Southern Breeze - My DGM BRZ Build Thread
 

Having started to make a little bit of progress on my car just past its six month anniversary, probably best to try and start documenting some of the modifications I've been making.

I came to the BRZ from a Lexus and to that Lexus from a Miata. So I went from fun car to boring car and desperately wanted a fun car again. Looked at everything from older 911s to Mustang GTs, and decided that I liked the 911 and Cayman S the best, but was worried about maintenance and repairs on an older Porsche. Found myself at a Subaru dealer and took a new BRZ down the road - immediately I felt the nimble handling and tossability that I missed from my Miata. Handling was reminiscent of the Cayman, power obviously lacking comparatively, but I realized that, much like the Miata, that wasn't what this car was about. Decision made, now the search began.

I looked high and low for over a month, contacting every Subaru dealership in North Carolina, looking for a leftover 2014 in any color besides white or silver. After much haggling, dealers being dealers and a few shenanigans, I finally found my BRZ Limited for a great price ($3k off MSRP) at Modern Subaru in Boone. A couple days before my birthday in September I set off on a warm morning for the mountains, eager to be rid of my Lexus and back in something fun.

Picked it up and was out of the dealer in less than an hour. Made a necessary stop on the way home to get her on the Blue Ridge Parkway with under 100 miles on the odometer (pic below).

Sold as of 6/19/17.

Modifications as of 8/1/16:

Power/Bolt-on:
- Perrin Crank Pulley
- Perrin Inlet Pipe
- K&N Air Filter
- Openflash UEL Header (ceramic coated by JetHot)
- Perrin Overpipe (ceramic coated by JetHot)
- Motiv HFC Frontpipe
- Perrin 3" Catback
- OFT Stage 2 E85 (Summer) 93 (Winter)

Suspension/Chassis/Braking:
- 949 Racing 6UL 17x9 +40
- TRD Springs
- SPC LCAs
- Whiteline Camber Bolts
- Perrin Strut Tower Brace
- Perrin Master Cylinder Brace
- Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines

Exterior:
- TOM'S Clear Taillights
- BlueBatmobile Reverse Light Vinyl Overlay
- BaysonR STi Replica Lip
- Helix Smoked Sidemarkers
- Diode Dynamics LED Turn Signals
- Diode Dynamics LED Foglights
- Intec CHMSL
- BeatSonic Sharkfin
- Grimmspeed Hood Struts
- Modbargains duckbill spoiler
- Driveway Labs Version 2a Rear Diffuser

Interior:
- Raceseng Signatur Shift Knob
- Raceseng R-Lockout
- JPM Coachworks Alcantara Shift Boot
- JPM Coachworks Alcantara E-Brake Boot
- JPM Coachworks Alcantara Gauge Hood
- JPM Coachworks Alcantara Dash Panels

To me, three of the things I liked the least about the BRZ were the RC-look antenna, ugly taillights and the orange sidemarkers. One of those was remedied very quickly! Within about one month of ownership, I ordered a set of the smoked Helix sidemarkers from our friends at FT86SpeedFactory. They came quickly and were easy to install, once I actually watched a video on it!

Next up on the list of three things I didn't like was the RC-car antenna. I ordered the color-matched BeatSonic sharkfin to replace that, and update the exterior of the car a bit to match its 2015 brethren.

Also started meeting up with some other local 86 owners, which has been a lot of fun.

I started going back and forth over a few options of what I wanted to do about the rear taillights. I thought Tom's looked great and loved how the parking light matched the front boomerang. Valentis were very nice too and a slightly more reasonable option. Of course, quite a few people have had a lot of luck with VHT or vinyl overlays to make their tails look awesome.

However, I decided that the clear Tom's would really set off the DGM. I was drooling over a couple other member's cars in the DGM thread and my mind was made up!

At the same time I went a little nuts (for me) and found/ordered a couple other parts: Perrin 3" resonated catback and a BaysonR STi replica lip.

Absolutely love the sound the Perrin provides and the Tom's just look great. Wish the car came this way from the factory. Also debadged the rear end for a cleaner look.

Since I had to install that hellish LED flasher under the dashboard (I still have a scar from jamming my hand up under there) for the Tom's, I went ahead and upgrade my front turn signals to LEDs from Diode Dynamics and wrapped the yellow bases with a little black electrical tape to remove the orange non-lit glow and get the front end completely monochromatic. Very subtle mod, but I think it looks awesome.

Next I bought a Perrin inlet tube from a forum member, mostly to delete the stupid sound tube (which had been long since plugged), a K&N drop-in, some caliper paint (red calipers = 5rwhp, right) and a vinyl overlay for the reverse lights from BlueBatmobile.

