Subtle mods?
 

So i just got my new BRZ about a month ago. I am planning on modding the car a bit but not for another year or so. However i'm not super rich so im gonna start saving now lol.

Was wondering what mods you guys have done?
I'm looking for something thats not super invasive but can increase the performance of the car. Not looking for massive power spike. Something more like an additional 30-50 HP and about the same for Torque.

The mods i'm thinking about are:
New Exhaust
Cold Air Intake
Air Filter
ECU Mod (may not do this because ive read about issues where the car will essentially reject the tune and then your car is undrivable. Also this sounds like the most invasive mod so i may not do it)
Black side front and back skirts (more for the aesthetic)

Also any advice on where to buy and what companies would give me the most bang for my buck.

Please excuse me if i sound super noob at this. This is the first car (and the first time i can afford) that i can even attempt to mod and i kinda have no idea where to start or what to do. I also wont be DIYing these installs because i'm not a handyman by any means.

Thanks for any help!!

Suggest you read here mate :-)
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=81493


Best bang for buck is a tune plus E85 fuel, and its totally reversible.
or tune plus catless header on petrol if you dont have E85 available or want to run E85.

dont change the intake its not worth the trouble or expense, just put in a $50 drop in non-oiled filter like apexi .


if your rearly concerned about warantee dont mod anything

or get an OFT where you can flash back a totally stock tune yourself for service. and just do the tune and maybe a drop in filter




then maybe most of the pretty colored links below if you want to tune it yourself or use something lke an OFT or even get a tuner to do it.


to get 30 (at the wheels) or so Hp over stock you will need catless header and overpipe plus tune on likely 93 petrol minimum. Rearly expensive header like ACE ($1500) might get you their on 91 with a custom tune.

or less expensive header like gruppe-s tune and E85 fuel

50hp (at the wheels) over stock on naturally aspirated car is pretty well not achievable even with full bolt on mods E85 and custom tune

Holy crap thank you! =D

New to these forums so still trying to find my way around haha

I assume because you are suggesting the tune you have done it yourself? Have you noticed any real problems with it? I have watched a few videos on the flash tablet and it effectively gave it extra HP on the lower end and basically got rid of the torque dip. If you havnt had any issues i might spend the money and just get the tablet so i can flash it back to stock whenever i bring it in.

Thank you so much for the advice!

Header
Cat back exhaust
Open flash tablet


My suggestion for specifics are:

Jdl uel or el header
Resonated 2.5 Perrin cbe

Both catted since you live in California. (Not sure of laws there though)

If you go e85, make sure it's available in your commuting area, otherwise, stick with 93

I dont know how much money you have but you could also sell the stock tires and buy ones with more grip of you desire more grip. The stock michelins are expensive, $~150-190 new, so you can sell them slightly used for a good price.

Another performance addition is some lighter wheels. Reducing each wheel weight by a pound would be beneficial.



If I may pry into your personal life, maybe instead of modding the car, work on paying off the car faster. I paid off my car in two years by making large payments, dodging paying a good sum of interest. It may not be the most fun route, but it's safer.

Otherwise, open flash tablet $500, catback exhaust $600+, header $600. I wouldn't cheap out on any mods though.

~$2300 for specific setup I mentioned earlier.

Awesome thanks!!

Yeah i actually will have the car paid off in slightly over a year (hence why i want to wait a bit) so thats not much of an issue. I will definetly look into those options you mentioned. Unfortunetly for gas in my area the best i can get is 91 so i'm going to have to stick with that.

Thanks for all the advice!

Does driver mod count as "subtle"?

Haha, yeah i'm still getting my "fun" driving skills up. For the most part though i've been driving manual cars for about 15 years and i can for the most part get the power i need when i need it. These mods arent really to make up for any shortcomings in my driving technique. Just more something i feel would give my car that very slight push in my mind. Honestly if i wanted more power i would have gone with a WRX or heaven forbid a mustang. But i really like the fact that i dont have to deal with a turbo (lots of bad times in my old Eclipse GST) and i can push out exactly the amount of HP i need. I mean realistically who really needs more than 200 unless you are heavy into tracking your car. This is my daily driver and 200 hp is more than enough. But in my mind i want a tad more than more...so...here we are haha

i have probably flashed my car ecu more than most

probably about 200 plus on oft, another 200 with tactrix\ecuflash and about 20 with ecutek, trying various tunes and mods on petrol and E85.

not managed to brick my ecu yet :-)

read here to avoid flashing hassles, if you dont do silly stuff you wont have problems
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...92&postcount=1


if you fitt headers properly as per the basic bolt on mods guide you wont have issues either

oft comnes with tunes for stock cars on petrol 91\93 and e85 and cars with el or uel headers. the oft you can also onsell for only a small loss if you move on, as long as you unmarry it by flashing you car back to stock, read the OFT TIPS link below

You, kind sir, "get it". ;)

Welcome to the forums and enjoy your stay.

Haha thanks! =D

Meh, leave it alone for a couple years. Spend that time really getting to know it. Learn to be smooth above 5K RPM but don't linger there unless you have a decent oil cooler.

It's a great little machine all on its own.

Oh totally. I dont plan on doing these for at the bare minimum one year. I LOVE the car as is. Just planning for the future. I know myself and i'm the kinda guy that always craves a bit more out of my things without having to buy it all over again.

I havnt actually been above 5k yet haha. Always drove low RPM cars in the past so i'm still getting used to it. I Also tend to drive a lot of residential cuz of where i live so unfortunetly dont get to really push the car as much as i would like. Luckily, i'm in california, and we have some amazing back roads here.

Ah, here's the secret. You don't have to push the car in order to operate up there. It doesn't involve going all F&F. Just get used to modulating the throttle with the engine running up there. Get used to shifting smoothly, calmly. Notice how much more responsive it is. *Maybe you'll discover the reward of working with what it has to offer.

*In the most genuine sense, not snarky.