BRZ STi x TRD "BSTiRDized"

[OmarGC]

If you ever sale the tails, I want to be the 1st on the list.

[Basti]

Too low for me as well. But still good. Just a word of advice: overdoing it is very common for most people who mod their cars

[jkonquer]

any video clip on the exhaust?

[DSOmegaX]

Originally Posted by jkonquer

any video clip on the exhaust?

It's a greddy sp elite. There's plenty of videos of it floating around.

[switchlanez]

Originally Posted by Beyer Subaru

MOAR!! NAO!!! Or !!

I'm just not sold on the Tom's yet. I am prolly gonna have to see them in person to see if I can stomach em. GI really wanna see some different angle night pics when you get the chance @switchlanez.

Haven't had a chance for night shots yet but this might help a little if you (also tagging @OrbitalEllipses) haven't already seen it: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYjuGWeb4XE"]TOM'S Led Tail Lights (BRZ/FR-S/GT86) on our Albino Rhino! - YouTube[/ame]

Originally Posted by ayau

What a complete 180 from your previous setup.

Sure you don't want my CE28N?

Haha, I've been on the lookout for (discontinued?) gold 18x8.5 +44 CE28N and a few gold Prodrive models. These XXRs are my temp place holders but I like how they look (not necessarily function) better than any of those "legit" wheels, brand snobbery aside.

Originally Posted by OmarGC

If you ever sale the tails, I want to be the 1st on the list.

Ok

Originally Posted by MightyMeeple

Have always loved your build...surprised to see the change in wheels/tires! It looks great.

How would you describe the change in feel/responsiveness of the steering with larger and wider wheels/tires?

Feels similar to my prior Yokohama/STI wheel setup (which weighed more per corner than my current setup). 235 width demands just a little more steering effort but also adds a little more confidence in corners. The 3.18% larger overall diameter might have a small impact on acceleration but I don't notice it compared to my prior setup. And the extra 10mm of sidewall helps offset my drop and soften the ride.

Originally Posted by shiumai

i like the new wheels, but not as much as the STi ones on your car. i think it's the black side skirts. the gold wheels would look better with the side skirts, and just the lip and rear spats - just MHO.

My justification is Subaru uses 3 colors (blue, black, silver) on their demo car:


To replace silver, I used an online color scheme generator to calculate WRB's complementary color: Gold. Also my black wheels would sometimes go "invisible" and looked too "racecar" parked next to our executive director's Maserati. At least now we can see my gold wheels plus they add a touch of class. As for the black side skirts, they still match the black plastic on the side mirrors and the tires!

Subaru's PBMS BRZ was my final tipping point to go for 18" gold:


Also as an homage to the pop culture that contributed to the genesis of our current cars. AE86 up front, 86 driver's dad behind:

Originally Posted by ZC6BRZ

Love the tom's, the XXR not so much. :\

Originally Posted by JDMenrique

Tom's looks nice, not a particularly big fan of the XXRs

Originally Posted by Juvenile

It was perfect the way it was

Originally Posted by Basti

Too low for me as well. But still good. Just a word of advice: overdoing it is very common for most people who mod their cars

Toyota and Subaru have been pushing the envelope with their "overdone" show cars. All my mods still draw inspiration from the OEM.

About my choice for XXR. They weigh about the same as 18" STI wheels by Enkei and less than some of Rays' 18" non-forged wheels. But cost a fraction! XXRs are certified for ISO 9002, QS 9000, and Japanese VIA Standard... don't know what all that means but sounds good enough for me! Thousands have been running with them for a few years with no widespread issues. They caught my eye last fall when @Koru Works posted pics but the only things stopping me were brand snobbery (which is BS), and I was afraid of fitment. Cambering the front improves handling and RWD sports cars especially need rear camber to mitigate snap oversteer. Factory alignment specs show a generous camber range in which mine setup currently falls with its new camber. I've logged <3k miles in 13 months of ownership plus I have a square setup so tire wear is hardly an issue. Camber settings on the TRD Griffon and TRD Retro 86 gave me more confidence. If the OEM is doing it, so can I!





Eibach's partnership with Toyota Team Europe and their springs being a Toyota option in Germany are enough to grant my approval for Eibach's entire lineup. I believe Eibach engineered my Sportlines for the stock struts with a conservative drop compared to Sportlines for other cars. They also took time developing them being delayed after the Pro-Kit became available. My drop is about 35mm but my tire profile raises it 10mm so I am effectively at 25mm (falling within the ideal 20mm +/-5mm range confirmed to me by Tada-san via PM). No fear of scraping because my front rubber skirt flap is phenomenal at deflecting all scrape damage. I wanted a drop similar to the FT-86 II Concept and BRZ Premium Sport Package Concept:




The factory put thought and resources to avail rolled front fenders; I wanted to capitalize on that. Using ride height data from Darren's wheel thread and camber angle geometry, I calculated theoretical fitment before buying anything . Pulled the trigger, fitted everything, and actual fitment closely matched what I calculated. Exploitation of factory rolled fenders achieved.

Choice for Tom's tails came from the LA Auto Show BRZ STI Concept:


They also maintain the aero fin found on the side of the stock housings for lateral stability:


So I didn't do a random hodepodge of mods. Everything is OEM-inspired and and was thought out before I ordered anything... more mindfully than when I ordered my STI springs/wheels. The Sportline springs/XXR wheels are temp placeholders but plenty sufficient for a robust street setup. And, just like this car, the bang for buck made these purchases even sweeter.

