Mistople's 2017 BRZ PP Track Build

[spicyricecake]

The BI stuff is cool! What are you using to record the track run data to export it into the graph?

[ShansBRZ]

Your car looks great! How do you like the tein coil overs vs the stock PP suspension?

[mistople]

Originally Posted by spicyricecake

The BI stuff is cool! What are you using to record the track run data to export it into the graph?

BI is a frustrating product, but useful regardless! If I'm logging OBD data for tune reviews, I'll use my EcuTek setup and my Macbook running Bootcamp to capture the data.

For the track, I'm using Harry's Lap Timer for now to grab GPS data only. Eventually I'll upgrade to a Solo DL or similar so I can capture both (more accurate) GPS data alongside OBD data so I can have a much clearer picture of what's happening on track.

I have to massage the exported lap timer data with Excel using a bunch of dark magic—it doesn't work super well out of the box—and then upload it into Power BI for reference.

Originally Posted by ShansBRZ

Your car looks great! How do you like the tein coil overs vs the stock PP suspension?

It is night and day. I only did one track day on the stock setup, but my confidence in the car on track skyrocketed after installing them. Where the car used to get light when cresting a large hill at the Ridge, it now stays planted and predictable. Under heavy cornering loads, the car doesn't unsettle itself with minor throttle modulation. I'm guessing a good amount of that was dialed out with the aggressive alignment, but it was noticeable regardless. I used to feel the car "bob" around mid-corner when adding throttle. It hasn't been a problem since. Again, I can't directly attribute that the coils. I've also advanced quite a lot as a driver over the last three track days, so maybe it has nothing to do with the parts at all

Since I installed them alongside wider/stickier rubber and wider wheels, I don't have an isolated review of the coils where they were the only swapped part. My lap times went down by 10-15 seconds, but again, 80% of that was probably just the stickier tires, track conditions, perceived driver confidence, etc.

[mistople]

Since I had a track day this past Friday, I took Thursday off to install my Jackson Racing NA Oil Cooler that has been waiting patiently in my garage for over a month now. I didn't take any photos of the kit before the install, but I can assure you everything is of incredible quality. The packaging alone speaks volumes about the kind of company Jackson Racing is. They are one of maybe two or three companies I would trust with such a critical component like an oil cooler.

Installation

To be perfectly honest, this install was somewhat intimidating for me, as it was the first time I would be tinkering around with something that could cause serious harm to my engine if I made a wrong move.

Luckily everything went perfectly fine spare a single mistake on my end. Part of the kit's instructions call for the installer to relocate on of the horns towards a mounting point on the passenger side of the car. The instructions say this now empty mounting point will be used later, but they don't say for what. When it came time to install on of the two studs that the Setrab unit will sit on, the instructions didn't specify very clearly that you are supposed to use that empty mounting point for the stud. There is another unused hole directly to the right of that, so I mistakenly installed the kit's stud in the wrong hole (with Loctite) and ended up spending an hour with pliers trying to revert my mistake. Luckily I was able to reuse the bolt that the horn originally used since the stud included in the kit was beyond destroyed from me trying to rip it out, but it isn't ideal, and I'll have to find a replacement eventually. In any case, the Setrab unit is solidly mounted, and I had no worries about its stability.

The rest of the install's difficulty was mostly removing the bodywork. Having not done it before, it took me a while to figure out how to properly remove the sidemarkers (I broke one clip...sigh) and then struggling with replacing the bumper by myself. It was trial an error, but it all worked out in the end.

It took me about 6 hours, but if I had to do it again, I think I could do it in 2 or 3. Just like every first time install, I was going slowly and working methodically so I didn't mess anything up. That didn't exactly pan out, but I'm happy with the result regardless.

First impressions

Initial startup had no issues. No leaks, no surprises. I admit I expected at least a small leak, but there was literally no drama. It started right up, and started funneling some oil through the cooler shortly afterwards. The lines were warm, so I could tell even under low temps the thermostatic plate was designed to route some oil through the system at all times.

Taking the car our for a 10 min drive around town yielded the same result. No leaks, no drama. Around town, I could easily hit 210-230 (on dash temps) without the cooler in a handful of minutes. The kit obviously resulted in a longer warm up time, but I never went above 185-190 (again, dash temps—probably more like 200 in reality). I believe the kit was designed to never over cool the oil, so I have no plans of blocking it off in the winter.

