new owner: first mods

[revlimit]

Just bought a new 2014 FR-S. pearl white, no wing. Pickup in a day or 2, after they do the software upgrade to enable the navi.

I've previously owned and driven:

- you name it, prius and econobox up to modern hypercars
- several types of racecars

I race competitively and extract everything out of a car so the handling was the most important thing to me.

I was looking at

- Lotus Evora S
- 997.2 gt3
- 370z

The cheapest car won!

I decided the Lotus would be too unreliable. I hear about problems with the FR-S also but I'm more confident of issues being resolved and root causes fixed. Not so much with the Lotus.

gt3's are damn expensive and while fast, the rear engine doesn't offer the greatest dynamics. I might still get one down the road.

370z is closer to the level of finish that I really wanted. I love the interior, although the ergo is a little bit meh. The engine is clearly superior to the little FA20, at least in stock form. BUT, what killed it was the lack of back seat, and no handling to make up for it. Chris Harris said it best: up to 8/10ths it's a great car, after that it falls apart. Too bad really, I wanted it to be my next car. I imagine the nismo is better but I gave up.

The FR-S on its little Prius tires is a dream. The handling is so predictable and so much feedback. Very rewarding, even with low power.

My initial set of planned mods are:

- alcantara or leather radio/glovebox area panel. That plastic thing is awful.
- alcantara visors. The stock visors are like the dash panel, disgusting. The only problem with this mod is I will be tempted to do the gauge pod cover and the headliner. They look reasonably ok, but once I have the visors and dash pad they may look bad in comparison.
- heated seats. my car came with dealer installed custom leather upholstery -- very nice and complementary to the stock interior -- but with leather I prefer them to be heated.
- intake and full exhaust (headers to tailpipes).
- tune
- strut bar
- master cylinder brace

Anything else I should be doing off the bat? After putting a thousand miles on it to feel it out, if I'm left wanting I plan

- Cusco close ratio gears and shorter diff
- innovate supercharger
- short shifter if a reliable one is on the market
- suspension and brakes if needed.

Given that I'm already planning on the supercharger, I guess I have to go with a 3" exhaust. However I'm worried that 3" is too large for the NA motor. Comments?

[Obja]

first off, welcome!

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by revlimit

My initial set of planned mods are:

- alcantara or leather radio/glovebox area panel. That plastic thing is awful.
- alcantara visors. The stock visors are like the dash panel, disgusting. The only problem with this mod is I will be tempted to do the gauge pod cover and the headliner. They look reasonably ok, but once I have the visors and dash pad they may look bad in comparison.
- heated seats. my car came with dealer installed custom leather upholstery -- very nice and complementary to the stock interior -- but with leather I prefer them to be heated.
- intake and full exhaust (headers to tailpipes).
- tune
- strut bar
- master cylinder brace

Anything else I should be doing off the bat? After putting a thousand miles on it to feel it out, if I'm left wanting I plan

- Cusco close ratio gears and shorter diff
- innovate supercharger
- short shifter if a reliable one is on the market
- suspension and brakes if needed.

Given that I'm already planning on the supercharger, I guess I have to go with a 3" exhaust. However I'm worried that 3" is too large for the NA motor. Comments?

First thing first, welcome to the forum.

Secondly, if you gonna go w SC route, is there a reason to do NA intake/header? You gonna be wasting $ on that.

To add to the Close Ratio Gear & Shorter Diff, why? If you gonna keep it NA, that kind make sense... but if SC, I don't think you'll need it (I can be wrong).

If handling is most important thing for you then, isn't suspension, tires/wheels & brakes are important upgrade than power?

[bestwheelbase]

Welcome! To extract everything out of the car, definitely do the headliner to match the visors.

[dnavas]

Originally Posted by revlimit

- alcantara or leather radio/glovebox area panel. That plastic thing is awful.
- alcantara visors. The stock visors are like the dash panel, disgusting. The only problem with this mod is I will be tempted to do the gauge pod cover and the headliner. They look reasonably ok, but once I have the visors and dash pad they may look bad in comparison.

I'm less disturbed by the glovebox panel -- I mean, it's kind of a wtf-piece, but it isn't shiny, and it isn't in front of me. But the visor is super annoying, and the headliner is really cheap too. I'm going to rip through that thing with my key within the year
I'd be tempted to do the gauge pod cover, just to keep the outgassing off the glass, but that material doesn't bother me as much.

Where are you looking at getting the replacement parts?