My butt dyno initially told me that the Perrin inlet tube and K&N didn't give me anything, but after a bit of time, I think it is making a bit more power, sort of inline with the dynos that have been posted, advertising about 5-8rwhp. Small difference, but it is there. Plus a nicer intake sound.

This spring, a few other local 86s decided to go up to Deal's Gap with Southeast86 and run the Tail of the Dragon. It was an absolute blast and I can't wait to do it again. Met a number of awesome people and got to see some very highly-modded 86's. Totally recommend that to anybody who's thinking about making that trip.

Also recommend running the Cherohala Skyway, which is where the dusk pictures were taken. Beautiful views and a great road.

Now, to bring us completely up to date, one thing that I also started to get a little annoyed with was our stock ride height. Too much wheel gap, so I bought a set of new TRD springs off one of our forum members here. I had already scraped the nose once before, so I figured this would also be a great time to get that BaysonR lip installed too. Took the car over to my buddy Nate's shop and he got me all sorted out.

The look is exactly what I wanted so far - lower and athletic without being slammed. When I eventually upgrade the wheels/tires I think it'll look perfect. Ride is still as good as stock, no chattering and it isn't bouncy in the least. I think I made the right call with the TRD springs.

In the meantime, I also picked up a Raceseng Signatur shiftknob from a forum member and picked up a nice Racequip helmet for autocross. Hopefully more of that coming in the future!

I see you are from Greensboro, my girlfriends goes to UNCG. I am always up there. Tail of the dragon is a bunch of fun as well!

If you're ever up here on a Wednesday, our group has dinner in either Greensboro, High Point or Winston. Tomorrow is 66 Pizzeria in Winston-Salem. Search "Triad86" on Facebook and you should find us, or @triad86 on Twitter. Come on and hang out!

Another small update...

The BRZ had a bit of a busy weekend. On Saturday, the SPC LCAs went on as well as some Whiteline camber bolts, and then it finally got a proper alignment after having the lowering springs on unaligned for about a month.

I also ordered some vinyl overlays for the badges on the car - carbon fiber look with red stars. Not sold on them, so I may end up peeling them back off (I also didn't do the greatest job putting them on, honestly). A buddy of mine and I were discussing the BRZ STI concept and loved that little red highlight in the air dam, so I added that on mine with some 3M pinstriping tape. I like it, but am not sure how well it'll last there.

Lastly - received my alcantara shift boot and e-brake boot from JPM Coachworks. Took a bit to get them, but the quality is worth the wait. Installation of the shift boot was a breeze but the e-brake boot was rather fiddly. Pics don't do them justice.

Installed a few more items over the last few days - Perrin Master Cylinder Brace, Perrin Strut Tower Brace and a Raceseng R-Lockout. The lockout was the fiddliest of the bunch and I was afraid I was going to break something taking out the retaining pin, so I took it to my buddy's shop and let him have a (literal) whack at it. After a while he was able to get it to budge and got the lockout on no problem, but then the damn alcantara boot was too tight to pull up over it!

I took the car back home and took the shift ring trim piece off, pulled the boot up and then slid it back down over and that worked great after lots of fiddling and tugging.

Just yesterday I ordered OFT/OFH, Berk catted frontpipe and the Modbargains duckbill, so looking forward to when all that gets here and gets bolted up!

Took her up to VIR this past weekend with a couple friends for HPDE. Great experience and wonderful hosts with the PCA First Settlers group.

Just added the Forgestar F14s I bought from a forum member! 18x8.5 in the front and 18x9.5 in the back. Wasn't too sure how I'd like the gold, but it looks nice! I'll add a few more pictures after I get the car cleaned up this weekend.

Had to snag a set of McGard spline drive lugs to work with the wheels as the lug holes are super tiny. Stock lugs wouldn't fit at all.

Adding a few more pictures of the new wheels - the first group were snagged during a run with a couple friends through the NC/VA high country up to Rocky Knob, and the second were at a weekly meet-up for dinner with Triad86. Forgot to mention I also installed the OEM splashguards to try and help keep stone chips off the sides of the car.

Also heard back from Openflash today - my header is apparently still at sea, due for port next week :(.

My car just celebrated its first birthday! :happyanim:

To celebrate, we installed the Openflash UEL Header, Perrin OP, Motiv HFC FP and Perrin crank pulley as well as flashing the tune OFT Stage 2. I also sent the header and OP to Jet Hot for ceramic coating, to hopefully increase their longevity and keep engine bay temperatures down.

Car is rather loud now, especially on cold start, but quiets down at normal idle. Very loud when you get on it too, but sounds great. Just need to turn the music up a few more decibels! :)

Torque dip is completely gone and it makes good power all the way to 7000rpms before starting to fall off. On Thursday it'll be strapped to a Mustang dyno to see how its doing, so it will be interesting to see the results.

