What did you do to your 2nd gen BRZ today?

[MikeNSX2]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Could you do a quick (i.e. only a sentence or two) comparison of the three?

The only one I've heard in person is the MBRP, but I'm leaning towards the HKS. Mostly because the owner of the MBRP mentioned the drone inside the cabin wasn't "too bad". We did have a bit of a language barrier, so I'm not totally confident in how well we were communicating.

I'd really like to improve the sound without making the car much louder internally or externally. I admit I'm not a fan of the blued tips on the HKS.

HKS Legamax Premium axle back: Easily the quietest of the three. Cold start sound is moderate. Volume level on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being stock) is a 2 to 3. Sound quality is much better than stock. Has a nice bass tone. No drone at all. Tips really fill out the bumper and the blue tips look good on my silver BRZ.

Nameless Performance axle back (with the dual 5" mufflers): Cold start is fairly loud. Volume level is a 5 to 6 out of 10. Has a really nice tone to it (although not as nice as the HKS). No drone that I've heard. Tips are not as attractive as the HKS or the MBRP (I bought the carbon fiber tips version).

MBRP axle back (no mufflers): Cold start is LOUD. Volume level is a 7 to 8. Sounds much deeper than the Nameless axle back. The only time the exhaust sounds bad and has drone is when I accelerate to say 5000 to 6000 rpm and let off the gas and just coast. If I shift to a higher gear, the drone is minimized. At a constant cruising speed, there is no drone.

Based on what you want (improving the sound internally and externally, but not being too loud), my recommendation would be the HKS.

[nextcar]

I was so disappointed by the Toyota dealer experience that I placed an order for the BRZ tS a few weeks back... (true story: Toyota has lost 2 new car sales to me this year due to markups and forced dealer add-ons... who is putting up with that BS?)

I now have a VIN and a scheduled build date of 3/12 with an estimated arrival in March. It also has a "Current Location" of 200012, which is pretty funny since it apparently doesn't exist quite yet.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings... I really would have preferred a GR86 with performance pack, but there is no way I can justify $5000-$6000 of either markup or added junk.

I track my car with minimal mods (tires, fluids, pads, camber bolts) about 20 days/year and I am nervous about the spring rate/sway bar/handling differences of a brz vs GR86. I hate understeer, and supposedly the brz is more tuned for that?

[2.2Lude]

Originally Posted by nextcar

I was so disappointed by the Toyota dealer experience that I placed an order for the BRZ tS a few weeks back... (true story: Toyota has lost 2 new car sales to me this year due to markups and forced dealer add-ons... who is putting up with that BS?)

I now have a VIN and a scheduled build date of 3/12 with an estimated arrival in March. It also has a "Current Location" of 200012, which is pretty funny since it apparently doesn't exist quite yet.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings... I really would have preferred a GR86 with performance pack, but there is no way I can justify $5000-$6000 of either markup or added junk.

I track my car with minimal mods (tires, fluids, pads, camber bolts) about 20 days/year and I am nervous about the spring rate/sway bar/handling differences of a brz vs GR86. I hate understeer, and supposedly the brz is more tuned for that?

Maybe not what you want to hear but you could wait until the tS arrives and you get an idea of how Subaru tuned the suspension for that specific trim?

If it still understeers a simple sway bar change could get you exactly where you want to be while still avoiding the Toyota dealer mark ups.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by MikeNSX2

HKS Legamax Premium axle back: Easily the quietest of the three. Cold start sound is moderate. Volume level on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 being stock) is a 2 to 3. Sound quality is much better than stock. Has a nice bass tone. No drone at all. Tips really fill out the bumper and the blue tips look good on my silver BRZ.

Nameless Performance axle back (with the dual 5" mufflers): Cold start is fairly loud. Volume level is a 5 to 6 out of 10. Has a really nice tone to it (although not as nice as the HKS). No drone that I've heard. Tips are not as attractive as the HKS or the MBRP (I bought the carbon fiber tips version).

