DAR3D3VIL's 2015 DGM BRZ Daily Driver Overhaul (Updated 6/4/16 with new pics)

[dar3d3vil]

I got the car back in January, but due to the thoroughly terrible winter we've had here in PA it's been garaged for all of February and most of March. Now the weather is better I'm able to get things rolling.

I'm coming from a pretty well modified Honda CR-Z (lost it during Hurricane Sandy whilst I lived on Long Island NY) by way of a Chevy Volt (terrible car in pretty much every way possible). I'd wanted the BRZ since I first saw it whilst I still owned the CR-Z but didn't pull the trigger after I lost it due to needing a family car (still did need one, but got the wife a Crosstrek this time around so I could get the more fun car). After selling the place in NY and relocating to PA we had plenty of disposable income left, so we purchased the BRZ and the Crosstrek in full (I'm 34 years old and it's the first time in my life I actually own the title to the car that I drive).

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The BRZ are she stands as of 6/4/16







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Currently installed mods/addons:

Exterior

Rexspeed side mirrors
Replica OEM rear diffuser
Hella Supertone horn replacement
Grillcraft black front grill
C&C Carworx window visors
Baysonr ChargeSpeed Bottom Line replica lip kit
Godspeed Project Front/Rear tow hooks
Replica TRD Ducktail spoiler

Exterior Lighting

Diode Dynamics 6000K HID low beams.
Diode Dynamics LED front turn signals.
Diode Dynamics Boomerang DRL mod.
Diode Dynamics LED license plate bulbs
Diode Dynamics Multicolor LED fog lights
Diode Dynamics LED reversing lights.
Helix Smoked Side markers with Diode Dynamics Amber LED's
Valenti Smoked Tailights with sequential turn signals


Engine

OFT Stage 2 93 oct Custom Tweaked tune
Grimmspeed pulley cover (red)
Grimmspeed oil cap (red)
Grimmspeed hood struts
Diode Dynamics engine bay lighting
Cusco AOS Catch Can

Exhaust

Tsudo UEL header
Tsudo Overpipe
Invidia N1 Catback with Titanium Tips


Interior

Weathertek floor mats with BRZ logo
OEM Subwoofer
Custom painted interior panels


Interior Lighting

Diode Dyamics Full LED Dome light, LED door lights
OEM Red LED footwell kit


Suspension/Wheels:

AEM strut tower bar
TEIN Street Basis Coilovers
Ambit REO82's 18 x 9.5 +38 wrapped in Cooper Zeon's 225/40/r18

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Mods awaiting install

Red Battery tie down (Long term hold due to it being a PITA)

Mods/Addons on order:

Planned Longterm Mods/Addons:

Tints (30%. Gotta keep it legal in PA)
Password JDM Engine bay dress up items
GCS reversing light

[dar3d3vil]

I grabbed this when I completed the paperwork on her at the dealers. Still freshly wrapped:


Unfortunately she didn't stay clean for long. I took this on the day that I picked her up and drove her back to my house. A fun drive in the snow to say the very least.


More pics to come tomorrow when I take her out again.

[dar3d3vil]

Swapped out the standard mats for some weatherteks. Kind of a requirement after the brutal winter we've had here. Still currently waiting for the BRZ logos for the mats to come in.



I love the color and look of the Rexspeed mirrors, I originally had the T1R mirrors on my CR-Z and loved them, so I had to get a nice set of wide angle side mirrors for the BRZ too.



A shot of the OEM subwoofer in the trunk. Was able to negotiate this for free as part of my purchase. Definitely makes the stock radio more bearable.



Once I get the next mods installed I'll update with some more photos. Probably after the weekend depending upon when they come in and if I get a chance to get them installed right away.

[dar3d3vil]

This bad boy turned up today.



Looks like I have two more items coming tomorrow. I'm expecting it to be the tips and the front strut. Looks like I'll be a busy boy this weekend. Moreover it's my birthday coming up in a couple of weeks time so I'm expecting that I'll be able to get at least a couple more mods with whatever money I get from that.

[dar3d3vil]

These things look amazing. Can't wait to get them on the car tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have no problems getting the old tips off.


As for this thing. I had a strut tower brace on my CR-Z originally and it was nothing compared to the size of this thing. Looking forward to getting this on the car tomorrow as well. Came with a pretty sweet looking license plate surround too that I might end up using. We'll see. I'm figuring that the plate alone could add an extra 5hp!



I'll post pics tomorrow of the car once I have the mods on. It's in dire need of cleaning after a rough week of weather again here.

