New BRZ owner, 700 left for mods

[themadscientist]

Right in the budget.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

[MikeM7]

Originally Posted by Leonardo

I say tires also! MPSS

Originally Posted by themadscientist

Right in the budget.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Originally Posted by MikeM7

As for tires, I can't resist turning off traction control and drifting now and then in this car, so I think I'll use these up first and get tires later.

[w.k.s.]

These things beg for better tires. If you want to go that route, id say go for wheels too, but that would require saving. After those some coils, or struts and springs to your liking.

And take it to a track, a real track track. NASIOC and some vendors usually do track specials, where they schedule a "subaru day" a a certain track (for instance i think it was $110 at willow the last time the huge group went up there.) Dont worry about feeling outclassed, or thinking you wont have fun because all kinds of different people show up, from newbies in sti's, to seasoned maniacs in rwd converted wagons. :P

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by MikeM7

It must be a conspiracy.... about tires.... Shhh. I've already said too much.

[MikeM7]

Originally Posted by w.k.s.

These things beg for better tires. If you want to go that route, id say go for wheels too, but that would require saving. After those some coils, or struts and springs to your liking.

And take it to a track, a real track track. NASIOC and some vendors usually do track specials, where they schedule a "subaru day" a a certain track (for instance i think it was $110 at willow the last time the huge group went up there.) Dont worry about feeling outclassed, or thinking you wont have fun because all kinds of different people show up, from newbies in sti's, to seasoned maniacs in rwd converted wagons. :P

I actually like the factory premium wheels. I think they look pretty nice. And, just to make sure, I just did the penny test on the tires. The shallower horizontal grooves were at the top of lincon's eyes/ears, and the deeper vertical groves covered his eyes and ears. I think my tires are good. Since it's a component that needs mandatory replacing anyway, I'm just going to wait until these are warn out and I'm done with the "new toy" phase. I'm probably going to drive aggressively for a month, and then ease back to normal commuting.

[menikmati]

Drive it as much as you can so that you get comfortable with the car, only then can you pick out which areas you'd like to improve. The choice of mods you do is really up to your preferences, driving style and what you want most from the car.

I would recommend an OFT and save the rest of the money for future maintenance/tools.

[MikeM7]

Here are some pics from the garage just now. The first pictures I posted I actually saved from the sellers autotrader ad. They could be stock photos for all I know.

As you can see I wanted to get rid of the silver immediately. Unfortunately whoever removed the scion panel was an idiot and jammed a screwdriver between them, so they are scuffed and the clips are broken. It looks fine, but if you push on it it will sink into the dash and you will have to pull it back into place.

[MikeM7]

Originally Posted by menikmati

Drive it as much as you can so that you get comfortable with the car, only then can you pick out which areas you'd like to improve. The choice of mods you do is really up to your preferences, driving style and what you want most from the car.

I would recommend an OFT and save the rest of the money for future maintenance/tools.

I have budgeted for everything. This is essentially left over money after all my bills and credit cards are paid. The car is under warranty for another year and 20 some thousand miles, the paint protection has a 5 year warranty. My payment and insurance are relatively low.

I've got an impulse to customize it a little bit, just so it's not exactly like every other limited brz. I just want a few things to get me started. I don't think I need to drive it in order to determine if I'd like a subwoofer, black trim, or a few horse power from a filter.

Speaking of which, I'd still like feedback on sound systems and head units.

[campy]

Lowering springs are around $200-400. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned them yet.

Personally, I'm not a big fan on NA tunes since the gains aren't very noticeable to me.

[GreenMonster]

Originally Posted by MikeM7

As for the mod, is this what you're talking about? Reduces cabin noise?
http://www.frsmod.com/products/scion...ube-delete-kit

Yeah, it reduces the cabin noise..,

This one is $4.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=72263

or you could just stick the plug for the power adapter in the glove box into the hole behind the carpet.

[menikmati]

Originally Posted by MikeM7

Also don't know if I want to lower it, as it sits pretty low as it is and I have speed bumps I have to driver over daily.

Originally Posted by campy

Lowering springs are around $200-400. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned them yet.

He may already be content with the ride height.

[Ganthrithor]

Tires are probably the best idea, especially if it rains much where you are (the Primacies are terrible in the rain... that is, if your car still has Primacies).

