Working on the BRZ in general, is it just me or...
 

Ok so I'm a mechanic. A little background on me. I used to fix cars for a living. I've worked at Volvo , Mercedes, ford, Kia, honda. And now I fix commercial aircraft.

Out of the few things I've done to my car. I've noticed this car is incredibly easy to work on. Interior panels come out with little fuss. There was an EMPTY grommet on the firewall to run wires through. Never seen that before. Running wires from the trunk to the front. There was basically a recessed channel in the rear seat pan to route the wires.

I mean little things like that. It's almost like the car was engineered to be modified. I also have a 98 Mercedes. And good luck taking any of the interior apart. Lol. Hidden screws, clips. I mean there's 6 screws alone holding the glove box in.

Anyways done rambling. Just thought it was cool. I'm sure some things are a PITA to do in the BRZ. But I haven't found it yet.

Yea, these cars were made for people to customize. I remember asking on the wrx forum on why there arn't many options for after market tail lights for the 2015 model wrx vs frs/brz. Someone told me toyota had let a few companies see the blue prints and schematics before release so they can start on aftermarkets. I mean for older models, the exhaust opening was made for you to swap out the smaller tips.

Its like a giant Meccano set. I had to remove all the boot lining to get at the rear lights and everything was oddly hassle free and easy to remove and put back. Being loaded with hard plastic's you just have to be patient when working with the interior to avoid scratching things.

I did the first oil change and wow that was unexpectedly easy.

From memory Toyota actually handed out pre launch cars to a number of famous after market (Japan based) vendors in order to incentivize them to develop products for the platform, so there was a pretty decent amount of parts ready to go at launch, and a steady stream there after.

I'd have to go digging, but I think even Tada-san himself said he wanted the platform to be a blank canvas for you to modify and make your own.

from what I've read changing the spark plug is a 3+ hours job so that's certainly not easy !

A G-200 can't be fun to work on!

Modifications galore was a thought put into the car. It was made for you to customize it to your liking and your style. You can notice that in several parts.

People always wonder why the exhaust cutoff holes on the rear of the car are so big and the exhaust tips are not. Why there are small 17" wheels for such a wide car and a huge fender opening for those little wheels.

Again, modification was put to thought on this car.

I work on big boy planes. The bigger they are. The easier they are. Lol. But still some jobs on planes make you rethink life. Lol

Even as a subie tech, I can say that the spark plugs can be a pain in the d**k if you don't have a way figured out.

But yeah, not too bad to work on, except for when the the engine has to come apart. The FA/FB engines are my least favorite to disassemble/reassemble in alllllll the laaaaand.

im also an aircraft mechanic! and you and i know its a hell of a different machine to work on. On aircraft, theres essentially zero rust - then working on cars, its everywhere! (at least here in ontario)

I changed out spark plugs on this car, its not too too bad. You just need to have good hands

Yea that's one thing I love. Almost zero corrosion. But aircraft have their own setbacks too lol

My BRZ is the easiest oil change I've ever done. Told my wife I was going to change my oil and she usually helps me. She goes in the house for 5 minutes, comes out and I'm done. Love it.

I love the oil filter placement on the FA20. my previous car had the oil filter at a 45 degree angle on the bottom of the car. needless to say, changing oil was really messy...

now on the BRZ, with the top placement of the oil filter and my quick valve, changing oil is mess free and fast.

that's Subaru's boxer engine design's fault not so much Toyota's..

Front bumper to fender gap issues is the only thing I've had be a bitch so far, and it's because the body shop did a shitty job of it and when I went back months later to fix it, I find they broke shit...


Air filter change can be a bit of a pain too, easier to just unbolt the whole thing and bolt it back in as an assembly I've found.


I'm sure there's more, but as a general rule, Japanese stuff is very easy to work on.


I assume because there's essentially no gaskets and it's all RTV, right? Lots of bikes have been like that for years, less likely to leak. Makes working on internals or fixing leaks a chore though.



...that's what she said

That was included specifically for aftermarket gauges.

Have you discovered that you can remove the hood prop and relocate it further up the engine bay to prop the hood almost straight up? That puts the little plastic doofus on the end of it at a weird angle, so they put another rectangular hole in the hood at the same angle so it would still fit.

http://www.tune86.com/sites/default/.../hoodprop1.jpg

I agree. My reusable AFE filter is a real bi**h to get installed right. But in all fairness, the disposable OEM filter is not hard at all.

Ease of maintenance is one of the reasons I bought a twin instead of a 370z/Evo X.

I've also been amazed at the engineer's forethought into the way certain aspects of the car were designed for modifications. The grommets, wiring channels, lego inspired interior :D Seriously though doing anything that involves removing interior panels has been a breeze in this car.

Oil change with a Fumoto valve takes like 3 minutes, and no spilling oil filters as you play plinko to get them out (like my Explorer...)

Don't really look forward to the day I have to get in there and do spark plugs, or other engine work. Found a small oil leak during the last oil change and it has turned into the dealer having my car for a week, pulling the engine to replace the timing cover. Good thing for that warranty :eyebulge:

Except the FBs in the Forester/Legacy/Impreza/Outbacks all have front cover and cam carrier oil leaks as time goes on. Its pretty damn bad.