Fashionably late: my 2013 Galaxy Blue BRZ Limited

[Turbowned]

Originally Posted by Kiske

I've sprayed Alsa's chrome mirra and ghost chrome paints. They must be sprayed over gloss black and gloss topcoated (clearcoat.)

To me (looking at your pictures) it looks like they sprayed the paint over the stock silver, which is why it seems so bright in color. Secondly it doesn't look like they applied a GLOSS BLACK BASECOAT. It has to be gloss and it has to be black. The black gloss is what gives the spray chrome it reflectivity. Do it over a non-gloss black, or sand/scuff the black dull and you end up with silver. Also if the clearcoat finish isn't glossy it won't stay looking like chrome. Soon as it is hit with any matte/semi gloss clear it dulls down to silver too.

It's really hard to tell on my end via your pictures but, if you look at your parts/backsides you should easily be able to sell what steps they took while painting them.

I think they provided a white base coat or primer, hence why the parts came out silver. I'll have to have them redone on a black base coat. This is exactly what I suspected

In other news, I've received the Koyo radiatior, Snow Performance water/methanol injection kit, Perrin Oil cooler, Perrin lightweight pulley set (crankshaft, water pump, alternator), and Deatschwerks DW65c fuel pump, and black Samco sport radiator hoses are on their way. June has been a really slow month for me so I haven't had the coin to purchase the rest of the parts but I hope to by the end of July. Still need a Vortech 3.125" pulley and belt, AEM wideband O2 sensor, P3Cars digital vent gauge, ECUtek cable and license, and 3-4BAR MAP sensor. Then it'll all go on and get tuned down at ECS Performance. Annnnd still waiting to buy a set of GiroDisc 2 piece rotors front and rear, and get the Brembos powdercoated so I can get those all bolted up. Gonna need moar brakes with all the extra power from the supercharger.

[Turbowned]

Just got back from a week in Germany (and renting a GT86 to drive on the Nurburgring which was epic!!!) and some more parts came in: OMNI 3bar MAP sensor, Venair silicone radiator hoses, AEM wideband O2 sensor with failsafe, HKS air inlet duct, and a Tomei Expreme equal length header. I need to send the header to Swain Tech in NY to get ceramic coated so that will be another week. That makes the following parts for the build:

-Vortech H67B supercharger tuner kit
-Vortech 3.125" pulley
-DW65c fuel pump
-AEM wideband O2 sensor
-OMNI 3bar MAP sensor
-Koyo aluminum radiator
-Venair sport silicone hoses
-Perrin oil cooler
-Perrin lightweight crank pulley
-Perrin lightweight accessory pulleys
-Tomei Expreme equal length header
-Snow Performance water/methanol injection kit
-HKS air inlet duct

That leaves just the ECUtek cable/license, installation and troubleshooting (if any), and the tuning. After this I want to get a lightweight flywheel and heavier duty clutch, carbon fiber driveshaft, and then move to further suspension mods.

Hoping to get everything installed by the end of the month.... *fingers crossed*

[Turbowned]

Last week, I rented a GT86 on the Nurburgring; it was SO AMAZING! The car handled brilliantly, as expected. I can't wait til I can go again someday; it was the trip of a lifetime!
Here we are arriving at RSR Nurburg where we rented the car:


And here was our trusty steed, a white GT86 with just under 12,000km on the clock:




My girlfriend and I getting ready to set off:


Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any video footage as I didn't have the right mounting equipment for my GoPro; how stupid of me! Oh well, my laps would've looked slow anyway

When I got back I installed my euro-market floor mats that I bought while I was in Germany last week. Found a little Subaru dealer in Frankfurt and was able to order them for 83 euro:



In other news, my Rexpeed CF dash trim still has not come in yet, so my friend Andrew wrapped it in much better CF vinyl than I had used previously:



A couple weeks ago my friend John picked up an STi aero kit for his BRZ and was kind enough to let me test fit it on my car. I honestly don't think it'll look good on mine, but it works well on his DGM BRZ. Here's some pics:




My Tomei Expreme EL header arrived; time to send it off to Swain Tech for ceramic coating:


Today I finally began installing parts for the supercharger install!



Starting by taking the bumper off; which is a huge PITA thanks to the myriad of different clips and bolts holding it secure. Some of them were broken from when I ran over a tree branch on the highway



Bumper is off! Now where will I fit that intercooler and oil cooler?


Found a lot of foliage wedged under the radiator and A/C condenser!


Here we have the Koyo radiator, Venair silicone radiator hoses, Perrin oil cooler, Perrin lightweight crank pulley, and HKS air inlet duct:


Still in the process of installing everything and will post more progress tomorrow. I ran into a snag with the Perrin oil cooler so I have to call them tomorrow and see what can be done. Also, my OMNI 3bar MAP sensor doesn't appear to have the correct harness connector so that might need to go back...

[Turbowned]

Progress on the build: Koyo radiator, Venair radiator hoses, HKS inlet duct, Perrin oil cooler, and Perrin lightweight pulleys installed. Vortech intercooler mocked up and installed. Compact washer fluid reservoir installed. Horns relocated and wiring cleaned up. Waiting to install Venair heater hoses and to bleed the coolant and run fresh oil through the engine. Then I will bolt up the supercharger, install the fuel pump, and wire up the wideband 02 gauge and water/meth injection. Once the header is back from coating that'll get installed and I'll trailer the car to ECS Performance in CT for tuning. Looking forward to that powaaaaah!

[srizzors25]

Damn your car is pretty man love all your mods awesome work.

