Captain Insano's WRB BRZ Log

[Captain Insano]

Starting a new thread from my original journal so I can document and log my car changes and plans....
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17190

My plans for the car are in posts 2-3.

My latest modification is the OpenFlash Tablet (OFT). I've supplied that review here in the first post for convenience of the readers.

So update here, I recently ordered the OFT. I ordered it on 2/17/2014 and received it on 2/22/2014 so shipping was relatively quick. I think the product is pretty cool upon inspection – a small, portable tablet like device with touchscreen functionality, looks adequately durable. Has a cable for USB interfacing with laptop and a OBDII cable for interfacing with your vehicle. I like the hardware aspect of the product.

When I first received it I tried to interface it to my laptop. It indicated with map manager software that I needed to interface to car. So I stopped playing with it at that point on the laptop and then went outside to interface to vehicle. Interfacing with vehicle worked through the read phase and save phase, but then for some reason the write icon was grayed out and it would not initiate the write phase of the synch process. At that point I emailed Vishnu about how it would not begin write synch portion of process. That was last night at about 9PM cst. After emailing Vishnu, I tried to interface it with map manager on the laptop again since the read and save portion of synch worked. This time, it interfaced with laptop fine. I looked at the map list screen on map manager and it only had my OEM tune saved on it. So my assumption is possibly my OFT was sent with no tunes loaded on it?? I tried again prior to interfacing with laptop. When I did and was messing with car I noticed checking CELs I had a P0700. I never have had a CEL fire on my car. Not sure what that one is for. I cleared it at that point when checking… After giving up on the write process last night, at that point I downloaded the v1.42 maps (didn't want to mess with the 1.5x beta maps yet since they are labeled as "beta). I unzipped the maps. I loaded the maps into map manager and uploaded to the OFT. This list of maps was the appropriate list for my ROM type (I assume that is mandatory or it won't synch to your car, but I didn't try to synch maps for a different ROM type). At that point I assumed the write problem during synch process was simply because there were no maps on my OFT when it got to write portion of synch process. This morning before work at around 7AM cst I tried to finish synching and the write portion started after I selected the stage one map (current mods are Invidia Q300 catback, P&L overpipe, Invidia catless resonated front pipe, I always use 93 octane fuel). So then write portion did complete and the stage 1 map is now on my ECU as of this morning.

After synch completion of stage 1, I let the car idle for about 5 minutes (you are supposed to let it idle for at least a minute after initial flash). After that I checked CELs again. No CELs. I watched AFRs and they looked fine (mid-14s) while I started normal, non-spirited driving to work. Car felt very sluggish for the first 5-7 minutes for the first country road I drove. At stop sigh, I turned and tipped in throttle to about mid-point. Car sputtered a little. I looked at advance multiplier and it was still 1.00 so I assumed at that point something strange had happened with fueling and that was not a knock event. Unfortunately I was not data logging at the time. Continued to drive for an additional 15 minutes or so and got in town to my work area. There I started to tip in throttle a little more aggressively after a couple stop lights and stop signs. Around one routine 15-20 mph corner I tipped in throttle like I normally do. Tail go out a little on barely wet pavement, definitely more lively than normal as I've been around that corner in all conditions, ice, snow, rain, dry, and the car felt a lot more tail happy than normal – I attribute that to more torque at that point of the ECU tune getting accustomed to my car after the 20 minute or so drive into town. After that, I did two more semi-aggressive starts of about 65-70% throttle. Both times I had switched from snow (we got about a tiny dusting of snow last night) to sport mode on the AT and it felt AGGRESSIVE. I think this tune has made a serious difference even only on a stage 1 level car. I'm using 93 octane fuel. And it felt pretty damn good on those two slightly more spirited take offs from full stop.

I will keep adding to this review as I drive it after work tonight and beyond. I must say that the car definitely feels more powerful than it ever has on those last three slightly aggressive take-offs before work this morning after the car felt a little limp on the way in. I attribute that initial weak sauce to the tune's adjustment period to the car after the initial flash. The car felt really good after that.

