Terra- Lady In Red Superbuild

[thatfrskid]

Last Updated 6 Nov. 15

Hey all!

My name is James, and I am the owner of an asphalt grey Scion FR-S, with the car and the project affectionately named Terra! This is my first car, and I've owned her since October 2014, and in the year since, I've met and made many friends at meets and of course, broken tons of necks in the meantime.

But, enough of the background. Here's the details of the build.
I'll be honest, this car is inspired by the Concept One from Bulletproof Automotive. I love the car, but I feel like the company could have done a few more steps to make it weigh less, and put out more power, and still maintain (or keep close to) their original goals of keeping the car daily drive-able, as well as having a great time on the track. I intend to keep the FA20 in the car, as I find no reason to offset the balance of the car with an LS or coyote or 2JZ swap. I also don't intend to cut any corners with the car as well, so the ultimate goal is to get the car as light and powerful as possible for time attack and possible auto cross. To that end, that means no skimping out, and quality parts. Which also means I really have no budget for the car either.

Short term, I am getting everything supporting mod ready, then I'll be working my up to an engine rebuild, turbocharger, and a widebody kit.

To that end, I present Terra, The Lady In Red, the daily driving, show and track car superbuild!

Dates for Milestones will go here once I dig out my binder... I do everything via paper and not digitally...

The photo shown is that of my car only a few weeks after I bought it.
Thanks for checking out my build and stay tuned for more! Cheers!

[thatfrskid]

Mod List and Mod Reviews:

Raceseng Rally Hooks: Installed November 2014

So this being one of the first things I did to my car, I have to say I was super nervous. At this point, I think my car was about three weeks old but just looking at forums and reading a tad, installation seemed easy enough. So I ordered them because I live and love New England but snow and winter were coming. With these thoughts in mind, I clicked "Accept Order."

First thoughts upon opening the box was, "Holy shit. These look beautiful." The hooks were (key word, were) annodized solid red, and both came with the bars to mount into the stock tow hook locations. The hardest part of the installation was actually slowly dremeling the plastic covers so they fit cleanly without the need to have the caps (and ugly gap) on. I highly recommend to anyone that gets rally hooks to use locktite once you get the set screws right. All in all, it took about an hour to install, and looked amazing. (Insert winter photos) Instructions were easy to follow and nothing was left to guessing.

Performance wise, I used them twice to get removed from large snow drifts that piled up. Winter was brutal with several large blizzards. They gave no issues and tow straps hooked right in with no worries. However, a year and 20k miles on, and the red is now pink. If you flip my hooks over, you can see the original red. Not that I mind, but if you are going to daily drive the car, get some painted ones, or get them in silver. If show is what you're going for and you can keep the car out of the sun for long periods of time, these are completely the hooks you should get.

All in all, I'm satisfied with them except for the fading, which I plan to get a second set for when it comes to showing the vehicle. Would I recommend these to others? Absolutely. Cheers to Raceseng for an amazing product.

Password:JDM Engine Bay Dress Kit: Installed April/May 2015

When I saw these product online, I didn't look twice, and while I was at it, a friend tagged on to save on shipping. I get the kit in red, while she got it in purple to put on her black BRZ. My first impression was that the screws and red anodized fasteners were going to look amazing while pulling out what I felt were inferior OEM bolts and replaced them with stainless steel. At first I thought it would be a simple task but it turned out that Password:JDM didn't provide instructions with the kit, so I had to dig online for photos to tell which screws to replace. Along with no instructions, I also had to dig through my manual for all the torque specs for all the bolts to get it right. That actually took more time then anything else... including actually installing one kit and then doing it again on a separate occasion.

As for the installation itself, it was simply a matter of having the right hex key to undo the OEM part and replace it with the fastener followed by torque to the proper spec. Extremely easy except for a few bolts which were hard to reach and or at weird angles. By following a picture, i was able to eventually locate and change them all out and then use my own car as a template for my friend's.

But along with that though, the kit does look goregous, and when I went to various meets and showed my stock car, the clean look of the engine bay got numerous compliments on how the fasteners were "nice but not visually overpowering" and also the words, "I can't believe he is using authentic Password:JDM parts... I would have gone with a cheap knock off brand." were said a few times. Almost a year later, the red anodizing on the fasteners remains as the hood is closed

All in all, I love the kit, and would highly recommend this to anyone looking for that extra touch and splash of color to their engine bay... as long as they don't mind shelling out some serious cash for the kit itself which runs about 120-150 dollars. Cheers to Password:JDM for the cool fastener kit!

