, but after sometime you completely forget it's there and it feels great! downshifting has improved immensely. I have yet to use it at the track, but I have done a fair amount of spirited driving through the mountains and this has made heel-toe so much easier and enjoyable. The car should of came like this from the factory!

[JeremyR]

The wait is over

09/05/2017:
Finally the wheels arrive! I can be pretty picky when it comes to parts choice, especially wheels. For the BRZ is was tough to choose a set of wheels. Coming from the S chassis world, it's hard to find a wheel that doesn't look good on that car, but for the BRZ, I found this to be the opposite. Nearly every wheel looked a bit odd on the car. I had TE37's in the past, and love them, but I don't think they look that good on this car. I considered Gram Lights, but they looked pretty similar as well, and didn't wow me. It wasn't untill I saw @PRORICAN 's car that I knew what I wanted: Advans.

I started doing a bunch of research. Apparently, they no longer offer the TCIII in Semi-Gloss Black. It comes with some weird silver/gunmetal center. Frustrated, I considered other options. I went through the wheel directory looking at wheel/tire combo's, trying to find something that resonated with me, but I couldn't. In the end, I did what any rational person would do. I ordered Advan GT's. Essentially, these are the forged, "big bother", to the cast TCIII wheel (ie; more expensive). I weighed the pro's and con's of just settling for another wheel, but I just loved the 5 spoke look. If I didn't get these, I feel I would of just got bored with whatever wheel I bought and would want to get these anyway, so I just bit the bullet and went for it.





09/09/2017:
Took the car to Auto Innovation's in Milpitas to get the tires mounted and the alignment done. Since this car is mostly for mountain runs and eventual track usage, I went with a (somewhat) aggressive alignment.
Front Camber: -3.2
Front Toe: 0
Front Caster: 5.8 (This is stock, but I'm looking into different options to get this adjusted in the future)

Rear Camber: -2.5
Rear Toe: 0

Car drives and feels great! I am getting some rubbing on the rear bumper, and on the front fenders near the side marker. The fenders have not been rolled or touched at all, so I will need to roll the fronts. The rear don't seem to have any issues so far besides rubbing on the bumper. The tires I ended up with are a bit wider than I was planning to run, so I did need to run a bit more negative camber in the rear than I would of liked. However, I don't believe I am suffering too much loss of contact patch in the rear, as these tires are pretty sticky. If need be I can always do a slight roll/pull in order to dial out some of the camber, but I haven't ran into any issues where I felt like I didn't have enough grip. Although, I've only just done a few light mountain runs with them, so only time will tell as I get used to driving on the new setup. I will hopefully be doing some HPDE with the car next year. I want to upgrade the cooling system first, and do a brake pad/fluid flush on the car so it will be able to handle the stresses of the track.

09/17/2017:
Washed the car inside and out, so I did a little photo shoot.
































To be continued..

[JeremyR]

Track preparations

Work on the car has been nil the past few months. Most people tend to build their cars during winter, but since I came out the gate and immediately started modding the car, I wanted to spend some time enjoying it as is. (And let my wallet recover a bit!)

There are a few minor things I still need to work the kinks out. The radio sits a little too far forward and pushes the dash panel off. I will most likely need to slot the bracket holes a bit in order to get it to sit properly. There are some scratches on my new black shifter plate, and being crazy, I obviously need to replace it. Which actually is okay, as I have finally decided on a shift knob to replace my ugly worn stock one. I've fallen in love with WC Lathe Werks custom shift knobs. And lucky for me, he just released a matching ebrake button and reverse lockout. I did previously swap out my lockout, but I am not as happy with it as I thought I would be. I considered a Raceseng lockout, I really enjoyed how theirs installs with an allen key, but I hated having the logo on it. I like my interior to be as clean and neat, with no logo's or anything too distracting. When installing my new one, I missed the punch a couple times and nicked the new one, leaving me to have to sharpie a small section of it :/ Needless to say, I was ecstatic to learn WC Lathe Werks have opted to use an allen key for the installation. Good thing I already received my tax money! A full titanium set is being made and should hopefully be arriving soon

My goal with this car was to have something that was daily drive-able, but also ready to hit the track/mountain/whatever at a moments notice. I try and plan out my mods in a manner and progression that makes sense. Everything builds on or improves on something. First was the suspension. And although it's not 100% finished, it is good for where I am right now. Eventually I will get adjustable FLCA and RUCA so I can dial in the alignment specs more to my liking. I am running a bit more camber in the rear than I would like, but I need to in order to clear the top of the fender under compression. RUCA would allow me to pull the top of the wheel in just enough to get it past the fender under hard load without having to run -2.5 in the rear. I could always switch to smaller tires, but I love my 265's. Speed Academy posted their track cars alignment specs online and I must say, they are almost identical to what I ran on my 240sx back in the day.