Overall, I'm excited. I think this stage 1 tune, if it feels like right before I got to work this morning, feels pretty damn good. VERY noticeable. The product itself seems to be pretty kick ass so far consider the cost point ($499 for OFT).

More to come….


EDIT - on the way home, all I can say again now is wow. Very very noticeable positive improvement in throttle response and torque in whole powerband but especially in the midrange it feels like a lot more torque. I'm loving it, great buy and I highly recommend. Next up will be adding the OpenFlash Header to the equation. I'm #48 on the backlog right now and they are around 15-16 in the order fulfillment list. So sometime around end of March or early April tentatively for the arrival of the header.


Log I took of stg1 v1.46 map:
http://www.datazap.me/u/captain-insa...=1-9-12&solo=9

[Captain Insano]

First of all, my plans include at a high level the following list of things some of which I already purchased.

Engine
Invidia N1 catback w/titanium tips (installed 1/26/2013 3366 : removed 7/14/2013 5376)
Invidia Q300 catback w/titanium tips (installed 7/14/2013 5376)
Invidia catless resonated front pipe (Installed 7/19/2013 5605)
P&L Motorsports overpipe (Installed 7/19/2013 5605)
OpenFlash Tablet stg1 (Installed 2/25/2014 11624)
OpenFlash Header (ordered 2/17/2014)
Lightweight battery kit (future)

Suspension
Eibach pro-kit springs (installed 1/4/2013 2977)
Whiteline front camber bolts (installed 1/4/2013 2977)
SPC rear control arms (installed without included toe bushing 1/4/2013 2977)
Alignment (done (see current settings below) 1/4/2013 2977)

Brakes
AP or Stoptech front brake kit (future)
GrimmSpeed master brake cylinder brace (future)
Pads TBD (future)
Fluid TBD (future)

Driveline
Go Fast Bits pulleys (future)
carbon fiber or aluminum drive shaft (future)
4.88 Final Drive (future)

Wheels
Weds TC105N 17x9 +35 summer wheels
Continental ExtremeContact DW 245/40/17 summer tires
Counterspace Garage racing lug nuts
OEM winter wheels
General Altimax Arctic 215/45/17 winter tires

Exterior & Misc
GReddy magnetic oil drain plug (2/23/2013 3658)
Wide angle side mirrors (future)

Current Alignment Settings
FRONT
--front left camber: -1.0
--front right camber: -1.0
--front left toe: 0.00
--front right toe: 0.00
--front left caster: 6.0
--front right caster: 6.3

REAR
--rear left camber: -1.7
--rear right camber: -1.8
--rear left toe: 0.00
--rear right toe: 0.00
--rear thrust angle: -0.0

SECONDARY ANGLES
--SAI left: 16.6
--SAI right: 16.9
--included angle left: 15.6
--included angle right: 15.9
--toe out on turns left: 2.0
--toe out on turns right: 2.3
--setback front: -2mm
--set back rear: -4mm
--track width difference: -9mm
--wheel base difference: 2mm

[Captain Insano]

Weight breakdown... First my original list of options and estimated savings I made to target....

Definitely will be doing (estimated)
-34.6 lbs, trunk spare tire, tools, etc
-20 lbs, engine back exhaust modifications (total OEM = 75 lbs)
-20 lbs, front brake modifications
-19 lbs, lightweight battery (this could be -25 lbs if I go the Super B Lithium Ion battery route)
-8 lbs, 2 lbs per corner with lighter wheels/tires, (would love to get -4 lbs per corner for total of -16 lbs, but this will be tough)
-6 lbs, rear brake modifcations
-5 lbs, Go Fast Bits pulleys
-2 lbs, intake modifications including noise tube deletion
-lbs, for Eibach pro-kit springs versus OEM... Not sure of weight differential yet
-lbs, SPC rear arms versus OEM... Not sure of weight differential yet
-114.6 lbs Total Target

Maybe (estimated)
-10 lbs, CF or aluminum drive shaft
-20 lbs, seat rails... not sure on these for DD
-10-? lbs, lighter seats, want to avoid this one maybe if possible, really like the OEM seats for DD
-lighter body panels with material like CF, budget is the limit as this can go a long way
-40+ lbs Maybe


Next, these are things I've actually done and measured, or used other measurments I've found on this board. For the modifications, this is stuff already on my car....

