Thoughts on my very first modification purchase
 

Hello All,

This is my first REAL post, been lurking for the most part and loving what some people have done. My feelings on the 86 is that it is a gorgeous car as is which is why I've kept my vehicle stock. After 1 year and 20k miles, I feel now is a good time to start some slight modifications and I would very much appreciate ANY feedback or alterations you believe to be worthwhile.

BUDGET: 2,000 - 2,500

So far I have been using FT86SpeedFactory as a primary site to feed my build, but I'm not against using other shops. I'm sure once I've pinned down parts and brands, I will do my due diligence and find the best price.

Air Intake
aFe Takeda Intake System - Dry - $305

Headers
Borla UEL Header - CEL FIX - $633

Exhaust
ARK DT-S Stainless Exhaust - $1,279

Additional Interior/Exterior parts
Shark Fin Antenna FRS/BRZ - Red - $113

Total - $2,381



There are still things I want to do such as Tom's tail lights and Winjet Headlights as well as install the Toyota GT fog lights, but this is what I have for the initial purchase.

On my Scion FRS there are a few things that just seem lazy to me such as no arm rest or the square in the center beam which has nothing in my vehicle (BRZ fills it with window up/down I believe). I may add some additional little things within the interior but nothing too crazy since the only experience I've had on modifying a car are mirrors and air intakes.

You can probably skip the takeda and just get a panel filter.

Skip the intake. It's a waste of money unless you think it's worth spending over $300 for a soundbox.

No, that rectangle holds the seat heater switches if you get the Limited. The window switches are in the doors. They leave the blank panel there to have a place for you to mount your panic button, rocket launcher or ejector seat controls.

I'm planning to add an oil pressure sender and gauge. This car only has an oil pressure switch that turns on an idiot light when it's too late. Mine is going to take a bit of cutting and fabrication to put it where I want it, but there are decent bolt-on solutions available.

For comfort, I just bought the JDM padded console knee rest panels from a member here and installed them yesterday. They are a big improvement over the stock hard plastic. I do a lot of highway driving with the cruise control on, and my knee ends up resting against that panel. It can get uncomfortable after a while.

Also, you mentioned no armrest. There are now TWO factory armrest solutions available. One is a flip open cover that is sold in Europe and occasionally imported into the US. This is just one source:

http://cheaptoyotaparts.co.uk/shop/pz435-10340-00-lhd/

The other is a Scion sliding armrest that looks to be a bit higher and still allows you to use the cup holders. It's the item on the far right of this page:

http://www.scion.com/cars/FR-S/acces...rior&view=grid

I can't make up my mind between them. The flip open cover looks so much better, but the sliding armrest looks like it would be a lot more functional.

Avoid intake, save money. Air filter only.

What is your goal for modifications? Looks, performance, handling?

I think everyone here will agree that an aftermarket intake is useless. A drop-in replacement filter will give you almost the same gains.

I've heard questionable welding quality with the Borla headers. For headers in the similar price range, check out OFT or RevWorks.

If you want to fill in your center console square, Dynamic Diodes have pretty nice engraved center plaques for $13 and illuminated plaques for $29.

Here's a list of tasteful and practical mods you could start off with in no particular order:

-HIDs
-Armrest (If you REALLY need one)
-Drop in air filter
-Misc. functional lighting (Brighter reverse lights, rear license plate light, etc.)
-Suspension
-Some kind of simple bolt-on mod.


Not sure if you're still under warranty, but if you are I wouldn't be in any rush to mod the engine. Perhaps a catback exhaust so you can't hear the chirps! :thumbsup:

I am still under warranty. Would Headers void that? The warranty is very important to me and would like to see it until mid 2015 where its projected to expire.

The vey best bang for the buck performance enhancement is without a doubt the Phantom ESC and OFT.


Also you can revert back to stock in less than an hour.

Yes.


Also, FT86 UEL catted header looks really promising. The only problem is they're on backorder until probably fall.

You will see different opinions posted here on that. Here's the rub:

Bolting a new header to your car will not void the warranty outright. It can't, under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. In order to deny a warranty claim on a modified product, the manufacturer has to be able to show that the modification caused the failure.

HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that the dealer or manufacturer won't deny your claim anyway, and in fact some dealers are telling people (not quite accurately) that installing an aftermarket header will void their warranty, signaling to the customer that they intend to fight paying for any failures. If they were to deny your warranty claim, you would have to take them to arbitration (not court, since your sales contract almost certainly had an arbitration clause in it) to make them pay for it, in which case the manufacturer or dealer would sit a mechanic in front of the arbitrator to say unequivocally that your modification caused the failure.

So if your engine fails while you have an aftermarket header on it against the advice of the manufacturer, you might have a hard time convincing the arbitrator that your mod didn't cause the problem unless you can provide an expert witness that can contradict their expert witness. On the other hand, if your door were to fall off while you were driving, that wouldn't have anything to do with your engine mod, so the dealer or manufacturer wouldn't be able to avoid fixing it for you. That's why it doesn't void your warranty outright.

+1 for the panel filter instead of a new intake. A new intake may cause some dealers to hassle you with warranty things, while a panel filter is really just a "maintenance" item. Also, most intakes don't make any more power and have little effect other than making the induction sound more annoying.

Use the difference you save on an intake to get a nicer set of headers or exhaust, if you'd like. As stated though, aftermarket headers will likely cause warranty issues. Also note that, to get the most out of the headers, a tune should be used. The CEL fix that comes with the Borla headers is just a spacer that pulls the O2 censor out of the stream and essentially tricks the ECU to not throw a code. The good part about the spacer is that you don't necessarily need a tune. Therefore, if a warranty issue comes up, the exhaust can be reverted to stock and the ECU won't show that it has been tuned/tampered with.

You mentioned how you have apprciated the car in it's stock state, and every mod you suggested, with the exception of an exhaust is bleh.

It's your car, but just think it over. No on the intake. I would recommend the TRD drop in filter, I have it and I have noticed a slight difference. Also, don't forget every aftermarket intake with the exception of one deletes the sound tube, which I think is a great aspect of the car.

You can easily reverse HID's FWIW

Especially if you are using an HID relay

Nick C.