R32Gaijin’s BRZ story

[R32Gaijin]

Hi everybody. Always wanted to do a journal following a car of mine. I’ve been a mechanic since 2008 and specializing on Subaru’s through working at dealerships and performance shops since 2010.

I remember vividly, working at a local Subaru dealership when the first shipment of BRZ’s rolled in on a truck, fresh off the boat. Another tech and I were pumped, dropped what we were doing, grabbed some dealer plates, and went on an extended and thorough “PDI” test drive. It was exciting being one of the first people in the country to get to enjoy these new, untested cars. He was less than enthused. “Needs more power”. But, oh, was I moved. I loved how nimble and responsive the new platform was. I knew at that moment, I needed one.

I’ve had my fair share of performance oriented cars. From my full built, 400+ HP Hawkeye STi , to an E46 M3 , TT 300 ZX (no pic because prior to social media) and R32 Skyline GTS-t . I can’t drive a “normal” car. If I’m not moved emotionally by it, I can’t bring myself to turning the key.

I thought my swan song was going to be my Skyline. Found a guy in Florida to ship it over from Japan, flew down and drove it back to New Hampshire. Was an amazing first drive in my “dream car”, up the eastern seaboard. But, life had other plans for me I guess. Just under a year of owning the car, one morning I walked out to drive to work, and it was gone. Someone stole my Skyline. I was heartbroken. It was 2 days after taking it out from winter storage. The instant gratification in me couldn’t wait until I re-put insurance on it. And that ended up being the most costly mistake I’ve ever made. So long story short, everything I’ve worked for up until that point, was gone. (Bought the STi, sold that for the M3, sold that for the Skyline)

After a few years of depression and driving crap cars, I needed to get out of the slump. I’ve been working at a Subaru performance shop here in NH for a while now, and felt I finally deserved to treat myself to something I’ve always wanted.

Spent some time with a sales guy I’ve known for a long time, searching for the ONE.

5/1/19 - Picked up my 2019 Subaru BRZ Performance Package


5/13/19 - Finished 1000mi break-in. Change out ALL THE FLUIDS because Motul is superior.
Motul 8100 5W30 EFE
Subaru oil filter
Motul Gear 300
Motul Gear 300 LS
Greddy magnetic oil pan plug


7/28/19 - Added some volume with an MXP SP Quad Tip cat-back and JDM TRD exhaust trim


8/21/19 - Added some high quality lows. Working at a performance shop has its perks where I get to test out customer suspension setups before I buy my own.
Went with HKS Hipermax IV SP coilovers and Whiteline rear lower control arms to bring the camber back in form lowering it. Ended up maxing out my toe adjustment, so I knew that was next.


9/7/19 - Practiced my exhaust fabrication skills by deleting the stock front pipe/cat. Bolted some flanges to the stock flanges, cut up like 30 pie cuts and started welding. Made my own front pipe that has very little drone and sounds great.
Also added a pre-facelift BRZ lip we had lying around the shop form a customer that wrecked their car prior to install. It’s not a perfect fit, but for 20 bucks, I dig it.


9/12/19 - Swapped our those stock rear toe arms with some SPC arms. Was finally able to give myself a more proper drift alignment setup, as a daily/drift car is the goal.

Front:
Camber: -2.8*
Toe: +0.05*
Rear:
Camber: -1.0*
Toe: 0.0*

Of course my plans are to start drifting it and modify to my skill level and drift needs, but I’ll be throwing on some louvers (I’m a sucker for the 80’s) and a little ducktail. Not the biggest fan of the wheels, so will be replacing with some GL/ Rays, most likely 57Xtremes.

All these modifications are awesome additions to the platform, but to be honest, straight from the factory, these have to be the best cars you can buy for the money. Power is fun, but corners are funner.


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