Some people have a weird stigma about giving out alignment specs, like it's some secret weapon or combination of numbers that gives the car godlike handling. I guess I never understood that. Maybe you're compensating for your shortcomings as a driver by not sharing? I'm not saying I'm a great driver or anything, I actually have zero real track experience. All my on-track experience has been for drifting, and it's been years sine i've been on an actual circuit.

Which leads me to now. My goal for 2018 is to attend at least two HPDE events, possibly with an instructor. I've owned the car for about a year now, and have done a good amount of mods to make it more fun than just tracking a stock car. Not that you couldn't track this car in stock form, but I bought it with 40k on the clock, and the stock brakes are already toast, and fade after about 10-15 minutes up in the mountains. For 2018, I plan to upgrade the brakes to something more aggressive that will handle track and mountain abuse, as well as light daily driver duty.

02/11/2018:
Since day one i've hated how soft the clutch feels. Chances are the system was designed with the fact that people will switch to a heavier clutch at some point, and this is true, as I will eventually. However, at the cars current power level, the clutch is fine. The vague pedal feel of the stock slave cylinder led me to have a hard time finding the engagement point. And has many people on this forum know, this leads to unsmooth/jerky gear changes, and a lot of clutch riding.

The great thing about picking up one of these cars after it's been out a while, is that most of the nuances have already been troubleshot and solutions found. There is an awesome thread on here about swapping out the stock 13/16" bore cylinder with another subaru one with a slightly narrower bore of 3/4".

I did what anyone would do: Ask for this part for Christmas so you don't have to pay for it yourself! I also received a Chase Bays SS clutch line and brake line set. Marry Christmas to me!

The install was relatively easy. In fact, whoever decided to put the slave on top of the tranny instead of the side or bottom, they should win an award.



This is really the only picture from the install. I probably could of took more pictures, but I didn't want to get my phone dirty.

I did an oil change to Mobil 1 0w-40 and installed a a Greddy magnetic drain plug, and an HKS magnetic oil filter. I love HKS and the history and heritage behind the company, and my goal is own as many parts as I can from their catalog as possible. They don't seem to make a magnetic drain plug for our cars (probably because their oil filter has one) but I figure you can't be too safe so screw it I bought Greddy one!




Next up is getting the brakes done and hitting the track!


To be continued..

[JeremyR]

Track preparations

04/11/2018:
Finally got around to installing my WC Lathewerks Shift Knob, Ebrake button, and Reverse lockout. The heavier weight of the shift knob feels great!






04/26/2018:
I've also ordered the following parts for the car:

A1 Cardone 2007 Subaru WRX 4 Piston Front Calipers
A1 Cardone 2007 Subaru WRX 2 Piston Rear Calipers
KNS V2 WRX Rear Caliper Brackets
Stoptech Slotted Front Rotors
Stoptech Slotted Rear Rotors
Carbotech XP10 Brake Pads
Yperion Titanium Brake Pad Shims 0.65mm F/R
Chase Bays SS Brake Lines
Battle Version Solid Steering Rack Bushings
M-Tech Shifter Springs

This should set me up with a really nice, solid car for track and mountain use. I decided to go with the "OEM" 4/2 pot setup for a few reasons. I will eventually go with an AP Racing Sprint kit for the front, which based on feedback on this forum, pairs well with the 2 piston rear calipers.

Why did I go with A1 Cardone instead of OEM Subaru? I didn't want painted calipers. After a while, the heat just ruins the finish. The AP Racing calipers are not painted, so will match much better with these once I do that upgrade down the line. A1 Cardone makes great rebuilt calipers for a good price, so it just didn't seem logical to buy brand new ones from Subaru. Plus, I could only find OEM Subaru calipers in red, which would eventually clash with the AP Racing ones.









