TOYBARU STX Build 2.0

[Silverspeed]

Hello all. I've been more or less lurking on this site for some time gathering information to feed my autocross addiction and transform my '14 FR-S into an STX car. I thought maybe it's time I shared some info instead for a change. I am the 2nd owner of my car and purchased in CO Springs back in Sept of last year. My build is much like every other STX build in many ways but this year I'll be making a few changes that will make it a bit different... Hopefully for the better. Time will tell.

A bit of competitive history on the car, and myself... I have done pretty well for a hack driver with the car. I came from a wrong wheel drive car (Silver MS3 hence the username) and while the old car would absolutely smoke my FR-S in a straight line there is no comparison to the abilities of the two on an autocross course. I did take the local STX title (woohoo) and finished 4th overall in PAX (979 average) I am still learning the world of national level competition. I was 29th at Nats last year after a horrendous 2nd day. I was mid pack at Spring Nats last year (9th out of 19) but the car finished 2nd in the capable hands of my co-driver Chris Mayfield. Chris also destroyed me at our local national event in CO finishing first (it would have been more of a butt whooping had he not had a RR flat on his last run) but I did claim 2nd. So the car has been capable even though I have not.

BTW Mr. Mayfield, who is a two time (maybe 3?) Solo National Champ, was very instrumental in setting up the car and I will be visiting him again at 3R Motorsports in Denver to complete the alignment before the 2016 season starts in earnest. I highly recommend Chris and 3R for car setup if you are in the neighborhood.

I plan on hitting several Solo National Tour events this year. Spring Nats in Lincoln, Topeka Tour, Colorado Tour and Nats back in Lincoln. These are all within a reasonable drive from my house north of Denver.

So here are the basics:

Engine Mods
Injen CAI
Borla UEL Header with V-Banded Collector - Some forthcoming changes here as well
Perrin Overpipe V-Banded
Berk High-flow catted front pipe
Custom 2.5" Stainless Midpipe
Custom 2.5" stainless single exhaust (Borla muffler) - Street set up
Customer 2.5" muffler delete for autox - more on the exhaust systems forthcoming
MotoEast tune via Ecutek
Braille 9# Battery and Mount

Suspension Mods
Racecomp T2 coilovers 400/450 rates - Past set up, this is an area of focus for this thread to document my 2.0 set up
SPC rear arms
Whiteline 20mm FSB - new for this year
Either Whiteline or Hotchkis FSB links... TBD, I will be review this selection as well
WRX or Other RSB with Hotchkis RSB links - Another TBD part of the set-up. I have used the WRX bar with great success, but we'll see how it works with the new set-up
Energy Suspension Steering Rack Bushings
Raceseng Front CASCAM Camber Plates
Raceseng 1" Extended Rear Shock Mounts
Grimmspeed Front Strut Tower Brace

Interior Mods
Sparco Evo GRP Seats
Buddy Club Seat Mounts/Sliders
Cusco Suede Steering Wheel - New, I have't had a chance to drive with this yet and it's killing me.
Sullivan Racing Products Wide Gas Pedal

Wheels/Tires
17" x 9" Enkei RPF1 +45
Bridgestone 245/40-17 RE71's

Brakes
Stoptech Drilled Front Rotors
Hawk Street/Race Pads Front, HP+'s Rear

As noted, some things on the list were just recently changed (FSB, steering wheel), some may be changed (RSB, FSB links) and some things will be changed (front coilovers, muffler delete). I will be documenting some of the updates big and small as well is testing of said changes.

A big thanks to Myles and the crew at Racecomp http://www.racecompengineering.com/ for there setup assistance both in the past and in advance for this year. There Tarmac line of coilovers are the best bang for the buck out there for the twins. Dollar for dollar I believe you cannot find a better quality product for each step (0's, 2's or Clubsports). They are great guys and very knowledgeable in setting up our cars. I highly recommend them.

Also thanks to Granby Truck Shop https://www.facebook.com/pages/Granb...59670050730889 in Granby, CO. It may seem odd for me to work with a truck shop, but they did all of the custom exhaust work and the fab work was flawless. They predominately work on diesel trucks if you're in the market to build a 9 second 3/4 ton pick-up they can do that.


More to come....

Winter hibernation... awaiting some new suspension.

[Silverspeed]

One of the exhaust upgrades referred to in the previous post arrived today.

This is the same header and overpipe I have been using, just with Swain Tech's White lightning coating.



Note the nice welds on the V-Band by Granby Truck Shop.

[vroom4]

Why stick with borla?

[Silverspeed]

Originally Posted by vroom4

Why stick with borla?

It's doing the job. Yeah, there are better higher quality designs that gain a bit more top end but for autox I'm not sure it pays off. I really considered a JDL. They are sweet and I'm sure well worth the money. But $700 to gain 4 to 5 peak HP, or a $1200 Nameless to gain a bit more does't seem like a good investment. The Borla also does a good job or getting rid of the torque dip.

I bought the header used for $250 with a warped flange (again, it's not great quality I know) hence the V-Band. Even with the coating I'm in for less than the JDL. And, it sounds awesome.

[Silverspeed]

Got the header and overpipe in the car... I actually got to hear it run for the first time in over a month. New suspension due in Friday.

[conedodging]

Curious to see what you're doing suspension-wise.

[Silverspeed]

Originally Posted by conedodging

Curious to see what you're doing suspension-wise.

Wonder no more....

Racecomp T3 Clubsports. They look like jewelry. I almost don't want to install them. Ahh, who am I kidding... they're going in this weekend!

[Silverspeed]

On the car.

[conedodging]

Sticking with the same spring rates?

[Panamaniac]

Great Build!

I am planning to have my FRS build somewhat like your.

How was the handling in the the Tarmacs 2? and why the upgrade to T3?

[MaximeT]

This is a nice start

[Silverspeed]

Originally Posted by conedodging

Sticking with the same spring rates?

Definitely going stiffer. The car doesn't get driven much on the road anymore so the ride quality can suffer a bit. I have an event this weekend at the set up is 450# Front, 550# rear. But I think they will end up being a bit stiffer than that once winter testing is complete.


On the flip side, the bars are going softer. Using the Whiteline front bar at full soft and the rear bar is currently the stock bar.

[Silverspeed]

Originally Posted by Panamaniac

Great Build!

I am planning to have my FRS build somewhat like your.

How was the handling in the the Tarmacs 2? and why the upgrade to T3?

The T2's were great. I had no issues with them whatsoever.


Also, I'm working with Racecomp this season and Myles highly recommended them. I knew I wanted to use higher spring rates this year so upgrading made sense. The T2's can handle more spring rate than I was using, but I the T3's capabilities were even greater, and I wanted the additional flexibility of the dual compression adjustment.

[Silverspeed]

Some pics of the ride heights set, more or less where they need to be. I haven't had the car on the scales so this will change but for now 25" to center of rear fender and 24 3/4" to center of fronts. Rear springs are new so they will come down on their own a bit.