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Randoman5 · 09-22-2017, 11:49 AM

Hey everyone, I bought a CPO 2013 BRZ Limited in World Rally Blue about two weeks ago and i love it.

I got the gold series warranty for 100,000 miles for peace of mind as this is my daily driver and only car, so I'm going to probably keep serious mods to a minimum for a while, but I plan to track and autocross the car a bit and I can't wait.

A few first impressions.

I've been driving almost nothing but stick-shift cars for 17 years and I've got to say I find this one a bit tricky sometimes. My last car was a 6-speed Accord and prior to that a 03 Civic Si. They both had very smooth, precise easy shifters that kind of felt like they might break if you shifted them too aggressively. The BRZ has much, much closer spacing and higher effort and I've probably gotten the wrong gear in the last two weeks more often than I have in the last 10 years combined. I'm getting used to it, but it did take some getting used to.

My car came with a new set of the stock Primacy tires. Before I got the car I read all the reviews and figured they'd really lack for grip, but this car laughs off cornering speeds on exit ramps that would have left my Civic or Accord squealing and sliding. I'm really super impressed, but also surprised just how much more capable the car is than even the Si.

A long time ago I had an LT1 Trans Am with 275 section width Goodyear Eagle F1s. The BRZ doesn't have as much raw grip as that car but it corners with so little body roll it almost feels like more.

I drove my Trans Am sideways a lot. This car slides almost as easily but much differently. Even with a 90 degree turn in the peak of the power band the car won't roll on power steer, but I find the rear end moving around a bit in low speed corners and it always feels very composed. It's kind of addictive and it isn't helping gas mileage at all.

My car came with an aftermarket exhaust system that at first I thought I wouldn't like it. The car came with the factory exhaust in the trunk and I actually tried to get the dealer to put it back on. I'm glad they refused. When I got home and took the exhaust out of the trunk I couldn't help but notice one of the take-off pieces was the up-pipe with the catalytic converter. I live in Ohio in one of the 3 or 4 counties that requires emissions testing and at first I was quite alarmed. If they look under the car and don't see a cat you fail.

The exhaust didn't have any markings on it and I did a pretty extensive internet search to figure out who made it and what it was. It has a very unique configuration in the rear and I eventually determined the car had a Nameless header back exhaust, with upon further inspection, a high flow cat. I was super relieved and have really grown to love the sound. It doesn't drone on the highway like the Magnaflow I had on my Civic. (that thing nearly turned me off exhaust mods) I found out it's 409 stainless, which will hopefully mitigate the damage it'll take driving year round in northern Ohio.

There are a few things I wish the car had that it doesn't. The first being a backup camera. I plan to rectify this situation ASAP as after having one for the last two years I find parallel parking rather terrifying without it.

I'm not sure if I hate the stereo or not. It doesn't sound especially good, and until I switched some settings I was having a very difficult time pairing it to my phone on a consistent basis. I'm a lawyer and I get tons of phone calls and do tons of driving. Bluetooth is really essential to me. I find it works pretty well now that I've messed with it a bit, but I'm leaning strongly towards buying something less clunky to replace it with.

The torque dip is real. I test drove one of these things a couple years ago and loved it. It didn't feel fast, but it didn't feel slow. I still don't think it feels slow, but the torque dip is very noticeable and rather frustrating when passing and the like. If you downshift to pass and aren't trying to do a bonsai run past 6000 rpms the engine really kind of falls on its face. The car is going to be turbocharged eventually (after the warranty or the next time I have a big payday and feel like doing something stupid. I think this car with something in the range of 300whp would be an almost perfect performance car. It has an incredible chassis, almost perfect steering and is just the right size.

My ultimate plan for the car goes something like this

245 or 255 width tires on 17s.
Essex Sprint brakes which I'd have to remove in the winter both to avoid corrosion of the non protected pistons and to fit the 16 inch snow tires I'm planning to use. It looks like doing this swap would be at most a couple hour job, simply unbolting the brackets and putting the stock ones back on and bleeding them.

I'm planning on getting the Jackson Racing Dual Radiator/oil cooler. It seems the best solution for me as it takes less space than an aftermarket radiator and separate oil cooler and has the added benefit of keeping the oil from being too cold on those mornings where the temp is zero or below. (did I mention I live in Cleveland?)

I'm debating whether to do an oil catch can or oil separator depending mostly upon the drawbacks of putting the oil back in the engine/whether a ventilated catch can will cause me problems at emissions time.

I'm leaning strongly towards doing the Full Blown turbo kit. I want the premium kit with the v-band exhaust hoping it won't leak (exhaust leaks drive me crazy) and plan to run an electronic boost controller. However if after research I find I won't be able to get the car past Ohio E-Check with the turbo, I might have to go with an E-force supercharger instead.

I have no idea if there's anyone in Northern Ohio or reasonable driving distance who's really good at tuning these cars, but that's a question that's still up in the air.

I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about a clutch yet. I drive this car every day and at 34 I don't think I'm masochistic enough to put up with a clutch that is super heavy or has terrible road manners.

As far as the suspension goes, I find the car handles extremely well and has excellent damping. I drive all sorts of places and I'm really reticent to lower the car much. I think I might like to eventually do a high quality set of coilovers but I'd like to find a set with very good shocks that keeps the ride height as close to stock as possible. I haven't scraped the car on anything yet and I'd like to keep it that way.

If anyone has any comments on these plans I'd be happy to hear them.

