I've been out of town but my Hotchkis Sway Bars came in lightning fast via "FBPARTS" running the group buy pricing.

I need to get some time to install them. I also have the front lip and side skirts to put on as well. I need to stop traveling and take some time to get some work done on the BRZ.

I'll update when I get them installed with some pics too. Since my taxes went up quite a bit, I might be on the sideline for a little bit. I need to put some pennies away for the Eibach Multi-Pro R2 Coilovers. I might pick up an armrest soon. Also patiently waiting for more developments on the force inducted kits. I'm most interested in the Innovative Motorsports Supercharger, but I won't be thinking FI until late summer/early fall.

nice and organized mod.

Any pics of the lip kit? I'm contemplating ordering one tonight.

I plan to install this weekend if I have time after I put the sway bars on.

A noob question. Did those exhaust tips make any changes on the car sound?

No, just for looks..I like them, glad I swapped them.

Update:

I woke up early and got to work on installing the Hotchkis Sway Bars.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358627845

The kit comes with everything you need unless you wanted to buy new front end-links (rears are included).

The sway bars are high quality and so are the components. My only knock is the instructions are for the most part pretty awful. It's an 8x11 folded in half and the photos are in black and white in horrible resolution (and since many of the parts are dark, you can't see anything). They should have done a better job with describing things or offer a .pdf on the website with higher quality photos. One of the photos are incorrect, I lost about an hour of time having to figure out how things were suppose to go together up front. The job is probably a 3-3.5hr job. I had jackstands and a basic socket set, so nothing special.

Front: 25.4mm (I set it to 630 lbs/in - 245 % Stiffer than Stock)
Rear: 19mm (I set it to 520 lbs/in - 385 % Stiffer than Stock)

Driving, the car is very direct. All-body roll is gone. The turn-in is phenomenal. I suppose I could soften up the rear but it rotates a lot more than stock. I think with a better tire set-up it would match very well. The one thing you will realize right away is how bad these tires are.

Rear Comparison vs OEM:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358630328

Front Comparison vs OEM:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358630342

Finished product (rear):
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358630350



I also had time to install my front lip. I just drilled holes and I love it looks good. My drill wasn't strong enough for the side-skirts so I need to figure something out there.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358627851

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358627867

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358627857

Next up:
Install side-skirts

I'll probably calm down for a little while but my next two purchases will be:

Eibach Multi-Pro R2 Coilovers
Wheel/Tire combo

For those interested I took a bunch of pics as the sun was starting to set. I swear this lip really changes the look in person. I'm use to getting a head turn here and there. I went out twice with it on and people are stopping and taking pictures and looking at it like it's a Ferrari.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...975#post675975

Looks great! Simple mods make the car better. I'm definitely going to steal ideas from you without your permission!

lip looks great, does anyone know if it'll also work for an FR-S?

I ended up installing the side skirts today. I love the look, it really is smooth. The car is going to look super aggressive but clean once I lower the ride height and swap out the wheels.

For others who are worried about drilling holes, once you do it, you feel fine about it. I was a little hesitant at first but did a real clean job and if you ever had to patch them up it would be super easy.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358719284

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358719295

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358719304

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1358719461


I also have a few more miles on the sway bars. They feel amazing, I was able to emulate a slalom and wow the car is impressive on switching directions on a dime. I can't wait to have some stiffer struts and more grip on the rubber.

Next up:
I have to save my pennies for the Eibach Mult-Pro R2 Coilover set (ETA - March)

Still considering a few different wheel set-ups. I want to run some more rubber off the OEMs first but after I install the coilovers I know I'll want new tires stat. (ETA - June)

I'm hoping the Innovative Motorsports Supercharger meets my expectations and people are ranting about the kit. That's the force inducted kit I'm most interested in. (ETA - Sep/Fall)

I also might pick up some strut towers, I was a little hesitant because the supercharger kit I was looking at there isn't any evidence quite yet if up front a tower will clear. I'll also be looking for an arm rest. I noticed a slight bit of condensation in one of the rear tail lights. I'll keep an eye on it. Eventually I wan't an all red light or a smoked housing.

Otherwise, I'm real happy with the car. I should have my permanent plates next week.

Update -

I finally went down to home depot and grabbed a 3/4" poly plug and inserted it into the firewall where the sound tube went. It allowed me to fully remove the noise generator. S/O to a forum member for sharing their story about it.

I ordered a Password JDM tri-brace strut tower in black (arrives next Monday).

I broke 2K miles last night:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1359552352

Looking mean...
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...73AF7154DF.jpg

I'm going to get a set of wheels (waiting on a deal to come through - S/O to a forum member for working it). I'll wait to get some Dunlop Direzza Star Specs and put them on until after I get my coilovers in and installed. I'm guessing maybe early summer as I want to run some more rubber off the OEMs. Anyways, here is my poor mans mock-up:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps07d5f073.png

Clayton's Christensen's writing is awesome. I have read only abstracts but I want to read the full "Innovaters" series.

