New BRZ owner, 700 left for mods
 

Hello,

I have been waiting since they launched to get my hands on a BRZ. It appeared to offer everything I'd been looking for, an affordable, quick, fun to drive, sporty car that performs just as well as a commuter car. I finally found myself in a position to get what I wanted, and had narrowed it down to the toyabaru or a mustang. They both met my needs, but living in Texas I can't leave the house without seeing 15 mustangs, so I went with the less powerful but more unique BRZ.

Anyway, I picked up my BRZ on Wednesday. So far I love everything about it except the idle ticking. It reminds me of my RX-8, minus all the things I hated about that car.

2013 Limited White Manual
15,000 miles
Like new condition, garage kept, 1,300 dollar clear paint protection on entire front of car, tinted windows, about a year left on factory warranty

I paid $22,000 to a private seller, 14 down and 7 financed with 3.49% APR. First question is, did I get a good deal? I actually over paid blue book private party by about $500, but given the condition and circumstances of the car, I felt it was a fair negotiation from his posting price of $23,500.

My next issue is that when all is said and done, I have $700 left of my budget for mods.

I'm not interested in doing anything that will cause wear and tear, reduce efficiency, or make it obnoxious. I'm concerned more with cleaner aesthetics, protection, efficiency, handling, durability, and less with power.

My initial thoughts from 3 days of lurking...

-Armrest, already ordered
http://www.ebay.com/itm/13-14-SCION-...f16cba&vxp=mtr

-Black interior plastics to replace ugly silver stuff
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ight=vent+trim

-Interior LED lights

-Exhaust: Whatever below thread determines is the least loud/obnoxious
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ietest+loudest

-Intake? I assume improves efficiency

-Underbody panels to reduce drag/protect from debris
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ht=reduce+drag

-Sway bars (do these cause additional wear and tear or reduce efficiency?)

What do you guys think of my first impression? Any suggestions? Keep in mind I am novice to modding.

Thanks

Save the 700 for car payments

you already bought the car so it does no good to ask us if you got a good deal.

set of michelin super sports.

That's not what he asked

Interior is of course all preference.

Intake - I wouldn't bother at this point. Not enough of a benefit without more mods. Most of which being a tune. This is not a car from 20 years ago with an inefficient intake. There is a good chance your fuel mileage would go down. Maybe just get a drop in filter.

Exhaust - Q300 is the probably the least loud/obnoxious, followed by Perrin, but there are many others that sound good without being obnoxious. Most of any quality are going to be over your $700 though. You also are not going to see much in the way of increased efficiency.

Sway Bars - Do you know why you want sway bars? I see no reason to change sway bars unless you are planning more suspension changes, which you would probably want to do first anyway, such as springs(under 700) or coilovers.

Underbody Panels - nice to have, but there are more useful things. The extra efficiency would never pay for itself in the time you have the car.

Really the best way to increase efficiency in this car is to drive it efficiently. It has low rolling resistance tires, and super light oil from the factory so they could put as efficient of numbers on the sticker as possible.

Must've misread the post (night shifts will do that to ya). OP I would probably avoid an aftermarket intake and just get a K&N drop in. 1/4 the price and most of the gains. Check out the classifieds, sometimes you can get some awesome deals!

You are right, I should have asked here first to get an idea before buying. I was actually going to buy a premium with 8k miles from a no haggle dealership in Houston for the same price, but it sold the day before I was going to make the trip. With that as a comparison, I felt like it was fair for both of us. He took care of the initial investment and depreciation for me, and that's what I wanted. The fact that it was nearby, garage kept, all maintenance records, warranty, 35% tint and paint protection sweetened the deal. I'm happy with it.

Only because I read they reduce body roll and improve handling, which it probably doesn't really need anyway. It will probably kill whats left of the warranty too.

From what I've read so far, it looks like gains from performance mods (aside from maybe K&N drop in) would be negligible given my budget, so I will stick to aesthetics for now and save some of the money. I was thinking the black interior plastics from the link, armrest I already ordered, interior led's, and new fog lights. I actually like the factory leather wrapped shift knob, any reason to swap it? Any other suggestions?

Another option is a 10" sub.. I thought the Limited trim came with premium sound including a sub, but I didn't notice one in mine and it doesn't sound too bassy.

I will also look into the K&N drop in

Sock away the $700 for maintenance and just enjoy the car like it is.

Have you thought about wheel spacers? I'll never run my stock wheels without them, really makes the car look that much better.

Didn't know what that was, found this.
http://perrinperformance.com/files/p...brz_01x600.jpg

The difference looks pretty minimal to me.. I'll think about it.