So far this setup has been amazing! I haven't gotten any break fade at all! Street driving they feel great too. Now, the XP10 pads are noisy, I won't lie. I have to be really soft on the brake pedal in order to not get a squeal. I do not daily this car, so I really don't mind the noise, but that is something to consider.

I could swap between street/track pads, but that seems silly on a car I only drive on the streets occasionally.

Braking confidence is much improved and the fade I was getting before is totally eliminated. This isn't the prettiest brake setup, but it works!




05/01/2018:
Install day! I took these to my long-time friend Adam's new shop, Dynamic Autoworks. I've know Adam for many many years, back to my drifting days. Adam has built some of the most amazing vehicles and has a real passion for drifting and Japanese cars. He's currently building a 1998 Toyota Chaser JZX100.

Adam just opened this shop, so I figured I'd bring him some business. I could of done it myself, but I love supporting my friends dreams so I had no qualms about bringing him my car to work on. I also had him do a tire rotation and alignment on the car.






05/02/2018:
I kept seeing these HKS oil change plates pop up on instgram for sale for an outrageous price. I did a little digging and found them on yahoo japan auction for only a few dollars vs. the 40 some resellers wanted! Also picked up a couple discontinued ADVAN stickers. I have one on my car already, but it has a weird crease in it




05/12/2018:
Some asshole parked wayyyy to close to my car. Luckily, no damage.




A Touch of Class

08/28/2018:
Haven't done too much work on the car lately! Just been driving it and enjoying it. The brake upgrade has made the car so much more fun in the mountains. One of my goals for next year is to have the exterior finished so I can enter the car in Wekfest. I've been going to Wekfest since it started in SF, so having a car in that show has always been a dream. I recently purchased a couple exterior parts that will help set the car part, and will compliment the aero package that I will be purchasing come tax season!


I decided to go with a TRD Style rear wing. This wing is really only temporary until I get the truck holes properly filled. I will be purchasing a Voltex wing down the line once my skill level at the track warrants it. But for now, this will be a nice addition and a huge improvement over the stock limited wing, which I hate with a passion.


I bought this wing off ebay for 140 shipped! Painted K1X. The color match is pretty spot on, and the wing is ABS plastic. It has nuts recessed into it, so if you wanted to drill your trunk and screw it on, you can! The only thing its missing is the trim around the edges the real TRD version has. I can live without that, as this wing is just a temporary solution. The install is pretty straight forward. I did take precautions on sealing the truck holes as best I could. I used a 1" vinyl spoiler plug sticker I found on ebay, and put one on the bottom, and one on the top in order to seal it nicely. I also followed up with some painters tape underneath just to be safe. It probably doesn't need it, but gives me some peace of mind.
















STI Fender Garnish

09/19/2018:
I've always wanted the STI fender garnish, but was upset it didn't come in the K1X color. I really don't like the new tS version that came out, so I looked into other options. After doing some research on this forum, it turns out that you can totally disassemble the fender garnishes! A member on here did the same with with WRB vents and it came out great, so I figured I would do the same. There was no write-up available, so I took lots of pics during the progress to create one for anyone else who wants to do this mod.

I couldn't justify spending 300+ on a part I would need to modify, so I waited until someone had a used set for sale.

Tools needed:
Heat gun
Fishing Line
Screwdriver
Drill + Drill Bits
3M Tape


Here's the STI Garnish. The color code is the Satin White, and not the Crystal White that I have. Too bad! These were in much better shape than my mine are.



First step is to remove your stock garnish. They are attached with 3M tape right near the door, and then clips for the rest. I did not document this step, as I just followed a youtube video. Use the fishing line to brake the tape, then full off the panel. Be careful not to lose or damage the clips!

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMkT1a_qY34"]youtube[/ame]


Side by side comparisons:










As you can see they are identical! even the part numbers are the same. The STI garnish is attached with a screw near the front, and 3M tape. The Chrome on the stock garnish is attached with just 3M tape.