Cusco Power Braces, Front and Rear Strut Bars: Installed October 2015

After the engine bay dress kit, i was looking for more options to get color into my engine bay and to set my car apart from other builds, so without hesitation, I went to Bulletproof Automotive and asked them for help, and one of the first things they recommended was to have my OEM braces upgraded to Cusco and to add in the front and rear strut bars. I said, wicked, let's do it. I had seen other FRS/BRZ owners in my car group do the front bar only, and the one thing I did hate about the bar was the silver and blue color since my car was grey. Sorry, but the color scheme had to go. In the end, Bulletproof Automotive had the power braces and strut bars colored in PG, the same color as the 2015 Ford Mustang- I also chose that color to pay homage to my grandfather who recently restored a '93 Foxbody and had it resprayed PG.

Installation was extremely simple. Instructions were clear and even included torque specs. The hardest and longest part of installing the ones in the engine bay were actually just getting the long bolts out on the OEM power braces. Once that was done and the beefier bars were installed, the front strut bar was done with no issues while on a level surface. In this case, before assembling and warnings from others, we got everything together hand tight then worked on tightening the bolts. Almost instantly, I could see the strut bar do its work and become the brace it was supposed to be. In the rear, it was an easy affair to bolt up the bar and tighten it down, but it took a bit longer to actually cut the carpet so that the install looked clean. While Cusco provided measurements to trim the carpet, I did it my own way that is a bit less trimming but in order to access emergency parts, I have to loosen/remove the rear bar. However, my way was also cleaner. To each their own, I guess. In this case, I did sacrifice a bit of functionality for cleanliness.

Just those three parts alone made a word of difference. The car cornered better and it just felt cleaner to drive in general. In fact, I am glad I made the move to replace the OEM power braces as the Cusco ones are a tad beefier without a ton of added weight. All in all, Bulletproof did an amazing job of getting these and delivering them in a timely fashion, and the paint was amazingly well done. Top quality work. To anyone getting an FRS/BRZ, I would make these one of the top things to get right away.

Varis Euro GT Wing (All Carbon), Lightweight Trunk, and Reinforcement Plate: Installed October 2015

So, despite it being three items, I'm going to review them all as one.

So, about six months after owning the car, I immediately wanted a wing. And it took me that long to find one that I liked, mainly because I didn't like rocket bunny's wing (though it was alright) but I didn't like the wide set of the posts. Then I came across this thing by accident. Honestly, this is where my relationship with Bulletproof Automotive first started, back in March 2015 when I ordered it. After some research, I found that Varis was widely considered to be one of the most popular, but also one of the more expensive brands to go with, but I didn't care. Their attention to detail and handmade carbon fiber pieces drew me in. So I ordered.

As a heads up, lead times on Varis parts are long. Like, really long. It was advertised as 3-4 months, but after a delay due to getting backed up with orders and shipping, it was almost 6 months by the time I got the wing in. And speaking of shipping, Pilot did an amazing job 3 day shipping the piece from California to me, and delivering it 9pm at night to my brother who waited up for the box before going out. They do good work.

When I got to the wing and trunk, I was immediately impressed. The wing was light and looked amazing, and the trunk was ready to mount. I took the liberty to have it clear coated before it was shipped to save on having to get it done by dodgy shops out by where I live. Because all of Varis' items are hand made, there are minor imperfections. There's a few spots where the resin isn't smooth, or a fiber wasn't trimmed, so you have what appears to be a string. All in all, minor things that I think add to the uniqueness.

Removing the old trunk and removing the bezel was a snap, and all that remained was transferring the old bezel to the new trunk, and remounting it, which didn't take too long at all. After verifying the fit, it was a quick matter of bolting the wing to the trunk which took two attempts because I flipped the posts (one is left, the other was right... they weren't marked) And because this item is from Japan... I had to drill holes in my license plate in order to get it to fit due to hole spacing. I also Put rubber stoppers under the license plate to save the metal from scratching the carbon fiber itself. That also helps with dampening the license plate if it vibrates.

Installation wasn't hard, and the sparse directions that were given were in Japanese, so I more or less had to wing it (no pun intended) with a bit of help from one of my guys, Caulin, and a tad bit of coaching from the guys over at the facebook 86One page. Cheers for the help. Once Installed, well. The result speaks for itself. I can't wait to get more Varis products on my car. Period.

Willans/Bulletproof Automotive 4-Point Harnesses: Installed November 2015

I'll be honest, these came as a surprise to me. I was looking over harness options when my car part hookup guy sent me a message about these. So I said, why the hell not. I ordered a pair, waited three weeks, and got them in.

