All-Round Mods
 

So I was recently in an accident (not my fault) and my '13 whiteout FR-S was totaled. The insurance payout should allow me to pay off the remainder of my loan with a few grand to spare...so you know what that means. Buy another FR-S and put some mods on.

Here are my goals for the car:

(1) Comfortable daily. I'd ideally like to improve comfort/ride quality over stock. I'm not one of those people who believes that harsh ride=better handling. But at the same time...

...I want to (2) improve performance, while keeping the car N/A. I don't necessarily need more HP, as doing that N/A isn't cost effective.

In summary, I was wondering what people's opinions were on the best mods to achieve these goals with a few grand. Obviously there are a few routes, wheels/tires, suspension, brakes, etc. What specifically to people recommend?

Well as for the ride quality you can get some adjustable struts like Koni or some coilovers with good dampers.

As for getting for performance whole being NA, either swap engines or upgrade your driving skill.
Get a second pair of light weight wheels and sticky tires and hit the track/autoX.

comfort/usability upgrades: normal headunit, armrest, rear camera, replace useless tire repair kit with donut spacesaver spare.
performance upgrades: aftermarket dropin filter, ACE Type B 350 header + delicious tune
suspension/rest upgrades: Tein Flex Z (or if higher budget Ohlins R&T), Kosei K4R or Enkei RPF1 wheels, Michelin PSS tyres of 215 or 225 width.

Of course, there are other things that can be improved, eg. brakes. But your (1) & (2) makes need for them arguable, as you are mostly set on daily driving, not on heavy track use. For that many of stock parts are very adequate.

For ride improvement, are you going lowered? If not I would definitely throw Koni yellows on there. Their infinite adjustability allows them to compliment a wide range of spring rates.

If you want to go lowered and would like to be more pampered while driving, I would err to the side of coilovers over separate springs and shocks. In my experience, they always seem to ride better than purchasing separate springs and shocks. Generally the more money you can throw here, the better off you are (in terms of comfort).

For performance improvement, I personally do not like the torque dip at all. And once warranty expires, I am looking towards headers and a very mild tune (at the very least) to help get rid of some of that torque dip. Overall acceleration of the car I'm actually fine with, so I think we share that philosophy.

Other than that, tires. Tires alone are, for many people (myself included), the best bang for the buck mod.

My ultimate canyon/DD

RCE Yellow Springs
Stock struts
Project Mu HC+800 pads
SS lines
RSR/SPL rear LCA
SPC front camber bolts
17x8 wheels that weight under 20lbs with a 225/45 Bridgestone S-04 or Michelin PSS
A Good Alignment
OFT
Tomei UEL
Berk HFC front pipe
Berk OP
whatever catback you want
drop in air filter

Would the Ohlins make a big difference in ride quality? My main concern is getting better ride, more supple, plus a slight boost in performance. Nothing extreme.

Sounds like you might like some lightweight 16 inch wheels with a thicker sidewall...

discretion: simply look up their reviews here. Sounds very like. Ohlins have one con though - they are expensive, hence maybe also Zs will do the job.
P.S.
And as others have mentioned, it's worth rechecking/redoing alignment, even on completely stock suspension.

Take that few grand and put it into the "next car fund"

:D

Thanks! I thought I'd be okay going expensive, but 3 grand is just too much for the Ohlins. I wonder if there's something that does 90% of the job with half the price? Suspension manufacturers, frankly, are intimidating to research so I was hoping for a consensus opinion.

Suspension is generally a case of you get what you pay for. Except for the Tien Flex Z and ST.

KW V3 is more aimed at street with the new rates. But they can be terrible if you dont set them up right

Is there a simple setup that's good for spirited street driving (I do quick driving on the backroads in my area pretty much every weekend) but has great comfort? Something around 1-2 grand? Or am I better off sticking with stock until I can spring for something really good.

A good simple set-up would be RCE Yellow and Bilstein HD shocks. Shocks really do make a good difference and are NOT a place where you should skimp. Most of the lower end coilover make sacrifices right there to meet a price point...you get all the coilover "features" but a not so great shock with poor valving and a lack of travel. With the Bilstein + RCE Yellow set-up you get a quality, durable, rebuildable damper and mild drop performance spring. No height adjustability, but if you're not the type to slam the car really low, a 20mm drop is a good place to be for comfort and performance.

