Chris's 2nd gen brz build thingy
 

Hey guys! A big chunk of this forum likely doesn’t know me unless you’ve been in the 2nd gen sections… but if you don’t… hi! my name is Chris!

new to the brz world, but not new to the 86 world(i used to have an ae86)

picked up a sapphire blue brz as a dual duty weekend/track car

i have a long history of bucket list cars ive owned over the years and built for a dual duty purpose(or tried to).. but lately I figured I should do get something that’s a bit more up the alley of a modern performer that’s semi-affordable. Rather than make a huge post for all the cars and their histories, ill just drop some pictures and if anyone has questions about a specific car i can get into detail with it. If you see a vw golf in the background of anything.. thats my daily haha

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And now to the car that belongs to this forum… my brz.. im gonna pretty much try to breeze through everything to get caught up to how the car currently sits. If anyone has questions about any of the installs, products etc. feel free to ask!

picked up the car from my local dealer for $500 under MSRP on December 31st, 2021

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It didn’t stay stock for long…. In fact I don’t even have a decent picture of the car with the original sidemarkers, as I drove straight home from the dealer and swapped out the factory orange sidemarkers for JDM clear sidemarkers.
I also installed the Beatrush Type1 and Type2 Front strut bars and the rear shock tower bar as well

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Not long after that, I purchased a used Greddy CS GT V2 for cheap…. Only to find out the car it came from as in a total wreck. The exhaust was tweaked… I made it work, but the burnt tips were digusting… I cleaned them up, removed the purple but had trouble removing the gold.. so I left is as is and pretty much sold the system not too long after

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Next up were Alcantara Shift Boot, E-brake boot and knee pads

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Soon after that… the Greddy was replaced for the 1st production Fujitsubo A-R catback made for the 2nd gen.. stamped with a “001” on the plaque

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Soon after came a JDL “ultra quiet” front pipe and the fake “STI” start/stop button.. because lets be real.. spending the $200 or so for the real one just to get a red button is not worth it….

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The car stayed like this for a while until I got some sound deadening and did the trunk area and under the rear seats to help reduce road noise and make the car feel a bit more “premium”

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Some more time passed by and my STI Front lip arrived, along with the side strakes and rear bumper spats

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A week later, my JDM rear diffuser showed up as well!

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Not too long after that.. I opted for JDM Fogs

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Two weeks ago, I received a pre-production IPS Gauge that ive been testing out

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This past week, I got a deal on these OEM Audio Plus speakers… so that was installed with some minor sound deadening in the doors

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and finally.. for the most recent update. Today I installed beatrush rear performance bars as my coilovers should be arriving tomorrow!

The Beatrush rear performance bars have been sitting in a box and have been there since before I even got the car lol

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Ill update this thread as often as I can because I do like having a build journal for all my cars.
If anyone has any questions about the build or my previous cars, feel free to ask! I keep tabs and records of every car ive owned and everything that’s been done with tons of pictures.

Looks nice! How much did the sound deadening help?

it made a difference for sure, but nothing crazy. i did the insides of the rear fenders today so i have to report back once i get a few drives in and see if i notice anything different.

update!
RSR Coilovers showed up!

The attention to detail is amazing on these!

I still have to figure out some stuff, adjust heights etc. im also still waiting for my RacerX Rear Upper Control Arms before going to an alignment

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another small update!
Neoplot 40mm steering wheel spacer came in!

install is very straightforward. Wiring all fits but is a pretty tight fit. the instructions call to remove the steering wheel damper/weight to gain enough space to plug in the airbag wires and steering wheel controls. the airbag pretty much BARELY rotates and fits into place because of the airbag wires.
i may look into extensions in the future, but it works for now.

I usually keep the steering wheel pulled all the way toward me, but if i were to lean my seat back a notch, it would fatigue my arms on longer drivers.

With this spacer, the wheel pushed all the way in sits exactly where the stock wheel would sit when pulled all the way out.

It allows me to drive in a more relaxed position on the street without fatigue
As an added bonus, the black plastic housing is a very close match to the oem plastics!

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another small update!

racer-x rear arms arrived! Installed and ready for alignment and corner balance this week

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What are your thoughts on the OEM Audio Plus speakers? Noticeable upgrade?

definitely noticeable. audio is a lot more crisp and clear in all ranges. It's A LOT more noticeable at higher volumes. the speakers dont break up at higher volume levels anymore.

when the weather is nice, i drive with the windows down on the freeway, but to listen to music, the volume has to be fairly loud(maybe im just getting old and hard of hearing? lol). with the stock speakers, once i hit 23-24 on volume level, you could hear the speakers starting to break up with some songs and overall sound quality would go down.

now i can go much louder than before without any sound distortion.

