WRB BRZ Premium 6MT

[slizoth]

Why I Love This Car
I'll make this short and sweet because if you got here, you already know a lot about this car. I love this car because it's beautiful, fun to drive, and affordable. The maintenance costs are low, the initial cost was low, the tuner community is plentiful, and I'm confident I can keep it in good running condition for a long time! I finally found a car I'm proud to own and as a total penny-pincher I'm proud of the cost as well.

Six-Month Goals
Install Sound Deadening {Completed}
All-Weather Floor Mats {Completed}
OBDII Reader + Torque Pro Setup and logging {Completed}
Trunk Hook {Completed}
Start-up Screen Change
Remove Excess Phones from NAV saved connections {Completed}

Wishlist
Limited Seat Covers
Push Button Start and Keyless Entry
Shmancy Limited Gauges
Chrome Fuel Door
Official BRZ Cargo Tray Purchased!
Subwoofer, Amp, Speakers
OBDII Reader + Torque [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Excelvan-Bluetooth-Interface-Scanner-Adapter/dp/B007P14NPU/ref=sr_1_13?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1354831129&sr =1-13&keywords=elm327"]Opt 1[/ame] [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Soliport-Bluetooth-OBDII-Diagnostic-Scanner/dp/B004KL0I9I/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1354831129&sr= 1-1&keywords=elm327"]Opt 2[/ame] Opt 2 Purchased!

Blue Interior Lights

Helpful Links
Carwash
Trunk Liner
OBDII Adapters
All Weather Mats

TSB / Recalls
WQC-39 : ECM Reprogramming for Coolant Thermostat
15-158-12: Navigation/GPS Antenna Changes
12-131-12: Condensation in Rear Combination Lamp
09-54-12: Chirping Noise from High Pressure Fuel Pump
02-132-12: DTCs Relating to the AVCS (Active Valve Control System)
12-140-12: Popping Sound from Trunk / Rear Shelf Area

Videos
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI-GsnoVez8"]Last Session Silent Lap - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOUOU_SCAmA"]Last Session Instructor Lap - YouTube[/ame]

[slizoth]

[slizoth]

Maintenance History
08-13-18: Rear Differential Oil Change, Self
07-30-18: HEPA Filter (Air conditioner filter) & Engine Air Filter, Self
04-14-18: GrimmSpeed License Relocation, Shark Fin Antenna
04-14-18: Oil change, Self
08-10-17: New Tires! Michelin Pilot Super Sport & brake check, brakes are at 75%
08-06-17: AC Refrigerant drained and refilled, O-ring on AC Compressor replaced, AC Relay in dash replaced.
11-27-16: Oil change, Self
09-05-14: Shorai Battery Installation
05-15-14: Noise Generator Delete
01-12-14: HEPA Filter (Air conditioner filter), Self
01-12-14: Oil Change, Self
01-08-14: Topped off Coolant
04-15-13: Oil Change, Self {oil valve works great!}
09-10-12: Oil Change, Self
12-18-12: ECU Recall, Dealership
11-26-12: Body Repair Completed

Notes
12-27-18: Upcoming maintenance: Replace Spark Plugs, Fuel Filter, Air Cleaner Element, Brake Fluid.
12-27-18: Pending Inspection: Transmission Gear Oil, Parking Break.
07-23-17: Stock tires are nearing the end, shown as worn, dated 4911 (Manufactured Dec 2011), odometer 26084 mi. A/C is not consistently blowing cold, intermittently fails.
10-05-14: Appear to have parasitic draw, battery dies after 8 days of non-use. Torque shows No Fault Codes Need to rotate tires to complete 15k mile maintenance.
01-19-14: Looking at Replacement Battery options.
01-05-14: Approaching 15,000mi Maintenance (11,386mi currently), reviewed Maintenance and Service Manual
01-05-14: Coolant level is below the low line (cold). Reviewed "Missing Coolant" thread, seems to be different circumstances.
12-15-13: Torque shows No Fault Codes
05-01-13: On drive to Mt.Whistler from Corvallis, radiator leaked fluid when stopping for gas. Coollant level showed just above low line.

[Chen]

Costco has some all weather floor mats. For both front and rear. They fit great. I think they are like 20 bucks when I had bought mine.

[slizoth]

Originally Posted by Chen

Costco has some all weather floor mats. For both front and rear. They fit great. I think they are like 20 bucks when I had bought mine.

Awesome, can I check them out sometime? Maybe even tomorrow if the car club is still meeting up even though Im pretty sure this is the tail end of Finals week. I saw that the dealership has a 15% off coupon right now for floor mats and accessories, I think that puts the mats at $50 so over twice as much as the Costco ones.

