Help me decide.

[KSC]

Originally Posted by Synack

You should've just bought the Cobalt SS/TC sitting in the background in your 2nd pic lol. Those things can hit 400whp with not a whole lot of $$. I had one.

This is my dilemma, actually. I already own an Ion Redline (same car) with about 260whp and I'm considering trading it for a BRZ. It took about a week for my mind to adjust to the fact that I'd be losing 100 horses. I was just about ready to pull the trigger until I found, read, and agonized over 100+ pages of CEL/idle issues. This is all just a few days after abandoning the idea to get a Gen.Coupe after findings it's 100 pg thread on gear lock outs and multiple tranny swaps. I think I'm just gonna stop reading the interweb now before I spoil any other cars I'm fond of!

[CaptainSlow]

Originally Posted by jadewbj

Not to say you are wrong that tuning a car car lead to issues but I just wanted to offer an alternate point of view.

From what I understand the idea of this car from the go was for it to be modified. I have read it in brochures from Toyota, heard it in videos from both Toyota and Subaru.

There are quite a few high horsepower 86's out there on stock blocks, and not one that I have heard of as blowing yet. That amazes me. It looks like this motor was built pretty stout.

Most of the horror stories I have heard over the decade I have been doing this are from "garage tuners" who have little experience or know how and start doing more than basic bolt on's by themselves.

If you stay with bolt on's and a tune or go with a kit like Avo or Vortech and have it installed by a licensed dealer you should be fine.

Very true...totally platform dependent. Unfortunately, in my case (which is similar to this case), the car was still brand new, and a lot of these issues were sort of found out in the community during the time I had the car. Not every car will be the same...the FRS might be able to support 400WHP on the stock engine for tens of thousands of miles...I don't know. Just a warning about what MIGHT happen if you continue to chase the dragon, as it were.

My mentality of tuning changed with the MS3...instead of buying a car with the intention of modifying out the stuff I knew I wasn't going to like, I looked for a car (in the FRS...the GTO was sort of a "place holder" for a couple of years) that I liked initially, the figured I could "enhance" with mods later on.

[jadewbj]

Originally Posted by CaptainSlow

Very true...totally platform dependent. Unfortunately, in my case (which is similar to this case), the car was still brand new, and a lot of these issues were sort of found out in the community during the time I had the car. Not every car will be the same...the FRS might be able to support 400WHP on the stock engine for tens of thousands of miles...I don't know. Just a warning about what MIGHT happen if you continue to chase the dragon, as it were.

My mentality of tuning changed with the MS3...instead of buying a car with the intention of modifying out the stuff I knew I wasn't going to like, I looked for a car (in the FRS...the GTO was sort of a "place holder" for a couple of years) that I liked initially, the figured I could "enhance" with mods later on.

I have just gotten used to the little hicups that come with my addiction. I just can't leave cars stock, there is something about it that offends me.

I had a shop install seats in my Mroadster and when they did they did not get the right seat bases and drilled into the floor of the car. When they did that they ended up putting a bolt straight through the main wiring harness on the car.

Everything was fine for a while and then I started getting all kinds of electrical gremlins. It was a pain but we finally figured it out and got it fixed.

I will say that in most cases bolt on's are very safe. Mainstream kits like the avo and vortech are great too.

You also have the option of TRD which retains you factory warranty.

[Synack]

Originally Posted by KSC

This is my dilemma, actually. I already own an Ion Redline (same car) with about 260whp and I'm considering trading it for a BRZ. It took about a week for my mind to adjust to the fact that I'd be losing 100 horses. I was just about ready to pull the trigger until I found, read, and agonized over 100+ pages of CEL/idle issues. This is all just a few days after abandoning the idea to get a Gen.Coupe after findings it's 100 pg thread on gear lock outs and multiple tranny swaps. I think I'm just gonna stop reading the interweb now before I spoil any other cars I'm fond of!

Make sure you get a late 2012/early 2013 manufactured BRZ and you shouldn't have the CEL issues.

[husker741]

So is there a specific header back that will improve my car more than the others? I really enjoy the sound of the speed factory cat back and I would put the over pipe and catted front pipe. I've decided to not do headers yet, and just go with he TRD drop in air filter, unless there is a better one between the HKS, TRD, or K&N. And then possibly the unichip, because I will see gains and it seems easier to install because it's just the piggyback. Thank you guys for all your input, it really helps. If you could provide links to any recommendations, that would be much appreciated.

[KSC]

Originally Posted by Synack

Make sure you get a late 2012/early 2013 manufactured BRZ and you shouldn't have the CEL issues.