Savings (measured for changes currently made to my car)
Trunk board, spare, foam, tools removal: 34.6 lbs
TC105N & tire combo (3.6 lbs per * 4): 14.4 lbs
Invidia frontpipe: 5.3 lbs
P&L overpipe: 1 lb
CSG lugs: .3 lbs
Eibach springs: +4.4 lbs
SPC rear lower control arms: +2.6 lbs
Invidia Q300 catback exhaust: +.5 lbs
Whiteline front camber bolts: 0 lbs
Total savings presently on vehicle: -48.1 lbs

OEM Weight (list of measured weights)
Trunk tools & foam: 6.6 lbs
Spare tire, foam, & screw: 25.2 lbs
Trunk board: 2.8 lbs
OEM wheel/tire combo: 41.4 lbs
OEM lug nuts: 1.1 lbs (rounded from 1 lb 1.3 oz)
OEM under hood blanket .6 lbs
OEM intake noise generator tubing: 1.5 lbs
OEM catback: 38.5 lbs
OEM header: 20.9 lbs
OEM overpipe: 4.5 lbs
OEM frontpipe: 12.5 lbs
OEM pulley set: 6.3 lbs
--crank pulley: 4.9 lbs
--alternator pulley: .40 lbs
--water pump pulley: 1.0 lbs
OEM rear lower control arm: 3.0 lbs (6.0 for both)
OEM front lower control arm: 6.0 lbs (12.0 for both)
OEM front spring: 3.0 lbs (6.0 for both)
OEM rear spring: 3.0 lbs (6.0 for both)
OEM front camber bolt: .1 lbs (.2 for both)
OEM engine mount: 2.9 lbs

Aftermarket Weight (list of measured weights)
Summer wheel/tire combo - TOTAL: 37.8 lbs
--TC105N 17x9 +35 wheels: 15.8 lbs
--Continental ExtremeContact DW tires: 22 lbs
Counterspace Garage lugs (20): .8 lbs (rounded from 13 ounces)
Invidia N1 catback exhaust w/titanium tips - TOTAL: 29.2 lbs
--midpipe: 8.6 lbs
--ypipe: 5.8 lbs
--driver side muffler: 7.4 lbs
--passenger side muffler: 7.4 lbs
Invidia Q300 catback exhaust w/titanium tips: 39 lbs
Invidia catless resonated frontpipe: 7.2 lbs
Borla UEL header: 10.2 lbs
Perrin overpipe: 3.5 lbs
Eibach pro-kit front spring 3.6 lbs (7.2 for both)
Eibach pro-kit rear spring 4.6 lbs (9.2 for both)
SPC rear lower control arm 3.8 lbs (7.6 for both)
Robispec front lower control arm 3.0 lbs (6.0 lbs for both)
Whiteline (SPC rebranded) front camber bolt .1 lbs (.2 for both)
GFB pulley set: 1.4 lbs
--crank pulley: .75 lbs
--alternator pulley: .15 lbs
--water pulley: .5 lbs

[Captain Insano]

So wanted to update my log as I already had some Eibach pro-kit springs sitting in the garage while I waited for my other first suspension mods to arrive before install/alignment.