Finally got the BRZ on a dyno last week! Joined up for a dyno day at 42 Autosports in Concord, NC to see what it would put down on their Mustang dyno. Ambient temps around 70*, power mods were OFT Stage 2 93 tune, Openflash UEL header, Perrin OP, Motiv catted FP, Perrin catback, drop-in filter and Perrin inlet tube.

Pretty satisfied that it put down 183/155. Pic and graph below.

Modbargains duckbill painted and installed! Also ran out and took some pictures at sunset, to play with the light a little bit.

Looking great, got video/sound clip of how your car sounds like? must sound badass!

Tasteful, mods! I actually really like the gold wheels, too! Where did you get the red piping detail inlay for the front of the car (inset on radiator opening)?

i will be moving up to the winston area, how is the scene up there? see quite a few twins in your pics

Thank you! I've got a couple, but haven't ever been able to get them to upload to YouTube from my phone for some reason. Got a GoPro for Christmas, so maybe I'll be able to get some better videos and upload them from my PC.

Thank you! The red piping is just 3M vinyl pinstriping tape, I think [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010AQVFC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailp age_o01_s00"]this stuff[/ame]. Wiped down that plastic around the radiator opening with some alcohol to degrease it and then just followed the line around the opening. Easy mod for a little subtle flair.

It's not bad - I'm part of a group called Triad86, we do most of our organization through Facebook, so you can search for us there. We do weekly dinners, will plan weekend drives when the weather is nice, a few of us do trackdays or AutoX, too. NC86.Club is another good group, but primarily in the Raleigh area. Hope to see you around!

Things have been quiet for awhile, but new and exciting things are on the horizon! Bought a JPM gauge hood in alcantara off a forum member here and just installed that last night. Adds a nice touch to the interior :).

Recently sold my Forgestars to a member in a local club, but will be replacing those very soon with something a little more track/autox-friendly.

I like that a lot. I can't decide between the JPM version or the JDM version.

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hey man, what happened with your BaysonR lip? it looks to me like you had it on for a while, then switched it out with an authentic STI lip. Did you not like the quality/fit of the replica? did it break?

I was able to snag this one for a good price from a forum member, so that made it an easy call for me :). If you spend a few minutes every couple days checking out the for sale sections, you really can find good deals.

It's the BaysonR lip! I just made it look like the authentic STI lip, without the big price tag. This way I don't care if I scrape it up since I can grab another off eBay for $70.

A few more updates:

- Bought and installed a used Driveway Labs version 2a rear diffuser. Quality is top notch and fitment is great. Added a couple decals on the rear strakes copying @Gunman's style :)

- Swapped trans and differential oil for Motul Gear at about 26,000 miles. Diff oil was not in great shape, but the trans oil looked fine.

- Installed Goodridge stainless steel brake lines and went with Motul brake fluid. Pedal feels very nicely solid now - great mod pairing with the master cylinder brace.

- Installed the @949 Racing 6ULs in 17x9. Super close to rubbing the front struts. I'm going to pull them after about a week of regular driving and examine. I'll update again after the first autocross on this setup later this month.

You should come to cars and coffee Charlotte in august. Lot of us 86 guys will be there!

I've been down there before - is it still at the NC Music Factory? Which Saturday of the month are yours hosted?

It's now at the windstream building in Matthews. The music factory parking lot has been torn down. It's the first Saturday of every month. I think NC86.CLUB is having a meet in Greensboro this Saturday.

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Oh cool - so the next one is August 6? I'll try and make it down! I'll also be at the Greensboro family pic day Saturday as well :).

Thanks for the reply man. You really had me fooled with the lip!

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Yes, the next one should be the 6th!

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Made the jump to E85 yesterday with about 27,000 miles on the clock. Have been taking it very easy to let the tune learn, but there's noticeably more power everywhere. The car seems much more eager and responsive and revs a little more smoothly, not feeling quite so coarse.

Since I've been driving easily, I'm still getting over 30mpg (cpu indicated) and it cost about $17 to fill it up on the corn juice.

Enjoyed a little track time over the weekend with First Settlers PCA up at VIR running the South Course to celebrate the car's two year anniversary!.

Installed a set of the JPM Alcantara dash panels that I bought before they closed up. Wish I could've gotten more from them! As always, quality and customer service were both top notch. Install was easy as pie.

One more update - finally got around to installing the Intec CHMSL. Install is a bit of a pain, but not too terrible to knock out in about an hour by yourself.

Also including a couple pictures (photo credit to Sam Wright) of the last AutoX of the season! :D :burnrubber:

With quite a lot of mixed emotion, I must conclude my build. The BRZ will be getting traded in today and finding a new home shortly thereafter. It was a terrific vehicle and a heap of fun to own and drive.

New build thread out there some where on the Audi?
What was the driving force on trading in the BRZ for the Audi as I am sure it was not an easy one?