Ricky's Neptune Blue GR86 6MT Dual-Purpose Track Car/Commuter Redemption Build

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Hey y'all!

Yeah, it's me again. This is the second build thread I've started on here in four months, so I'm getting better at this whole "online personal intro/first build thread post" thing. Why? Well, I was the proud owner of a 2022 Subaru BRZ Premium 6MT in Crystal White Pearl... until this happened:



That build thread can be found here: https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149913

TL;DR: Progressive considered it a total loss and my settlement was large enough that I was able to buy a replacement car locally, even with a markup. I spent months online trying to find the white car, so when I received the settlement from the insurance company my assumption was that I would spend another few months simply trying to find a car to buy. I fired up the classifieds the day after getting the check, and I couldn't believe my luck when I found THE car I had wanted back when I first starting looking at the second-gen twins: a Neptune Blue GR86 base 6MT. Not only was it actually at a dealer and for sale, but it was at MY local Toyota dealer, literally a handful of miles from my home. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, so I called them and, sure enough, it was a real car and I could drive it out of the showroom that day.

People like to talk about prices, so let's get to the good part: after negotiating the price of the car down from a listed $42k before additional fees, I paid $38,000 on the nose, out the door, for the car. That includes tax, title, tag, processing and handling, yada yada. That also included ceramic tint for the car (installed by the dealer), my choice of floormats, and... that's it. Luckily, that is exactly the amount of money I was offered by Progressive for the BRZ, so I was able to maintain my monthly payment (around $350 over 72 months) despite the added cost vs the Subaru (I paid, effectively, $35k for that car inclusive of tax and travel expenses when I picked it up). To me, this felt like a massive win, as the next closest car was a black GR86 base and it was nearly 600 miles away. In total the car was listed for less than 10 hours before I drove it off the showroom floor.







This build will largely be a repeat of what I did with my old BRZ, at least at first. I'm still getting to know the car, but based on first impressions I think I'm going to end up liking this one as much or more than the Subaru. More to follow...

[villainous_frx]

Following... again and in a cooler color! Still excited to see where this goes

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

So after a lot of time spent in my old '22 BRZ, I picked up on a few things that I hadn't truly considered prior to owning one of these cars.

One major thing that I wanted to do differently with this car was to get the front end wrapped in PPF. I realized how chip-prone the paint was on these cars after washing the BRZ for the first time and noticing a few rock chips on the front bumper. This was the day after I got home with the car after picking it up 1300 miles away at a dealership in Arkansas, so a grand total of two days of ownership. The bumper chipping was especially problematic, as the plastic underneath is black, so any chips can pretty much be seen from space. I didn't want a repeat of this with the GR86, so before I had a chance to burn through the tank of gas the car left the dealer with I dropped it off to have the front bumper, headlights and mirror caps wrapped in XPEL PPF. While they were at it, I also had them wrap the entire rocker panels as well, since they were constantly getting brushed/touched/scuffed on the BRZ. You don't realize how far these skirts protrude from the car until drive one of these cars daily haha. The hood and fenders are unwrapped, but they're not as problematic as the bumper since both panels are made from aluminum, thus not presenting much of a corrosion issue, so when chips happen they are not as noticeable and don't result in rust. I'm sure I'll regret not wrapping the hood, but for now I'm at peace.

Aside from the PPF, the first thing I had planned for the car was to simply replicate what I had done to the BRZ. This meant OEM 18" wheels (gunmetal, off a BRZ Limited) and tires, my old trusty leather Recaro Pole Position with Bride rails, Killer B motorsport delrin shift knob, and clear JDM sidemarkers. This is basically just parts swapping, so I don't have any neat build photos, but here's what the car looks like currently with all of that done:







The OEM base 17" wheels that come on the GR86 are pretty ugly, so I'm happy to have had a set of the 18" Limited/Premium trim wheels and fresh Michelins to throw on the car immediately. The Subaru gunmetal wheel finish is much nicer to my eyes than the flat black that the same wheels come in on the Toyotas. This is mainly a temporary setup, as I'm eventually doing coilovers, then wheels and tires, but honestly I really like the OEM wheel design and would be happy to run them with spacers once the car is lowered.

