indesign's Keep It Clean Whiteout FR-S

[m.box.design]

Exodus

So I've always been a fan of Toyota cars, I've always been around them.
I remember when I was 4 years old;
my uncle had a 1983 Corolla SR5 hatchback.
He was still single at the time, so he always took me out in his car.
I thought it was the coolest car at the time.


classic 80's Toyota lines.

Fast forward to my adulthood, I'm still a fan Toyotas, specifically the Supra.
But the dilemma with the Supra was that it's basically impossible to find one
that was unmolested for under $25000.
Talk about trying to qualify for a loan for a past decade car,
but I kept on the lookout.


something like this? $10,000+ easy.

Then one day I read a small article, more like a paragraph online.
It read something like "Joint Toyota and Subaru project"
with terms like 'rear wheel drive' and 'coupe'.
Quite frankly, the 7th generation Celica had great looks and a nice engine,
it was FF and was a weak heir to a brand that had such a rich lineage of sports cars.
At this point, the Celica was going out of production and the MR-S was already gone.


Still a better love story than Twilight.


Breaking Dawn

I kept up with this new sports car, every tidbit of information.
It eventually got coined with the term FT86.
So there it was, successor to the famed AE86.. certainly eyebrow raising,
but nothing to jump for joy over,
seeing how cars have become large pigs,
sacrificing a good chassis for the sake of creature comforts,
headroom, legroom, and payload.
Just compare the size of a GC8 Impreza to its successors.

2010/2011.
Renderings! Oh my, the excitement!
Not to mention the FT-HS concept that was built for shows,
which definitely had Supra-esque lines.
Then we got the FT86 concept, part I and the sequel.
And finally, I knew this car was heading for production!

2012, I was still in the boat for a Supra,
I crawled craigslist, ebay, autotrader, everywhere really.
Test drives, tire kicking, and lots of pondering.
I didn't have 40 grand to drop on a pristine one (under 100k mileage).
Then it was June 2012, and I saw my first FR-S in person.
It was at a local Cars and Coffee event.
The car was a First 86 Raven.

A month later I got my FR-S.
The rest is history.


At the dealership with the boss lady. Wifey approves!



I also spent no time ringin' up my buddy and doing a photoshoot with his autocross hachiroku.


Succession at its finest.


Any similarities?


SuperStreet worthy? Probably not. /tryhard


Even though I already got my car, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to hoon someone else's FR-S.
In this case, Scion's; at the Scion First-Drive Event.


Meet the hoon-tastic 4.


RPF1's with Yokohama S.Drives, tires + wheels are a definite must!



My first official modification was HID bulbs. Yes, I know the arguments.
I'm saving up for a set of JDM style (10 Series) headlamps, so this will do for the time being.
No oncoming drivers have flashed me to date. /truth


5000k H11 bulbs from hidextra.com


At the end of September 2012, local northwest 86 owners from OR and WA got together
for the 1st annual NW Megameet, which started in Centralia, WA followed with
a cruise out to Raymond, WA. Fun times to be had all around, even though
most of us where still stock.

I also picked up a tow-hook license plate holder from Grimmspeed prior to the meet.


Panoramic shot. We were in a circle~


Grimmspeed license plate holder. JDM tyte off-center yo!


The car behind me snapped this photo. Many likes!


In some random parking lot in Raymond, WA for the prize raffle.


Group photo courtesy of Chris Wold at Chriswoldphoto.com


Let's not forget my JDM wife.


Swag I nabbed over that weekend.



After going to the meet and seeing other modifications in person, I decided I'd save up for
a sharkfin antenna and rear deck lid spoiler.
I decided to go with the beatsonic antenna.
I also lucked out with a used 5AD spoiler from another user on here.


Had to clean up the remnant 3m tape. Patience was definitely key!


Wing and antenna mounted.


Also got some Toyo winter tires 215/55/17 mounted on my stock wheels.


4x4 rally mode go!


So the two things that irked me the most about the FR-S were
(1) The lower trim headlights.. WTB GT86 lights!
(2) The lack of fog lights.. honestly the plastic cover sucks!
I actually waited until early March to see if Toyota/Scion would release
the OEM foglight option at the dealership.
Well they didn't, so I went ahead and ordered from various
vendors to piece together my own fog kit.
Ran me about $220 overall.


Paired these with Nokya 2500K halogen bulbs.


Looks way better. I agree.


And as always, continued to show-off modifications and progress with other
local PDX 86 owners. Mostly at Cars and Coffee.


