RallySport Direct's BRZ: The Albino Rhino

[humanshield]

love the car. love the tom's. love the music in the video the most! haha...

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by humanshield

love the car. love the tom's. love the music in the video the most! haha...

HAHA thanks! I love what our media guy is doing with these videos! Big fan of the funky music too

Thanks,
Rick

[Sniper2606]

I was loving the lights until i saw the "toms" name inside....


What spoiler do you guys have?

[SkAsphalt]

Haha that video looks like it was inspired by Grand Tourismo (remember, the mod shop and the music it played) Loved it!

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by Sniper2606

I was loving the lights until i saw the "toms" name inside....


What spoiler do you guys have?

HAHA really? I can see that, but that was one of my favorite parts about these tails lol

And that is the Five-Axis spoiler which we had painted locally.

Originally Posted by SkAsphalt

Haha that video looks like it was inspired by Grand Tourismo (remember, the mod shop and the music it played) Loved it!

HAHA that's it!!! I was trying to remember what that song reminded me of, and it's Gran Turismo! haha thanks!

Rick

[ZetaVI]

I think the rear end should be debadged. Will look cleaner.

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by ZetaVI

I think the rear end should be debadged. Will look cleaner.

I agree 100%, not a huge fan of the stock badges LOL. I may debadge my own BRZ, but I think for now this one will remain with its badges


Thanks,
Rick

[Fett4Real]

"cleaner" isnt always better, tastefully done anything is clean. Sometimes removing everything makes a car look naked.

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by Fett4Real

"cleaner" isnt always better, tastefully done anything is clean. Sometimes removing everything makes a car look naked.

I agree 100%, I am on the fence about debadging my personal BRZ. I'm afraid I will miss the badges if I remove them lol.

Thanks,
Rick

[Fett4Real]

no one knows what our cars are already why confuse them more...Rick we've been talking about a local 86 meet maybe monthly or something more to come on it.

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by Fett4Real

no one knows what our cars are already why confuse them more...Rick we've been talking about a local 86 meet maybe monthly or something more to come on it.

haha yeah, people here have asked me why I have not de-badged mine, and one of the more legitimate reasons I have come up with is that I actually want people to know what the car is and who makes it. I really want these cars to sell really really well and shake up the market. With as many people drooling/starting at my car, I figure I might as well give some advertising to Subaru. Maybe add a sticker "Cheaper than you think"

Keep me in the loop on the meets, I can forward it to our marketing department, and I would like to know just so I can come out personally lol.

Thanks,
Rick

[supra2nv]

So beautiful

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

Current Mod list as of 6/27/13

Engine:
Apexi drop in air filter
Dimple Magnetic Oil Drain Plug
Prova Oil Filter
Invidia Q300 Catback W/ Ti-Tips
Nameless Performance Overpipe/Downpipe Catted
Kartboy Lightweight Crank Pulley
GrimmSpeed Oil Cap Matte Silver
GrimmSpeed Battery Tie Down
Vortech Supercharger



Suspension:
Tein Street Flex Coilovers W/ Pillowball uppermounts
Tein EDFC Active
Whiteline Front Swaybar 20mm
Whiteline Rear Adjustable Swaybar 16mm
Cusco Front Strut Bar W/ Master Cylinder Brace
Cusco Adjustable Rear Lateral Links




Drivetrain:
PST Carbon fiber Driveshaft
Whiteline Gearbox Positive Shift Kit
Whiteline Rear Positive Traction Kit
Cusco Engine Mount Set
Cusco Rear Differential Support Brace



Wheels/Tires:
Work CR KAI Ultimates - Custom Blue
-18x9.5 +38 Rear
-18x8.5 +47 Front
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
-245/40/18 Rear
-235/40/18 Front



Brakes
Front: Brembo GT 355x22 2-piece Rotor, 6-piston calipers - custom white color
Rear: Brembo GT 345x28 2-piece Rotor, 4-piston calipers - custom white color



Exterior:
Lamin-X Yellow Head Light Covers
APR Carbon Fiber Brake Ducts
APR Carbon Fiber Side Rocker Extensions
APR Carbon Fiber Rear Bumper Skirts
Carbign Craft Carbon Fiber Alternator Cover
STi JDM Clear Corner Lights
APR Carbon Fiber Formula GT3 Mirrors
APR Carbon Fiber Front Air Dam
Tom's Taillights



Interior:
JPM CoachWorks Black Alcantara W/ Red Stitching Shift Boot
JPM CoachWorks Black Alcantara W/ Red Stitching E-brake Boot
Kartboy Short Shift Kit W/ Rear Bushing
ATI 60mm Vent Pod
Defi 60mm Red Racer Boost Gauge
Prova Steering Wheel