The Recaro originally came out of my S2000, then the BRZ. Pole Positions have always offered the best of both worlds to me, in that they're comfy and supportive enough to use on a daily basis while also giving you that direct feel that only a bucket seat can deliver. Until I'm old and my body is broken, this is going to be a mod I do to any sports car I own. The OEM base seats, like in the BRZ, are cheap-feeling and don't offer a ton of support. Swapping to the Recaro, it's immediately apparent how much more the seatback contours to provide support at the middle and sides of your back, and with the adjustable lumbar pad you can get a bit more support at your lower back on long drives without resorting to a couch cushion or something else. It's not a surprise that these seats have been sold as an OEM option in plenty of cars for years now. The leather is (obviously) much nicer than the OEM seat fabric, and the seat is surprisingly easy to slip in and out of unlike a lot of other buckets. When the S2000 is eventually drivable again, I will either buy an SPG for that car and leave the Pole Position in the GR86, or I will return this seat to the S2000 and replace it with a Recaro Sportster CS. For now though I'm really happy with how the seat works with the car.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Since swapping over the parts from the BRZ, I've only had time to detail the car and put miles on it. I did a mild single-stage paint correction on the car and found the paint to be in MUCH better shape than on the Subaru when I took delivery of that car. You could tell the BRZ had sat outdoors next to a rail yard for a few months, between waiting to get loaded onto the ship from Japan (one of the first cars built in a production run, so it sat for a while) but also after making it stateside. The BRZ spent about a month getting from the port of intake (Long Beach, CA) all the way to the dealer (Little Rock, AK) just sitting at the railhead(s) waiting on transport from the port to the dealer. All of that waiting exposed it to rain, salty air, but mainly rust and iron particles as a result of sitting next to various rail yards for such a long period of time with absolutely zero paint protective coating.

The GR86, in contrast, was one of the last cars built in a run that immediately got loaded on to a RORO, and apparently spent less than a week stateside before making it to the dealer and being bought by yours truly. I spent a LOT more time with clay and iron-x on the BRZ than I needed to with the GR86, which really only needed the detail to remove all the glue left over from the shipping paint protection film. The BRZ also came from the factory with one of those tacky vortex diffusers, which got removed pretty much immediately after I arrived home with the car. For the record, I don't think the state of the paint has anything to do with the specific car or manufacturer, just a result of the time spent in transit. Stuff like this fascinates me haha.

The car is eventually getting a proper wheels-off detail and ceramic coating on the paint, glass, wheels, body moldings and trim, and even the wheel well liners, but for now I'll make due with a healthy coat of Collinite Insulator Wax with a layer of beadmaker on top just to make it pop that much more. I'm motivated to do the ceramic coating soon though since this is my daily and gets 100 miles a day added to the odometer driving up and down I-95 for work. Keeping it clean is going to be much easier once it's coated.

Here are some gratuitous photos of the car post-detail, because why not:

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Originally Posted by villainous_frx

Following... again and in a cooler color! Still excited to see where this goes

Thanks man! Hopefully this one sticks around a bit longer haha.

[Ruben_86_]

nice color choice man.

I also use recaro pole position and I share your opinion.

They are so comfortable that I recently did 1750 km (1100 miles) in a single day with no back pain.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Racecomp Engineering Superstreet-1 Coilovers

I couldn't stand how unsettled and cruddy the low-speed ride was around town from the moment I bought this car, unlike my old BRZ, so coilovers have been part of the plan from day 1. Since this is primarily my daily, I prioritize ride comfort as much as handling performance, so a lot of the more track-focused options got scratched off the list pretty early on. Longevity and quality were also considerations, given the mileage I put on the car daily. I've been running KW Clubsports on my S2000 for years now and have had nothing but good experiences with them, so naturally my original intent was to run something by KW on this car.

I hadn't heard of Racecomp Engineering until I bought my first BRZ and joined this forum. Once I heard they sell purpose-built coilovers for these cars based on KW components, the decision to go with a set of their Superstreet-1 was an easy call to make. I considered their Tarmac 2, but I didn't feel the extra adjustability and stiffer rates made sense for a daily driver. The SS-1 let you adjust rebound which is more than enough for me. That, plus the included lowering front camber plates and the attractive price point made this an easy decision for me.







I love the quality of the tophats and strut/shock assemblies - typical KW! I don't mind so much that you can't adjust caster with these hats, as I prefer lower caster anyways. The rubber-sealed pillowball topmount is a nice touch too. I get the impression that these will last a good long while as long as I keep them wiped down and don't slam the car.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