Now to disassemble. On the STI Garnish, remove the screw. Use a heat gun on the back side of the garnish in the weird valley thing. Heat it up nice and good and then use the fishing line to help separate the silver STI piece from the garnish. You will need to do this on all 4 garnishes. Go slow and take your time, that tape is on there good!










Use alcohol or goo gone or whatever else you need to clean off the residue from the garnishes. You will need to apply 3M tape to these surfaces so make sure they are nice and clean! You will also need to drill a hole in your original garnishes, but luckily it's already marked from the factory! and the weird Y shaped washer does a great job of centering your drill bit. I didn't bother to record the size of the hole. I have a drill bit set so just found whatever bit fit the STI garnish hole, and then started with a smaller one to pilot it. It's really easy since the hole is "marked".

Reapply the 3M tape to the backside of the STI garnish in the same place. I had to cut my 3M tape into strips to match how it was from the factory.




Use the newly drilled hole as a guide when laying the STI Garnish down. Make sure you put it on straight! Put ample pressure on the garnish for a few minutes, then reattach the screw.



And there you have it! You're newly built color matched STI garnishes. Make sure to re-attach these to your car afterwards! Cut up some more 3M tape to match the weird triangle piece that the factory used. If you wanted to be extra, you can buy these 3M pieces from the dealer, but the price was like 9 bucks each. Not worth it!



Slow But Steady

10/21/2018:
Woke up at like 4 AM to wash my car so I could meet up with @spike021 and do a photo shoot. Stupid me forgot to charge my camera. Doh! I took a few shots with my cell phone and Josh had his camera so it wasn't all bad!

















New beginnings

01/09/2019:
2019 started with a bang and a crash. Literally. My truck was stolen and the police found it smashed into a pole and a tree. Apparently there were some witnesses though so the police have been looking to find who took it. Luckily, most of my belongings that were in the truck, were still in the truck. Really not how I wanted to start the year! That truck has been in my family since new in 2006 so it has a lot of sentimental value. Insurance totaled it out. I have full coverage on the vehicle though. I learned that lesson the hard way with previous vehicles I have owned. I don't care if it seems silly or a waste of money, I am so glad I had full coverage. I did not have any money saved or budgeted for a new car right now, so insurance cutting me a check for the value will help cover the cost of a replacement vehicle.



As you can see, all the airbags deployed and the front right strut was demolished and pushed back. I wasn't planning on replacing this vehicle for another year or two. I have a few projects i'm working on for the BRZ that I had to pull funding from in order to purchase a new vehicle. The BRZ is my weekend/fun car and not my daily driver. I don't think it's a fun car to daily drive and it's certainly not a comfortable car to daily drive (After the mods I have done, I mean) so just being a one-vehicle person isn't in the cards for me. Being an adult sucks. #firstworldproblems

I am not one to dawdle or waste time. My brother let me borrow a truck to drive while I hunt for a new vehicle. But what to get? I knew my budget, 10K max. I know, it's not much. But this isn't an expense I needed right now, and I have my BRZ payments still. A more expensive vehicle will cut into my savings/car parts fund way more than I would be comfortable with.

My brother has a pretty nice 2016 Toyota Tacoma Sport. He bought it new with a manual gearbox. I knew this was way out of my price range, but replacing my "truck" (A ford escape is not really a truck, lets be clear) with another truck seems like my only option.

I should note; I don't really like domestic/american cars. So an f-150 or a silverado or something of that nature is out of the question. Toyota makes the worlds best trucks in my opinion, so I needed to start looking at their offerings and seeing what I could afford.

As much as I would like a crew cab tacoma, I need something that is enclosed so I can haul stuff and/or store stuff out of the elements. I think camper shells are ugly and tacky so a truck is out of the question. I needed another SUV. That leaves us with a few different options; 4runner, sequoia, or land cruiser. I've always loved 3rd gen 4runners. 4wd, strong v6, great looks, tons of aftermarket and a big community to boot. Only problem is they are starting to show their age and rust/bad paint is a problem with them. I didn't want to buy a money pit right off the bat, or another project car. I needed something that I could daily from the get go and just do the usual maintenance with upgrades to suit my life down the line.