After browsing some of the threads here and seeing the obscene amount of money some people dump into their cars, I'm kind of shocked that "save it for car payments" is such a common response.

Tires and camber bolts get my vote for $700.

If the $700 is just burning a hole in your pocket, the biggest bang for buck ratio is an Open Flash Tablet.

Maybe they speak from regret? I have dumped a lot of money into an RX7 which I will probably be stripping and scrapping soon. I have dumped a lot of money into a GT-R that needs me to dump yet more money into it before it will run again. I ordered my BRZ because it's awesome, granted, by my definition, right out of the box. I'm tired of spending all that money and never really getting it back out in miles or smiles.

That's me, though. If you want to just throw money at your car just to do it, that's your call. I just ordered new wheels and tires for mine and it hasn't even been delivered yet. I only did that because the main thing that I feel falls short on the car is the rolling stock. It's busy and ugly. I need to source a head unit too since I ordered the car without one. Beyond that, things are going to have to demonstrate they are real shortcomings before I spend a dime on anything more than regular maintenance.

If after driving your car a little while you see some things that truly bother you about it then you will know what to spend that money on. pretty car you have there too. :thumbsup:

AutoX, Track Day then brakes and tires when you're good enough to use the OEM ones up.

Many people think that less body roll always means better handling because it makes you feel like you are corninering harder. This of course can be the case in certain situations, but just because you throw bigger sway bars on, doesn't mean your car handles better. Same happens with cheap coilovers. I personally would go springs at your budget because you can lower a little bit, reduce a little body roll, and your car will look better. If you still want to reduce your body roll, then get swaybars after. As a DD though, you will probaly be fine.

This will not affect your warranty unless they determine that a part failed due to your aftermarket part. If your engine blows, they can't deny your claim due to your suspension.

I agree to drive the car AS IS first so you can appreciate the nature of the car. Than you will have a better understanding what you would like to change and go from there. my first mod is the rear bumper diffuser however, had it on at 2nd week.

Is the open flash tablet a good option for someone that doesn't know a thing about tuning cars? I googled it, but still not really sure what it even is.

As for tires, I can't resist turning off traction control and drifting now and then in this car, so I think I'll use these up first and get tires later.

Also don't know if I want to lower it, as it sits pretty low as it is and I have speed bumps I have to driver over daily.

After going out to the garage and looking at my car, i think it could in fact use some wheel spacers. I hadn't noticed how deep the tires sit. I think maybe I'll go with the interior cosmetics, the wheel spacers, and K&M drop in. I figure that should only run me a few hundred, and I can put away the rest.

I would spend that money on track days. However, if that isn't the purpose for your car. I would spend it on a set of race comp engineering yellow springs, front camber bolts, and an alignment. From the research that I have done and reviews I have read, I would say that RCE yellow springs are probably one of the only springs that improve handling over stock. And it only lowers the car .8 of an inch, so you wouldn't have to worry about scraping.

K&N, and soundtube delete (either dyi or w/ perrin). Intake doesn't give much in terms of gains, so it's not a big bang for the buck.

He put down 14K, so I don't think he needs to worry about his finances...

How are the tires? Still stock? $700 would get you nice and sticky Pilot Super Sports, unless you need all season tires.

You got the Limited trim - besides tires, there's not much it "needs".

Tires.

Congrats on the car!

Tires, Exhaust or Open Flash Tablet would be my choice. I agree with a poster above drive for a little while and figure out what you'd like to improve.

Thank you for coming to that conclusion on the finances.. was wondering how the others didn't pick up on that. While I don't actually make all that much money, my car payment and insurance are 165 and 88, I think that's pretty affordable and probably below average. The reason I had a large down payment is that I got 17k from carmax for my 2007 2dr Rubicon with 68k miles. I put 14 down on the brz, financed 7,000 plus 500 for tax, remaining 3500 I'm using to pay off my credit cards, pay tax and title, and get some mods.

Considering the jeep kept having suspension problems, had ruined off road tires causing deafening road noise, had a burn hole in passenger seat, and the windshield cracked in half on my way to carmax (seriously), I couldn't be happier with my situation.

As for the mod, is this what you're talking about? Reduces cabin noise?
http://www.frsmod.com/products/scion...ube-delete-kit

Anyone can use it to install a ROM on the car.
You pick out a ROM based on your car's configuration and download it to the car.
It works even if you are stock, but if you pick the most popular items (headers, exhaust, E85, etc.) they are likely to have a ROM for your configuration.

Then you can use it to monitor the car's diagnostics while it is running.
This would help a lot to learn about tuning.

Stugray speaks wisely- OFT is hands down the largest bang for your buck. Snatch one up here on the member classifieds for 400-450.