Sway bars could be a good option as long as you have a reason for changing them: they can really affect the balance of the car in the corners, but I'd only suggest changing them if you have a specific complaint with how the car handles stock. In terms of bang for your buck, though, sways are great if you need them.

Rear subframe bushing inserts probably deserve an honorable mention (they improve throttle response).

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by MikeM7

interior led's

Be aware that some people have had issues with LED swaps. The LEDs draw a lot less current than the stock bulbs and confuse the computer. They can cause very strange electrical gremlins that seem to have no relationship whatsoever to the lights.

Some people have no issues whatsoever. Just be aware of it.

Originally Posted by MikeM7

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.

The sub was an option. You had an either/or: If you ordered the sub, the system would not allow you to also order the OEM rubber trunk mat, and vice versa. You can't fit both in there at the same time. Personally, I think that rubber trunk mat is more useful than a sub could ever be. With the way this car handles, crap slides all over the place on the carpet, but the trunk mat really does help keep things in place.

Originally Posted by MikeM7

As for the mod, is this what you're talking about? Reduces cabin noise?
http://www.frsmod.com/products/scion...ube-delete-kit

There is no need to delete that thing. Subaru included a solution with the car.

Have you found the hidden cigarette lighter outlet inside the glove box? It originally came with a black plug in it, which I'm convinced was a practical joke to make it more difficult for people who didn't read the manual to discover the outlet up under there. If you pull back the carpet on the firewall in the passenger side footwell, you will find the "sound hole" that feeds intake noise into the cabin from that sound tube. If you still have the practical joke plug from the outlet, it is the exact size needed to plug the sound hole for free. No more intake noise. They made it fit like that on purpose, by the way.

Sure, there might be other reasons you would want to delete the sound tube. You might be chasing weight if you were tracking the car. You might just want it out of the engine bay, since it doesn't really do anything other than pipe noise to the cabin. But there is no reason to spend any significant amount of money on it, even if you do remove it. You can get a plug for it at the hardware store.

If your cigarette plug is missing, you can get another one at pretty much any auto parts store. I think WalMart has them also.

ETA:

I noticed you didn't include tails in your list of ideas for mods. Personally, I think the stock tails look ricey, so I went with the Tom's tails. They actually look more stock than stock, and I think they add a lot to the rear of the car.

I also picked up a TapTurn with the strobe pack to replace the stock flasher relay. What that allows me to do is put on strobes when someone is tailgating me. It usually prompts the tailgater to back off. For some reason people love to tailgate this car.

I am a big fan of the Torque app for use as an engine monitor. If you're not already using it, consider getting a bluetooth OBDII connector and setting Torque up on your car. I have a dedicated tablet (actually an old Galaxy Note phone I'm not using) that I use to monitor the car. The computer will give you all sorts of engine data that doesn't show on the dash.

This car does NOT have an oil pressure sender capable of giving you an actual oil pressure. It has an oil pressure switch that only gives an on/off signal to the idiot light on the dash, and it's set to some ridiculously low number so that by the time it lights up, you're already in trouble. If you're used to having a real oil pressure gauge, you might want to search around here for threads on adding one to the twins. Subaru left a handy hole for it in the oil gallery on top of the engine.

I actually bought a digital aircraft oil pressure gauge for mine. At some point when I have the time, I'm going to delete that stupid clock on the dash and put that pressure gauge in its place.

[MikeM7]

What about a shark fin antenna? Are these good?

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Beat-Sonic-FDA4W-Universal-Functional-Antenna/dp/B003M0U5N2/ref=sr_1_23?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1420955783&sr =1-23&keywords=Beat-Sonic+shark+fin"]Amazon.com: Beat-Sonic FDA4W White Universal Functional Shark Fin Antenna: Automotive[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Beat-Sonic-FDA9-37J-Whiteout-Functional-Antenna/dp/B00JRR74KG/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1420956003&sr= 1-1&keywords=Beat-Sonic+shark+fin"]Amazon.com: Beat-Sonic FDA9-37J Satin White Pearl/Whiteout Functional Shark Fin Antenna: Automotive[/ame]

I think between that, the trim pieces, the filter, the armrest, and the wheel spacers, that should take up most of the budget and maybe I'll save the rest. That's enough to feel like I've personalized it a little at least. Maybe throw in some after market lights too.