Man if they still had that blue 14+ I would have purchased that easily

[Turbowned]

Bled the coolant last night and checked for oil leaks on the Perrin oil cooler, of which there were none. Then I dropped the stock manifold out of the car and compared it with the Tomei Expreme header; this should help pick up some power and smooth out the torque curve:




Test-fitted it to the car before boxing it back up to send to Swain Tech for ceramic coating; looks good!

[Turbowned]

Installed the Deatschwerks DW65c fuel pump last night. I didn't take any pics because I was too busy getting nasty black goo from the access panel off my hands. That job SUCKED! Between the sticky sealant to the complex fuel pump cradle to the annoying seal that didn't want to close up properly after I got it all back together, I can say that I never want to do another fuel pump again; that f*cker is staying with the car if/when I return it to stock!

I followed the DIY on this forum (Thanks a bunch @xxscaxx !!) and will be checking for it's proper function as soon as I get my header back from ceramic coating. This project is lagging behind unfortunately; my budget ran out when I switched jobs last month so I've been playing catch-up... hopefully it'll be completed in October so I can drive it for a month or two before putting her back in storage!

[Turbowned]

Bad news bears, ladies and gentlemen.

I transferred within my company to a different sales position and took a serious pay cut over the past few months; it's really taken a toll on my financial stability and this project... Unfortunately, I was forced to sell the Vortech S/C and water/methanol injection kit before it could be installed. Shame! I am putting the car away for winter so I hope to get some projects done once my income stabilizes again. I will definitely be going forced induction at some point; I just need more time!

[Turbowned]

I'm bored and missing my BRZ since she's tucked away in my garage for this horrific New England winter (sorry to my brothers in arms who've sustained severe injuries to their Toyobarus during these difficult wintery times), so I thought I'd post a couple pics I took over the summer/fall of last year:

This was an impromptu Subaru meet over the summer:






This was I believe right before my first auto-x using the BRZ:


And here we were at the Bay State Corvette Club auto-x (where I won 1st place in the Novice class), sadly no action shots:


Gassing up afterward, sharing pumps with a nice Mazdaspeed3, Cayman S, and Boss 302:


And as the leaves turned, just before I put her away for winter:


Unfortunately since I still haven't gotten out of my crummy position at work I've been forced to sell my TOM'S taillights and the aforementioned supercharger and all related stuff. Once I get my finances back in order I'll decide whether it's cost effective to get another S/C kit and continue modding with forced induction, coilovers and other suspension mods, and weight reduction and aero, or think about slowly turning the BRZ back to stock and selling her for a more expensive vehicle like an 8-10yr old Porsche 911 or Aston Martin. Right now I can't even think about that, however. I'll keep you all posted!

[Turbowned]

Ladies and gentlemen,


It pains me a little to do this, but I've decided to revert the BRZ back to stock and trade it in. I'm also selling my Audi in an effort to downsize to one manageable car and car payment. The payments, insurance, and seemingly never-ending list of desired mods was getting out of hand. I have to say I loved waiting patiently for this car and being finally rewarded for my hard work by being able to order and own one, and the fun I had modifying, driving, autocrossing and making lots of friends in the community with it. After nearly 2 years I just felt like the more I spent modifying it the less satisfaction I was getting out of it because I began to think of all the more expensive cars I could've bought. (blame the RS6 - I've been spoiled by high dollar German metal!) I'd still recommend this car to anyone as it's a real hoot to drive and beats many more expensive cars in the looks department. I did have a few gripes which I know I could've fixed (harsh ride, noisy/rattling cabin, lack of low/midrange power and torque) but they would've cost more money, and I was already creeping up on the $50k mark with the cost of the car and modifications.

I plan to stay as active as possible in the community as I still have numerous BRZ/FR-S-driving friends, and who knows? Maybe I'll pick up another one some day! In the meantime, thanks for following my build thread, sorry it didn't materialize into the true monster I intended to make it, and keep your eyes peeled for a parts FS thread from me and an update on the new car in the next two weeks!

[thill]

Sorry to hear, you were a longtime poster here. Good luck with everything. I am in a similar boat in that I needed more room and had to sell the BRZ for a car with a real backseat and not I am waiting on prices to drop on used ones so I can own a third "fun" car. Might get a Miata, S2K, or 996 instead though.

[Aevroze]

Sorry to hear that. I've followed this thread for a long time, and you actually played a large part in convincing me to get a BRZ of my own. I wish you the best in what's to come!

[Turbowned]

Well, that's it guys and gals. I spent the past two weeks converting the BRZ back to stock and selling a bunch of parts. I still have several left so go check out the FS forums if you're interested in the Prodrive wheels/tires, Brembo calipers, Euro market floor mats, BPS shifter, HKS inlet duct, Koyo radiator, Venair hoses, Tomei header, etc.


Trade-in mode: engage!







At the dealership:



And, drumroll please... The new hotness!



I traded the BRZ in for a 2005 Porsche 911 Carrera S manual coupe in Arctic Silver Metallic with black interior. One owner car, 40k miles, all services performed at the Porsche dealership. I think I bought the best 997.1 Carrera S in a 500mi radius, by far! So far I'm thrilled with the upgrade; take a look at the "BRZ/FR-S Versus" subforum for my driving impressions shortly.







More pics taken by the dealership:






If anyone is interested in purchasing my BRZ, it is available for sale at European Motorcars in Middletown, CT for the low price of $21,825 with just 16k miles! No accidents, all stock except for carbon fiber vinyl-wrapped dashboard panel, optional rear diffuser, and silver painted interior trim has been painted a brighter silver with a clear coat. Ask for Tommy!

[TWMPerformance]

Oh no! Sad you got rid of the BRZ but the Porsche is such a beautiful ride, congratulations

- Renato