ARP Wheel Studs

One thing I didn't know going into this ownership experience is that the OEM wheel studs are 100% certified trash... but I found out pretty quick! I always try to hand-start the lug nuts before driving them home with a wheel gun, but it's nearly impossible to not screw these studs up if you're like me and swap wheels often for track days. Anyways, after I found some chewed up threads on a few of these studs, I went ahead and ordered OEM-length ARP wheel studs and swapped them in. I am obviously not a veteran of the twin community, but it seems that this is a mandatory mod for anyone tracking their cars regularly.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Once I had the SS-1s and the wheel studs installed, I set the ride height on the car and level the shocks so that the final drop came out to just over 1". Based on preliminary testing it seems this is a happy ride height for these shocks, although the SS-1 seem to have enough bump travel to go even lower. Setting the ride height on KW/Racecomp coilovers is super easy - set the spring perch where you want it, and the helper springs take care of preload. I set the rebound to 10 clicks from full stiff at the front, and 9 from full stiff at the rear. This is just a preliminary setting, something I'll play around with on the street. I need to cut a small hole in the rear trunk trim to allow for rebound adjustment without gutting the trunk every time haha.

Here are some pics of the coilovers installed:





And some photos of the car at the new ride height:







I'll do a full write-up on the coilovers once I get the car aligned, but as far as my initial impressions go they are almost universally positive. In short, this is the way the car should have rode and handled from the factory. I'm really excited to get the car aligned so I can push the car and get to know it a bit better.

[Lincoln Logs]

Great choice for the shocks! Love the Neptune Blue paint on the GR as well.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Track Wheels and Tires - ZD8 Premium Wheels w/ 225/45/17 Falken RT660

I scored a set of ZD8 base model wheels off a local today which came with a worn set of 225/45/17 Falken RT660 to use as my designated track day setup. I'm amazed how much better these look than the base wheels the GR86 came with (what was Toyota thinking?!) even though they are the exact same wheel. I think the color of the Subaru wheels complements the car well, way better than the black and machined-face wheels the Toyotas came with.

I am a huge fan of the small wheel/fat tire look on this car, especially with a drop and proper alignment. I plan on running spacers with the 18s, but I don't think I will with these 17s.









I'm still undecided on whether I want to try these tires out or replace them, as they're pretty cooked. I may replace them RT660 in the same size, but I'm also considering the Kumho V730 as I've heard they wear and heat up a bit more consistently than these Falkens. If anyone reading this has any suggestions, please leave them below haha.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Had my friend Albert of Apex Alignment dial in the car a few weeks back. Since I'm not doing any aftermarket arms or links at the moment, the only thing really to play with was camber up front. We found that the rear ended up at around -2.7* of camber, and we were able to at least match that up front by using the Racecomp SS-1 camber plates. They are maxed out at -2.8*, so if I want any more camber I'll need to switch to a more aggressive camber plate or an adjustable lower control arm. I'm not sure I'm there yet with this car, so for now it's staying stock.







Overall I'm happy with the way the car drove on the street post-alignment. It doesn't chase cambers excessively like my S2000 does, and it should be relatively easy on tires.

Out of the box, the Superstreet-1s have made the car ride and handle substantially better than stock. Racecomp's recommended settings were to set rebound at 9 clicks (16 total clicks) from full stiff and adjust from there. I eventually settled on 11 clicks from full stiff as my daily-driver setting, which allows for a bit more compliance while not giving up body control. I haven't adjusted them any softer than this, but I may in the future for science. For now, I'm very happy with how the car rides over broken pavement and down the road and highway in general. The low-speed ride of the stock suspension was my biggest complaint with this car, so I'm thrilled that a good set of coilovers has pretty much completely resolved that problem. Obviously, the car still has a firm ride as a function of the spring rate, but any major impacts are felt as muted whumps instead of the sharp thuds that the stock shocks would yield. It's a night and day difference.

Aside from the ride, I'm very impressed with how the car turns into corners now, and have found it much easier to put down power out of turns. The stock suspension seemed to be over-sprung or damped such that the car would immediately pitch sideways with any rear slip, which is fun but not quick when you're just trying to make neat progress. Now, I can get the nose pointed into a corner and immediately follow up with throttle and the car doesn't transition into a big moment like it used to - much better =]. Overall, the suspension is both better at controlling body motion while simultaneously allowing for compliance over less than perfect pavement. Time will tell if they are as impressive on track.

[Lincoln Logs]

I never ran that much rear camber, I found the car to be pretty happy around -2.2* even with sticky tires on 17x9s. Moar front camber was always in high demand but such is life with a strut car.

[Wrecky_Flowers_]

Originally Posted by Lincoln Logs

I never ran that much rear camber, I found the car to be pretty happy around -2.2* even with sticky tires on 17x9s. Moar front camber was always in high demand but such is life with a strut car.

Yeah, I'd have preferred to run less camber but the stock suspension doesn't have any camber adjustment. I may end up getting lower arms in order to dial that in properly, but for now it's fine.