Need a Shop for Aftermarket Parts Installation in Portland - Suggestions?
 

Hi all - I am looking for a decent shop in the Portland area that can install aftermarket components on my car.

My FR-S is my first new car, and I haven't installed anything on a car myself before. I plan to try to do a lot of the smaller /simpler things with DIY from the forum, but I would still like to have a shop I trust to help me install exhaust, wheels, etc when I get there.

I don't mind driving a bit out of the ways if it's over in Beaverton, etc (I'm SE), but I would just like for the people there to be knowledgeable / professional, and not a place that will overcharge you for installation (ideally).

If anyone has any suggestions or testimonials to a place I'd really appreciate it if you shared it with me, I don't feel comfortable picking a place based off of Yelp reviews, etc, and I'm having trouble finding a place that I can trust to put my car in.

What kind of things are you installing?

I think @DarrenDriven is going to need a new fridge. Or a new shelf for liquor. lol!

PRE in NE PDX is decent but there are enough people on here that will help you install basically anything that you don't need to take it to a mechanic unless you can't wait for someone to be available like Darren, Kevin, me or the numerous other people. Darren has a lift however so everyone wants to go to his place. ;) The only thing that you'll probably need to go to a shop for is a tune or dyno pull.

Yea install bolt-on yourself to save some $$. You will need a tune/dyno after putting on parts, especially front pipe/cat delete headers/intake. Catback you should be fine w/o a tune.

I think most of us run BRZedit for tuning since thats what PRE uses. Not sure what shop is using ECUtek around here other than Perrin. You can have it Etuned from vendors on this forum as well.

PRE is good, and they are a decent size company that doesn't need to "rip you off" to make ends meet. Also they have a good relationship with the 86 owners, and that if they were to screw you over, it will spread like wild fire on the forums, which they probably won't risk.

Bolt ons are simple. Save the money. Do it with a few 86 owners in the area.

I did my exhaust on my garage floor with my car about 10-12 inches off the ground. It wasn't hard, it was fun, and I enjoy working on my car. It doesn't take a rocket science.

I'm someone who has never worked with or been around cars before, I only got interested about a year ago when I knew that I wanted the FR-S.

The mods I'd like help with primarily are wheels and tires, as I know very little about their fitment, mounting them, and so forth. I'd also like to install some aftermarket tail lights and a few other mods of that nature, exhaust down the line, etc.

That being said, I care a lot about my car and I don't really want to risk messing something up, so for some things at least the first time around I'd feel safer having a professional / someone with experience do it - or at least know of someone in the event that I need help.

I'm alright with admitting that I don't really know what I'm doing, although I do plan to try some smaller mods myself that are fairly straight-forward, and I might even attempt to do all of them myself, but again I'd like to know of a place that I can trust for reference, or if I do want some help.

Thanks everyone who has given me information and help, I do really appreciate it.

I had never done any sort of car mods before the BRZ I got in June. To be fair, you need to do some easy mods by yourself. Tail lights are amazingly easy. Grimmspeed hood struts are really easy. The Perrin Intake boot is really easy.

Everyone on this forum can walk you through anything or answer any questions. There are AMAZING DIY's in the DIY section.

The best way to find anything on this site is to do a targeted Google search.

(i.e site:www.ft86club.com/forums Perrin Intake install)

That will tell google to ONLY search ft86club for the key words.

Exhaust is a little more labor intensive, you need a lift or a car jack, and a torque wrench. (Oh, you're in portland? @DarrenDriven is where I would go. Nicest guy in the world. Rumor is he needs many fridges to contain all the beer he accepts as payment.

Any questions you have about what to order, etc, just post in here and we will help you get the right stuff. Wheels can be tough, to get the right offset, etc, so describe what you want and we can help you out.

Start looking at wheels here:
http://tinyurl.com/86wheels

As for wheels, suspension, exhaust, lighting, etc, feel free to bring the car over to my personal shop and we can get it on. It will cost a fraction of what a shop would charge and you can either drink a beer and relax while you watch it get installed, or grab a pair of gloves and learn how to install it yourself.

If Darren is busy you can send me a message and I can help instruct you on how to do stuff too. As you'll see by my build thread I've done a ton of stuff to my car and can give lots of advice on most things. Also Darren and I, I think will start having a monthly gathering at our houses rotating every month.

Seriously, there are a lot good PDX fellows that well know how to work on the FR-S/BRZ. I had my intake, exhaust and some other parts installed from these people, very helpful and works flawlessly. FR-S is my first manual car and first new car to me as well, without help from these folks, I will spend extra $$$$$ from pocket.

feel free to ask questions on the NW section on the forum if you have any concerns.