Anything else I should be doing off the bat? After putting a thousand miles on it to feel it out, if I'm left wanting I plan

Lighter wheels/brakes is something I've been considering.
I'm not a racer, just want the car a few hundred pounds lighter, and wheels seems like the right place to start (and probably end, really, because I'm not going to be *that guy* with the carbon fiber panels all over the car). Driveshaft?

-Dave

[Manic]

From my understanding, if you're planning on using it competitively as well as lowering it/dropping an SC in it, upgrading the rear drive axles is a must. I've read horror stories of them snapping with lowered geometries.

[revlimit]

Originally Posted by dnavas

Where are you looking at getting the replacement parts?

headliner: local
visors and dash: jpm

Lighter wheels/brakes is something I've been considering.
I'm not a racer, just want the car a few hundred pounds lighter, and wheels seems like the right place to start (and probably end, really, because I'm not going to be *that guy* with the carbon fiber panels all over the car). Driveshaft?

A few hundred? That's tough for a road car. Will you remove the back seats, carpet, headliner altogether, radio, etc? Really it's better to start with an Elise and add some weight.

[revlimit]

Originally Posted by ichitaka05

First thing first, welcome to the forum.

Thanks, it seems like a fun place. But that makes sense considering it's a fun car.

Secondly, if you gonna go w SC route, is there a reason to do NA intake/header? You gonna be wasting $ on that.

To add to the Close Ratio Gear & Shorter Diff, why? If you gonna keep it NA, that kind make sense... but if SC, I don't think you'll need it (I can be wrong).

I'm not sure I will go SC. I hope the intake and gears are enough. I think the gears are useful even for SC as the spacing is better.

If handling is most important thing for you then, isn't suspension, tires/wheels & brakes are important upgrade than power?

Maybe. I want to maintain ride quality. The suspension seems fairly good as-is and a good compromise so I'm not keen to mess with that formula just yet.

The brakes have really great feedback so given the 99.9% street use I'm not sure it will be worthwhile to improve the brakes for that .1% track.

Just my very initial impresssion of course. So far the thing that really sticks out and the low hanging fruit are some power upgrades.

[Tromatic]

Originally Posted by revlimit

BUT, what killed it was the lack of back seat, and no handling to make up for it.

I wouldn't call whats in the FR-S a back seat!

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by revlimit

Thanks, it seems like a fun place. But that makes sense considering it's a fun car.



I'm not sure I will go SC. I hope the intake and gears are enough. I think the gears are useful even for SC as the spacing is better.



Maybe. I want to maintain ride quality. The suspension seems fairly good as-is and a good compromise so I'm not keen to mess with that formula just yet.

The brakes have really great feedback so given the 99.9% street use I'm not sure it will be worthwhile to improve the brakes for that .1% track.

Just my very initial impresssion of course. So far the thing that really sticks out and the low hanging fruit are some power upgrades.

Then upgrade at least brake pads & rotors... seriously.

[dnavas]

Originally Posted by revlimit

headliner: local
visors and dash: jpm

I ask as your local ~= my local
If you wind up replacing the headliner, I'd be interested to see how it turns out.

A few hundred? That's tough for a road car. Will you remove the back seats, carpet, headliner altogether, radio, etc? Really it's better to start with an Elise and add some weight.

That's why I said I'd likely stop at the wheels -- I have absolutely no intention of gutting my car. If there's a more durable, lighter battery replacement, I'd consider it. I spend 75% of my time in traffic at <20mph, and there's an element of spriteliness that I'd like to recapture at that speed -- not sure what will do that. I thought I was going to be interested in more power as well, but really, I don't need anymore at wot, I need the playfulness at 20 that's already there (in spades) at 60. :shrug: A little less harshness over the bumps would be swell as well.

The sound tube delete is high on my list -- I have it plugged, but I'm not a fan of pointless bits.

Originally Posted by Tromatic

I wouldn't call whats in the FR-S a back seat!

Works for me. There's even an element of open roof back there, if you're short enough not to be hunched over.

-Dave

[batmobilefrs]

Might think about putting lightweight pulleys in it. To shed some weight if you are going to be racing a Koyorad aluminum radiator. Most definitely an oil cooler too.

[Tromatic]

Originally Posted by batmobilefrs

Might think about putting lightweight pulleys in it. To shed some weight if you are going to be racing a Koyorad aluminum radiator. Most definitely an oil cooler too.

Some people are blaming light pulleys for one or three blown engines.

[batmobilefrs]

Originally Posted by Tromatic

Some people are blaming light pulleys for one or three blown engines.

Interesting, first I'm hearing about this, just wondering if you have any links to articles or posts concerning this. I'm not trying to say you're wrong but I was considering very much for my next purchase to be lightweight pulleys, and if this is the case, I would really like to know. Thanks