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Old 09-01-2020, 03:24 AM   #71
tweedbean
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Which route are you looking for FI; super charger or turbo?
I love a supercharger, I have a Mini with one. But the Avo turbo kit also intrigues me. Not really looked too deep into it recently and I know there are a fair few more kits than when I had my old GT86 so some research to do when it comes to making any decisions

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Gorgeous car and what a transformation
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Old 09-04-2020, 07:40 AM   #72
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Something I am looking into over the coming weeks is improving the audio system in the car. In my other cars I'm lucky to have Harmon Kardon/Meridian setups from factory, even in my old R53 so when I jump into the BRZ its shows how poor it is even with my aftermarket head unit. Doing some quick research, I didnt realise how tiny the rear speakers are, they are more like tweeters. The front door speakers offer little bass so I think I am going to do something I haven't done since I was about 20 and add a subwoofer to the car. Looking to use the spare wheel well to house the sub and the space around it for amps so I don't lose any boot space.

Will be looking to:

- Swap out the front door speakers, front tweeters and dash speakers while I am in there. Review the rear speaker situation, probably wont need anything but want to take a proper look

- I have a bunch of silent coat left over from my previous Mini Clubman build which I can use

- Add a subwoofer and amp into the spare wheel well

- Add a second amp to power the front speakers

- I learnt a lot from upgrading the speakers/wiring in my clubman so will go a similar route with quality cabling, as for speakers, I am open to considering other brands but was impressed with the Focal kit I used previously so that will be my starting point.
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Old 09-09-2020, 05:28 AM   #73
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This week I was planning to look up how to build a subwoofer box in the spare wheel well when I received a message that there was one for sale up North. I managed to pick up a custom made box for the BRZ which already contained a JL Audio 10" w0v3 sub. This saved me a lot of time and money, especially for the price I paid including the sub. Therefore I now have a ready to fit solution which I test fitted yesterday. Now I know I still need to line the wheel well with sound deadening and I also have a speaker grill to fit to protect the cone but I can confirm it fits flush which is what I wanted as I didnt want to lose any boot space.

Subwoofer by James Baker, on Flickr

So I am now in the market for an amp to power it, speaking to JL Audio and the previous owner, both recommended the JL Audio JD500/1 Monoblock Class D Subwoofer Amplifier, 500 W to power it. The JD series is new this year so will ensure I pick up the latest version and I am hoping I can mount it somewhere hidden to again retain boot space.

I also need to sort wiring out. I am thinking of running a single 0 gauge power cable from the battery to the boot then split this with a distribution block so eventually I can added a second amp for a new speaker setup I am getting. While everything is apart, I will run 3 lots of RCA cables for the sub, front speakers and possibly rear speakers. Going to go with Sky High cabling again from Blade Ice Audio as was impressed with the quality when doing the clubman.

Not decided on the speaker/amp combo for up front so go to shop around and see what is available.
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Old 09-21-2020, 05:53 AM   #74
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So this weekend I fitted my Borla UEL manifold. The plan with this was to add some extra volume, some weight as you lose the first of two cats and being unequal length should add that Subaru burble.

Borla UEL compared to stock by James Baker, on Flickr

Now it was actually a pretty simple process to swap the manifold and it actually took me longer to jack the car up safely than to actually swap them over. My biggest issues was swapping over the O2 sensors as one was seized due to the heat cycling of the metal. I nipped up to Millsys Autos who help me out by applying some heat and out it came without ruining the thread.

Here is the fitting video for anyone interested in trying it yourself:



Now in terms of feedback on the actual outcome, of my three drivers above:
1. Extra Volume - I am really finding it hard to say I can notice any volume difference, therefore if there is any its very little
2. Weight Loss - Its definitely lighter than stock so this is confirmed
3. Rumble - It has changed the tone and you can here some slight rumble but its not had the change I had hoped

Clearly I need to mate this to a catback exhaust system to get the most out of this sound wise, which is fine as this was the plan but I was interested to see what impact just fitting this would have. Here is a quick before and after video, I initially did have an exhaust leak as I didn't quite nip up the over pipe bolts enough, however this was quickly resolved with the car on jacks. There is a slight rattle when I lift off when stationary, when I place my hand on the exhaust tips it goes away so I think something along the line may be making slight contact or I have a rattly exhaust tip, either way I will sort that when fitting a catback as it can only be heard when you sit there and rev the car stationary, which I dont do to often.

