PMok's WRB BRZ Premium 6MT

[Veloist]

^wow awesome pics! The car looks so clean! I think red- out tails look the best with WRB and I like the 3rd picture because the reflection of the sky and pearl make a nice contrasting effect! I love the simplicity of your car because of the subtle yet tasteful changes!

[PMok]

Originally Posted by Veloist

^wow awesome pics! The car looks so clean! I think red- out tails look the best with WRB and I like the 3rd picture because the reflection of the sky and pearl make a nice contrasting effect! I love the simplicity of your car because of the subtle yet tasteful changes!

Thanks, just my opinion but I think red tails would look good on any color except maybe the firestorm. Smoked red would look good too. If you saw @frsguy707's car at the recent meets it looks pretty good on whiteout too. He's the one who painted my tails by the way.

Besides the tails and window tint, everything else I've done was on the cheap and mostly reversible! In case I change my mind or decide to sell the car.

[PMok]

Ok time for some interior dress-up... Ordered a stainless steel Anvil 2 knob from Moddiction. Mod cost: about $80 for the engraved version.



As you can see its a little thinner and a little taller than the stock knob. However it's countersunk deeper than the stock knob so it sits lower on the shifter. It's also about double the weight of the stock one.



When screwed all the way down the knob is a little too close to the reverse lockout ring for it to function properly, and the engraved shift pattern isn't oriented properly (on mine it was off by 90*). It also spun freely there was nothing to hold it rotationally. So I did what they suggested, applied some light duty thread locker and left it a few turns higher to clear the lockout and align the pattern. I installed it tonight and will let it set overnight before driving it, can't wait to try it!

EDIT: Drove with the new knob to work today, sat in some traffic for a while so really got to do some shifting ... it feels really good! Throws feel slightly shorter, and the shift feel is more solid. It's subtle but noticeable. Looks like the thread locker is working fine, it sits on as tightly as the stock knob did, no issues with the knob moving or spinning from usage.

[itisthumper]

Originally Posted by PMok

I want to red out my tails too but I need to find someone who does it down here. How long does it take for the paint to cure before reinstalling?

[PMok]

Originally Posted by itisthumper

I want to red out my tails too but I need to find someone who does it down here. How long does it take for the paint to cure before reinstalling?

I didn't paint them myself but I imagine it probably has to sit overnight to be safe. I know it takes multiple coats and maybe some wetsanding between coats if you want it to look best (glossy). Check out DarrenDriven's how-to thread:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7826

[slizoth]

Fun to watch this thread grow since Im driving a WRB Subaru BRZ Premium 6MT as well and I actually did a lot of this stuff, I havent touched the shift knob though. Let me know when you add a push button start and keyless entry

[PMok]

I went for a drive today and stopped by the Sunol Water Temple which is a nice spot for some photos, so I took a few shots ... these are all from my iPhone so they are just OK shots but perhaps I will have to come back sometime with my DSLR.














I also stopped by the Subaru dealership closest to me and had them look at my GPS and the fuel pump for the signal loss and cricket TSBs. I made it as easy as possible for them by bringing in copies of the TSBs. They checked out the car, confirmed the issues existed, and have put an order in for the parts they need. They said to expect them in by end of the week and then I can schedule a day to bring it back and get those parts replaced.

[PMok]

I went for a brief drive today after hanging with a friend. Got honks from a family in a SUV with what appeared to be enthusiastic approval for my car I'm guessing.

Then I had a pretty cool encounter with a McLaren MP4-12C on one of my favorite backroads... wrote up the story here.

[Moddiction]

Car looks great!

[PMok]

Time for another update I guess...
I took my car back to Livermore Subaru and they did the repairs to the GPS antenna/Navi software update, and also replaced the fuel pump for the crickets/chirping fix. I had to leave my car with them overnight to get these things done as it was one of the first BRZs to come in for these fixes there, but they seem to have done a proper job of it as the issues appear to be gone! So I am happy with that and now if anyone else wants to take their cars in, they've done it at least once before now.

I've signed up for a track day at Thunderhill next weekend, so I decided to spend some of my mod money to make the car track-worthy. Based on the Motor Trend "Best Driver's Car 2012" comparo and other members' experiences, I decided I needed to upgrade the brake pads and fluid. It's not sexy like new rims or coilovers, but the last thing I want at the track is to boil my brakes and have my pads worn down to nothing and be stranded out there. So I bought a set of Carbotech XP8 race pads for the front brakes and some Motul 660 Racing Brake Fluid. I also grabbed a set of speedbleeders from Amazon to make it easier to do brake flushes/bleeds. I installed these items today and did a DIY write up on them, you can read that article here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24614
Mod cost: Front brake pads set $186, 1L of brake fluid about $56.







Also picked up some camber bolts from the dealership and will install those when I get a chance. And borrowed a friend's GoPro Hero camera for the upcoming track day. That should help me record some interesting footage at the track!

Other upcoming mods:
- Five Axis rear deck spoiler (ordered)
- Berk catless test pipe (shipping this week)

[PMok]

Took Stitch over to a friend's garage yesterday and we installed the camber bolts I picked up from the local dealership parts dept. I maxed out the negative camber (probably less than 1*) while my friend tightened the bolts. Mod cost: $14 (those are some pricey $7 bolts!)



We also tried to install the Berk catless front pipe but after taking off the underbody panels and starting to remove the stock pipe, we ran into a stubborn nut/bolt on the overpipe end. Looks like the nut got crossthreaded on the stud. So we had to throw in the towel and leave it to the pros. I took it in to a muffler shop today, and they had to use a torch to cut off the old nut and rethread the stud, then the Berk FP went on! Mod cost: $180 + $120 install





First impressions: drove home after the install and I do feel like there is a little more power in the low-mid range RPMs. Sound is not dramatically changed to my surprise, I thought removing the secondary cat and resonator would make the sound louder but it seems to be the same level, just a little difference in character. Keep in mind I still have the stock muffler behind that FP so for now it seems pretty ideal to me: reduce weight and flow restrictions, make more power, and remain stock OEM quiet. I'm sure if I change the mid pipe and muffler sections the sound will be much more aggressive but I'm not sure I want to attract that much attention yet.

I'll be heading out to Thunderhill Raceway this weekend for a track day, so with the recent mods I'm really looking forward to that. Stay tuned for some track day videos and more driving impressions once I've had a chance to take the car closer to the limits. It should be interesting since it's supposed to rain all weekend, so I will have to hone my wet/rain driving skills...

[spitz]

Looks like Laguna Seca will be rained out for me, good luck with the weather at THill!

[PMok]

Originally Posted by spitz

Looks like Laguna Seca will be rained out for me, good luck with the weather at THill!

they said they'll run rain or shine, so I'm about to hit the road and head north...

[spitz]

Originally Posted by PMok

they said they'll run rain or shine, so I'm about to hit the road and head north...

Yup, same here... Going to head out in the morning though.