OEM+ Build Ideas

[NLSP]

- I can also vouch for the Radium PCV catch can. I've had that installed since the car was new (6.5 years ago).

- DAMD steering wheel (or other OE replacements that retain the airbag and controls) - thicker and smaller diameter than stock, deeper palm/thumb grooves; much nicer to hold and operate and transforms the driving experience. It's the one item on your car that you touch 100% of the time when you're driving.

- SRP wide gas pedal, much easier to heel-toe and looks OEM compared to other options.

[HaXx]

when someone says OEM+ i always think little things like lowering springs or coil overs, wheels/tires, tail lights, little tiny ducktail spoiler, window tint, skirts, front lip, diffuser or spats. some little things that arent hard to put on, but make the car "lightly modded". i know some people interpret OEM+ to mean all the Sti or TRD branded parts, but that will cost 1 million dollars and you will wind up having done nothing to your car but have floor mats that say trd, a trd shift knob, a badge on the back that says GR, and a non-existent .5inch drop on the trd lowering springs. dont forget things like the TRD shift knobs and coolant caps haha. sorry but im not an oem part guy over here, nothing against those who are, i just think your money could go a lot farther, for example invidia N1 catback @$650, vs STi axleback(lol) for $1200, but if you want to have that stuff and "flex" on me with your authentic STI or TRD badges, more power to you

with $3,000, you can make a frs/brz look night and day different, lowering springs, nice wheels for $1000 used, tails, tint, used catback for $300. the list goes on

as for all the engine/maintenance mods you want to spend money on: my mom has a crosstrek, she takes care of it, but she didnt install a catch can, didnt install an oil cooler, and her car is going to last forever, despite not keeping the engine cooler with hood louvers. i just think a lot of these mods are going to go unnoticed for most circumstances. if you are biulding a track car thats a different story. but im excited to see what you bring to the table, make a build thread so we can all follow along.

one of my favorite OEM+ builds on instagram is @dadbrz if you want to check out what i consider to be tasteful modding

[Turdinator]

I'd say drive the car stock for a while and see what you'd like to improve

That said my favorite mods have been my light flywheel, carbon fiber drive shaft, header and tune. There is of course NVH associated with them but the driving feel is much more to my preference. I think a catch can is a good addition even though you'll not feel any difference.

[TylerLieberman]

Figure out what you ACTUALLY want first.

Builds should be cohesive and have an end goal. When people start modifying just for the sake of modifying, without having any sort of vision, they end up with really tacky looking cars. Unfortunately this can be seen everywhere on social media pages with regards to these cars.

“OEM +” is sort of subjective and and could mean a lot of things.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by HaXx

when someone says OEM+ i always think little things like lowering springs or coil overs, wheels/tires, tail lights, little tiny ducktail spoiler, window tint, skirts, front lip, diffuser or spats. some little things that arent hard to put on, but make the car "lightly modded". i know some people interpret OEM+ to mean all the Sti or TRD branded parts, but that will cost 1 million dollars and you will wind up having done nothing to your car but have floor mats that say trd, a trd shift knob, a badge on the back that says GR, and a non-existent .5inch drop on the trd lowering springs. dont forget things like the TRD shift knobs and coolant caps haha. sorry but im not an oem part guy over here, nothing against those who are, i just think your money could go a lot farther, for example invidia N1 catback @$650, vs STi axleback(lol) for $1200, but if you want to have that stuff and "flex" on me with your authentic STI or TRD badges, more power to you.

A million dollars for floor mats, shift knob, and trunk badge hahaha jeeeez

Lol the salt.

[BuckTheStallion]

Fair advice everyone. My version of OEM+ is more for extracting the best driving experience I can out of the car without significantly compromising my warranty or the balance and feel of the car. In a couple years when it's paid off and my garage is better equipped, I plan on picking up a used one for a full motor build (considering LS3, but I like the idea of a built FA20 turbo). This car is a daily, and I just want a fun daily without compromising reliability and the balance of the car.

