JCW 86 Build

[JCW 86]

So after 3 years of owning my 86, I've finally got around to creating a build thread for it. I plan on owning this car for a long time so this will serve as a way for me to track my build as well as a way to receive feedback from the community. I've been a long time creeper on the forums, and everything I've learned about working on cars has come from here. I thought the least I could do to contribute would be to document my build for others to see.

Like the majority of people my age, I really starting getting into cars during the whole F&F craze. Fast forward to my second year in college and I had saved up a decent amount to put a down payment on a car. I ended up picking up a certified used 2013 Raven Black FR-S in March of 2015. Here's me the day I picked it up.



I know everyone says the car is underpowered but I'd never driven anything close to it power and handling wise and came to the conclusion that I'd want to build the car incrementally and learn how to drive the car as I added mods. So far I've only taken the car on canyon runs, but would eventually like to track it every now and then. So enough about me, onto the car. Here it is at it sits now.




Mod List:

Performance/Exhaust
- Invidia N1 Catback - Removed
- Invidia Q300 Catback
- Gruppe-S UEL Ceramic Coated Header
- Openflash Tablet V2
- Jackson Racing Oil Cooler

Wheels
- SSR GTX01 Dark Silver 18x9.5 +40 w/ Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 (Street)
- Rays Gram Lights 57CR Almite Gold 17x9 +35 w/ Hankook RS4 (Track)
- Muteki SR45R Black Lugnuts
- ARP Extended Wheel Studs

Brakes
- Stoptech Street Pads (Street)
- Carbotech XP8 Pads (Track)
- Stoptech Slotted Rotors Front/Rear
- Stoptech Stainless Steel Brake Lines Front/Rear
- Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace
- Porsche GT3 Brake Duct Mod

Suspension/Drivetrain
- Tein Flex A Coilovers
- Whiteline Rear Sway Bar Adjustable End Links
- Whiteline Subframe Bushing Inserts (KDT922)
- Whiteline Differential Bushing Inserts (KDT925)
- Whiteline Steering Rack Bushings (KSR210)
- Whiteline Anti-Dive Caster Bushings (KCA434)
- Whiteline Roll Center/Bump Steer Kit (KCA435)
- Whiteline Front Control Arm Inner Bushings (W0509)
- Whiteline Rear Upper Control Arm Bushings (W63225)
- Whiteline Rear Trailing Arm Bushings (W63414)
- Whiteline Transmission Mount Bushing Insert (KDT926)
- Perrin Shifter Mount Bushing
- Verus Engineering Rear Lower Control Arms
- STI Engine Mounts
- MTEC Shift Springs

Exterior/Aero
- Beatsonic Shark Fin Antenna - Removed
- OEM 2015 Sharkfin
- Perrin License Plate Relocation Kit
- Verus Engineering 2 Piece Splitter
- Driveway Labs Type 2a Diffuser
- Dai Yoshihara Rear Canards
- Bayson R Sideskirts
- Modbargains CFW Duckbill Spoiler
- Move Over Racing Bumper Quick Release Kit
- Raceseng Front/Rear Towhooks

Lighting
- Helix Clear Sidemarkers w/ White LED
- White LED License Plate & Reverse Lights
- White/Amber LED Switchback Turn Signals
- Winjet Headlights
- Morimoto 5500K HID Kit
- Valenti Red Lens Taillights

Interior
- Raceseng Prolix Textured Shift Knob
- Verus Fuel Starvation Door
- SRP Racing Heel-Toe Accelerator Pedal
- Subaru OEM Leatherette Dash Trim
- Toyota OEM Knee and Speaker Pads

[JeremyR]

Car looks great man! What rear diffuser is that??

[Clipdat]

Nice SSR wheels!

[JCW 86]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

Car looks great man! What rear diffuser is that??

Thanks man, its the Driveway Labs Type 2a and then I added some ebay dai yoshihara rear canards. I'm at work, but once I get home I'll get my full mod list and future mods up.

[JCW 86]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Nice SSR wheels!

Thanks dude, the GTX01's have been treating me well. Wish I went 17x9 instead of 18x9.5 but I'll fix that with my next set of wheels!

[Route]

So clean! I wish I got my car in black

[JCW 86]

Originally Posted by Route

So clean! I wish I got my car in black

It's a love hate thing lol. Looks so good when clean but absolute crap after about a day of driving. Always has me thinking what if I got it in a different color Dig your car man, reppin the SSR's in the size I should have gotten lol

[kpally]

Sweet build man! Loving those wheels

[JCW 86]

Originally Posted by kpally

Sweet build man! Loving those wheels

Thanks man, appreciate it

[JCW 86]

It's been awhile since I've updated. I've just been busy with work since I graduated and have been enjoying the car in it's current state. Luckily I got a 2012 Ford F150 as a work vehicle from my job so the FR-S has become my weekend and fun car.