I have it all picked out and ready to go. Left a deposit, so they didn't sell it on me (mistake, I know), but haven't signed anything yet. I'm kinda in like second-guessing regret mode now. Supposed to pick it up on Sat., but now I'm getting cold feet...

I was checking against the other VINs posted by you guys, but this one seems a bit off from the template. Maybe the dealer wrote it wrong? JXXXXXXXXX16053XX. I have to guess that's pretty late in the game by the "605", though, right? I was gonna call over and ask if it had the 812 ECU, but I'm pretty much already redflagged there as being a PITA after demanding that they not wash the car or drill the front plate, and insisting on test driving the actual car before signing. Didn't realize I was being "unreasonable".

And, sorry for the , husker!

[CaptainSlow]

That's not unreasonable at all, and if they give you ANY more shit, just say "I've had it with how you guys are treating me...give me my deposit back", walk out, and go to another dealership.

The local dealership to me (20 minutes away) completely lied to me about everything at the very start, so I just said "f-it" and drove an hour and a half away to the next one. They have been great to work with...I'd rather support that business than one who insists on lying to me from day 1

[KSC]

I considered it. This is the only dealer within a 200 mi radius that has the exact one I wanted, though. I'm getting 500 below MSRP (I consider that good for this car), no BS prep fees, and a moderately fair amount for the trade, so I didn't want to rock the boat too much, but yeah, I'd love to give another salesman my business.

When he asked me what time I wanted to come, and that they usually do pick-ups in 1-hr blocks on Saturdays, I said, "I know I'm a pain in the ass, but I don't need any kind of fanfare, drive out of the showroom type stuff." and that I would want to fully inspect the car before accepting delivery, ie check the grommets, test drive it, and basically spend a 30 mins or so flicking every switch to make sure all was well, he says, "Well, that kinda is a pain in the neck, but if the car is ready early enough, you could do that, I guess. I promise everything will be perfect, so you can just sign the papers, anyway."

Uhhh, nope!

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by husker741

... It is going to be an adjustment because my torque on my SC is rated at 320 and this will not have near that much, as you all know. ....

I would propose you drive the car for a while [few thousand miles] to investigate how much extra torque you feel the car needs, if any. From there I'd build a parts list to obtain that goal.

You may be happy with the car as-is, or you may find that only another 10 pounds of torque is sufficient, in which case just an ECU tune and a cat-back would satisfy the modest power and sound improvements. You may also find that you'd prefer a boatload more torque, in which case a turbo or supercharger kit would be in your future and not to bother with basic bolt-ons.

$0.02,
Ryan

[CaptainSlow]

Originally Posted by KSC

I considered it. This is the only dealer within a 200 mi radius that has the exact one I wanted, though. I'm getting 500 below MSRP (I consider that good for this car), no BS prep fees, and a moderately fair amount for the trade, so I didn't want to rock the boat too much, but yeah, I'd love to give another salesman my business.

When he asked me what time I wanted to come, and that they usually do pick-ups in 1-hr blocks on Saturdays, I said, "I know I'm a pain in the ass, but I don't need any kind of fanfare, drive out of the showroom type stuff." and that I would want to fully inspect the car before accepting delivery, ie check the grommets, test drive it, and basically spend a 30 mins or so flicking every switch to make sure all was well, he says, "Well, that kinda is a pain in the neck, but if the car is ready early enough, you could do that, I guess. I promise everything will be perfect, so you can just sign the papers, anyway."

Uhhh, nope!

See, to me, unless the guy was just joking (and obviously so), that would be totally unacceptable. Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my "old" age.

[KSC]

HA! I know I am! Cranky and old!

In his defense, I can come off as slightly abrasive at times, but hell, I'm the one with the $27K. Let me do what I want!

[husker741]

Bump. Any other suggestions? Like I posted earlier, I really think I'm going with the speed factory catback, catted front pipe, and over pipe. If anyone has anything that would be better, please let me know.

Also, is it worth getting some conservative lowering springs so they don't ruin the stock struts? Or should I just wait until I can get some quality coilovers? I want a little better stance, but I don't want the struts to wear out prematurely. I won't be tracking much, if it all, so it would be for the streets. Thanks again for all your help, guys.

[CaptainSlow]

I'm going with the RCE Yellow's...They're about a 0.80" drop, and have a lot of good reviews...plus, they're pretty inexpensive ($330). I've been told that they will be fine with the stock shocks if you're basically just doing normal driving most of the time.