Links to DIY Write-ups:
DIY BRZ / FR-S Oil Change
DIY APR Door Mirror Install
DIY Prova Front Fender Emblems
DIY Tein EDFC Active
DIY Vortech Supercharger
DIY ATi 60mm Vent Gauge Pod
DIY Prova Steering Wheel Install



First Impressions of the car:


That’s right folks, its official name is the Albino Rhino, and little did we know that the name would actually be very fitting for the little car. After getting a chance to put about 40 miles on the car today I wanted to go over some of my initial impressions as well as the impressions of the other guys here at RSD. When you get in the car, the first thing that comes to mind is how much the interior does not feel like a Subaru, and I for one actually like this. It feels like you are in an actual ****pit with the driver in mind, even though the dash is not wrapped around you, it sure feels like it is, the door panels sit very high which gives you the impression that you are sitting very low in the car. Which makes sense as you actually are sitting very low compared to most cars on the road, but unlike other cars with very low seat positions, your legs still have plenty of room, and it does not feel like your legs are stretched out in front of you and on the floor.







Everything you touch on a day to day basis on the car feels great, the steering wheel is nice and chunky and has a proper feel in your hands, the shift knob and shift lever are in a great position and feel solid and shifting feels notchy and the distance between gears is nice and short. It no longer feels like you have a mile of rubber bands between the transmission and the shift lever, and feels more like the shift lever goes directly in the transmission. It gives me the impression that Toyota was allowed to run with the gearbox, as it feels more like the manual transmission Toyota/Lexus cars I have driven and not anything like a Subaru gear box.








The handling on this car is where it really stood out to me, it is rare to drive a car that is very comfortable yet firm, but will still hold its own when you really throw it into a corner. When pushing the limits though the corners, the stock tires will hiss like an angry cat, but they still provided good feedback even though they felt as if they were folding over on themselves. Steering is crisp if a bit on the heavy side. Some of the guys here loved that, and some said it made the front end feel a bit too heavy. I thought it was a huge improvement over the previous Subaru chassis, but still was not quite as sharp as I hoped it would be. The handling is where it reminded me that we chose the correct name for the car, as it does not feel as nimble and light as you might expect, but it does have great grip and is very sure footed through even the roughest of corners, the tires stay planted to the road, and the torsen LSD keeps the one tire fire at bay. A mechanical LSD would be ideal, but this stock unit is whisper quiet and actually pretty effective when pushing the car through the twisties. Body roll is there, and you can really feel it when you throw the car into a tight corner, but does not feel like it takes away from the driving experience or the handling, and all in all it feels very well set up and balanced.









All and all I would say the car is great right out of the box, I feel that because I followed the car even since it was only a rumor, I expected too much out of it. I was hoping it would be more raw and more focused, more responsive and more nimble. However once I got over the initial disappointment that this 25K car did not live up to my 100K expectation, I was nothing but happy with the little rhino. It’s cute, it’s fun, it will make you smile throwing it into corners, and overall the car is a great “sporty” car. I would not go as far as calling it a sports car, as I would put M3’s, Porsche’s and the like in that category. But coming from a joint venture between Subaru and Toyota, it is a step in the right direction and I think they did a stellar job on this project. I for one would be proud to own any BRZ/FR-S/FT-86, and can’t wait to see how they tweak the car in future models.

I would like to put more miles on the car before getting into any recommendations in regards to modifications, but right out of the box I feel the car would benefit greatly from new performance tires and swaybars. Everything else actually feels really good to me, but that could be due to the stock tires somewhat masking the other areas of the cars that may need attention. We will keep you up to date on the modifications and our impressions of installed parts as well so stay tuned.

Words by: Rick Conk
Photos by: Jasmin Topalovic
I also wanted to give thanks to every single person here at RallySport Direct, and all of our fantastic customers, without them this project would still be a dream, and yet it has become a reality, so I cannot thank all of you enough.

Like us on Facebook!!!

[RallySport Direct]

Originally Posted by supra2nv

So beautiful

Thank you!!!!! I am a bit jealous of your series 10, looks amazing! I need to step up the modifications on my personal BRZ LOL.

Thanks again,
Rick

[supra2nv]

Originally Posted by RallySport Direct

Thank you!!!!! I am a bit jealous of your series 10, looks amazing! I need to step up the modifications on my personal BRZ LOL.

Thanks again,
Rick

ty, @RallySport Direct sold me the gorgeous carbon driveshaft so pretty...