[Chen]

Originally Posted by slizoth

Awesome, can I check them out sometime? Maybe even tomorrow if the car club is still meeting up even though Im pretty sure this is the tail end of Finals week. I saw that the dealership has a 15% off coupon right now for floor mats and accessories, I think that puts the mats at $50 so over twice as much as the Costco ones.

I don't think the meet is happening tomorrow. But I can meet up w/ you if you want to check it out. We can grab another beer or something.

[slizoth]

Originally Posted by Chen

I don't think the meet is happening tomorrow. But I can meet up w/ you if you want to check it out. We can grab another beer or something.

So I just called the dealer, with the coupons I can get the trunk liner and all weather mats for $130.81. See how much I could save getting the Costco ones instead, I bet the Liner by itself is about $50.

[slizoth]

Recently I turned my car in to the Dealer for the ECU recall, while I was there I picked up the BRZ Cargo Tray and some touch-up paint. I also got to try out the Impreza All Weather Floor Mats in the BRZ and they do not fit well enough, they don't cover a large enough area for my tastes.

[Kilzod]

Nice!

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Have to say, that blue is quite amazing

[slizoth]

TL : DR
Root cause was an electric failure with the AC relay, once replaced the AC was fully operational.

2013 Subaru BRZ Air Conditioner
Standard air conditioners on Subaru vehicles use HFC134a refrigerant (same thing as R134A). Do not mix it with other refrigerants.
Also, do not use any air compressor oil except for ND-OIL8.

Tools

• Manifold Gauge Set
• Infrared Thermometer
• Teflon Tape
• Plastic Gloves
• UV Light and Glasses

How Air Conditioning works.
Your refrigerant cycles between a high pressure and low pressure state, moving from a gas to a liquid and back to a gas. The temperature difference is used to cool your evaporator which a fan blows over, generating the cool air you feel in the car when you turn your A/C on.

• When you turn on your A/C, your 'A/C Clutch' engages the 'A/C Shaft'.
• 'A/C Shaft' is inside 'A/C Compressor'
• 'A/C Compressor' works to compress the low pressure (cool gas) into a high pressure (warm gas).
• The refrigerant then moves to your 'A/C Condenser' where it's converted from a gas to a liquid.
• Liquid refrigerant travels to 'Receiver Drier'** which acts as a filter.
• High pressure refrigerant goes through a tiny opening (Expansion valve or Orifice tube)** to a low pressure state, quickly expanding and turning back into a gas.
• Gas cools quickly in the Evaporator and A/C Fan blows air off the evaporator into your car to cool the car.
• Gas exits the Evaporator and heads to the AC Compressor to close the loop.

**If you have an 'Orifice Tube' you'll have an 'A/C Accumulator' rather than the 'Receiver Drier' we see with the 'Expansion Valve'. The accumulator is on the low pressure side and the 'Receiver Drier' is on the high pressure side.

Visual aid taken from Ratchets And Wrenches YouTube Channel


Take Note

• The 'Receiver Drier' must be replaced if the A/C closed loop is opened as exposure to atmospheric pressure can reduce the effectiveness of the filter and cannot be re-used, replace it.
• If you're using a can to refill your refrigerant wrap the valve with Teflon-tape to shore up the seal.
• When adding, make sure the can is in as upright a position as possible to prevent the liquid refrigerant from entering the low pressure line in the 'gas' section. Shake can to help refrigerant to pass through the can and into the system.

Diagnosing problems with your A/C System
We'll split this section based on which tool you're using to diagnose the system as well as an overall pro-tips section.

Pro-Tips

• If using a Manifold gauge set make sure valves are closed before you begin.
• In order to do any diagnostics your A/C Compressor clutch must be engaging, if it's not engaging, very likely that you don't have enough refrigerant in the system.

Temperature check

• Temperature highest when leaving A/C Compressor, 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit expected.
• Temperature leaving A/C Condenser still hot, but lower, 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit expected. If little or no difference in temperature, check for blockage around A/C Condenser or consider replacing A/C Condenser. Verify A/C Fan is spinning.
• Temperature leaving the Receiver Drier should be 10-15 degrees cooler than when it left the A/C Condenser.
• Temperature after Expansions Valve or Orifice Tube should be very low (mid 40s).

A/C Gauge Set

• Establish Base PSI for High and Low Pressure readings via Repair manual.
• If High and Low pressure is the same or close to, very likely a problem with A/C Compressor.
• If your readings are lower than the base, very likely you need to add refrigerant.
• If your readings are too low on the low side and too high on the high side, likely a clog on the high pressure side. Most likely culprit is the Expansion Valve or Orifice Tube, must replace.

