StockySnail's Lightning Red 6MT BRZ Limited Build Thread

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77777k mile update. 7 year anniversary coming in 2 months (Aug 2012). Have I really had it that long? Wow. Car is still going strong supercharged and all.

New parts installed:
Driveshaft Shop aluminum drive shaft
ACT Street Performance HD Clutch Kit w/ Streetlight flywheel
Verus Forged Clutch Fork
Velox Billet Clutch Fork Pivot Pin
New OEM fuel pump/filter
Transmission fluid changed

Had a slight issue with the fuse in the supercharger coolant pump coming with the wrong amp fuse and it was fried for who knows how long (year+?) causing the coolant to not circulate. Higher amp fuse in and now should be ok. My Q300 exhaust resonator was hitting the OEM drive shaft a little. AR Motor Sports noticed when they were doing the clutch and drive shaft install. They had to modify the resonator a little for clearance. Doesn't sound quite as good but I'm ok with it.

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86k miles update. 9 year anniversary happened in August 2021.

My exhaust gasket between the header and overpipe was half missing which was why my car sounded much louder for probably a couple years, but got worse after a track day at PIR last month. Checked under the car and found the issue. Half the gasket was gone. All the pastic toward the right (passenger) side was melted and mostly gone. I had an original gasket from the original exhaust and put that on and no more leak. Sound much quieter up front now and no exhaust smells up front either. Also noticed the middle bottom bumper hole where a bold usually goes doesn't exist anymore. The bumper is still holding well though. Must have bottomed out and it completely broke off or I didn't notice after I had the shop to the trans stuff from my last post?

New parts installed:
-Subaru Star Field Valve Stem Caps
-Intec Carbon Fiber Tail Light with Clear Lens
-Verus Engineering Aggressive Rear Diffuser
-Verus Engineering Rear Suspension / Differential Cover
-Removed yellow headlight vinyl tint as it was cloudy and looked old

Still remaining to be installed once I find a lift or rent a garage that has a lift as jacking up the car wasn't high enough to get my drill under the car to make the small existing holes larger for install.
-Verus / FT86SF Transmission Tunnel Aero Cover

RaceSeng full pulley set on the way.

Paint could really use a respray as it looks tired up close.

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I was able to install the Verus / FT86SF Transmission Tunnel Aero Cover after purchasing a right angle drill adapter since space was limited under the car. Easier than renting a garage with a lift. No pictures sorry.

Installed all the RaceSeng pulleys with the exception of the alternator as I don't have an impact wrench to get the 24mm bolt loose and a breaker bar won't do it since the belt will just turn with it. I'll either buy a impact wrench or wait until I replace the alternator which should be in the next couple years since my car is 9 years old with 86k miles. I had to order a 2nd set of idler pulleys since I have an extra idler for the supercharger. I got red for all of them except the tensioner pulleys as sort of a way to add a different color plus show which are for tension.

Also installed a new belt while I was at it since the other was well over 2 years old and got the HD version for added strength/life, plus more colors for the upcoming holiday season (or something like that).

[weederr33]

Nice to see you still have the car! I remember seeing this build years ago when I first joined.

[villainous_frx]

Do you still have the Prova mirrors? Curious how they're holding up all these years later, trying to find a set is next to impossible since they're discontinued.

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Originally Posted by villainous_frx

Do you still have the Prova mirrors? Curious how they're holding up all these years later, trying to find a set is next to impossible since they're discontinued.

Hi. I do still have the Prova mirrors. The only issue is the side mirrors the Prova branding/letters have faded. Everything else is good with them. They still work with the defrost and still look great after all these years (since 2013 I think?). The inside Prova rear view mirror still says Prova, probably because it hasn't been washed or exposed to rain, etc. I love the mirrors because it gives me a wider field of view so less blind spots, plus the yellow tint helps with glare and looks cooler. You may be able to find some, maybe not Prova branded, on a site somewhere for sale but I think I've only seen blue tint, not yellow.