Here is a before and after video, comparing the cold start up and revving over both a stock setup and stock catback with UEL:

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Old 09-22-2020, 10:13 AM   #75
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Beautiful job. You have every right to be bursting with pride over that.

If you don't mind, let us know how the tail lights hold up. I quite like the look of them, but can't find much out there on reliability.
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Old 09-28-2020, 07:00 AM   #76
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Beautiful job. You have every right to be bursting with pride over that.

If you don't mind, let us know how the tail lights hold up. I quite like the look of them, but can't find much out there on reliability.
Thanks appreciate that. So far all is good with the tail lights, no issues. The car is parked under a car port most of the time so pretty sheltered from the british weather but not seen an issues with water ingress/condensation etc. LED's in them are spot on and fit/finish seems perfect on them so far/


In all honesty I was disappointed with the Borla UEL in terms of the sound difference, I thought it would be more dramatic, however thats easily sorted. To hear the rumble that UEL puts out, I decided to go for an Invidia N1 catback exhaust, which I collected from a nice guy on the GT86 parts facebook page. Really helpful and the exhaust is in great condition. Only gripe with it is someone has taken what looks like wire wool or sand paper to the tips to give them a brushed look which didnt come on the N1. That should be an easy fix and for the price I paid, I cant complain. I have some polishing discs on the way to get the entire thing looking like new in no time and from what I read online should restore the polished finish on the 4" tips. While collecting the exhaust I noticed a tuning developments decat front pipe 30 mins away so I decide to collect that while I was there, gives me the choice to fit to my requirements if needed as that was a decent price too.

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Here you can see the sort of brush finish on the tips vs the rest of the tail pipe:

by James Baker, on Flickr

Also my amp and wiring kit arrived this week, I've got to find some time to fit that too. According to JL Audio, I managed to get one of the first JD amps in the UK which is nice:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

I went for 100% the oxygen-free copper (OFC) wiring kit this time, heard good things and didn't cost much more:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr

Clocking up the miles in this now, finding every excuse to drive it at the moment, gone through 2 tanks of petrol in the last few weeks, more than I think I've use in the past 4 months.

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
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Old 09-29-2020, 03:58 PM   #77
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I have given it a good polish as I wanted to return it to the polished look with a drill polisher and some Autosol. Top left is the before picture, with a brushed finished, top right is the during photo. Finally the bottom two are the after pictures, much better with that polished finish.

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
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Old 09-29-2020, 04:39 PM   #78
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Wow! and WOW! You can't buy something like this new.
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Old 10-03-2020, 09:34 AM   #79
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Wow! and WOW! You can't buy something like this new.
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Old 10-07-2020, 06:47 AM   #80
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Thanks both.

Well yesterday I had the day off so decided to wire up my amp for the sub. Super easy, as there was plenty of space to work in.

Upfront in the engine bay I fitted the 4AWG wire through a big bung behind the battery, down into the passenger foot well. Then I ran the wire under the sill trim, theres a perfect channel for it, due to the wire being thicker at 4awg, I shaved some little tabs but this had no affect on refitting the sill cover when done. The power wire then tucked up under the rear side panel and into the boot.

Amplifier wiring by James Baker, on Flickr

I removed the two rear bench seats, held in with one single 10mm for each cushion.

The ground wire I bolted to one of the rear seat bolts.

The remote cable connected to the back of the headunit, I dropped down near the glove box and tucked it under the centre console on the passenger side, out under the carpet at the rear and into the boot.

Finally I ran 3 sets of RCA cables from the back of the headunit, one for the sub, the other two for front and rear speakers when I finally fit some new ones, saves me pulling the headunit again. These I tucked up under the centre console on the drivers side, out under the carpet at the rear and into the boot.