Finding a Leak

• Automotive refrigerant with a UV Dye, add to the system, run A/C for 10/15min, & use UV light to check lines for leak.
• Listen for air leaking out, feel for escaping air to locate leak and/or let the UV dye show you where the leak is.
• Broken seals on or around the A/C Compressor are a common cause for leaking pressure as well as the High and Low entry points (check with soapy water).
• Wherever a connection is made in the hosing there will be an O-Ring which is a potential leak.

How to refill your refrigerant.

• Attach can to low pressure side to refill
• Get in car, turn on engine, turn A/C and Blower fan to maximum.
• Verify A/C Compressor Clutch is engaged so pulley and clutch turn together.
• If Clutch is not engaged add a 1/3 of the can, see if clutch engages.
• Estimate amount of refrigerant needed by first determining if you're topping off or refilling an empty system. If topping off, use the gauge on the can. If refilling, go by weight, 1oz = 28g.

Observations
The car was purchased in June 2012, first signs of A/C trouble began in Feb 2017. The car has roughly 28,000 miles on it.

A/C blows cold initially and overtime stops blowing cold air. I shut the A/C off for a short period of time and when I turn it back on I get cold air for a bit. How long I get cold air seems to be vary based on driving conditions (temp, speed, etc.)

84-94 degree Fahrenheit day driving.
I drove the car for 70min, mostly going 64 mph (cruise control, low traffic highway) and I pretty consistently got 12min of AC and then I'd shut it down for 3min. The time for cold air and downtime was the same throughout the entire highway journey. I stopped at a pub to pickup a friend and in the 15min that took I found a puddle of water under my car when we were departing. Driving at low and inconsistent speeds, the A/C lasted for considerably less time (two to three minutes before having to be turned off).

I've also noticed on long drives of I-5 with cruise control set, sometimes the A/C has no trouble at all and just keeps running (other times not so much). Seems to be night time driving conditions (colder temperatures?) the A/C unit is more consistent and needs less if any downtime.

Overview of how it looks under the hood.


This is my Denso A/C Compressor.


High pressure tube, warm to the touch.


Low pressure tube, visible condensation & the metal portion drips water.


This is the low pressure cap, you use this to refill your refrigerant.

[slizoth]

TL : DR
Fuel + Air + Spark = combustion. Sometimes, combustion occurs before the spark and that results in an engine 'knock', loss of power, inefficient use of fuel. Knocking occurs because you're using a lower octane rated fuel than your engine is designed for (Octane rating in-fact tells you how resistant your fuel is to combusting w/o spark). Fuel additive is straight Isooctane (100 Octane rating) so it raises the octane rating when added to your tank.

Background
I went down this rabbit hole because like other members of this forum I enjoy performing maintenance on my car. Part of my routine maintenance when I do an oil or filter change is to put some fuel injector cleaner in the car and I asked myself, is this really doing anything?

Enter "Lucas Upper Cylinder Lubricant and Fuel Injector Cleaner"


Highlights

• Use before DEQ to cheat the emissions test.
• No need to put premium gas in your tank if you're using this additive.
• Ingredients: Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated heavy paraffinic

So what are 'Distillates (petroleum), hydrotreated heavy paraffinic' really? Alkanes, also known as paraffins, are saturated hydrocarbons with straight or branched chains which contain only carbon and hydrogen and have the general formula CnH2n+2.

Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula C₈H₁₈, and the condensed structural formula CH₃(CH₂)₆CH₃.

Sources / Recommended Reading
How Combustion Engines Work
Chemistry of fuel additives

[slizoth]

Final Update, I got married and the wife had me sell the car and replace it with a 2019 Crosstrek.

R.I.P. BRZ June 2012 - May 2019

[JD001]

[QUOTE=slizoth;3289656]Final Update, I got married and the wife had me sell the car and replace it with a 2019 Crosstrek.

R.I.P. BRZ June 2012 - May 2019[/QUOTE

Commiserations... Did you know that you had to sell your Twin before you got married?

[dowroa]

Originally Posted by slizoth

Final Update, I got married and the wife had me sell the car and replace it with a 2019 Crosstrek.

R.I.P. BRZ June 2012 - May 2019

Ugh. When I got married, we went from a 2003 WRX to a 2005 STI and did Subaru Challenges up and down the East Coast.

Twenty years later, I have a 2016 STi and 2002 z06 and she has the Ford Flex she wanted (well from a 2007 FXT SC to a Flex).

Good luck and thank you for the journals!