Today the rest of the parts arrived...
--SPC rear lower control arms with camber adjustability
--Whiteline (SPC rebranded) front camber bolts

Upon inpsection of all parts everything looks good, but I did wonder alot about the SPC rear lower control arms when I preassembed the arms... Basically after pre-assembly I noticed both arms were exactly identical. I was expecting side specific arms - or in other words a different arm specific to each side of the car, driver side arm and passenger side arm. I was afraid I had two of the same arms and was going to need to send back one of the arms to get the proper arm. I assumed I had two passenger side arms, this assumption was based on watching the install video for subarus at the SPC install video site (very cool they have an install video site IMHO):
http://spc-tv.com/install/pass-car/8...mber-arms.html

While watching the videos to confirm I had preassembled correctly (I did) the video shows install on passenger side of car, but not on driver side. And hence, I was not sure if I had two identical passenger side specific arms and needed a driver side, or if they arms were identical per side. The strangeness of them being identical per side and why I assumed they would not be same per side is the camber adjustment control would be on the rear of the arm on the passenger side and on the front of the arm on the driver side if they were identical. Rather than guessing, I decided to get verification before install work...

So I noticed on the the included SPC directions that SPC has a hotline. I thought, what the heck, I'll give it a try. It is now approximately 5:00 PM cst so I assume if they do have a hotline office hours will now be exhausted for the day. I dial just to see... A guy answers on the second ring. COOL!

I describe part, give him part number and ask if this part should be unique per side of car or identical. He is not sure. So he asks to put me on hold so he can ask somebody that knows. I say sure, expecting to be on hold for minutes. About 5 seconds later another guy picks up. He asks me about part number. I give that to him and ask same question. He says, "hold on, I'm in the middle of an install, let me wash the grease off my hands"... He washes his hands and is back in like 15 seconds.

Then he proceeds to tell me that I'm good to go, the arms are identical and the adjustment nut is on the front of arm on driver side and rear of arm on passenger side. COOL - no need to send back an arm and I now know I have green light to install. I have never used SPC parts before, but must say I'm very impressed with the immediate response to my questions with live people. Awesome customer service and knowledge.

I just wanted to post this in case anybody else orders the arm and has the same question as me. It sounds sort of strange in this typed description, but if you go to video you will see the arm and see the camber adjustment nut on rear of arm on passenger side and it might make more sense. Hopefully this helps people not get scared of having one wrong part on a side of car if they order these arms.

Will post review/opinion of sum of new parts after install/alignment....

[Acree]

Very good start! I've been wanting to do this for mine, but I've been way too lazy. Anxious to see your suspension evolution.

-Acree

[Captain Insano]

Install is done for the Eibach pro-kit springs, Whiteline/SPC front camber bolts, and the SPC rear lower control arms with camber adjustability, with an alignment done after all install work.

Impressions...

After driving car on city roads and highway (no track impressions yet) I think it feels great still for a daily driven car. The bumps feel almost exactly the same - this even on some larger city bumps and pot holes. The car rides great. So far I'm liking the feel for daily driving. Will update on that if it changes.

Handling impressions the car feels more planted even during normal driving. First of all, I'm running OEM sized General Altimax Arctic winter tires right now. They are essentially brand new (I've had them on the car for like 1000 miles). These are soft and squishy tires due to the winter tire compound and how new they are. So before the install/alignment I could feel the car was a little more "floaty" on the highway between 70-80 mph with these tires. Not anything that felt dangerous or bad, but noticeable between OEM tires and these winter tires.

After install/alignment, I can still tell I'm running these new winter tires, but it is alot less noticeable on the highway between 70-90 mph. Messing aroung a little bit with exaggerated sharp turning or quich adjustments at speed I think these modifications are noticeable. The car definitely feels more planted even with non-performance oriented winter tires. I think this a pretty great "bang for buck" start to my car modifications.

Looks...
The 4x4 wheel gap is gone. Car isn't slammed or anything, but looks like a normal sports car now as far as drop. I will be curious to see if it drops anymore after springs settle in which is typical, but even less than 24 hours after install it looks soooo much better than the OEM wheel gap. Love it.

Some observations with parts...
Eibach pro-kit - quality of parts look great, includes new bump stops designed for the springs, dust hat protectors, and obviously the springs themselves.

Whiteline front camber bolts - not much to comment on here, quality looks great from a "beefy bolts" and strength perspective.