What I needed from this new vehicle:
Something strong and reliable that I could daily drive, and also take on trips.
Something that could go high mileage without a hiccup, as I am not one to replace cars that frequently. I would rather fix up and keep running a car I enjoy than swap it out for the latest and greatest.
Something that was 4wd like my escape was.
Something automatic so my girlfriend could drive it too.
Something that was a V8 so I could tow my BRZ to the track.

Well this narrowed my search down quite a lot. I started looking at Land Cruisers but I felt it was more car than I needed. A buddy of mine told me that the 4th gen 4runners came V8. Not sure how I didn't know this already, but it's probably because I think they are the ugliest generation of 4runner, haha!

Either way, I am an adult and sometimes you have to make adult decisions. So I bit the bullet.

I combed craigslist and cargurus to find a 4runner in the configuration that I wanted. This proved to be a difficult task. Most of these vehicle are higher mileage by now and in places with a lot of road salt; ie rust. I had trouble getting dealerships to take pictures of the undercarriage for me. Pro tip: if you want someone to buy a car and they ask for pictures, send them pictures.

I had found one at a toyota dealership in Chicago and they would NOT do a vehicle inspection for me. They told me I would have to find a local shop to do it. This proved difficult as well so I took it as a sign and looked elsewhere. I ran into this same issue at a number of dealerships so it raised some flags for me. Eventually I tried looking for a west coast vehicle.

There was one up in Seattle that wasn't the color I wanted (It was grey, not black) but ticked all the right boxes AND the sales person was willing to send me a video of the undercarriage. It looked good from the video as far as I could tell, and I sent it to a couple friends to check over to make sure. The car fax came out alright, it has a clean title but there was some damage reported. The exterior looks mint and so did the undercarriage from what I could tell so I used that to talk down the price down 2.5k from what they were asking. Well the dealer accepted my offer so now I am the proud owner of a 2006 Toyota 4Runner Sport V8 4x4!



This is the only picture I have of it on my phone right now. It's from the dealers site and there are more but i'll post them up later!
I wanted black but hey, the grey is not too bad! I could only find 3 black 4runners in this configuration on cargurus and they all probably had rust issues. Grey or red were my next two color choices. Sure I could of held out longer in hopes that I find a black one, but I am on borrowed time with my brothers truck so I needed to just make a decision. Sometimes you just need to not overthink it and take a chance!


Back to the program

01/23/2019:
The BRZ is "almost" track ready. One could argue it is track ready from the factory, but my abilities as a driver far exceed the cars in stock form. I'm not trying to come off as cocky or anything like that, i'm a really humble guy actually. I've read enough threads on here to see that other people had quickly reached the limit the car in stock form is capable of. If I am paying money to go round a track, I don't want to have to hold back or worry my car won't make it back home. I can easily drive below my and the cars limits on mountain roads near home, so why drive hours away and spend money to do it elsewhere?

Things left to do before the car is track ready:

Oil Cooler
Oil Pressure Gauge

Optional: 86 Nanny


Doesn't seem like much right? Well buying this "new" truck bit into my fund (and my tax return) a bit so it has delayed these a bit.

HOWEVER! I must get to the track this year. I've owned the car officially for two years now and only tracked it in 2017. 2018 was spent upgrading the brakes and a few other things but I never got around to getting on the track. I had already reached the limitations of the stock oil system so an upgrade is needed before I can drive the car any harder.

I've decided to go with the Jackson Racing Dual Radiator/Oil Cooler setup. It's a very clean, easy install, and made to be a straight drop in bolt on affair. I am all for innovative products that work well. What I like about this setup is that it helps brings the oil temps up faster (ie less year and tear on cold starts) and it keeps the oil/water temps in symbiosis with each other. Also; shorter oil cooler lines = less drop in oil pressure. This radiator is track proven, even on boosted cars so I feel it is the perfect choice for my needs.

But, if i'm being responsible, it's not budget right now. I am focusing on the other couple items on the list; oil pressure gauge, 86 Nanny.

Adding gauges to the brz is something i've thought about a lot. I bought one of those crappy joying headunits from china just so I could run Torque Pro and monitor stuff straight from the ODB. Sadly, you cannot monitor oil pressure from the ODB so I am resorting to other means.

