First upgrade

[Sur]

Hey guys, so I’ve got my mind racing as always. And thinking of the first upgrade I should do for my FRS. Wondering what you guys would suggest I do. I’m not really concerned with hp gains right now. I’m more concerned with upgrading parts that have been neglected by the previous owner and parts that would help the longevity of my vehicle.

Tires are new, discs and brakes and calipers look to be in great shape.
Exhaust is a bit ragged looking but sounds great. Maybe just needs to be polished up.
Headers sound nice and the car runs very well.

I do plan to keep the stock air box but drop a k&n filter in next week.

I’ve got 67k on it.

What would be something that you would do first in my situation?

I was thinking an upgraded clutch and flywheel, or maybe new fuel pump or fuel injectors.

Obviously I will be changing all fluids in the next month as I always have done when buying a used vehicle.

I’m sure I am overlooking something which is why I’m here picking the brains of the great FT86 community.

[2020BRZtS]

For me it was tint and clear side-markers.

It's hard to provide advice on what you should do first because mods are the preference of the driver. I suggest planning out what you want the car to be, rank by importance and budget. Then tackle it one at a time. Scour the forum for advice on specific topics as you need it.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Sur

Hey guys, so I’ve got my mind racing as always. And thinking of the first upgrade I should do for my FRS. Wondering what you guys would suggest I do. I’m not really concerned with hp gains right now. I’m more concerned with upgrading parts that have been neglected by the previous owner and parts that would help the longevity of my vehicle.

Tires are new, discs and brakes and calipers look to be in great shape.
Exhaust is a bit ragged looking but sounds great. Maybe just needs to be polished up.
Headers sound nice and the car runs very well.

I do plan to keep the stock air box but drop a k&n filter in next week.

I’ve got 67k on it.

What would be something that you would do first in my situation?

I was thinking an upgraded clutch and flywheel, or maybe new fuel pump or fuel injectors.

Obviously I will be changing all fluids in the next month as I always have done when buying a used vehicle.

I’m sure I am overlooking something which is why I’m here picking the brains of the great FT86 community.

Welp, Sur, an old saying comes to mind - "if it ain't broke don't fix it". -

Another saying "If you have to ask what mods you want/need - you don't need any" (I just made that up - ).

Seriously, is/was your car under the valve spring recall? If so, has it been done? Or you have decided not to have it done?

Has the TOB been replaced with the new/improved one? If not, that would be a good preventative maintenance thing to do.

I'd suggest you leave the fuel pump and injectors be, if they are working OK.

Polishing the exhaust? How much time do you and your friends spend laying under your car looking at the exhaust?

If your car has "summer" tires on it and you plan on driving it during the winter, you may wish to save up for some "all-season" tires for next winter.

Now, is the time to plan some road trips. After the passes clear, I suggest you take a spin around the "North Cascades Loop".

https://www.cascadeloop.com/

[Sur]

Hmmm, well I was taught that if you don’t have anything nice to say, best not to say it. So I won’t engage in this banter you have thrown my way.

Recall not going to do it.
TOB, on my list.
Tires are good, and have an extra set of all weather and a les schwab account. but won’t drive in the snow or ice anyway. Too low, and I have other options.
Exhaust, yea man, I like a clean car, regardless if it is seen or not. I clean every groove and piece of weather stripping, engine bay, and when I lift my car up, I want it to look as nice as it does topside.

Cascade loop, I’ll look into it. But its a bit far for a day trip. I’m basically in Portland.
Thanks

[soundman98]

it's all light hearted fun, we'll make it all clear if we're being serious

hum's retired, and comes here for entertainment not all that different from the rest of us working stiffs





i like simple/easy mods for starters, which in my case was debadging/re-badging(my car is now a 'ranger'), and removing all the dealer stickers, pneumatic hood struts(pick your poison, they're all the same), a fumoto oil drain valve, and changing out the factory radio for something i could actually get along with.

[HKz]

Modifications to increase longevity of your twin is to me a bit of an oxymoron.. why get upgraded flywheel/clutch? You can easily worsen driveability by getting a aftermarket one. Spark plugs sure, but you're at 63 K so I'm not sure about fuel pump and injectors.. are things running rough?

If you're just concerned about keeping your car in tip top shape then just religiously follow the maintenance guide. Otherwise, nice wheels & tires are really the only modification I would suggest for someone trying to keep their twin as driver friendly and reliable as possible.

[Sur]

I should have been more clear, The reason I ask this is because it’s already modded, just not by me. UEL Headers exhaust, Cusco upper strut bar and trunk, Perrin sway bars.

I’m finding non stock things more and more. So I wanted to know what the best approach would be for helping the car stay healthy and if changing some of the older parts would achieve this.