So, let's squash the debate now. Yes, I know the dangers of 4 points. But I also hated the 3 piece system in my car that comes with it, and I was very meh about a 5 or 6 point system. So I swapped. Honestly, installation for this car was super easy. The first anchor point goes to where the OEM anchor point was, the other two go to the rear where you bolt in the baby seat, and I had to make the last anchor point by drilling into the transmission tunnel, and bolting an eye bolt in place. All it took was a lock washer, a bit of locktite, and a flat washer. All can be found at your local hardware store. Once the hole was made and everything was bolted in place, actually clipping the harnesses to the anchor point was extremely easy and only took a few minutes.

I like the cam lock on the front, and despite it taking my passengers forever to actually get in and get themselves settled, their feeling of "being trapped" is eased by the fact it takes two seconds to pop the lock and it literally just falls apart. All in all, the harnesses reduce your ability to turn (I like to head check lanes clear before changing lanes like I would on a motorcycle) but other then that, they work as intended and I have no issues strapping in and coming around corners. On that note, the straps are rough, i don't mind that but I do have pads for passengers who may or may not like/care to have their neck chaffed a bit. Cheers to Bulletproof Automotive for pairing up with Willans for these custom harnesses, and if I ever need another set, I'm deff. going to them to order.

[thatfrskid]

Photos of the car.

Photo 1 is of the plan prior to some mods being added. The excel sheet is constantly evolving.
Photo 2 is of a beautiful model.
Photo 3 is a picture of the engine bay from one of the meets, you can see the red of the Cusco Strut bars and power braces, as well as the engine bay dress kit.
Photo 4 is a front shot from a meet.
Photo 5 is a rear shot of the car with the wing and carbon fiber bits on the back.

[Cole]

Breaking necks with a stock car? Damn that's impressive.

[AG3NT_5CARFAC3]

[irax]

Had me a lady in red, and superbuild.
Lost me at stock car that isn't red at all.

[Model Citizen]

Originally Posted by thatfrskid

I also don't intend to cut any corners with the car as well, so the ultimate goal is to get the car as light and powerful as possible for time attack and possible auto cross.

May want to get up to speed on classing rules first, since in new england this will be your scca autox competition with that level of mods.

[bucko3the7man]

How did it take you an hour to install a damn tow hook?

[thatfrskid]

Originally Posted by Cole

Breaking necks with a stock car? Damn that's impressive.

The photo I have is from the car a year ago... let me get everything up to speed here haha

Originally Posted by irax

Had me a lady in red, and superbuild.
Lost me at stock car that isn't red at all.

She's grey. Red accents. Still posting up stuff.

Originally Posted by bucko3the7man

How did it take you an hour to install a damn tow hook?

I am not mechanically inclined, it was litterally freezing outside, there was snow on the ground, and as I wrote under the mod review post, I was nervous about fucking it up.

Originally Posted by Model Citizen

May want to get up to speed on classing rules first, since in new england this will be your scca autox competition with that level of mods.

Yup. If it's one thing I've seen it's that people think tech is easy. But it isn't. At least not in my opinion.

[bucko3the7man]

Originally Posted by thatfrskid

I am not mechanically inclined, it was litterally freezing outside, there was snow on the ground, and as I wrote under the mod review post, I was nervous about fucking it up.

Fucking what up? popping a panel off with a screwdriver and screwing something in?

Originally Posted by thatfrskid

Yup. If it's one thing I've seen it's that people think tech is easy. But it isn't. At least not in my opinion.

What does this even mean

[Model Citizen]

Originally Posted by thatfrskid

Yup. If it's one thing I've seen it's that people think tech is easy. But it isn't. At least not in my opinion.

.

[Model Citizen]

Originally Posted by bucko3the7man

Fucking what up? popping a panel off with a screwdriver and screwing something in?

On the contrary sir.

I think this thread perfectly demonstrates the need for proper precautions when screwing.

[bucko3the7man]

Originally Posted by Model Citizen

On the contrary sir.

I think this thread perfectly demonstrates the need for proper protection when screwing.

QFT, brb dying over here.

[thatfrskid]

A few more photos I dug up.

In the top one, you can easily see the difference between the stock (black) and Cusco (Red) Power braces. I don't know if there was a huge weight difference, but I wasn't exactly worried about that. I like how they are beefier and actually look/are functional.
Middle photo: Another shot of the engine bay, peeped by Agent Scarface. Aka Phil aka KANC Fuck with him. aka KLM fo' Lyfe. Seriously amazing shot from one of the 86One meets we went to.
Left Bottom: Custom decal work done by Chris. It's the official symbol for the project. Shout out to Brittany Ames (aka the infamous) for cutting the decals!
Right Bottom: Terribad photo of the harnesses I installed. I love them.