On the highway, it was clear the kit was doing its job, as the higher speeds resulted in slightly lower temps. At stoplights, I could see the temps creeping back up. Again, never over 190ish.

Track use

The very next day, I drove the car 1.5hrs from Seattle to the Ridge, where I hammered the car all day in 75-80 deg heat. I never once saw the temps rise above ~220. I was laughing every time I hit the back straight given that I had seen my oil sitting around 250-260 at the last two events. Again, no leaks, no drama. The unit functioned perfectly, and I couldn't be happier. I can't tell you what a relief it is to be able to drive the car at 10/10 and not worry about the oil. Its one less thing to worry about on track. I could focus on my technique without worrying about the car's status on every lap.

I highly recommend this unit to anyone tracking their car. I know there are other great options out there, but this one checked all the boxes for me. The size of the Setrab unit alone makes it a no-brainer for me. I couldn't be happier.

Install photos











It looks like it's lopsided here. It isn't. I just hadn't tightened everything up yet.

[Chris_]

Nice! I've been looking for a kit that worked with 17+ airboxes. Looks like there's plenty of room/clearance.


Down here in NorCal I've been hitting 275 F oil temps at Sonoma/Laguna with ambient at around mid-high 70's


Looks like I know what kit I'm getting!

[mistople]

Been a while! No updates to the car after the JR oil cooler. Just lots of driving and enjoying the car.

x-post from General:

I was recently asked by Ryan from Driving Sport TV to help review a 2018 BRZ tS and compare it to my own BRZ PP track build. He wanted to prove that the tS was worth the cost. Do you agree with his opinion?

The comparison starts around the 6:00 mark.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQqG9Y0ejjk[/ame]

[dowroa]

I think that he was always going to state the tS is worth it. And, to his merit, the argument he makes isn't any different than the tS thread here.

Still, for your scope of POV, I agree the base or PP makes more sense.

Also, I see no way you put 5k into your car unless you header is made our of platinum.

... is it?

Edit: I missed what wheels you had. Also, I loved the part about the throttle response.

[mistople]

Originally Posted by dowroa

I think that he was always going to state the tS is worth it. And, to his merit, the argument he makes isn't any different than the tS thread here.

Still, for your scope of POV, I agree the base or PP makes more sense.

Also, I see no way you put 5k into your car unless you header is made our of platinum.

... is it?

Edit: I missed what wheels you had. Also, I loved the part about the throttle response.

Take a look at the original post of this build thread for my parts list. It adds up quickly! We didn't really give an exhaustive breakdown of the car's mods in the video.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by dowroa

I think that he was always going to state the tS is worth it. And, to his merit, the argument he makes isn't any different than the tS thread here.

Still, for your scope of POV, I agree the base or PP makes more sense.

Also, I see no way you put 5k into your car unless you header is made our of platinum.

... is it?

Edit: I missed what wheels you had. Also, I loved the part about the throttle response.

I'd easily believe the 5k+ total in parts. Wheels/tires and suspension components alone cost over 3k for his car. Take the same parts list and put it on a base 86/BRZ and you're left with a really fun and capable car for $30k.

Enjoyed the video. Agreed with a lot of the points made.

[dowroa]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

I'd easily believe the 5k+ total in parts. Wheels/tires and suspension components alone cost over 3k for his car. Take the same parts list and put it on a base 86/BRZ and you're left with a really fun and capable car for $30k.

Enjoyed the video. Agreed with a lot of the points made.

Ah, I went back and looked. The wheels/tires and suspension would get you close to that.

Good points.

I do personally agree with mistople's assessment.

Also, Essex makes some awesome brakes for this car. It is a good starting point.

Thanks for the video!

[mistople]

Shaved a few seconds off of my PR at The Ridge back in July. I realized I never posted the video! Still lots to learn. Since then I've picked up a much better phone mount for the lap timer + borrwed a gopro. I need to get a proper audio/video setup next year.

I'm working on the setup, which so far has proven to be a bit to understeery for my liking. I'm still plowing in some corners.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMxQrW8TDBI[/ame]


I'm going to a final event there this weekend, however I don't think I'll get to work on my time given the expected rain.

[mistople]

One of the stills from the BRZ tS comparison video above. I need to buy a follow cam now!

[aimforapex]

very nice photography, functional and detail oriented build.

got a subbed from me.

[mistople]

Originally Posted by aimforapex

very nice photography, functional and detail oriented build.

got a subbed from me.

Thanks! Love your build and shots as well.