Ph4zon's AT BRZ Build

[TheBRZsKnees]

FBM oil pan is on. No more leaks. Unfortunately life has hit me pretty hard, and additional mods are on hold until I can get my finances back in order.

Also, was digging through some old files and found my dyno sheet.

[Quicklyy]

These are the exact numbers I want on my AT BRZ but with a JDL kit. Awesome build op

[TheBRZsKnees]

Now that I’ve had Full Blown kit on the car for about half a year, I figured I’d post some impressions. To be clear, I’m neither an experienced track driver nor a mechanic, so take my perspective with a grain of salt.


Performance
I’m happy here. This was the base kit with an upgraded GTX28 turbo. On 92 octane, the dyno results seem to be slightly better than most of my friends who had their boosted cars tuned at the same shop.

The kit has a lot more potential. At my tuner’s request, I stuck with the stock injectors and fuel pump instead of the included FBM ones. If I ever get better access to E85 or go with a built engine, I feel like I have what I need to keep using this kit.


Fitment
Ugh. I had two major fitment problems. The first, to be fair, doesn’t seem to have been the fault of the Full Blown kit. My downpipe runs extremely close to my passenger-side cam angle sensor. The first downpipe was up against the sensor. The replacement I got from Full Blown leaves no more than an inch of clearance. After trying two pipes, I’m thinking this could be due to my Ultimate Racing overpipe or front pipe.

The second issue is that the intercooler sits too low, pushing down on the inside of my bumper. This is super frustrating, since the intercooler mounts could have been designed slightly differently to prevent this. I’ll have to modify the plastic piece that’s directly below the intercooler. Bottom line: this kit requires cutting in multiple places.


Driving experience
The car is absolutely transformed. The turbo spools quickly, and the power is as available as I could ever want in a daily driver. Even at a conservative 220 tq, the back wheels break loose easily. I have to be much more careful in the Seattle rain. The turbo and the Tial BOV create a symphony of fun sounds when driving aggressively, but staying under boost is an option when you want to drive conservatively.

My only complaint is that the setup seems to require a vented catch can, which causes quite a bit of fumes when stopped with the windows open, or if the AC isn’t on recirculate. After a while though, this didn’t bother me anymore.

As a side note, if you’re considering this kit, think carefully whether you want the base option for open dump. It makes a super loud, obnoxious sound under boost. I’m much happier with the sound of the car after switching to the recirculating dump. It’s pretty easy to find videos on YouTube.


Working with FBM
Full Blown gets a D for communication and a B+ for service. I had to call them several times to get updates on my order, and it was hard to get answers to my installation questions or fitment problems. They also sent me a basemap for a manual car, even though I had told them I had an automatic. Considering my general inexperience with this kind of install, they weren’t the resource I hoped they would be.

By the end though, they worked with me to get everything I needed to complete a stable installation. I feel like they were appropriately accommodating. I’m satisfied with the experience.


Closing thoughts
The only real issues I had were with fitment, but I’ve heard the same from owners of most FI kits. I can confidently recommend the FBM kit. I learned a lot about the cost and complexity of forced induction on this car. Some of those lessons were hard, but I’m happy with what I now have.

[Quicklyy]

If you don't mind me asking how much did this kit cost you?

[TheBRZsKnees]

Originally Posted by Quicklyy

If you don't mind me asking how much did this kit cost you?

I got it from FBM's official eBay page. They said it had been briefly used. I believe after upgrading to the GTX28 turbo, it cost me $3900.

The kit itself is just part of the cost though. A good tune can cost anywhere up from $800. I did the install myself, but that can be very expensive (especially out here in the Seattle area). I also spent several hundred dollars in supporting mods and materials.

I didn't include it, but other mods like upgraded exhaust factor in too. Plan to spend $2k to $3k above the cost of the kit itself.

[TheBRZsKnees]

Two new mods that I'm super stoked about. The first is a Glanzen Silk Blaze spoiler. I've actually had this for nearly a year, but I finally have a wingless trunk to mount it on.



The second is a pair of Valenti Revos. I was planning to send these to Epic Lights for customization. I wanted to add sequential turn signal functionality the boomerang. I'm reconsidering though. If I remove the turn signal functionality from the third row, there's a lot of wasted space. I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for how to deal with that.

[TheBRZsKnees]

Tails are in. They're fantastic. Huge improvement over stock.

It's not shown in the video, but I also tinted the factory reverse bar. I've always thought it was ugly, but I didn't want to do anything flashy like add an aftermarket one. It looks better with the dark tint.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HF-ISk5Kfg"]Revos[/ame]

[cornermuncher]

Originally Posted by ph4zon

Tails are in. They're fantastic. Huge improvement over stock.

It's not shown in the video, but I also tinted the factory reverse bar. I've always thought it was ugly, but I didn't want to do anything flashy like add an aftermarket one. It looks better with the dark tint.

Those taillights are just amazing! It looks much better than the old version.

[TheBRZsKnees]

Lots of small developments over the last few weeks.

-Spoiler is on. Considering the absolute hell it was to find a wingless trunk, I wasn't comfortable drilling it myself, so I had a friend do it for me. I feel like it's mounted a bit farther back than it should be, but the fitment seems more aggressive, which is nice.

-I did a full rear debadge with the new trunk. Decided I didn't like it after a few days. It felt empty. The holes from the badge were a pain to cover. Also, the FR-S garnish doesn't have a trunk button? Ended up adding the Subaru badge and BRZ garnish back. Left the Subaru lettering off, and got a black Series Hyperblue BRZ badge.

-Got a cool 86 oil cap from someone locally. I thought it was the Grimmspeed one, but on closer inspection, it's from another company called Zeta Products. Adds a few grams of weight, but I'm ok with it.

-Decided to do some engine dress-up work, mainly motivated by the hideous lime green Interstate battery the shop installed when fixing the injector ECU. I decided to black out all the yellow engine bits at the same time. I noticed some scuffing when I reinstalled the battery, so I'm not sure that the battery reconditioning paint I used was the best choice for this application. Still, the engine bay looks better.









Hoping to do a proper photo shoot within the next couple months. The weather hasn't been cooperative.

[TheBRZsKnees]

Super stoked to finally have a proper shoot done. I'm really happy with how far the car has come.

[e30kawi]

Looks damn good!

[TheBRZsKnees]

Christmas has come early. I found HKS Hipermax GT coilovers, PBM toe arms, and PBM rear LCAs on the forum and Facebook buy/sell/trade page. I also snagged two additional 7mm spacers that aren't pictured, extended studs, and endlinks. I also ordered the RR Racing Sport Performance brake kit. I'm still waiting to get shipping confirmation on that.



Another development is that I was hit on the freeway coming back from a meet last month. The driver's side rear quarter panel and bumper were damaged. I opted to swap for a Kouki 86 bumper during the repair to allow for some specific aero pieces down the road.

[TheBRZsKnees]

Coilovers, toe arms, LCAs, and spacers are all installed. The steering feels much tighter, and there's more weight to the wheel.

[Elliotw]

Your car is looking great. Love the spoiler and Revos. Really make the car. Impressions/review of the coilovers? How's the paint holding up on all the yellow plastic you changed to Black. They look great in the photo