[DSOmegaX]

Great read and fantastic justification to your choice of mods. Honestly, I don't think it's necessary to explain it to people though, do what you think is right for your car! I agree on the wheels being invisible. At times, they just blend into the wheel wells and you can't see the details. I was thinking of doing matte bronze XXRs originally on my car so I see no problem running them. Still looks good with the full kit!

For those missing switch's "original" car you guys can just track my build now lol! I get my Tom's in tomorrow so I will snap some of my own =P

EDIT: my brother just took a look at your build and is now convinced he wants those XXRs on his FR-S

[switchlanez]

Originally Posted by DSOmegaX

Great read and fantastic justification to your choice of mods. Honestly, I don't think it's necessary to explain it to people though, do what you think is right for your car! I agree on the wheels being invisible. At times, they just blend into the wheel wells and you can't see the details. I was thinking of doing matte bronze XXRs originally on my car so I see no problem running them. Still looks good with the full kit!

For those missing switch's "original" car you guys can just track my build now lol! I get my Tom's in tomorrow so I will snap some of my own =P

EDIT: my brother just took a look at your build and is now convinced he wants those XXRs on his FR-S

Hehe, you're absolutely right. :happy0180: But I like sharing my thought process when people beg the question. Glad I could inspire your bro and you'll finally have the Tom's.

[switchlanez]

Forgot to say, while I sat in the waiting lounge of my alignment shop, the owner paced around my car as his techs worked on it. From across the room, he threw 2 thumbs up for the gold wheels and told me to keep the skirts black (to not paint them). This is a shop that services Porsches, BMWs, racecars, decorated with race trophies and a Shelby Cobra on display. In 2 weeks, I've gotten more compliments on how my gold wheels look on the car than I got in the 8 months I had my black wheels (which I thought were awesome but people who weren't "in the know" thought they were painted stockers). Phone pics of my new setup can't hold a candle to the professional photos of the old one. I've got a photoshoot coming up next week. Maybe that'll do it justice. Also with another friend who's been wanting to model if all goes as planned.


For now, more phone pics of the Tom's, of my new JDM frameless mirror, and with some Subies.

[jkonquer]

Originally Posted by DSOmegaX

It's a greddy sp elite. There's plenty of videos of it floating around.

I thought it was sti exhaust

[DSOmegaX]

Originally Posted by jkonquer

I thought it was sti exhaust

Oh. I actually have the STI exhaust on my car.



They look almost identical. The STI has slightly bigger tips and is slash cut horizontally as well as vertically. The SP is cut vertically only.

[Touge86]

I would have gone with advan rg-d's or rg2's in gold instead of the XXR's... but thats just me. Not to mention i have a set of gold 17x8 rg2's coming in a few weeks .

[switchlanez]

Originally Posted by Touge86

I would have gone with advan rg-d's or rg2's in gold instead of the XXR's... but thats just me. Not to mention i have a set of gold 17x8 rg2's coming in a few weeks .

I considered those but to me 7 and 10 spokes are king (wish their RC3 came in better fitments).



If I'm going to spend JDM money, might as well go forged Prodrives for similar price. I scoured Yahoo Japan auctions on many late nights and contacted distributors in Japan for quotes/availability on the Prodrives below:

GC-010G


GC-07 series


But I didn't pull the trigger because these wheels have been out years before the 86 and intuition tells me companies (Prodrive, Enkei, Advan) will release special editions for the 86/BRZ (like Rays and WedsSport have been doing). And none of their current offerings can utilize the OEM rolled fenders. I was about to pull the trigger on TE37SL... but I like 7 or 10 spokes better and refrained from buying into the hype. I'm waiting for a different model with "hot" variations for the 86 to come along but with a design I like. I lurrrrve CE28N and believe it has a new revision... could possibly be the start of a new wave of variations for that model. And the 86/BRZ Special Edition TC105N only come in gunmetal, not gold. Don't want to repaint because I'm anal about original paint. But if they came in gold, I'd absolutely have them on right now. To save me ultimate remorse from "settling" on $3k+ wheel offerings that are almost but not quite perfect, my BRZ is hanging out on perfect cost/fit/look XXRs til then.

Btw, much like how we let ourselves blindly get raped importing JDM cast wheels that cost and weigh more than XXRs, other countries pay an arm and leg for the goodness they see in XXRs. Why struggle to find the perfect JDM wheel (currently non-existent to me) when XXR is presenting a life-is-handing-me-lemons opportunity? So I took it and made lemonade.

[switchlanez]

So here's what all my wheel shopping and research boiled down to.

$3k for this?


Or $580 for this.


$3k for this (no concave nor fender roll utilization unless with spacers)?


Or $580 for this, no spacers.


Breaking it down like that resolved the madness and gave me so much clarity to decide. If I ever need to replace a wheel for whatever reason, it'll only cost a buck fifty. If I ever get JDM wheels, I'll already have lightweight 22 lb. 18" tires ready to swap on. Sorry for dragging this out but I'm still stoked with my decision.

[chanomatik]

Good job. It's tough to find decent concavity with 5x100. I like the XXR's, just not CRAZY about them. I love that you explain your thought process the same as I do. Keep it up!

BTW I'm jealous that front plates aren't required where you're at. I finally got a fix-it ticket for mine the other day. So grumpy. Looks like you got white STI door decal and placed it on the font plaque or something? I don't think I've seen how your front bumper is set up in detail.