Wow that steering spacer honestly looks way less out of place than the 949 racing kit. You said there's an issue with the connector length for the airbag/steering controls, even on this 40mm spacer?

I did my entire car in Stinger stealth and it makes a huge difference.

Not only does it cut down on road noise, but it also helps to keep the car cool in the summer, helps to keep it warm in the winter, and also helps to increase audio SPL, if you're into that sort of thing.

Anyways, didn't mean to hijack the thread, just wanted to chime in since I did my entire car and had some first-hand knowledge.

Either way, welcome to the family, and nice build you got going!

ive never held a 949 spacer in my hand, but i can safely say the quality, fit and finish on the Neoplot spacer is VERY high... but it does come with a price(almost double that of the 949 spacer)

I figured out the connector length issue.

the ground connector harness runs with the wiring for the buttons and is maybe 10-15mm too short of letting everything fit a lot better.

as a temporary solution i made a small 15mm male to female spade connector extention for the ground that goes onto the airbag and it really helped remove a lot of the stress on the wiring.

it's still a tight fit, but definitely no where near as tight as before. it's a lot less concerning now, as it doesnt feel like the wire is being tugged on.

the correct way to solve it is to get to wire extension for the steering wheel buttons connector found here:

https://949racing.com/Steering-Spacer-86-harness.aspx

i have this ordered and it should be here hopefully either this weekend or early next week

thank you!

i definitely need to rip apart the interior and do the rest of the car.

Small baby update:

havent really been able to do much due to some medical concerns ive been dealing with. luckily nothing life threatening, but it does make it a bit difficult to drive the car around for longer periods of time. should be taken care of soon.. hopefully ill have full recovery before the end of the year to finally get the thing on track. I've also been putting a lot of time and effort into my daily(the 2012 golf) as it REALLY needed some work.

I did the fog light/4th brake light thing mod.
I used the same LED that Kevin Vo had used in his video. I actually had the LED sitting on my toolbox before he even made the video. I will give him credit that he reminded me I have to do it with his video LOL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR7dcvOOFFw

as far as this install goes... it should be said that I absolutely HATE touching any OEM wiring harness and prefer making things 100% reversible if possible.

I did some research, and found out the 2012-2017 Crosstrek's use the same plugs on their tail-light harness as the 2022+ twins.

I ordered a 4th brake light harness from subiebros (https://subiebros.com/2012-2017-xv-c...-play-harness/)

This harness is NOT plug-n-play for the 2022 BRZ and has to be repinned

Re-pinning the harness is quite simple. With a multimeter and some quick re-pinning/testing, it makes a completely reversible solution that also allows me to replace the LED if i ever need to.

If anyone needs more info about re-pinning the harness, feel free to ask. I do plan on sending info to Subiebros in hopes that they will start selling a ready to go harness for our cars.

This solution also allows me to disconnect the brake function if needed and keep it more true to just a fog light that would be on at all times(just unplug the spade connector that activates the brighter LED). after all... the light is meant to be a fog light, not a brake light.

Please excuse the horrid picture.. it's a screenshot from a video i took to ensure it was working properly.

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baby update right in time for one year of ownership!

ive been recovering from surgery since thanksgiving so i havent been able to drive the brz at all. it sucks.. but ive had A LOT of time to figure out an exact build path.

if things go as planned, this coming year will be HUGE for this car.

I've been talking to a few contacts who are looking for wheels for me from japan. some japan exclusives that were only made for a short period of time. Im hoping to find them soon!

I did get some STI Performance goodies for the brz while i recovery. nothing big.
STI Performance Oil Cap and the JDM(?) STI Performance Battery tie down

Pls ignore the dirty engine bay.

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hello all!

im alive! my surgery went well and ive been driving the BRZ when i can. life's been kicking my ass financially so i havent been able to modify much. ive decided to shift the direction of the build away from being more track oriented and be pushed more toward an enthusiast weekend warrior kinda build. i simply dont have enough time to or money to track right now in my life. my main focus is my new job i started back in November as im trying to move up into leadership positions while i have an advantage.

ill be changing the coilovers out for something still track worthy, but more street friendly, and stay simple with the aero and likely get the full jdm STI kit.. all im really missing is the side vent garnish, the wing and braces/arms etc which can come at a later date. i have a lot on my mind on how i want the car to end up.

im still hunting for the BBS's i want and may possibly introduce a supercharger once something CARB legal is out on the market

for now here's some beauty shots


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