New BRZ owner, 700 left for mods

[MikeM7]

Hello,

I have been waiting since they launched to get my hands on a BRZ. It appeared to offer everything I'd been looking for, an affordable, quick, fun to drive, sporty car that performs just as well as a commuter car. I finally found myself in a position to get what I wanted, and had narrowed it down to the toyabaru or a mustang. They both met my needs, but living in Texas I can't leave the house without seeing 15 mustangs, so I went with the less powerful but more unique BRZ.

Anyway, I picked up my BRZ on Wednesday. So far I love everything about it except the idle ticking. It reminds me of my RX-8, minus all the things I hated about that car.

2013 Limited White Manual
15,000 miles
Like new condition, garage kept, 1,300 dollar clear paint protection on entire front of car, tinted windows, about a year left on factory warranty

I paid $22,000 to a private seller, 14 down and 7 financed with 3.49% APR. First question is, did I get a good deal? I actually over paid blue book private party by about $500, but given the condition and circumstances of the car, I felt it was a fair negotiation from his posting price of $23,500.

My next issue is that when all is said and done, I have $700 left of my budget for mods.

I'm not interested in doing anything that will cause wear and tear, reduce efficiency, or make it obnoxious. I'm concerned more with cleaner aesthetics, protection, efficiency, handling, durability, and less with power.

My initial thoughts from 3 days of lurking...

-Armrest, already ordered
http://www.ebay.com/itm/13-14-SCION-...f16cba&vxp=mtr

-Black interior plastics to replace ugly silver stuff
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ight=vent+trim

-Interior LED lights

-Exhaust: Whatever below thread determines is the least loud/obnoxious
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ietest+loudest

-Intake? I assume improves efficiency

-Underbody panels to reduce drag/protect from debris
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...ht=reduce+drag

-Sway bars (do these cause additional wear and tear or reduce efficiency?)

What do you guys think of my first impression? Any suggestions? Keep in mind I am novice to modding.

Thanks

[D_Thissen]

Save the 700 for car payments

[Cope52]

you already bought the car so it does no good to ask us if you got a good deal.

set of michelin super sports.

[BlueDubbinTDI]

Originally Posted by D_Thissen

Save the 700 for car payments

That's not what he asked

[TheVoiceOfReason]

Interior is of course all preference.

Intake - I wouldn't bother at this point. Not enough of a benefit without more mods. Most of which being a tune. This is not a car from 20 years ago with an inefficient intake. There is a good chance your fuel mileage would go down. Maybe just get a drop in filter.

Exhaust - Q300 is the probably the least loud/obnoxious, followed by Perrin, but there are many others that sound good without being obnoxious. Most of any quality are going to be over your $700 though. You also are not going to see much in the way of increased efficiency.

Sway Bars - Do you know why you want sway bars? I see no reason to change sway bars unless you are planning more suspension changes, which you would probably want to do first anyway, such as springs(under 700) or coilovers.

Underbody Panels - nice to have, but there are more useful things. The extra efficiency would never pay for itself in the time you have the car.

Really the best way to increase efficiency in this car is to drive it efficiently. It has low rolling resistance tires, and super light oil from the factory so they could put as efficient of numbers on the sticker as possible.

[D_Thissen]

Originally Posted by BlueDubbinTDI

That's not what he asked

Must've misread the post (night shifts will do that to ya). OP I would probably avoid an aftermarket intake and just get a K&N drop in. 1/4 the price and most of the gains. Check out the classifieds, sometimes you can get some awesome deals!

[MikeM7]

Originally Posted by Cope52

you already bought the car so it does no good to ask us if you got a good deal.

set of michelin super sports.

You are right, I should have asked here first to get an idea before buying. I was actually going to buy a premium with 8k miles from a no haggle dealership in Houston for the same price, but it sold the day before I was going to make the trip. With that as a comparison, I felt like it was fair for both of us. He took care of the initial investment and depreciation for me, and that's what I wanted. The fact that it was nearby, garage kept, all maintenance records, warranty, 35% tint and paint protection sweetened the deal. I'm happy with it.

[MikeM7]

Originally Posted by TheVoiceOfReason

Sway Bars - Do you know why you want sway bars? I see no reason to change sway bars unless you are planning more suspension changes, which you would probably want to do first anyway, such as springs(under 700) or coilovers.

Only because I read they reduce body roll and improve handling, which it probably doesn't really need anyway. It will probably kill whats left of the warranty too.

From what I've read so far, it looks like gains from performance mods (aside from maybe K&N drop in) would be negligible given my budget, so I will stick to aesthetics for now and save some of the money. I was thinking the black interior plastics from the link, armrest I already ordered, interior led's, and new fog lights. I actually like the factory leather wrapped shift knob, any reason to swap it? Any other suggestions?

Another option is a 10" sub.. I thought the Limited trim came with premium sound including a sub, but I didn't notice one in mine and it doesn't sound too bassy.

I will also look into the K&N drop in

[themadscientist]

Sock away the $700 for maintenance and just enjoy the car like it is.

[kberkel]

Have you thought about wheel spacers? I'll never run my stock wheels without them, really makes the car look that much better.

[MikeM7]

Originally Posted by kberkel

Have you thought about wheel spacers? I'll never run my stock wheels without them, really makes the car look that much better.

Didn't know what that was, found this.
http://perrinperformance.com/files/p...brz_01x600.jpg

The difference looks pretty minimal to me.. I'll think about it.

After browsing some of the threads here and seeing the obscene amount of money some people dump into their cars, I'm kind of shocked that "save it for car payments" is such a common response.

[BRZZZZZZZZZZ]

Tires and camber bolts get my vote for $700.

[stugray]

If the $700 is just burning a hole in your pocket, the biggest bang for buck ratio is an Open Flash Tablet.

[themadscientist]

Maybe they speak from regret? I have dumped a lot of money into an RX7 which I will probably be stripping and scrapping soon. I have dumped a lot of money into a GT-R that needs me to dump yet more money into it before it will run again. I ordered my BRZ because it's awesome, granted, by my definition, right out of the box. I'm tired of spending all that money and never really getting it back out in miles or smiles.

That's me, though. If you want to just throw money at your car just to do it, that's your call. I just ordered new wheels and tires for mine and it hasn't even been delivered yet. I only did that because the main thing that I feel falls short on the car is the rolling stock. It's busy and ugly. I need to source a head unit too since I ordered the car without one. Beyond that, things are going to have to demonstrate they are real shortcomings before I spend a dime on anything more than regular maintenance.

If after driving your car a little while you see some things that truly bother you about it then you will know what to spend that money on. pretty car you have there too.