[YangerD]

Car is coming along very nicely so far!

[dar3d3vil]

Originally Posted by YangerD

Car is coming along very nicely so far!

Thank you, had some more fun today fitting the Perrin's and the AEM strut even though it is only 27 degrees outside right now.

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I love the way this thing looks when installed. My only complaint is that one drilled holes for the firewall screws didn't really line up and it gave me a horrible time getting it installed.



The Perrin's look great. The left hand one gave me a troublesome time as it pretty much got stuck whilst mounting it. At least I know it won't fall off anytime soon!



Closer up shot of the Perrin's, I love the way they look, much smoother lines than the stock ones and I love the Perrin logos on either side. As a plus the mounting bracket for the Perrin's is much easier and sturdier than the stock ones.

[dar3d3vil]

Well next weekend will definitely be interesting. Just got home from a business trip to all of these.

[dar3d3vil]

Totally couldn't wait until the weekend and, as it was a nice night, decided to have a shot at installing some of the parts.

I love the way the Grimmspeed cover looks. It's going to be the first of several red "dress-up" items in the engine bay. Also, the Grimmspeed oil cap really pops in there too.



LOVE the Grimmspeed hood struts. They lift the hood even higher than the stock prop. A definite improvement and pretty simple install tbh.



Tail as turn with the turn signal to LED reversing mod option. Fantastic install, but that LED flasher relay.... I've not lost so much skin doing one thing. I'm glad I live out in the country as the air was blue around the car for a while.



Still have the rear diffuser and the boomerang mods to install. Also ordered a couple of other minor things the other day too. That might end up being the end of the mods for a short while until I can get some more money together. I'm thinking now though that I'm going to have to replace the original reversing lights with LED's... Or just the GCS reversing light

[dar3d3vil]

Well, my wife might end up killing me. But I just ordered the Grimmspeed intake. I'll likely end up getting the replica sti lip and the side sills soon as well and then leave it at that for a while at least. Although I said that before ordering this part.......

[dar3d3vil]

Ordered a bunch more goodies from Diode Dynamics to finish off the full LED conversion. Looking forward to getting everything completed. Had a chance to install the Boomerang DRL mod today. Worked first time, without issue. Will post some more pics tomorrow as I will be going to get her detailed tomorrow and get the winters grim off of her. Also, going to pick up a few goodies tomorrow to make her look a little less stock on the outside.

[DGMlJDlBRZ]

Everything is looking good so far

I also had trouble mounting my AEM front strut bar. I had to file down one of the holes on the bracket connecting to the firewall because the bolt would barely catch onto the threaded hole in the firewall and then jump back out.

And it must be nice to have a working diode dynamics always on module. It's been about a month and I have yet to receive my replacement one from them

[dar3d3vil]

Originally Posted by DGMlJDlBRZ

Everything is looking good so far

I also had trouble mounting my AEM front strut bar. I had to file down one of the holes on the bracket connecting to the firewall because the bolt would barely catch onto the threaded hole in the firewall and then jump back out.

And it must be nice to have a working diode dynamics always on module. It's been about a month and I have yet to receive my replacement one from them

Thank you. I was able to wrestle with the AEM back to get it into the correct place. I'm looking at the cusco catch can at the moment as well, but I'm not sure if it will bolt on alongside the AEM as it uses the same bolts on the firewall.

I know that the DD unit has been pretty hit and miss in it's early days. I ordered mine about 3 weeks ago and got one that seems to have been QA'd much better as the unit isn't falling apart and everything was taped perfectly. I had a bit of an issue with the harness as the pieces inside didn't match up with the stock harness until I moved them with a flat head screw driver a little bit, then it went in without a problem.

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So today I finally took her for a quick wash (planning on washing her again over the weekend and then waxing and claying her too). Snapped a couple of pictures after I pulled out. Car still looks pretty stock at this point, but I have some more items being delivered today that will change that pretty quickly.

[dar3d3vil]

So as it was a nice day I was able to squeeze in a couple more jobs.

One was the installation of the replica OEM diffuser. Honestly the build quality on the replica part is great, but the supplied hardware to connect it was pretty bad. two parts broke whilst installing and the main screws didn't seem to thread properly in the bolts. Still looks awesome on the car though.



Second thing was the Grimmspeed intake. This thing looks amazing, but I have to take it apart again at some point very soon as I'm missing the PCV elbow and need to get that installed to allow it to connect properly. I've bridged it for now but I don't know how long that will last.