I've been wanting to take my car to the track for awhile and I've been slowly amassing parts to get it track ready. With the current situation going on, I've finally been able to work on my car and am starting to chip away at the parts I need to Install. This past weekend I was able to get all my brake parts installed.

Stoptech Sport Kit

Got the Stoptech Sport kit with their street pads, slotted rotors and stainless lines installed on all 4 corners. I also picked up some Carbotech XP8 pads for track duty. I bed in the pads already, but have not gotten the chance to really test them out yet. Can't wait until I can finally hit up a track day and learn as much as I can. I plan on filming all of my sessions and will post them up here. I am a relative noob when it comes to car control and tracking so I hope some of you track junkies on here can impart some wisdom.

Radium Master Cylinder Brace

I also installed the Radium master cylinder brace as well. I wish I had done this mod so much sooner. The brake pedal feels much firmer and I am able to modulate my braking much easier without the vague pedal feel. It may just be me, but I feel like having the firmer pedal has allowed me to heel toe much easier. Ignore the dirty engine bay, gotta get the car detailed soon.

Porsche GT3 Brake Ducts

For brake cooling I installed the Porsche GT3 brake ducts that I've seen a lot of members do on their cars. For $20, I thought why not. It doesn't hurt to have some brake cooling to help my pads and rotors last a little longer. Also removed the dust shield to let the redirected air go straight to the rotor.

I still have some other parts that need to go on too, including a Gruppe-S header and Jackson Racing oil cooler that I plan on getting on soon. My work is considered an essential business, but they are allowing me to work from home as much as possible so hopefully I'll be able to get all my parts installed soon. That way when this whole situation dies down, I can finally hit up a track day.

[Will BRZ]

Looks pretty sweet. Big fan of that spoiler. Really compliments the rest of the aero on the car. Love the wheels on there too

[WC-BRZ]

I've always had a serious soft spot for those SSR's and then I check how much they weigh and it's an immediate turn off. Car looks great, though

[JCW 86]

Originally Posted by WC-BRZ

I've always had a serious soft spot for those SSR's and then I check how much they weigh and it's an immediate turn off. Car looks great, though

They are pretty heavy, especially in the size I have, but damn do they look good lol. I have a set of RPF1's in 17x9 that I got for track duty to fix the rotational mass issue, so the SSR's are gonna be my street set.

[JCW 86]

Did some work on the car over the past couple of weeks. Finally got around to adjusting the clutch pedal and installed some more stuff. Moved the clutch pedal to just about level with the brake pedal. I should have adjusted the clutch pedal a long time ago as I never really liked how high in the throw that the clutch started catching, but it's much better now after I adjusted it.

Gruppe-S Ceramic Coated UEL Header and Invidia Q300


After having an Invidia N1 on the car for awhile, I've really wanted to change the exhaust since I was tired of the car being so loud and droning on the highway. It was cool to me when I was in college, but I just didn't enjoy it anymore. I wanted something that sounded a little more mature, so I decided to pick up a ceramic coated Gruppe-s UEL header and an Invidia Q300 to pick up some power while also changing the sound. Tuned it all with an OpenFlash Tablet. To me, the car sounds much better with a deep growl and rumble when on throttle, but is completely quiet when cruising on the highway. Having the extra mid range and top end is a nice bonus that comes with the sound.

Verus Fuel Starvation Door

Read a lot about fuel starvation in long left handed turns here on the forums. Since I'm new to track driving, I don't think I'll be pulling enough G's initially to be able to cause fuel starvation, but I wanted to do this as a peace of mind mod for when I begin pushing the car more. Plus I don't want to have to keep on filling up my car in between sessions to prevent it from happening.

OEM 2015 Sharkfin

A Beatsonic sharkfin was the first mod that I ever did once I got the car, but after years in the sun, the weather stripping around the bottom of the fin that sealed it to the roof was deteriorating and falling off. Followed a DIY here on the forums and installed a new OEM 2015 sharkfin on the car. Not sure which sharkfin I like the looks of better, but I'm glad the OEM one has a much better fit and finish than the Beatsonic one, and I won't have to worry about the weather stripping again.

New Splitter Supports

Verus Engineering makes some great products, but there are a lot of steep driveways around me that caused me to screw up the splitter support rods. They were pretty bent up and caused the front of the splitter to raise up. Went to home depot and got some stainless wire and some thimbles to replace the splitter rods. Nice thing about having it this way is that it allows for the splitter to move up if I scrape, but it still supports the front of the splitter at speed.

Car really needs a wash cause of recent rain, but all of the hand wash places around me are closed due to the current situation and I don't have any stuff at home to wash the car with. Hopefully all this stuff ends soon and we can return to a sense of normalcy soon. Stay safe out there guys.