I cut the rear foam section to sit the amp in the back left hand corner, it allowed me to keep all the power wires to the passenger side and audio cables coming in from the drivers side to avoid any interference. Stuck down for now with super strong double sided tap, it looks pretty neat and plenty of access when required.

Amplifier wiring by James Baker, on Flickr

I went for a stealth setup as you can see below I lose no boot space as it all fits under the OEM boot carpet, after this photo I fitted a speaker grill to stop anything hitting the top of the sub or rubbing against it. Ignore the wet mark in the middle of the carpet, it started to rain while I was working on the car so it got a little wet but all dry now.

Amplifier wiring by James Baker, on Flickr

It makes such a difference with just adding this over the stock system, I need to pick out some speakers and an amp for the rest of the car, just waiting on some custom rear speaker mounts I have had made to better use the space back there too. When I do the speakers I will also lay the Silent Coat throughout the car.

Next up is the exhaust, thats being fitted today, dropped the BRZ off at a place in Bham that will do it as I'm not a fan of crawling under a car when both ends are jacked up, will leave that to the professionals.
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Old 10-09-2020, 04:52 AM   #81
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A quick update so the car went in for the Invidia N1 exhaust to be fitted, while there I decided to have the following exhaust setup as I had all the parts in the garage:

Engine > Borla UEL(Already fitted) > Milltek Overpipe > TD Decat front pipe > Invidia Resonated Midpipe > Invidia N1 back boxes

I would say this is on the extreme level of volume, especially on cold start which will need to be mapped out at some point, even I can admit cold start sounds awful. But once that drops, its has a nice tick over burble, then when you put your foot down it has a very deep tone with that Subaru rumble, I would say it sounds exactly like an Impreza STI minus the turbo noises. This setup isn't for the faint hearted but this car is a toy for me, I dont have a commute, I have 3 other cars to drive if I need something more sensible, so the noise doesnt bother me in the slightest, I love it.

I removed my rear diffuser lip to make it easier for the garage to fit the exhaust, so I need to refit that, also its going to take some getting used to seeing the angled tips that point to the sides, as per the design:

Invidia N1 fitted by James Baker, on Flickr

Here is a quick sound clip, so drastically different from stock, its not for everyone. I wanted that UEL rumble and I certainly got that:



A comparison between stock and this setup if you need a reminder:



At motorway speeds, it is very noisy, it may not have helped I had the rear seats flat as I had the stock exhaust system in the car, which does fit Will let you know once I close those seats to see if it makes much of a difference. As part of my audio upgrade I will be covering the boot and rear seat area with Silent Coat 3mm which should help reduce that noise in the cabin and improve the audio setup.

Also I ordered up a set of 3D printed larger rear speakers mounts, to remove the useless 3" rears and fit a pair of 5.25" speakers. Not decided on the speakers yet but the mounts are here and look spot on:

3D printed rear speaker brackets by James Baker, on Flickr
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Old 10-19-2020, 09:21 AM   #82
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Had some good news RE the history of the car. As it was a write off, I received no paperwork including history when purchasing it. I did some chasing today with a local dealer to find out if it has had the recall work done. They confirmed it had been done by a dealer in Cornwall, so I gave them a call and they were really helpful.

A month or two before the car was written off it had the following:

- 6 year service so spark plugs etc

- Valve Spring Recall

- Power Steering ECU and Wiring Harness Recall

So the above saves me a lot of time, money and effort as its all been done.



In other news this arrived this week from Mods Society, Australia. Its an auto mirror folding kit which im looking to install this week and hopefully record a fitting guide:

Untitled by James Baker, on Flickr
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Old 10-19-2020, 12:32 PM   #83
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Do you have a link to the kit? I tried google and couldn't find anything.
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Old 10-20-2020, 02:50 AM   #84
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Do you have a link to the kit? I tried google and couldn't find anything.
https://modssociety.co/collections/toyota-86-subaru-brz

Will post up a little review but seems super easy to fit from what I’ve seen
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