Pre-meet to roll in to C&C.


Boss status'.


Winter was over, and spring was upon us.
So I finally decided to get some wheels!
I wanted something the same dimensions as stock,
but also lighter as well.
I came across a brand new set of Enkei RS7 on ebay.
Snagged them for $360.00 shipped for all 4.


17x7 @ 17.9 lbs each. +35 Offset with universal bolt pattern.


Older style, but still brand new! Budget styling.

Well, there's one problem! The fender gap! This was quickly addressed with...
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs.


Freshly dropped on Eibach Pro-kit. Big thanks to @DarrenDriven @TraviigotSWAG



So in May, Rally America was having their Oregon stage.
So for the Oregon Trail Rally, they held a fan day
at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland.
Lot's of cars and drivers to be seen.


Scion was there as well.


Ken Gushi was also there! Cool guy. #myfavoriteFDdriver


Continue the swag-a-thon! Autographs too!


Later that month at Perrin's 86 Day...
Guys from Northern WA drove all the way down as well.
Perrin released their 3" exhaust as well as provided pizza and drinks!
Thanks to all the Perrin guys (and gals)! @PERRIN_Chris @PERRIN_Mladen @PERRIN_Christina


So many cars from the Northwest! 86ers unite!


Chillin' with the buddies!


To continue with the summer festivities,
I made it a date to attend my first Formula D event!
This year it was in July at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA.
Many 86s in the parking lot, and on the track!


On the way to Formula D! Following two Canadian Skylines.


Found a BRZ (from Arizona) to park next to.


Got the tickets! Time to go in!


Look who I met there! @Moto-P doing interpreting work for pit crews!


Taka Aono, only AE86 out there competing. Stay fighting!


Toshiki Yoshioka and the Tomei BRZ. Thumbs up!



August rolls around, and well, if you're from the northwest,
you know that means summer has peaked and is on thedownward trend.
An overcast day gave me the urge to
take my Nikon downtown and snap me a picture or two.
Can't beat outdoor photography in overcast conditions!


Eastbank Esplanade across the river from downtown PDX.


Love the angles. Don't you?

[m.box.design]

I got tired of looking at the universal pattern on my wheels.
You know, the 5 extra unused holes for 5x114.
So I bit the bullet and pimped out my wheels with
these genuine Enkei center plates.

They were... too expensive!


Oh look a 'Performance' aesthetic piece.


Before


After!






Looks great!

October 3rd, 2013
First Thursday Sykart Social

Every first Thursday of the Month, local 86ers get
together to do some indoor kart racing at
Sykart in Tigard,OR just SW of Portland.

Here is a video of the action.
Around the 2:00 mark, you can see @PERRIN_Chris
do an inside overtake with a better line on me.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwNrnuA1gS0"]PDX 86 First Thursday Sykart Social - YouTube[/ame]


I also picked up a Northwest 86 T-shirt from @digital_assassin.


So legit. And comfortable!

Special mention! Here's a picture of me and my
newborn son. He was born two weeks ago on
September 19th.

Fun Fact: Ken Gushi's Birthday is on 9/19 as well


Delivering tofu in dad's ride in no time!

Mid-October Update

Added some sticker/decals to my rear window today.
I want to "keep it clean" so I'll try my best from
adding miscellaneous stickers.


Big thanks to @digital_assassin for making the NW86 sticker.

I also picked up a HKS oil cap to replace the ugly yellow one.

Eww, dirty engine bay. Must detail...


So JDM!

So I also was lucky enough to pick up a second hand GReddy SP Elite axle-back
exhaust from a local 86 owner. It really wasn't in my plans, but it was
a spankin' deal. So I couldn't pass it up!


Lookin' much better than stock already!


Thanks once more to @DarrenDriven for the assistance.

Special Mention!

Big thumbs up to Darren aka @DarrenDriven for not only being part of the
moderator staff here and organizing a lot of these threads on ft86club..
He's also a legit dude for the local guys here in Portland.
Always down to let folks use his sweet garage, and always
willing to give a helping hand with payment in the form
of any microbrew (maybe he'll take a picture of his 3 fridges for us).
He has made life easier for ALL of us.

1-Year Update! (kinda)

So I got my car in July of 2012, but I waited til October 2013 before
getting the idea to even go and take this photo.


Getting better? What do you think?