Add some camber bolts, rear LCAs, a good alignment, a few key bushings, and you've got yourself a great all around street set-up that would still be a lot of fun on the track if you found yourself there OR just really fun to tear up back roads. Fast, fun, and easy to drive. :)

EDIT: I'm not the type of person that just assumes all coilovers are automatically better than a good spring + strut combo. I've had experience with the full range of options at all price ranges. That said, there are a few coilovers out there that would work for you but IMO the strut + spring combo is a really good fit.

- Andrew

Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. Do you actually think it would improve ride quality though? And about how much would that set up cost me?

There is one other element to the equation to consider. I believe the damper in MY15 cars onwards were re-valved for better ride quality.

My MY15 BRZ rides quite nice provided I stay on top of my tire pressures and am still completely stock on the 17x7 wheels.

Things I'm considering for improving ride would be a lighter set of wheels, but going to 225 tyres with a softer compound / side walls. After seeing how that goes I'm might look to a set of coliovers however I'm not interested in a drop in ride height. If I can't avoid a small drop then no more than 1 or 2cm at the most or no dice.

The car came from the factory really low to start with and I have really enjoyed simply driving the car and not needing to take any more than rudimentary care with drive ways and speed humps.

What is this infinite adjustability you speak of?

RCE yellows have been reviewed a bunch of times on here, pretty well everyone I've read or talked to agrees that they ride better than stock. Not really "smoother" but less crashy, more composed. They only way I could reconcile it in my mind was to think that the stiffer springs and shorter bump stops were making the transition from the spring to the bump stop smoother. The end result gave me a lot more confidence in corners and made the ride more enjoyable than stock.

The HD dampers should ride even better while increasing grip. Really, you can't go wrong with that setup. Also, keep an eye out for black friday sales, especially for the dampers. furiouscustoms.com had an incredible deal on for them last year and their customer service is awesome. RCE (racecompengineering.com) also sells them for a great price, and their customer service is absolutely the best I've ever received.

TRD lowering springs, great handling for under $250.

The rebound dampening is adjustable from very soft to very stiff, but unlike other shock bodies it doesn't have any "clicks". So technically yes there is a range of adjustment (making it finite), but because you can turn the dial 1/4, 1/8, 1/64, etc. that was what I meant by "infinite adjustability".

If you want to increase ride quality while maintaining your road-holding you will need to go high end on the dampers. I've had several aftermarket dampers through the years, but Ohlins are the only ones I've owned that seem to improve BOTH handling and ride comfort - and this is on a very low Miata.

-Justin

Calum's response sums it up nicely. With the Bilsteins yes for sure ride quality is great and without it's still good over most bumps.

We're deciding on some Black Friday sales but are still finalizing them. They'll go through the weekend at least.

- Andrew

So I'll need RCE yellows and HD dampers?

That would be the way I would go. :)

- Andrew

That's a really good combo. If you buy Bilsteins, look around for best prices. Last time I checked, a certain tire website had the lowest price on them. ;)

Bilsteins in addition or on top of the RCE's and HD dampers?

Bilsteins are HD's. They make the Sport and HD versions. The Bilstein HD's are what you would want to match RCE Yellow springs.

Ah, I see. Noob question haha

How much would labor cost?

I had the Swift BRZ spec springs on mine and put the Bilstein HD on the rear since i had a shock blow. It wasn't low enough so i went with some ST coilovers, it still rides pretty well but even with just the Bilstein rears i think the handling was actually better than with these coilovers. I probably should have installed the HD fronts too and just dealt with the higher ride height. I'm considering going to the Bilstein B14 PSS sometime down the road to get back in to a Bilstein damper.

Give us a call on Monday and we can work something out. :)

My experiences match Mim's. So much so, that after the harsh ride of my 2013 BRZ (11/12 delivery), on my 2015 (3/15 delivery) I'm adding a camber adjustment front and rear, bushing add-ons similar to RCE's bushing kit.

Then I'm focusing on engine tune ACE type A 350 plus delicious tune, tires on OEM rims, and OEM brake street focused improvements.

Life happens while you are making plans.