I've owned it for nearly a year now, and put 5,000 miles on it, so I'm at the stage of changing little things. Wheels are currently in the garage (te37s) and an axleback is in transit. The parts definitely don't need to be OEM or TRD, but more of just a subtle flavor, keeping in line with my current mood for cars, which is just focusing on the joy of driving instead of trying to be the fastest hotboi out there So far the next things I'm looking at are cooling, for both the car and myself. Tint, hood louvers, and maybe window louvers should help keep the engine bay and cabin occupants happier and cooler. I'll probably be deleting the noise tube too, even if I never get around to doing a GS cold air with the HKS snorkel like I want. The other big focus right now is getting the shifting to feel less notchy, so I'll be looking at the transmission bracing (fluid maybe eventually, but stock warranty is nice and fluid might be an arguable point should something fail in the trans).

Long story short. I love the car, but want to improve little things here and there. This isn't some intense build I'm doing, just little tweaks to the everyday sports car, while (of course) adding some "custom" points so I feel like it's REALLY mine, ya know?

[Dzmitry]

Originally Posted by weederr33

What you mentioned is why I suggested the Forester kit or the JR dual cooler. I think with the hood louvers and Forester kit (and maybe a vented under panel) he would get plenty of cooling for an OEM+ set up.

Agreed. And i'm not going to go into further discussion on this as it is always beat to death on other threads. But moral of the story is he may not even need those. But if I was going to do any oil coolers on an N/A setup, they would certainly be at the top of the list.

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by BuckTheStallion

Fair advice everyone. My version of OEM+ is more for extracting the best driving experience I can out of the car without significantly compromising my warranty or the balance and feel of the car. In a couple years when it's paid off and my garage is better equipped, I plan on picking up a used one for a full motor build (considering LS3, but I like the idea of a built FA20 turbo). This car is a daily, and I just want a fun daily without compromising reliability and the balance of the car.

I've owned it for nearly a year now, and put 5,000 miles on it, so I'm at the stage of changing little things. Wheels are currently in the garage (te37s) and an axleback is in transit. The parts definitely don't need to be OEM or TRD, but more of just a subtle flavor, keeping in line with my current mood for cars, which is just focusing on the joy of driving instead of trying to be the fastest hotboi out there So far the next things I'm looking at are cooling, for both the car and myself. Tint, hood louvers, and maybe window louvers should help keep the engine bay and cabin occupants happier and cooler. I'll probably be deleting the noise tube too, even if I never get around to doing a GS cold air with the HKS snorkel like I want. The other big focus right now is getting the shifting to feel less notchy, so I'll be looking at the transmission bracing (fluid maybe eventually, but stock warranty is nice and fluid might be an arguable point should something fail in the trans).

Long story short. I love the car, but want to improve little things here and there. This isn't some intense build I'm doing, just little tweaks to the everyday sports car, while (of course) adding some "custom" points so I feel like it's REALLY mine, ya know?

I'd suggest looking at my build. My main focus is the OEM+ set up as well and have made small improvements that help out. Probably the only place I haven't done much is interior as I'm quiet happy with the vanilla layout.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by BuckTheStallion

Looking for some advice here. I have some direction already but I'm looking for more ideas and help designing an OEM+ build.
...

Long story short, I live in the Mojave desert, and a lot of the little things I'm planning right now are:
-HKS intake snorkel
-Volk te37 (17x7.5, already in the garage, just removing several layers of poorly done plastidip before I install)
-Remark Boso Edition muffler delete (no gains expected, just wanna get a rowdy exhaust.
-transmission bracing?
Verus hood louver kit (extract that heat, baby!)
-Oil cooler?
-Oil catch can?
-(Maybe some TRD lowering springs, but I know this isn't the right subforum to discuss those, and many driveways and intersections near me absolutely suck. My last car, lowered, would scrape and bottom out EVERYWHERE)

HKS, Volk etc. are not OEM+ parts. An OEM+ build is usually a range of modifications and conversions that are comprised of almost exclusively original equipment, albeit from different models. For example, you could use parts from limited production models like the STI tS, TRD 14R60, GRMN 86 or other models.

