DarkSunrise 2022 BRZ

[Dzmitry]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Nice, thanks for the data point. That UOA does look very solid. Out of curiosity, how many track days had the engine seen at that point?

I think the only thing that concerns me about PUP 5w30 is its KV 100 value is lower than most other 30 weight oils I've looked at:

PUP 5w30: 10.3
Castrol Edge 5w30 EP: 10.8 (2.9 HTHS)
M1 5w30: 11.1
M1 0w30 AFE: 11.5
Castrol Edge 5w30 LL: 11.6 (3.5 HTHS)
Pennzoil Euro L 5w30: 12.6 (3.5 HTHS)

I'd bet any quality synthetic 30 weight oil would be fine though. BTW I get the sense that Subaru is much more likely to void the warranty for track use than for using a 30 weight oil.

I also use PUP as after a ton of research and calculations, I determined this to be the best bang for the buck with great specs. One thing I wanted to note which I'm sure you understand - that lower KV value is so insignificant, it really doesn't matter. The difference between 10.3 and 12.6 even out of the list you gave is completely insignificant. It's not a 19% difference in flow, it's just a difference in 2.3 cSt which is practically meaningless. Don't forget, when you start your car in freezing temps, you're sitting in the 500-1000 cSt range. Now THAT's a difference.

But I do have to admit if you're tracking or reaching very high temps often, I can see why the absolute lowest KV100 value (out of your list) will be unfavorable.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Dzmitry

I also use PUP as after a ton of research and calculations, I determined this to be the best bang for the buck with great specs. One thing I wanted to note which I'm sure you understand - that lower KV value is so insignificant, it really doesn't matter. The difference between 10.3 and 12.6 even out of the list you gave is completely insignificant. It's not a 19% difference in flow, it's just a difference in 2.3 cSt which is practically meaningless. Don't forget, when you start your car in freezing temps, you're sitting in the 500-1000 cSt range. Now THAT's a difference.

But I do have to admit if you're tracking or reaching very high temps often, I can see why the absolute lowest KV100 value (out of your list) will be unfavorable.

Yeah you kind of answered it in that bolded part above. In extreme conditions like the track, I’d prefer having every ounce of protection I can give the engine. Other factors like TBN and cold start protection matter less (again for that narrow usage case and short drain interval). It may not be a huge difference, but why not go for the oil that will give you that extra bit of protection?

That said, I’m not a huge oil zealot for any specific brand or formulation. I stated this earlier but I think any quality 30 weight would offer sufficient protection in most track usage, including PUP 5w30. I’d happily run any of the oils I listed above for the track.

[autosenses]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Nice always wanted to try Lime Rock. Seems like it'd be fun with the elevation changes. Have fun, post some pictures

Absolutely.

[DarkSunrise]

Took the BRZ up to ACH today and decided to have some fun now that it's finally out of break-in. I encountered an older base 911 (I think 997 C2) wearing track numbers. The driver seemed pretty good and kept a good canyon pace so I decided to chase him a bit. Couple of thoughts.

• This new BRZ has noticeably more midrange torque than my old FR-S on E85. Coming out of corners at ~5000 RPM, this car will push you into the seat more. That more than anything else makes this 2nd gen feel stronger than the 1st gen. It kept up with the 911 pretty well exiting corners and on the straights.

• There is a fair amount of entry and mid-corner understeer compared to my FR-S on RCE T2's. It takes more throttle to induce rotation. Overall balance is definitely skewed towards understeer. I'm hoping a decent alignment with camber bolts (say -2.2 degrees front camber, 0 front toe, 1/16" rear toe in) will neutralize the handling a bit and lessen some of the front shoulder wear I'm seeing. There's also more body roll, but that's probably the price for the fantastic street compliance with this OEM suspension.

• I know Subaru/Toyota claim to have upgraded the pads, but the OEM pads still can't take much heat. I was getting pad fade halfway through my latter runs. I may try some old Stoptech 309 pads I have laying around from my FR-S and see if that helps any.

• Steering feel is about the same as the 1st gen. It's definitely lighter, but the actual feedback through the wheel is close. Both gens have good feedback compared to most other EPS units. The only time I noticed less feedback through the wheel was this one corner where there's a dip before a turn. The steering on the 1st gen typically loads up heavily in those situations (and with sticky tires on the track will actually cause the EPS to cut out) whereas this 2nd gen doesn't load up like that.

• Oil temps got hot. It's hard to tell with the bar display (wish the BRZ had the GR86 digital oil temp readout) but looked to be around 250 F. It's not too surprising given I would hit north of 240F in the canyons with my FR-S w/Perrin oil cooler, but I'll need to decide whether to add an aftermarket one to this BRZ.

Overall I'm loving the balance between comfort, performance and responsiveness on this 2nd gen.

[DarkSunrise]

Threw on my track wheels last week and gave it a proper shake down in the canyons. Wheels are Apex ARC-8 in 17x9 +42. Tires are 235/40/17 sx2’s. Stock suspension and alignment.

I was 50/50 whether this setup would rub based on what others have said, but happy to report I haven’t seen any so far. Pretty sure that would change with 245’s though, especially wider ones like the rt660’s. This setup pokes slightly all around. Clearance to the front strut is tight, probably 9-10mm. Not a lot of room to add camber at the hub. I think these will work well with coilovers and a track alignment.

