I love this car
 

I purchased a '17 BRZ Limited w/PP almost two weeks ago sight unseen from a dealership out of state.....finally, today it was delivered. 1900 miles on the odometer, feels and looks brand new. I knew going in that it had the factory STI short shifter as an added option, but was quite surprised when it showed up with an STI exhaust and fresh AS3+'s.

I've owned my '17 Focus RS since new and have put a delightful 24k miles on it. I love the car, but had a craving for a NA lightweight RWD, no-frills (or minimal frills) sports car. I was essentially dead set on an ND Miata, especially once the '19s hit the lots. But after comparing the similar cars side by side - the ND had to have the BBS/Recaro package, as well as the Recaro seats to "comparable" - the BRZ was just a screaming value.

After driving them both, comparing the little details, and really analyzing how they both felt to me, the BRZ won my heart over, especially considering I can get it optioned how I want it for under $25k lightly used vs having to spend $35k+ for a new ND RF. Both are excellent cars, don't get me wrong. But the BRZ simply ticks all of the boxes plus some. Not to mention the seats are flat out better than even the expensive optional faux-Recaro seats in the ND. And now it sits side by side with my RS.

In closing, I'm looking forward to being a somewhat active member here. For any of you that have spent time in the Jeep world, I was on JF under the same name (well, Imped) and had one of the longest, largest and most technical build threads on the site for many years. I sold my beloved TJ a few months ago due to lack of time, lack of interest and it sat in the garage far too much. I only sold it to fund an enjoyable sports car that I'll use far more often, and this is it. The car truly isn't that fast, that's for sure.....my RS would roast it on any road, straight or twisty. But it tugs at the heart strings (at least mine) quite a bit more than my RS does. The seating position, sound and feel are just wonderful. I'll probably start a build thread on this, but I won't be going to near the lengths as I did with my TJ.

:cheers:

Congratulations! Glad you have some perspective and understand what the car is. The driver's position I think is one of the best festures, it felt too natural when I sat in one the first time.

The site has an incredibly active userbase and the vendors are still exploring the platform. Great time to buy one, looking forward to seeing you around!

And my car (well, the '17) had to be driven in from Indy last December for me... Weird how that works! I was replacing a 14 though.



Enjoy the ride!

Congratulations bro :thumbup: Welcome to the family lol got any pics of your new ride? What are your plans for it?

I'll post pics soon.

Plans - considering it's already got the factory short shifter (feel is excellent), STI muffler and the exact tires I was going to buy for it, not much. I threw some 3D Maxpider floor mats in it today (excellent) but haven't ordered anything else. I plan on keeping it NA and am not concerned with changing the power delivery of the car by any significant amount. I've got my torquey turbo car and I want the BRZ to remain a high-revving, "slow car fast" ordeal.

I will likely tighten some things up first and foremost - subframe/diff/trans mount/engine mounts. There's a decent amount of deflection going on.

Glad to see a new owner who "gets it"
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130121

Also, it's great to have a member who is an expert wrench.
Please document your build like you did on the JF.
As these cars age, owners are going to have to learn to do more than bolt of shiny rims.

Congrats on your BRZ! I have a 2016 Hyper Blue BRZ and installed a STi performance muffler in the past few weeks. I was under the impression that the STi muffler is an item only available through JapanParts or for the JDM from a dealer in Japan. I don't know how to post a photo on the forum (sorry, I need to look that up) https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....QL._SX492_.jpgof the muffler on my car, but below is a link to the muffler I bought. I'd like to know if your muffler is the same as mine and would love to see a photo of it on your car.
https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/40965

I've got your twins twin, a 2017 86 limited with PP.

Enjoy your car, I'm enjoying mine.

Yes, that's it. The previous owner obviously loved the car enough for a short time to give it some good stuff.

How's the exhaust compared to stock? Considering upgrading to some STI parts. Thanks

I absolutely love the STi muffler and think it is practically a work of art. The small STi engraving is fun to see for us enthusiasts and the tailpipes fill out the stock cutouts perfectly IMO. I did my exhaust all at once, so I don't know exactly what the muffler's part is in the change in terms of sound, but I really couldn't be happier with my exhaust change.

I went with a new JDL UEL header (coated in black ceramic paint) paired with a used JDL over pipe and front pipe that I bought on FB Marketplace. I kept the stock mid pipe since it isn't really restrictive for a NA car. I considered a Fujitsubo Authorize R catback, but knew it wouldn't do much for performance and just had to have that STi muffler and it bolts up easily to the stock mid pipe. I would post some photos, but haven't taken the time to learn how to do that on here.

The car has a low, rumbly boxer sound due to the UEL header, but it idles nice and quiet. It is throaty and is the best sounding 4-cylinder car I've heard - there is no raspy, ricey, droney annoyance to it. I'm 47 years old and so I was going for something that would be pleasant to drive, but still have some aggressiveness to it. Everything is subjective, of course, and it was tough to decide on an exhaust setup by listening to clips online.

In short, I can't recommend the STi muffler enough if you're willing to spend the money on it.

I don't have much experience with the car (obviously), but the sound is very good, especially above about 4.5k RPM.


I'm looking forward to getting under the car to see if there are any other surprises. Again, it only had 1900 miles on it when I bought it so I doubt there's anything else, but it's worth a look.

Want to sell me your STI muffler? Haha. Serious question but obviously I doubt you'd want to sell it.

Congrats on the new car!

No thanks, I love the exhaust note and the pipe diameter is just perfect. ;)