Buying a BRZ in a month, have a few questions
 

So as the title says, ill be buying a BRZ in about a month. I have a few small plans for it. First of all,

1. What exhaust would you recommend?
I have seen that a lot of people like the Perrin exhaust, as well as the Borla. I am not looking to change the headers in the near future, so i would like to know which exhaust has the best/deepest sound, without sounding like a honda. Also, which headers would you recommend, so i have an idea further down the line. Also, if i was to do a catback exhaust and a cold air intake, would i need to have the ecu reflashed?

2. What cold air intake would you recommend?

3. How good is the factory sub woofer, and is it worth it?
I don't want a speaker that would cause the car to rattle, but have enough bass to make the sound system awesome. Is the factory sub a good option, or would I be better off getting an after market sub.

have a read of basic bolt on mods guide link below

tip leave then intake stock , just put in a drop in filter

Subwoofer don't know sorry lol I have mine audio system bone stock seems fine to me

First off, early congrats -- I wish you the best on this journey.

1) If you don't want it too loud, on their own the Non-resonated Perrin catback or Invida N1 is amazing. But seeing that you'll get headers and maybe other stuff down the road...I would recommend sticking with the Resonated Perrin or Q300. With just a catback, no you don't need a tune. Headers...you have a lot to choose from EL vs UEL. But personally the Open flash headers + openflash tablet isn't a bad deal. Yes, with headers you'll need a tune.

2) Do not get an intake. Drop-in filter is more than enough. If you are persistent on it. Make sure you get a ecutek tune or get a CAI that comes with a MAF map otherwise you'll have a headache trying to get your trims set.

3) No idea about the OEM sub, but from what I've read there are much better aftermarket options at a lower price.

As Steve mentioned, check out his basic bolt on mods and tuning. There are also other great stickys on this forum with all the info you're looking for.

best of luck

My suggestion is as follows: ride a stock car for a few months and then decide.
Anyway, I like perrin resonated but I wish they would make Ti tips. You should also check a hks deep package.

Congratulations and have fun with you car!

Seb

as others stated above check the link on the basic bolt on mods. As for the audio, I think the stock subwoofer is non existent. I hated stock and as soon as I heard the OEM audio unit..i was in love. best upgrade ive made to my car yet. I went through some different options like just adding an amplifier to the stock system to see if that would help, nope. added a basic subwoofer to that. NOPE. then I thought I found the one when I got the JL Audio Stealthbox (expensive) which is built specific for the BRZ. while better than the previous customizations..still not up to par. OEM blew my expectations out of the water, for their quality, service, and plug and play-ability of the system. No messing with splicing and cutting into your car that other micky mouse audio shops will do. definitely hit up Daniel @oemaudioplus he will answer all your questions just like I had (about 45 minutes worth of questions). wont regret it.

There is no factory sub, just the front door speakers, tweeters in the corners of the dash and some shity 3" side wall units in the back. I went the path of installing a compact 4 channel amp, replaced all the speakers (upgrading rears to 5.25) and got a new head unit. There is some bass, but its no where near as deep as having a proper sub and enclosure. That said it sounds pretty good to me.

Loads of people go for the OEM+ system that adds a small sub with custom molded enclosure in the boot that has its own amp I believe.

Then there's the option to add sound deadening in the doors and boot. Car audio is a very deep rabbit hole. Our car is limited in options due to its compact nature, but I found switching to higher quality speakers, adding an amp and swapping the head unit kept any weight gain to a minimum and decided to keep what little boot space there was by forgoing the sub.

Bare in mind our car has virtually zero sound deadening so you would likely need to add some if going for decent bass. Trade off is going to be a fairy noticeable amount of added weight.

Not sure what you want out of the car and what your budget is for mods.

If you want a bit more power, skip those mods and get a header and a tune.

If you just want better sound skip the intake find an axle back or cat back back you like the sound of. See if you can find some local people as real life sounds different than youtube.

Sure there is.

Subwoofer Kit, Part Number H630SCA000

None of the cars I looked at on dealer lots had it, and it didn't show up on the build-your-own thing on Subaru's site. When I actually ordered my car, however, there was an option in the Subaru system at the dealership to add this.

You won't be disappointed on your purchase, trust me.

1. Buying an exhaust is probably the most selective and personal choices you can make. It sounds like you have the same taste that I have. I wanted a low-rumble, deep exhaust that doesn't sound like a Honda and its not too loud OR too quiet. I was contemplating getting the Greddy Evolution GT but I heard from owners that were disappointed of it "not being loud enough" and you lose 1" ground clearance. That's when I came across the Dezod Exhaust and purchased it. Dezod focuses on ground clearance and has a beautiful design. I've had it for 2 months and I swear I love it more everyday. I strongly recommend you get the Dezod. It is easy to bolt on and gives you a nice deep tone without adding anything else. Also, it is wonderful in the cabin.

2. I don't have a CAI or drop in filter but I have heard getting a CAI is not as effective unless you are going to tune it. I am thinking of getting a drop-in filter later on.