09-22-2017, 11:49 AM	#2082
Randoman5 Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Drives: 2013 BRZ Location: Bay Area, CA Posts: 57 Thanks: 26 Thanked 37 Times in 16 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Hey everyone, I bought a CPO 2013 BRZ Limited in World Rally Blue about two weeks ago and i love it. I got the gold series warranty for 100,000 miles for peace of mind as this is my daily driver and only car, so I'm going to probably keep serious mods to a minimum for a while, but I plan to track and autocross the car a bit and I can't wait. A few first impressions. I've been driving almost nothing but stick-shift cars for 17 years and I've got to say I find this one a bit tricky sometimes. My last car was a 6-speed Accord and prior to that a 03 Civic Si. They both had very smooth, precise easy shifters that kind of felt like they might break if you shifted them too aggressively. The BRZ has much, much closer spacing and higher effort and I've probably gotten the wrong gear in the last two weeks more often than I have in the last 10 years combined. I'm getting used to it, but it did take some getting used to. My car came with a new set of the stock Primacy tires. Before I got the car I read all the reviews and figured they'd really lack for grip, but this car laughs off cornering speeds on exit ramps that would have left my Civic or Accord squealing and sliding. I'm really super impressed, but also surprised just how much more capable the car is than even the Si. A long time ago I had an LT1 Trans Am with 275 section width Goodyear Eagle F1s. The BRZ doesn't have as much raw grip as that car but it corners with so little body roll it almost feels like more. I drove my Trans Am sideways a lot. This car slides almost as easily but much differently. Even with a 90 degree turn in the peak of the power band the car won't roll on power steer, but I find the rear end moving around a bit in low speed corners and it always feels very composed. It's kind of addictive and it isn't helping gas mileage at all. My car came with an aftermarket exhaust system that at first I thought I wouldn't like it. The car came with the factory exhaust in the trunk and I actually tried to get the dealer to put it back on. I'm glad they refused. When I got home and took the exhaust out of the trunk I couldn't help but notice one of the take-off pieces was the up-pipe with the catalytic converter. I live in Ohio in one of the 3 or 4 counties that requires emissions testing and at first I was quite alarmed. If they look under the car and don't see a cat you fail. The exhaust didn't have any markings on it and I did a pretty extensive internet search to figure out who made it and what it was. It has a very unique configuration in the rear and I eventually determined the car had a Nameless header back exhaust, with upon further inspection, a high flow cat. I was super relieved and have really grown to love the sound. It doesn't drone on the highway like the Magnaflow I had on my Civic. (that thing nearly turned me off exhaust mods) I found out it's 409 stainless, which will hopefully mitigate the damage it'll take driving year round in northern Ohio. There are a few things I wish the car had that it doesn't. The first being a backup camera. I plan to rectify this situation ASAP as after having one for the last two years I find parallel parking rather terrifying without it. I'm not sure if I hate the stereo or not. It doesn't sound especially good, and until I switched some settings I was having a very difficult time pairing it to my phone on a consistent basis. I'm a lawyer and I get tons of phone calls and do tons of driving. Bluetooth is really essential to me. I find it works pretty well now that I've messed with it a bit, but I'm leaning strongly towards buying something less clunky to replace it with. The torque dip is real. I test drove one of these things a couple years ago and loved it. It didn't feel fast, but it didn't feel slow. I still don't think it feels slow, but the torque dip is very noticeable and rather frustrating when passing and the like. If you downshift to pass and aren't trying to do a bonsai run past 6000 rpms the engine really kind of falls on its face. The car is going to be turbocharged eventually (after the warranty or the next time I have a big payday and feel like doing something stupid. I think this car with something in the range of 300whp would be an almost perfect performance car. It has an incredible chassis, almost perfect steering and is just the right size. My ultimate plan for the car goes something like this 245 or 255 width tires on 17s. Essex Sprint brakes which I'd have to remove in the winter both to avoid corrosion of the non protected pistons and to fit the 16 inch snow tires I'm planning to use. It looks like doing this swap would be at most a couple hour job, simply unbolting the brackets and putting the stock ones back on and bleeding them. I'm planning on getting the Jackson Racing Dual Radiator/oil cooler. It seems the best solution for me as it takes less space than an aftermarket radiator and separate oil cooler and has the added benefit of keeping the oil from being too cold on those mornings where the temp is zero or below. (did I mention I live in Cleveland?) I'm debating whether to do an oil catch can or oil separator depending mostly upon the drawbacks of putting the oil back in the engine/whether a ventilated catch can will cause me problems at emissions time. I'm leaning strongly towards doing the Full Blown turbo kit. I want the premium kit with the v-band exhaust hoping it won't leak (exhaust leaks drive me crazy) and plan to run an electronic boost controller. However if after research I find I won't be able to get the car past Ohio E-Check with the turbo, I might have to go with an E-force supercharger instead. I have no idea if there's anyone in Northern Ohio or reasonable driving distance who's really good at tuning these cars, but that's a question that's still up in the air. I haven't figured out what I'm going to do about a clutch yet. I drive this car every day and at 34 I don't think I'm masochistic enough to put up with a clutch that is super heavy or has terrible road manners. As far as the suspension goes, I find the car handles extremely well and has excellent damping. I drive all sorts of places and I'm really reticent to lower the car much. I think I might like to eventually do a high quality set of coilovers but I'd like to find a set with very good shocks that keeps the ride height as close to stock as possible. I haven't scraped the car on anything yet and I'd like to keep it that way. If anyone has any comments on these plans I'd be happy to hear them.