Great mods and build. I have a DGM BRZ and I am thinking the lip+skirt would go well.

Edit: Sweet E46. I was finally going to put down money on an unmolested one but ended up waiting for the BRZ.

Beautiful car, and collection! I love that BMW.

Update

My Password JDM Strut Tower Brace came and I installed it (took about 10 minutes).

I also ordered:
- Sutty (Aussie) Custom Armrest
- Unichip EMS

Unboxed:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360016492

One side down (comparison):
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360016493

Finished product:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360016498

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360016503

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360016508

I'm looking forward to getting the armrest in (it's been a long time coming) and also hooking up and tuning the engine. Pending some further tune developments I may try some flex fuel/e85. I'm still waiting for the Eibach R2s, but once they're out I'm ordering them. I want to get those wheels soon as well.

Wheels lookin good, especially with the red center caps!

I like were this is going, same sorts of mods i plan on doing

OMAHHHGEERD THAT'S SEXY! :)

How are those DC tips holding up to the road salt?

No issues what so ever (although it hasn't been long). I really do like the look over the OEM tips.

Me too, and Perrin's 160 dollar tips, while stainless and probably better... they're also 160, ya know. That's kind of silly.

Yeah and you can always pick up some rust-resistant coating or paint right over them.

Update

I receive my unichip today and instead of overloading a single post I wanted to provide a couple quick updates.

- I should receive my armrest any day now. (sutty's)

- Ordered a set of ESM004s (quality BBS LM replicas) in 18x8F and 18x9R. The front has a 1.5" lip and the rear has a 3" stepped lip. I'm excited to get these but they will likely sit in my garage for a little while. I want to get the Eibach R2s in and on the car and run a little more rubber off. I'm hoping to get a set of discounted Direzza 1s with the new 2s coming out.

- Unichip is coming today. The FedEx guy wouldn't leave it despite my polite note so I'm picking up from a FedEx/Kinkos after work. I have the software and tunes loaded on my laptop. I plan to give it a try and see how it runs. They are working on a tune with a AEM intake but it's not out yet. I plan to swap the red conduit wrapping around the wiring for black to make it look more subtle. Stay tuned, I will provide a thorough review and impressions.
https://xcelir8brz.squarespace.com/m...n?format=1000w

I have been working hard to log data and plot some baseline (w/ AEM intake) dynos using the virtual dyno software.

I'm running a generic OBD II Bluetooth reader (post)

I'm logging data via the Torque app for my Droid 4 running the latest Android OS.

The virtual dyno software allows you to utilize smoothing. I'm configured to have a data feed every .1 sec from the Torque app. I plan to experiment with every .2 to see if it helps to naturally smooth (reduce errors).

I have found some consistent conditions to test and have found the results to be pretty accurate. I will upload some comparisons later. My method is attempting to make the same runs in the exact same place/same speed (hit the throttle at the same RPM and mark). Certainly I aim for similar conditions (tire pressure, temperature, wind, etc). I weighed my car in at 2784lbs and added a cushion of 215 lbs for me and the fuel. I weigh about 185 lbs and a gallon of gas weights about 6lbs. I set the drag coefficient to .27 and inputted all the gear ratios. I used the provided calculator to determine the total tire diameter.

Note - Don't get hung up on the absolute number, just make sure you're consistently pulling similar plots and the graphing is consistent with your runs and other dynos that have been posted. I can make my peak power 166whp or 181whp, it's the same curve so I don't care. It's all about consistency and when I install the unichip, it will give me a solid baseline.

My "test track" isn't the best location it's an on ramp to a highway (long straight away) but it's convenient. I might try to find a better stretch to do it as there is a slight decline. During my complete pull from 2K rpms to fuel cut off in 3rd gear my altitude drops by about 7 feet (so there's a very slight decline). Due to the traffic in NoVA I chose to do 3rd gear pulls as you're not too far over the speed limit. I'm guessing 4th gear would provide a more accurate plot though.

Results: (equipped with AEM CAI)
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...psa3e31b1a.png

Here is a plot of the A/F ratio during the pull. I had to pull it into excel to plot (need to learn the virtual dyno software better) but it's the same pull/same RPMs just without smoothing. I see that as an advantage as I can compere to the unichip tune. I have logged a ton of other attributes as well to analyze the tune.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...ps48704f2d.png

I also was able to do a quick 0-60 test near my work on the way back from lunch.
Results:
0-30 MPH - 2.5 sec
0-60 MPH - 6.7 sec
0-80 MPH - 10.7 sec

As most of you know the 0-60 can be pretty deceiving as the shift point is at 59MPH. I went 0 - 59.1MPH in 6.4 sec and it took me .3 sec to shift from 2nd to 3rd gear. The actual speed at 6.7 sec was 61.5 MPH. So if you raised the rev limited a tad, I would have hit 60 in 6.4 sec. The shift from 1st to 2nd took me .2 sec.