[villainous_frx]

Originally Posted by stockysnail

Hi. I do still have the Prova mirrors. The only issue is the side mirrors the Prova branding/letters have faded. Everything else is good with them. They still work with the defrost and still look great after all these years (since 2013 I think?). The inside Prova rear view mirror still says Prova, probably because it hasn't been washed or exposed to rain, etc. I love the mirrors because it gives me a wider field of view so less blind spots, plus the yellow tint helps with glare and looks cooler. You may be able to find some, maybe not Prova branded, on a site somewhere for sale but I think I've only seen blue tint, not yellow.

Thanks for the reply! I have managed to track down a new interior rear view mirror, but the exterior ones are definitely a challenge. If the lettering fades I may end up just getting the OLM/ off-brand ones. Functionally, I know they're all the same but I like the Prova brand and niche Japanese parts.

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Car's at just over 89k miles. Picked up my car today after it being at the mechanic for 3 months. Started having a lean engine code. I found and fixed exhaust leaks where the gaskets were, replaced the MAF, cleaned the throttle body, replaced the ignition coils, but nothing fixed it so I took it to the shop.

-The largest issue, and the last issue identified after all of the below was fixed was the throttle seals in the supercharger elbow and valve, which are supposedly known to have a faulty design in the early models that wear out and leak. The elbow was shipped back to Sprintex and they replaced the parts and bearings in the valve area. Sprintex shipped my parts to the wrong state so there was a week delay.
-The gasket/seal around the supercharger to the intake manifold had leaks. They replaced it. This took over a week to get the part.
-There were a lot of vacuum leaks in hoses that were brittle and aging after 10 years and multiple track days which needed replacing.
-The MAF sensor I bought to try to fix the engine code from Autozone wasn't reading correctly so they put in a Denso branded one.
-There were a couple small leaks in the JDL exhaust headers that were welded back up.
-They replaced the 2 sensors before and after where the cat used to be that plug into the headers.
-I had them clean, service and replace all 8 fuel injectors/seals. This was another multiple week even in which they were sent the wrong tool to remove the injectors then the wrong seals as the injectors on the older BRZs were different than later ones so the place they got those tools/seals messed up. This was a few weeks of headache for everyone as well.

Sprintex originally said leaks in the valve/elbow is normal even when the shop sent them a video of all the smoke coming out of it at idle. Doesn't leak anymore with their new parts.

My shop called the tuner at one point and asked them about checking the tune. They said it's not their problem and not the tune. Makes sense since the engine/tune has been the same for 8 years, but they could have been nicer and more helpful.

Special thanks to the guys at Jon Bond that service superchargers like the Sprintex as they were very helpful to my shop in discovering the Sprintex elbow/valve/bearings issue and getting Sprintex to put the new parts into the elbow.

The car ran well on my drive home and it's weird how the car is much quieter with all the leaks from the exhaust and vacuum. Pulls harder than my recent memory remembered. Finally this bad dream is over and I have a car again after 3 months.

This crap makes me never want to buy another combustion engine car again. I think I'll keep the BRZ forever and when Lotus or another brand makes an electric sports car that's under $100k, then I'll pick one of those up. It's been tempting to put money down on an Emira, yes I know it's still ICE, but don't want to blow all my money on a monthly car payment when I have a house to pay off first.

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Got the P0171 code again. Cleared the code and drove around a couple days and attempted to take it threw DEQ but engine light came on while waiting in line. Cleared the code while in line but the guy asked if I had my battery replaced as there wasn't enough O2 and other data stored. I just said yes as I didn't want to explain anything. It was working fine for about 4 months. Guess I'm taking it back to the shop to have them go through it again...

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Got my car back today. This time only just over 2 weeks which was much better than months. This time the vacuum leak was in the superchargers coolant hose fitting on the back of the supercharger. The o-ring and seal worn out and was leaking air and a little coolant. Removing the supercharger intake manifold is expensive/labor intensive so this little stuff isn't cheap when it needs to be removed. Almost $1k in labor. Thankfully they said they won't charge for the parts. They also replaced the supercharger to manifold gasket again just so it was a new one instead of reusing the old one even though it was pretty new. Hopefully no more vacuum leaks for many years to come.

Car is at 91805 miles. Now to get new registration stickers now that I can pass emissions since no engine code.