So, by now, you probably recognize the GrimmSpeed name from our oil cap thread, our license plate relocation, or from the Subaru/Mitsu/Hyundai world. Well, I have the great privilege of working with the fine folks at GrimmSpeed day in and day out and I have the even greater privilege (sorry guys) of leading the engineering effort that'll help you guys take your BRZ/FR-S to the next level. As part of that, I assured Mr. Grimm that an engineer couldn't very well improve upon an already fantastic car without spending some time behind the wheel. It's just not fair to take an already well-engineered car and throw parts at it because they're available. That's like going to a nice restaurant and asking for salt and pepper before you even taste your food.
He went for it! So here I am on Friday morning, key in hand, ready to spend a couple weeks courting this beautiful lady. I think it's important to be on the same page as you guys as we all learn more about these cars and work together to come up with innovative solutions to the issues/shortcomings that we find. I'll be keeping a daily journal, with my experiences, thoughts, pictures, video, etc. You can expect that I'll keep the dry, technical talk to a minimum, but give an honest, open opinion of the car in a wide variety of environments. If you want more of one thing and less of another, let me know!
I suppose I can share a little bit about myself, so you know where these ramblings are coming from. Obviously, I'm an engineer at GrimmSpeed. I consider myself to be a true car guy. What I mean is that I don't have a burning allegiance to Toyota, Subaru, Honda, Nissan, etc (although the Subaru bug has certainly bitten hard recently). I love a great car, no matter it's origin and this car certainly falls under that heading. I typically substitute speeding for swinging through corners and around off-ramps, I won the MAC autocross series last summer in my BSP STI, I hate rush hour traffic like the rest of you and I enjoy long walks on the beach. Ok, enough of that. Here's my 'automotive resume'. Intentionally or not, I'll be drawing comparisons to all of these throughout the next two weeks.
1996 Toyota Camry
2000 VW Jetta VR6
2001 VW GTI 1.8T
2006 Subaru STI
1994 BMW 318is
1984 Porsche 911
2005 Subaru Legacy GT
Here are a few pictures that I snapped yesterday around the area. I created a flickr account just for this thread, so it should be a good way for folks wanting hi-res images to find them in one spot!
GrimmSpeed Engineering's Daily BRZ Journal Photoset
- Matt