[churchx]

Or i guess that parts from other cars of same maker also might do, eg. forester oil cooler and such. Or put aftermarket parts only from in-house tuner shops, eg. TRD. So in my eyes too there is no "OEM" in this OEM+ build. Not even OEM+ audio upgrade, lol

[HaXx]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

A million dollars for floor mats, shift knob, and trunk badge hahaha jeeeez

Lol the salt.

oh you dont believe me? $180 trd shift knob, $70 air filter, $200 dash panel, $450 trd engine air intake. the list goes on. $230 sti lug nuts, and $70 sti valve stem caps, $400 sti fender garnish. and this is coming from an sti fanboy, trust me, i have gold 10 spokes on my brz in true mid 00's sti fashion. these are all "OEM+" parts, authentic.

sorry, one more, $190 sti battery tie down. i dont mean to knock all this stuff, but if you put it all on your car, you still would have essentially accomplished nothing... nothing at all. imo of course.

[Mike_ZN6]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

I put in the Exedy stage 1 clutch and lwfw yesterday. Still in the break-in period but the combo is amazing so far. The flywheel really helps the engine free-rev faster (I was over-reving on downshifts initially) and the engagement window for the clutch is nice and wide. Really feels like an OEM+ mod. Only downside is some decel resonance in 5th gear, but otherwise can't wait for this break-in period to end.

Which lw flywheel did you use? Is it any louder than stock?

I want to do the mod when I replace my clutch, but I have read all lw flywheels cause really bad clutch chatter (especially with the A/C on) with these cars.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by HaXx

oh you dont believe me? $180 trd shift knob, $70 air filter, $200 dash panel, $450 trd engine air intake. the list goes on. $230 sti lug nuts, and $70 sti valve stem caps, $400 sti fender garnish. and this is coming from an sti fanboy, trust me, i have gold 10 spokes on my brz in true mid 00's sti fashion. these are all "OEM+" parts, authentic.

sorry, one more, $190 sti battery tie down. i dont mean to knock all this stuff, but if you put it all on your car, you still would have essentially accomplished nothing... nothing at all. imo of course.

I mean, I’m well aware of what the prices are but it’s a pretty obvious over exaggeration on your part. Some of those prices are right in line with premier top tier aftermarket parts. There are plenty of companies making $200+ lug nuts. There are companies (HKS/GReddy) charging over $450 just for an intake pipe. So it’s really not all that crazy when compared to quality companies.

You can’t compare OE parts to lesser companies like Mishimoto or Subispeed Chinese specials and then be upset when there’s a price discrepancy.

I would also argue that people who put cheap aftermarket “performance” parts on their car have accomplished nothing. Say what you want, but I’ll take an STI axleback over an Invidia exhaust any day lmao

[Mike_ZN6]

Originally Posted by BuckTheStallion

Looking for some advice here. I have some direction already but I'm looking for more ideas and help designing an OEM+ build. I drive a Kouki 86, and a lot of the smaller things I would have done an a Zenki are already taken care of, but mostly I'm looking for the small, subtle things to bring out the best in this car as it was designed. Mods like the HKS intake snorkel, reducing drivetrain inertia (I have te37s that I'm prepping to install at around 9 lbs savings per corner), bushings and transmission braces maybe, and other little improvements like that. I have an axleback coming as well, which is going to be my only major mod for now. Eventually I want to do an A350 and DT, but that's neither here nor there, gotta keep that stock warranty for a while anyway.

Long story short, I live in the Mojave desert, and a lot of the little things I'm planning right now are:
-HKS intake snorkel
-Volk te37 (17x7.5, already in the garage, just removing several layers of poorly done plastidip before I install)
-Remark Boso Edition muffler delete (no gains expected, just wanna get a rowdy exhaust.
-transmission bracing?
Verus hood louver kit (extract that heat, baby!)
-Oil cooler?
-Oil catch can?
-(Maybe some TRD lowering springs, but I know this isn't the right subforum to discuss those, and many driveways and intersections near me absolutely suck. My last car, lowered, would scrape and bottom out EVERYWHERE)

Basically I want to do small, quality of life mods to the engine and drivetrain so the 86 will perform it's best for many years to come and I'll get the best driving experience. I want to savor the next 30-50 years I plan to spend with this car. What other small mods would you recommend that don't necessarily increase dyno numbers, but do add quality of life?

Thanks guys!
Buck

Our interpretation of what is OEM+ is way different, lol.

When I think OEM+, I see lowered 1-1.5", spacers for flush fitment, new head unit with android/apple, header + tune, window tint, and maybe a small lip spoiler like the Five:AD/3DCarbon.

Hood vents and TE37s put the car into modified territory IMHO.