I believe my experience has been similar to many other owners
on this forum and elsewhere.
Where do I start? It's a blast drive and still brings
a smile to my face. Heck, I still turn back to look
at it when I get out.
I don't want to repeat everything that has been said about
the FR-S, by professional journalists or forum circle jerks.
So I'll just say this...
Thanks Toyota, Thanks Subaru, and Thanks Tada-san;
For making this bad-ass car!




Autumn Blues

The pack.. the wolf pack. I was a one man wolf pack.
But in the words of the great Alan Garner (see Hangover);

"And my wolf pack, it grew by one.
So there... there was two of us in the wolf pack.
I was alone first in the pack and Doug joined in later.
And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys,
I thought...
"Wait a second, could it be?"
And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack.
Four of us wolves, running around the desert together in Las Vegas,
looking for strippers and cocaine."

Okay, so some clarification. Oregon doesn't have any deserts.
But we do have strippers, lots of them. And probably cocaine
as well... but not like I know anything about drugs!
And there isn't a guy named Doug in our pack. (I hope? Sorry!)

But! That's aside from my point. My point is, wolf pack.
Our Wolf Pack in the greater Portland metropolitan area
consists of... just a bunch of guys who drive cars
with nothing better to do on a Saturday morning.

Pictures from a Saturday Cars & Coffee Meet:


Yup, that's my baby on the end. So proud!


We took up two rows! Mobbing deep.


Creeper shot of this sweet RB-Sti BRZ by @VesperLynn


Scoping out my hottie.


Thanks to @WRB-DZA-BRZ for the wide angle shot.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CApcyGVuCIk"]Car & Coffee Tigard 10/26/2013 - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks to @peace_noel for the dash video.

Trip to the Emerald City

So I recently took a trip up to Seattle, WA in my car.
It's only 3 hours north of here, but I rarely make the
trip. This is the 2nd time I've gone to Seattle with
the FRS.



Looks great from up here!


Space Needle


Oh snap! Is that my car? First FRS picture from the Space Needle!


Don't tell McDonalds I parked in their lot.



That ass though...



12/1/2013

Sad news that Paul Walker passed away. As cheesy as some of
the Fast and Furious movies were, they were great times for
any petrol head to watch for pure velveeta entertainment value.
But I suppose the movies have instilled upon us that,
overnight parts from Japan are the sh*t.

And so, thank you mister Walker, as you've led the craze
that has taken us simple folk by storm.
Making us spend our hard earned moolah for some
JDM goodies... straight from Japan.

Updates later this week. #jizzedpants

Lust at first sight

They landed a week ago...
but I didn't meet them until Tuesday.
I finally found time to take a peek at them;
thought I'd share a few photos.

It's an exciting feeling, you know.. those feels.
Kind of like holding a girl's hand for the first time,
Or that first kiss,
Or losing your virginity..
Okay, maybe not that elicit.
But it's still a great feeling!

So yeah, the good stuff:


Like a sexy lady in lingerie.


Striptease.


Lemme get a little closer!


Much clean. So JDM. All mine!

Install will happen next week! Still awaiting
my plug-n-play harness from @DeOppressorLiber
Big thanks to @BRZPDX for being my smuggle man,
pulled out all the stops to ensure that today,
this man.. is a happy man.



LED Strip Teased

I suppose it's the appeal of getting what
we don't have that drives us to work harder
to achieve the things we want.
So then we spend our hard earned money
on something as basic as a set of headlights.
Not because they'll make our cars go faster,
or run more efficient.. no.

No, it's simply, for happiness.
The joy of knowing that it adds just that
little touch of refinement to the overall package.
So who can't understand that?
Women have their shoes, bags, and clothes.
Men? Well, we have.
Car parts!
Thirst, sated. For now.

GT86 lights!


The bumper is the hardest part!


Cosmetic surgery, cause we all love headlights.


Damn, you so freakin sexy!


Looks so mean now. Grrr~


LED strip, check!


Fallin in love all over again.

December Rain

Just snapping some night time pictures of my
newly acquired JDM headlights. Odd thing, that is also
saving me a lot of money is the fact that for some
reason this set of japanese GT86 headlights have
a cutoff for left hand drive vehicles. Win win!


Tears of joy.


Japanese owners are jealous.


Turtle wax still beading water after 2 months of no washing.


LHD GT86 lights?!



Here is a better cutoff picture.

Winter Skies

Winters in Oregon are pretty mellow. Once every few years
we'll get bad snow or ice storms, but this isn't a place
to even see negative winter temps.

