Little Mt. Fuji's Daily Driver Build Thread

[Little Mt. Fuji]

2013 Scion FRS in Ultramarine and MT

I bought the car on October 30, 2017, but I am starting this thread on June 18, 2018.

Current Setup:

Drivetrain:

Interior:
OLM LED Dome Light

Exterior:
Rex Speed Wide Angle Mirrors

Chassis/Suspension:
BC DS Type Coilovers
DBA T2 Rotors
EBC Red Stuff Pads

Wheels and Tires:
Konig Hypergram 17x9 +40
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport


About me:
I live in New Jersey in Essex county. I go to college and I commute to class in that north Jersey traffic (yay ). My dad and his family were always involved in motorsport/cars. My dad became a mechanic when he was younger and my uncle owned a "modified" built on a mustang frame and raced it at New Egypt in New Jersey. As a kid, my dad and I would go to car shows and work on his old 1987 Chevy R20 truck (still runs to this day). I always love listening to all his stories about the cars he had and things he did. From there my love for cars grew through out high school and I couldn't wait to get a car.

My FRS serves as my daily driver and toy for the weekend. I hope to keep it for as long as possible and turn in into an all out racecar. For now, I wanna keep it practical for the streets, but Im gonna take it to AutoX events and drifting at clubloose in Etown.

Buying the car:
I was originally looking for a subie, gti, 350z since those were more attainable cars in my price range. I browsed craigslist for 6+ months looking for something that wasn't beat up while being a good deal. I found this FRS listed for $10,000 on craigslist with ~69,000 miles (lol 69) and managed to see it that day.

At first glance it was perfect with the exception of bald tires and curbed wheels. A closer look showed it needed brake pads and rotors, the interior lights did not work, radio did not power on, and worst of all it was resprayed. The respray was okay, there was a few spots where you could see over spray from bad masking and one imperfection from a bug landing in the paint.

On the bright side, it still had a clean title and the original clutch was replaced at ~60,000 miles. It was stock, body was clean and looked like a virgin car that wasn't modded before hand. The car started perfectly, drove fine, and mechanically I couldn't find anything wrong with it. The owner at the time, had the car was sitting in front of his uncle's shop so I had him put it on the lift to check it out. It showed the normal wear of a 5 year old car and nothing out of the ordinary. So after some haggling, I pulled the trigger on it.

I bought the car for $9,000, the first car I ever bought and with all money I earned myself (age 19). I brought the car home and was so excited to see MY car in the driveway.



Our Journey Begins:
Oct 31, 2017:
The car had exactly 68,917 miles when I bought it. I wanted to fix the interior lights and radio that weren't working so I checked the fuses. Both fuses for the radio and interior lights were blown so replaced them and got the radio and lights to work. Haven't had a problem since (6/18/18).

November ?, 2017:
Switched out the worn out rubber for some Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ on a four corners on the stock wheels in 215/45/17. They perform great for an all season tire, but I probably should've gotten a cheaper AS tire now that I think about it.

November ?, 2017:
I changed what I think were the original brake pads and rotors for some EBC Red Stuff and DBA's T2 street rotors. The pads that were on the car were completely toast with nothing left on the pad and were probably the ones that were on the car from factory. I changed them with my friend in front of his house on the street.

November ?, 2017:
Changed the oil and filter with some fresh Mobil 1 0W-20 and a K&N oil filter. Absolutely the easiest oil change I have ever done. The oil filter being on top and so accessible makes a world of difference in cleanliness and time. The oil level on the dipstick was a little off putting as one side shows a different amount than the other. (I've decided to change the oil every 4,000 miles and I have done the oil 2 other times since as off 6/18/18)

December ?,2017:
I ordered the Rex Speed wide angle mirrors and OLM LED interior bulb. The factory interior light was way to dim to use, almost useless. The OLM LED made a huge difference and I am very happy with it, but it is almost too bright at night sometimes. The wide angle mirrors should come from factory in ever car made because my blind spot is almost nonexistent. Makes driving in Jersey tolerable.



June 13, 2018:
I got my Konig Hypergrams in 17x9 +40 in Bronze wrapped in Bridgestone Potenza 760 Sport (wanted the RE71R or Falken 615k+ but couldn't find them in stock).
Also got BC DS coilovers.

June 19, 2018
Installed BC Racing DS/DR Series Coilovers. The sway bar end links were a pain to take off.

[Little Mt. Fuji]

I've been riding on my BC Racing DS Series coilovers for a few days now. I am absolutely in love with them. On the softest setting it feels like stock and on the harder settings it feels like I am on rails. Took me a while to install them though. Five years on New Jersey roads rusted the bolt and nut for sway bar end link making a pain to take off. I've went on some back roads and it feels like I can take turns 10-15 miles faster through turns. Can't wait to get on track.