MBRP axle back (no mufflers): Cold start is LOUD. Volume level is a 7 to 8. Sounds much deeper than the Nameless axle back. The only time the exhaust sounds bad and has drone is when I accelerate to say 5000 to 6000 rpm and let off the gas and just coast. If I shift to a higher gear, the drone is minimized. At a constant cruising speed, there is no drone.

Based on what you want (improving the sound internally and externally, but not being too loud), my recommendation would be the HKS.

This is perfect. Thank you for taking the time to write it up.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by nextcar

I track my car with minimal mods (tires, fluids, pads, camber bolts) about 20 days/year and I am nervous about the spring rate/sway bar/handling differences of a brz vs GR86. I hate understeer, and supposedly the brz is more tuned for that?

Originally Posted by 2.2Lude

If it still understeers a simple sway bar change could get you exactly where you want to be while still avoiding the Toyota dealer mark ups.

I haven't had an opportunity to push it really hard yet, but have found adding the crash bolts and getting a proper alignment to dial in some camber up front and zero the toe has gone a long way to making the car feel more neutral. My first autocross event isn't until April, so that will be the real test.

I think getting a good alignment and the fact you've got camber bolts will really help neutralize a lot of the understeer and you can put off buying a sway bar for a while.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by nextcar

I track my car with minimal mods (tires, fluids, pads, camber bolts) about 20 days/year and I am nervous about the spring rate/sway bar/handling differences of a brz vs GR86. I hate understeer, and supposedly the brz is more tuned for that?

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've got a BRZ with double front camber bolts (-2.5 degrees) and the OEM 15mm RSB off an 86. Those two mods were only ~$100 total and do a good job minimizing understeer on the BRZ for cheap.

[DocWalt]

Ordered replacement front wheel bearings, mine are dead

[cmiovino]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Ordered replacement front wheel bearings, mine are dead

It's all that damn autocross you do.

*Looks at the 95 events I've done on 200TW tires over the last 4 years*

I'm thinking going from 225's to 245's on 9" wheels with coilovers and camber are probably going to shorten the lifespan of mine.

[DocWalt]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

It's all that damn autocross you do.

*Looks at the 95 events I've done on 200TW tires over the last 4 years*

I'm thinking going from 225's to 245's on 9" wheels with coilovers and camber are probably going to shorten the lifespan of mine.

I have exactly 400 autocross runs on the car and ~18k miles haha

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

I have exactly 400 autocross runs on the car and ~18k miles haha

That's pretty good. I know with the NA/NB Miatas, we killed even the fancy, expensive hubs with RComps at track days pretty quickly.

[azndavepgh]

Originally Posted by nextcar

I was so disappointed by the Toyota dealer experience that I placed an order for the BRZ tS a few weeks back... (true story: Toyota has lost 2 new car sales to me this year due to markups and forced dealer add-ons... who is putting up with that BS?)

I now have a VIN and a scheduled build date of 3/12 with an estimated arrival in March. It also has a "Current Location" of 200012, which is pretty funny since it apparently doesn't exist quite yet.

Just curious... When did you order your car and what color?

[nextcar]

Originally Posted by azndavepgh

Just curious... When did you order your car and what color?

Ordered Jan 3, projected delivery by end of April. Sapphire blue, or as Toyota would call it Trueno Blue.

Update: using the allocation tracker I found a Trueno edition @ MSRP about 2.5 hours away from me, so at least some dealerships are not delusional. The dealerships near me are all still asking between $4K and $6K over MSRP in either markups or forced add-ons. If you look on the allocation spreadsheet there is a dealership asking $15K over MSRP for a Trueno edition! "I pity the fool" that buys that car.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by DocWalt

Ordered replacement front wheel bearings, mine are dead

Bearing dead on a 2nd gen.. Mileage, lack of maintenace or failure of part?

[Lelandjt]

Got it shipped from my condo in Colorado at 10,000ft to my parents' house, where I'm living for a year, at sea level. I'd never driven it below 7,500ft. WOW it makes power down here. I need to recalibrate my foot because I'm lighting up the tires every time I turn out onto a road. Anyone who says this car is underpowered (at sea level) is living in the crazy modern world of overpowered everything and oblivious to speed limits. A blip of throttle in 3rd gear on a back road and I'm in go-to-jail territory.