Steering feel improves with this setup as it did on my gen 1. Turn in is noticeably sharper and there’s more feedback through the steering wheel. Overall balance remains skewed towards understeer. I can actually hear my front tires scrubbing under power on exit and visually the outer front tire tread blocks reflect that. Definitely different than how my FR-S was setup, but I think a proper alignment will do wonders for the front end.

Pretty happy with how these wheels look, even with the 4x4 stock suspension. Was set on selling these wheels, but now am undecided, especially since they don’t seem to rub. Hmm.

[DarkSunrise]

Another set of wheels. These are 17x8 +42 Wedssport tc105n. Tires are 235/40/17 Federal ss595. Haven’t seen these wheels in this size on a gen 2 yet. The size and offset of the these is great for gen 2, and they are of course light/strong, but aesthetically I prefer the ARC-8’s (which I didn’t like as much on the FR-S).

[Petah78]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Another set of wheels. These are 17x8 +42 Wedssport tc105n. Tires are 235/40/17 Federal ss595. Haven’t seen these wheels in this size on a gen 2 yet. The size and offset of the these is great for gen 2, and they are of course light/strong, but aesthetically I prefer the ARC-8’s (which I didn’t like as much on the FR-S).

This looks really good actually, a nice OEM+ setup. Just need to lower it a tad. I have a set of TC105X in 18x8.5, +43 that i have yet to mount.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by Petah78

This looks really good actually, a nice OEM+ setup. Just need to lower it a tad. I have a set of TC105X in 18x8.5, +43 that i have yet to mount.

Thanks yeah they definitely look pretty good in their own right. I might just keep them, not sure. Can never have too many wheels lol. Post some pictures when you mount your 105x's!

[DarkSunrise]

Been driving this car in the canyons on the weekends. Figure with the RTV issue, best to test the engine a bit in the canyons before tracking it. Still really enjoying this new BRZ for canyon and daily driving use.

Today on the way back from the canyons, my traction control light came on. Seemed to happen when holding light constant throttle (15-20 percent) gently accelerating in 5th or 6th on the highway. It would turn off on its own once I let off the throttle. Happened about 3-4 times. Definitely no wheel slip. First time it’s ever happened so I’ll keep an eye on it and see if it happens again.

Some pictures from today:

[DarkSunrise]

Had some Lasfit LEDs laying around so threw them in the reverse lights. These are t10 replacements. They still seem about 40-50 percent brighter than the OEM t15’s, but could pass for OEM which is what I wanted.

[DarkSunrise]

I threw on my old Perrin 2.5” resonated exhaust over the weekend. I haven’t seen many people using this on the 2nd gens. Fitment was absolutely perfect. I would describe the sound as OEM+. I wanted an exhaust that would fill in the low end before ASC kicks in where the FA24 can sound a little thrashy/agricultural. This is that exhaust. It’s bassy and smooth, but blends seamlessly with ASC towards the top end. Zero drone. Cold starts are a little loud, probably just quiet enough to be neighbor friendly at 5 am on a weekend.

Overall this could be the OEM sport exhaust. Perfect fitment, no drone, blends well with ASC and gives the car a bassy, smooth sound through the rev range. Highly recommend if you want a “mature sounding” exhaust.

Sound clips (best through headphones/audio system):

Tunnel, windows open

[DarkSunrise]

Threw on SPC 81305 camber bolts last weekend. Swapped the lower bolts into the top holes for additional camber. Couple of notes:

- The SPC bolts I used were brand new but I couldn’t seat the nuts by hand. There was a ton of resistance in the first 1/3 of the thread (estimate around 10 ft-lbs to spin it through with a socket wrench). It took so much force the nuts actually heated up. It loosened up progressively after that towards the middle of the thread and took the full 97 ft-lbs so I’m not too worried. I had a set of SPC upper bolts on my 1st gen and didn’t run into this issue. Strange.

- I used a 3mm spacer in the front to try to clear my Apex ARC-8’s (17x9 +42; 235/40/17) on stock suspension. Clearance was fine but I only got 4.5 full turns on the lug nuts. I tried my Wedssport TC105n (17x8 +42; 235/40/17) and got 7.5 turns on the nuts. I guess the Apex wheels have a thicker center plate, not sure. Given this, I’ll probably switch to a single camber bolt + Pedders camber top hat in the future to fit my Apex wheels.

-Spacers were from Stancemagic (don’t laugh). Only ~$20 on Amazon and they’re hubcentric. Pretty good quality, no vibrations I could feel up to around 85 mph.

- The amount of camber from this setup is pretty impressive. Visually it looks close to the -2.8 degrees I was running on my 1st gen. I’d estimate somewhere between -2 to -2.5 degrees. My understanding is that toe doesn’t change in the front much with camber, so will probably drive like this for a while and see how it feel before aligning it.

Driving impressions in next post.

[DarkSunrise]

Got the chance to drive some backroads with the SPC 81305 camber bolts. Going over -2 degrees in the front makes such a big difference at the limit. The car feels way better balanced and I was getting oversteer whenever I expected/wanted it. The balance was reminiscent of my 1st gen FR-S on RCE T2 with -2.8/-2.0 deg FR camber, but slightly less forgiving. Now I wish there was more rebound damping or maybe even a stiffer sprung/damped setup all around. Still noticeably wearing the outer edges of the tires with this alignment, but should be ok given how little time I have for track these days (and foreseeable future). Overall pretty happy with the BRZ2's OEM suspension with just $20 camber bolts.

[Xed32]

What happened with the RR Racing Stage 2 brakes?