Well, this is going to be a quick post only.
I had my camera in my car, so I figured I'd take
a few pictures after I got off work in my work parking lot.


Silhouettes~


Lighting is great in this parking lot.

Lighten Up!

I finally decided to upgrade my miscellaneous exterior
lights to LED lights. Ordered my lights from Vicious LED;
shipped in 2 days flat. Certainly makes the car
look more classy, however my side markers are
6000K temp, which doesn't fit too well with my
other 5000K temp lighting. Oh well! Maybe I'll switch
over to amber bulbs later on.
I also bought the clear Helix side markers.


Poppin' out side markers with no breakage!


@DarrenDriven lending a helpful hand.


Phantom menace


All the better for police to identify.


Side marker color temp no match.


Those LEDs though...


The whole package! Light em up.

[m.box.design]

Modifications

Grimmspeed License Plate Holder
Beatsonic Sharkfin Antenna
5:AD Rear Deck Spoiler
Enkei RS-7 17" +35 Offset
Glass Subaru Foglights
Nokya 2500K Halogen Fogs
Eibach Pro-Kit Springs
Perrin Drop-in Air Filter
HKS Red Oil Cap
GReddy SP-Elite Axle Back Exhaust
GT86 Headlights
TOM'S Front Lip

Future Modifications (Under Warranty)

CS style Side Skirts
OEM Mudguards
OEM Armrest
H&R 20mm Spacers
Performance Tires
SARD Seat Covers

Future Modifications (After Warranty)

Tune!

[boxer 2.5]

Wow! Looks great so far! Glad to see a true fan of the vintage, as well as the new era 86's! The photos are fantastic, does your wife take most of them?

[m.box.design]

Originally Posted by boxer 2.5

Wow! Looks great so far! Glad to see a true fan of the vintage, as well as the new era 86's! The photos are fantastic, does your wife take most of them?

Thanks! I love all cars in general, but I always have a soft spot for Toyotas. Call me biased. lol.

I take most of the photos, but my wife does have an eye for good photographic composition too, so she works fine in a pinch.

[OICU812]

Awesome story so far!!

[PERRIN_Chris]

Hey I know these guys! That's funny that you know them too, I remember meeting you at the meet over the summer.

[MAPerformance]

Hey man,

Clean Whiteout for sure. I love your enthusiasm for the Toyota brand. That's customer loyalty Also like your buddy's AE86, that thing is super clean. I have a co-worker with an AE86 that we just swapped an F20C engine into it. Cant wait to have fun in that. Also really dig your TRD front lip, haven't seen one installed yet.

Cheers,
Ian@MAPerformance

[m.box.design]

Originally Posted by MAPerformance

Hey man,

Clean Whiteout for sure. I love your enthusiasm for the Toyota brand. That's customer loyalty Also like your buddy's AE86, that thing is super clean. I have a co-worker with an AE86 that we just swapped an F20C engine into it. Cant wait to have fun in that. Also really dig your TRD front lip, haven't seen one installed yet.

Cheers,
Ian@MAPerformance

Thanks! It's tough being a Toyota fan in a day and age where Toyota has been absent for so long and other companies are pumping out fun and great cars left and right. We were blessed with the 86 twins.

F20C Corollas are definitely fast. My buddy's car is currently awaiting transplant of a 20v blacktop 4age. Currently waiting on parts (however not overnight from Japan )

[m.box.design]

Originally Posted by PERRIN_Chris

Hey I know these guys! That's funny that you know them too, I remember meeting you at the meet over the summer.

Portland, definitely a small world. You going out to Sykart thursday? See you there if you do go.

[PERRIN_Chris]

I should be able to make it! I'll see you then.

[PERRIN_Mladen]

Originally Posted by indesign

Portland, definitely a small world. You going out to Sykart thursday? See you there if you do go.

You have officially topped Chris's car journal thread in post length!

Great looking car by the way! Keep up the good work.

[DarrenDriven]

Love the thread, man! It's poetic. I feel relaxed now.

The funny thing is that most of these photos are so familiar because I was in those places, too! Haha!

[m.box.design]

Thanks @PERRIN_Mladen
It seems I have outdone Chris in one swoop. But believe me it was unintentional.


@DarrenDriven Poetic is what I'm going for. Well, maybe not poetic, but interesting at least.
My criteria: 56K friendly images that fit on the screen and commentary that is worth reading! A member journal shouldn't be tedious to navigate!