I’m pretty sure I stated that I am not worried about performance, it already is performing very well. I’m just one of those people that like to catch it before it breaks. I’m almost at 70k and I’m sure there is a list of thing that break around this milestone like most vehicles.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by HKz

Modifications to increase longevity of your twin is to me a bit of an oxymoron.. why get upgraded flywheel/clutch? You can easily worsen driveability by getting a aftermarket one. Spark plugs sure, but you're at 63 K so I'm not sure about fuel pump and injectors.. are things running rough?

If you're just concerned about keeping your car in tip top shape then just religiously follow the maintenance guide. Otherwise, nice wheels & tires are really the only modification I would suggest for someone trying to keep their twin as driver friendly and reliable as possible.

Spark plugs are every 60k, per the manual.

Fist rule of buying a used car is to assume he previous owner didn't do the maintenance

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Sur

I’ve got 67k on it.

What would be something that you would do first in my situation?

I was thinking an upgraded clutch and flywheel, or maybe new fuel pump or fuel injectors.

Obviously I will be changing all fluids in the next month as I always have done when buying a used vehicle.

Why? You haven't had the car very long, just drive it and learn about it. Otherwise you are just doing things aimlessly. Do you have a plan with the car? AutoX, Track days, scene queen, commuter/weekend fun car? Try it out as is, figure out what doesn't meet your expectations, then make appropriate changes.

No reason to upgrade the stock clutch unless you are going boost, or are drag racing and doing repeated launches with sticky tires, and even then the stock clutch will hold up okay. Fuel pump and injectors, again why? Stock is fine to well over NA power levels.

A full fluid change wouldn't be a bad idea so you know what is in it and when it was put in. I run Motul 300V in the engine, Redline MT-90 in the trans, and Redline 75-90 in the diff. Though my application is a bit different then normal.

As mentioned above. We are going to troll you, a lot. But it is all in good fun. When it comes to a question that needs a serious answer you will get it.

It would also be a good idea to go through the car and see what is stock and what is not. If it has a catless header, it has likely been tuned already if you are not getting a check engine light.

[Sur]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Why? You haven't had the car very long, just drive it and learn about it. Otherwise you are just doing things aimlessly. Do you have a plan with the car? AutoX, Track days, scene queen, commuter/weekend fun car? Try it out as is, figure out what doesn't meet your expectations, then make appropriate changes.

No reason to upgrade the stock clutch unless you are going boost, or are drag racing and doing repeated launches with sticky tires, and even then the stock clutch will hold up okay. Fuel pump and injectors, again why? Stock is fine to well over NA power levels.

A full fluid change wouldn't be a bad idea so you know what is in it and when it was put in. I run Motul 300V in the engine, Redline MT-90 in the trans, and Redline 75-90 in the diff. Though my application is a bit different then normal.

As mentioned above. We are going to troll you, a lot. But it is all in good fun. When it comes to a question that needs a serious answer you will get it.

It would also be a good idea to go through the car and see what is stock and what is not. If it has a catless header, it has likely been tuned already if you are not getting a check engine light.

Thanks for the insight.

Tune, yes. Had one. Pop crackle bs, so o changed it. Now I’m running stage 2+ and it’s sounds a lot better.
I will be looking into my own custom tune but not about to install it for a while, at least not until I fully understand what I’m doing.

I’ve got all the answers I needed. Those areas I listed, I was asking because I wasn’t sure, now that I’ve had a few of the same answers about injectors and pumps, I can chill on those thoughts.

[SexyPirates]

Here's my upgrade path/thought process. Plans are to use the car as DD but modify over time to eventually go to HPDE a couple times a year

First thing would be tint to protect interior from sun damage. Easy to do while saving up for Stage 1 & 2. Changed the shift knob and head/tail lights are old so will probably also change them out for sequentials or something.

Stage 1 (Exhaust/Tune)

• ACE 350 Exhaust Header + Pipe
• ECUTEK Module / E85 Tune + Flex Fuel Kit
• Fujitsubo Authorize R Catback

Stage 2 (Suspension/Brakes)

• CSG Tein Flex A
• 225-4517 Tires (RS3?)
• 17x8 Advan RZII
• SPL Lower Control Arms (Rear Camber Adj)
• AutoX Brake Pads

Spend the rest of the moolahs on consumables (tires, oils) and training, lol.

[why?]

tint is always good if it doesn't have it. Throw out bearing has always been an issue, and if you are in there might as well do everything, aka clutch fork and all other clutch parts.

But spark plugs and fluid change is the only thing you should really do. Check everything else to make sure there is no obvious wear.

[HKz]

Originally Posted by soundman98

Spark plugs are every 60k, per the manual.

Fist rule of buying a used car is to assume he previous owner didn't do the maintenance

I said sure was questioning fuel pump and injectors.