The unichip arrived:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360764322

Well packaged and great instructions. They didn't leave anything out, this is a complete end to end kit.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360762949

As I mentioned, I don't like the red conduit. My neighbor happens to be a former electrical technician and gave me a roll of 3M Scotch 33+ vinyl tape. He said it's the best for keeping hot and cold out.
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360762955

Half-way (for comparison purposes):
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360762957

Finished product:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360762961

I have a lunch meeting but after that I plan to install. I have the maps loaded on the unichip. The software is a little basic/dated but it's easy to use. I'm going to try and run the Airaid CAI map. I have an AEM unit so I plan to disconnect the MAF unit supplied with the AEM and use the unichip plug. I'll report back on the install and impressions.

Those wheels should be amazing, great job setting up the virtual dyno and baseline, great job wrapping the Unichip harness in black! It will be much less noticeable than the red.

In for the results/review!

Update

So I installed the Unichip. The install took about 45 minutes. My recommendation is to slow it down and take your time. It can be a pain to get to two of the sensors but you want to make sure you do things right the first time. I ran into two snags (installation error) but Jack from Unichip answered the phone and walked me through what he thought the issue was. He was spot on. I would have walked through the steps myself but I figured they'd know exactly what the issue was.

Note: They don't have a tune available yet for the AEM intake system. I loaded the AiRaid and Injen tune. They feel a little fuel heavy and from scanning the A/F through the power band it seems to be a little rich.

Results: No CEL! It's raining so I couldn't get too crazy with the car but did some pulls and logged some data. The throttle response is improved and the car feels to have more grunt down low. The powerband is smoother but I think I will benefit when the AEM tune is released to get some omptimal performance up top. The car feels quicker but I need more time to analyze the two tunes. Interestingly the log shows a lot of extra rows of data. Where I use to have 1 entry per RPM, I have 3-4. I'm not sure why but I will continue to see what's going on. Because of that, I don't trust the virtual dyno numbers and might need to "clean" the data. It looks like the A/F is running rich.

Very happy I wrapped the conduit in black, so much more subtle:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360795026

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360795030

[QUOTE=swift996;699279]Update -

I finally went down to home depot and grabbed a 3/4" poly plug and inserted it into the firewall where the sound tube went. It allowed me to fully remove the noise generator. S/O to a forum member for sharing their story about it.
/QUOTE]

Could you explain this a bit more or link to the Forum article, I'm interested to know more as Ive been working on getting the road noise down a bit on my car. Also, I like what you've done, great stuff!

[quote=slizoth;733334]It's real simple. Just get a plastic plug and insert it into the firewall hole. Below is the thread (sorry I get lazy on linking sometimes)

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?p=663199

Ordered these bad boys!

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1359015637

My wheels should be here on Tuesday but I wan't to get the coilovers in and installed first before I order some tires.

Update

I received my custom armrest from Sutty today. It took about two weeks to get from Australia to the east coast. The pics don't do this justice. The materials and fit and finish are top notch. It feels and looks OEM. I haven't had an opportunity to drive with it yet but it seems like it will be a nice addition.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879682

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879690

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879695

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879714

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879717

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879718

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879723

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1360879727

For those interested I made a post about my Unichip tune:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...542#post735542

I'm loving that armrest! Since I'm thinking about roadtripping my BRZ, I need to seriously consider getting something like this. Thanks!

Hey! Nice car. Wait, that's mine in the picture! :party0030:

How "custom" is that armrest? I'd love to have one for some road trips I have planned for this year. :w00t:

It honestly feels more mass produced. I say that in the way an OEM part would be not like someone was sewing it in a basement somewhere. It feels very standardized like a high-quality manufacturing product.

It's a little pricey but the best I've seen for what I was looking for:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27117

Just to give you an idea of what the AEM sounds like:
[ame]http://youtu.be/_Vv6aNXWys4[/ame]

Armrest looks great! I am hoping and waiting for the Toyota one to go on sale soon.

Sounds like the Injen that I had before, which is to say that it sounds awesome.

Just put my deposit down for an armrest! :happyanim: Thanks for linking me to Sutty!

I got my set of ESM wheels in. They are top notch quality. I got a steal on them!

In an attempt to measure the center cap I accidentally scrapped one of mine up so I ended up ordering some BBS replacement caps. I was planning to do this anyways but now I sort of have to. I got some red caps, I hope they fit:
http://www.purems.com/images/fullsize/5624126.jpg

Here they are:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1361305946

Front: 18x8:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1361305951

Rear: 18x9:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1361305955

Staggered Lips:
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/j...g?t=1361309183