I really enoy this Gauge Pod Setup by ortizcustompods. It's very clean and OEM looking, which is what I am going for with the interior.
They offer it in a single pod version as well so I went ahead and put the order in for that! It's about a 5-6 week lead time since they are made to order so I have a little bit of time before it arrives.



I hit up the trusty autoharnesshouse to build me a jumper harness so I can easily run power to my gauge without having to cut or splice or tap my stock wiring. Something I am adamant about is not cutting into or splicing any of the stock wiring harness, so hooking up electronics takes a bit more effort but very worth while in the end to have something built right without fear of failure (or fire).


(Not the one I ordered but very very similar, will take and post a picture once I receive it)

I used Defi Racer Gauges in my 240sx and loved them, so it seemed fitting to carry that tradition over to this new car. I'll be purchasing a Defi Red Racer Oil Pressure Gauge


Simple and it will match the red interior lights well!

For the the 86 Nanny, this is more of a want than a need. I have been getting by with just "holding down the button for 3 seconds" but I know that doesn't fully disable the TC, nor does it affect the ABS.

I need something that could be turn off with the flick of a switch. Sadly getting an 86 Nanny seems tough these days. As luck would have it though, I came across someone on the forums who was thinking about selling theirs so I told them I would buy it when they were ready. Well I got the message I had been waiting for last week and he was ready to sell!

Originally I was planning to run a couple toggle or rocker switches to control it. I bought the the really nice Toggle Switch Insert in blank form, as I was still hashing out the plans for the Nanny. I am all about clean, functional, and oem looking interiors so this fit the bill.

However! Plans change. The owner of the 86 Nanny I was buying informed me his was a custom model that uses a single monetary push button switch to control everything instead of toggles or rockers. This is actually a huge benefit in my book! Since I own a push-to-start brz, I have a blank spot where my ignition would be! I plan to attach this button to that spot. I feel like this is the perfect place for something of this nature. It's out of the way and will not accidentally be pushed by anyone. It is programmed for: 1 press = pedal dance + TPMS disable, 2 press = PD + TPMS + ABS off, 1 hold = fans on high until held again.
Simple and easy!

I am pretty excited for it and will document the install so expect some updates in the next week or two.

To be continued..

[JeremyR]

Saved for content

[JeremyR]

Saving for more content

[Elliotw]

These Advan wheels are so money!! looking great.

[TylerLieberman]

Very cool. Advance GTs with meaty tires is such a good combo for these cars

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by Elliotw

These Advan wheels are so money!! looking great.

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

Very cool. Advance GTs with meaty tires is such a good combo for these cars

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

Advan GT's are probably my favorite wheel behind blitz 03s and TE37s.


I'm enjoying the grip from the 265s but I do get some rubbing up front at full lock, enough to rub through the undercoat/paint to bare metal on the inner fenders/rails. I've got some rack spacers from Verus that will reduce the turning radius a bit. (The drifter in my is crying, although i'm building this car for grip so it's not a total set back)

I'll be installing those and touching up the underside of the car by the end of the month so i'll have more updates in a couple weeks or so.

[Clipdat]

HHNNNGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Originally Posted by JeremyR

blitz 03s

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

HHNNNGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

UGH yes!! so good hahahhaa.. honestly they look good on everything.. such a clean look without being overly flashy. Not great for a grip setup, but for a nice street style car or even a drift car they are great. I would say stance too but I really hate that scene so I wont.

i remember that guy from my zilvia days! pwrmves14 on IG

[spike021]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Thanks guys I appreciate it!

Advan GT's are probably my favorite wheel behind blitz 03s and TE37s

I'd say out of all the twins I've seen IRL so far, yours with the Advan GT's is the best. Those wheels are awesome.

Sometimes I wouldn't mind having a set, but then I remember I'd never be able to keep them clean/unblemished though.

[JeremyR]

Originally Posted by spike021

I'd say out of all the twins I've seen IRL so far, yours with the Advan GT's is the best. Those wheels are awesome.

Sometimes I wouldn't mind having a set, but then I remember I'd never be able to keep them clean/unblemished though.

that's my biggest fear.. i'm crazy careful around curbs and driveways, but even that isnt enough some times.


it does help that I don't daily the car, if I did that yeah they'd probably be wrecked by now :/