You can run E85 fuel or stick with 91/93 octane and have a car that runs as smooth as she looks. Stock tune is meh

That leaves around 300 or so to spend on other cool things.. people have suggested spacers and camber bolts and an alignment.. If so, buy the spacers from Corner3 garage- they're the best quality and price hands down. $137 for spacers and camber bolts. Add RCE/Eibach pro/swift lowering springs and you're gtg

http://www.corner3garage.com/V3-Spac...WRX_p_482.html

--

& for tires..

Enjoy those tires and when they're shot, buy new ones unless you don't like how fun they are/need more grip ;)

I'm going to wait until my tires are worn out, might as well kill 2 birds with one stone by paying an unavoidable expense and upgrading at the same time. I agree, the limited is fully loaded. I was going to get a premium because I thought white/window tint/no spoiler looked cleaner, but I'm glad it sold before I got to it.

I just had my track day in an empty school parking lot on wet pavement :)
Drifted her so hard my dash panel flew off and got wedged between the seat (a black frs panel that had broken clips).

Honestly, I almost gave myself a heart attack just doing that stuff, I don't think I'm going to be doing a lot of aggressive/track driving. I would like to get what you suggested, but it's probably a little expensive and will have to put that one off.

Thanks! I love it! Exactly what I was looking for. Every time I pass a mustang I just think how glad I am I didn't go that route.

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Right now I'm still thinking black interior trim, wheel spacers, and I just ordered the drop in filter.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CO80OW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: K&N 33-2300 High Performance Replacement Air Filter: Automotive[/ame]


I don't see anyone mentioning subwoofer.. why is that? I have seen some made specifically for brz/frs, are they any good?

I say tires also! MPSS

Right in the budget.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

:mad0260:

These things beg for better tires. If you want to go that route, id say go for wheels too, but that would require saving. After those some coils, or struts and springs to your liking.

And take it to a track, a real track track. NASIOC and some vendors usually do track specials, where they schedule a "subaru day" a a certain track (for instance i think it was $110 at willow the last time the huge group went up there.) Dont worry about feeling outclassed, or thinking you wont have fun because all kinds of different people show up, from newbies in sti's, to seasoned maniacs in rwd converted wagons. :P

It must be a conspiracy.... about tires.... Shhh. I've already said too much.

I actually like the factory premium wheels. I think they look pretty nice. And, just to make sure, I just did the penny test on the tires. The shallower horizontal grooves were at the top of lincon's eyes/ears, and the deeper vertical groves covered his eyes and ears. I think my tires are good. Since it's a component that needs mandatory replacing anyway, I'm just going to wait until these are warn out and I'm done with the "new toy" phase. I'm probably going to drive aggressively for a month, and then ease back to normal commuting.

Drive it as much as you can so that you get comfortable with the car, only then can you pick out which areas you'd like to improve. The choice of mods you do is really up to your preferences, driving style and what you want most from the car.

I would recommend an OFT and save the rest of the money for future maintenance/tools.

Here are some pics from the garage just now. The first pictures I posted I actually saved from the sellers autotrader ad. They could be stock photos for all I know.

As you can see I wanted to get rid of the silver immediately. Unfortunately whoever removed the scion panel was an idiot and jammed a screwdriver between them, so they are scuffed and the clips are broken. It looks fine, but if you push on it it will sink into the dash and you will have to pull it back into place.

I have budgeted for everything. This is essentially left over money after all my bills and credit cards are paid. The car is under warranty for another year and 20 some thousand miles, the paint protection has a 5 year warranty. My payment and insurance are relatively low.

I've got an impulse to customize it a little bit, just so it's not exactly like every other limited brz. I just want a few things to get me started. I don't think I need to drive it in order to determine if I'd like a subwoofer, black trim, or a few horse power from a filter.

Speaking of which, I'd still like feedback on sound systems and head units.

Lowering springs are around $200-400. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned them yet.

Personally, I'm not a big fan on NA tunes since the gains aren't very noticeable to me.

Yeah, it reduces the cabin noise..,

This one is $4.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72263

or you could just stick the plug for the power adapter in the glove box into the hole behind the carpet.

He may already be content with the ride height.

Tires are probably the best idea, especially if it rains much where you are (the Primacies are terrible in the rain... that is, if your car still has Primacies).

Sway bars could be a good option as long as you have a reason for changing them: they can really affect the balance of the car in the corners, but I'd only suggest changing them if you have a specific complaint with how the car handles stock. In terms of bang for your buck, though, sways are great if you need them.

Rear subframe bushing inserts probably deserve an honorable mention (they improve throttle response).