SPC rear lower control arms with camber adjustability - while I really like the customer service when I called SPC, I do think the attachment points on the inside of the arm looko kinda flimsy. You can bend them really easy just with hand pressure. No obviously you wouldn't be able to do this once they are installed as there would be attaching bolt/nut to solid end point on inner arm, but before install they feel flimsier than I would have guessed. Because of this, I will probably at some point have welding done of pieces to connect the two inner side runners that attach to inner endpoint of suspension. Even with 2-3 very thin pieces of solid metal welded on top/bottom of the inner part of arm, I think the strength would exponentially be increased a hundredfold due to the inability of the arm to flex even before installing to solid endpoint. I contemplated buying new arms, but the whole reason I bought SPC was bargain start to modding. I can probably have the welding I envision done for maybe like $50-$100 at a performance shop. I will have an arm as strong as some of the higher end arms that cost $500+... And I will have invested around $350 in these SPC arms. For those of you reading this, don't get scared, I'm confident the arms are fine for DD street usage, but I want more strength for track days is the reason I mention my idea to weld pieces on top/bottom of inner arm. One other minor complaint, the bolts included for these arms appeared to be not as strong as a 1090 bolt should be. They stretched pretty easily and had to be replaced. Replacement bolts did not stretch.

EDIT - new impressions...
So I did alot more driving today. I think this has actually made quite a big difference in handling. Today I tried to focus more on throttling out of corners just to see difference between stock and the new suspension setup since stock is still so fresh in my mind. WOW, in corner throttling this has made a huge difference. Yes, it is more planted like I mentioned, but in corners now when I'm regular or aggressively throttling it seems like the car bites alot harder and shoots out of the corner more easily versus the traction or stability control kicking in as early. Since the tires are exactly the same I have to assume it's the suspension. Again, if the new configuration is this noticeable on the street I think on the track it will make a HUGE difference.

This is actually weird to me. I thought the new settings (stiffer springs) would overpower the tires more easily, but it seems like I'm actually getting more traction. Possibly maybe this is due to the more aggressive alignment settings is my guess.

[RL_BRZ]

share some latest pics of your car... :-)

[mach330]

We need pix. I can't handle all txt with no pix.

Tap'd from my G-Nex

[Captain Insano]

Sorry fellas. Yeah, pics are in the link to my thread after purchase, but those pics are bone stock!! I need to clean the car before I take pics, it is dirty right now. Haha. I will post up some pics of the drop once the car is clean.

[Captain Insano]

Before springs pics....

[Captain Insano]

After springs pics...

[Captain Insano]

Did Opti-coat last weekend. Here are a coupla pics...

** prep and application done by Franklin Avenue Detailing... www.fadetail.com **

BEFORE






AFTER

[Captain Insano]

I installed the Invidia N1 catback with titanium tips today.

Review...

I love the look. I have the titanium tips and it looks great. Very pleased with the rear end visually.

For the sound.... Whoa!!! This is loud and mean. I think it is a great balance for somebody that likes a very aggressive exhaust. When I'm cruising in town in low RPMs in 4-6 gear it isn't too bad. Once you go above 3500 RPMs it's on. I also took it on some rural roads to flog on it a bit to see what it sounds like up to 7K RPMs and it is so in your face. I love it. Feel like I'm driving a race car now. Also, I know catbacks aren't supposed to make much HP, but the car seemed to feel a little perkier for sure.

I think I'm gonna get an overpipe and do the overpipe and frontpipe (already have the Invidia catless resonated frontpipe, but not installed) for my next addition. Gonna wait until I put on another couple hundred miles or so as the N1 catback supposedly quiets down a bit once it has some carbon buildup.

EDIT: Exhaust definitely has quieted down a little bit after the carbon build up Still what I would consider a bit on the loud side, but aggressive I do like more after it has calmed a bit with the carbon. Great bang for buck exhaust.

[Captain Insano]

Ordered some Weds TC105N 17x9 wheels today. Will update with pics when they arrive...