3. People have offered to sell me their subwoofer but I tell them the same thing every time... I am happy enough with my 8-speaker system. I am not sure if both the frs/brs include it but the system is one of the best I have heard of out of the factory.

I have the factory subwoofer. If you don't already have your heart set on an aftermarket option, I highly recommend it.

1) The sound quality is great. Easily adjusted with the 2016 head unit audio settings.

2) It's designed to take up as little trunk space as possible, as well as be easily removed to access the spare tire (or removed before autocross in my case).

3) It's price is relative. Instead of paying cash upfront for an aftermarket option and installing it yourself, you're adding $600 to your car loan to have an OEM installed and warrantied subwoofer.

That actually looks really good! Sadly the option does not exist in AU, but then it might be one of those 'in the know' special orders the dealer can get in for a well informed buyer. It is not listed on Subaru's website when you configure a car.


I wonder what the odds are of that being an option to add on to my after market setup or is it only designed to run with the factory head unit? I find its compact design deeply appealing.

Just buy it yourself from that link and install it yourself. Or, now that you have the part number, find another supplier. I've ordered stuff from various other countries for delivery to the US. I'm sure you can buy stuff from the US (or elsewhere) and have it delivered to you.

There are DIYs floating around, as well as this video on Youtube. (I haven't watched it, so it may suck).

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZndLMZlNEU"]losmt2 - Subura BRZ / Scion FRS Factory Sub Install - YouTube[/ame]

It's just a subwoofer with a built-in amp. You should be able to make it work. The product page says it isn't compatible with the cargo tray (if you have that), but that guy above actually made his fit anyway by moving the mounting bracket.

Buy the car first, then worry about modding it later.

-alex

Why are people so opposed to CAI? Not every CAI is the same...'a well designed CAI should definitely give you some gains. I have read good reviews on the perrin CAI, which is considered a 'real' cold air intake since is located outside the engine bay.

Probably because they don't present much "bang for the buck"? For a week's worth of coffee a drop-in filter in the stock air intake gives you the same or very similar amount of performance gains as a replacement CAI.

The stock system is also a "real" cold air intake because the snorkel reaches into the bumper, and the Perrin CAI filter location is in the same location.

CAI is useless, no factory sub, no tune for cat back. Any unequal length header. Done make more power than others, if you just want the better sounding exhaust get a cheap one. If you want power ALSO then look into pricier ones. You'll need a tune with headers

Don't forget the K&N sticker.

Adds 5 horsepower!

1. If you do not plan on changing the headers a very popular option is the Invidia N1.. If you do plan on changing your headers the N1 gets very loud and most people will switch to a much quieter exhaust such as the q300 or the perrin resonated. JDL makes a great catted or uncatted headers that sound great. I find that most people here go with the tomei uel.

2. CAI aren't worth the money.. You get similar results with just a drop in filter.

3. To my knowledge we don't get a factory subwoofer option.. But OEM Audio+ does have a full kit that replaces all of your speakers and adds an oem style subwoofer in the trunk.

I did the exact opposite lol... i had ordered 1k in parts before even getting my car..didn't even test drive one :bonk:.

1. I have Q300, it is the quietest catback exhaust. I like it and I think when i change other component of the exhaust system, it would get a lot of louder. I don't want to wake up my family and member when I start the car.

2. I have grimmspeed intake with open flash tablet tune, I felt the car is more responsive

3. I have OEM kicker subwoofer, highly recommend to get the bass limiter harness ($11 part) or the bass would be very messy. with the limiter, the bass is a lot cleaner. I replaced the door speakers and rear speakers in additional to the oem subwoofer. I think it is a great budget stereo upgrade (get done by under $700 and super easy installation). I know many people recommend oem+ but I don't want to spend so much money in the audio system at a car that is not well isolate from noise. It sounds best when the car is parked and not driving lol. It is like having a best computer monitor system but looking at the direct sun light - you just not gonna get the best out of it.

I just installed the oem kicker sub yesterday w/limiter harness. What are your current eq settings? I'm having a difficult time lowering the bass. I find the sub can be too punchy at times.

Now that the door speakers and rear are powered by the sub amp ( i think), did you notice a huge difference sound output/quality? Which speakers did you use to replace factory.

I'm probably going to dynamat the trunk for rattles, but am not sure my next step for the audio system. I want the system to sound robust/warm, but not too punchy.

Sorry a lot of questions.

you need to move audio fader to rear more. I am currently have R2 setting. Because front speakers are connected with the subwoofer, so as you put more volume to the back, it lower the output of subwoofer. That also makes the rear more alive now you have a more surround sound.

my front speaker is Infinity Reference 6032cf 6.5-Inch, amazon has it for $55 free shipping. This speaker has weaker bass than factory speakers but given clear mid and high. you will also need to buy speaker harness and adopters for that. Rear speaker is JBL GTO328 3.5-Inch 2-Way Loudspeaker, it made the high pretty high (rear speaker only produce mid/high, no bass at all). Honestly i think the rear is not that important.