Tia, the Firestorm Project

[itdansharpe]

Hello all. Thought I'd share my story and project with you. I had been following the development of this car since October of 2011, when it wasn't even an idea in my head to buy. As the months progressed, and more details /
media started getting released, I still didn't think this was a car I would actually buy, rather just admire from a distance.

However, as the summer of 2012 kicked in, I changed my mind. I had to have one. My primary vehicle was a '07 BMW 335i, which in my opinion is an amazing car, but at 3600lbs, I knew this little FRS was going to be
so much fun. Power could always come later. (Getting to that!)

My decision to purchase this car had been solidified when I test drove a Raven 6MT at Jacksons's Toyota, in Barrie, ON. Coming from fast response paddle-shifting fun, I enjoyed rowing gears, and loved how it carved corners.
My final decision would be if I could fit a baby seat in the back. It fit. I called Courtney and we scheduled another test drive. She LOVED the car, but wasn't a huge fan of the functionality.
I fear she would have preferred a minivan. We put a deposit on a base Firestorm 6MT. That night, I had so much swirling around in my brain, but the main focus was that transmission...
I kept thinking how short the gears were, and how the reviews on the AT were coming in so positively.
The next morning I called Evan Allary (awesome guy to deal with!) and asked to make the change. At this time I also requested the upgraded deck.

...now the wait...

It felt like an eternity, the anticipation killed, but I think I lucked out from the stories I had read. It took just 3.5 weeks for my little 'yota to show up. That weekend, with elation and sun on our side, we headed over.
I hadn't seen a red FR-S in person yet.. and was totally thrilled at the color. It was spot on perfect for my goal with this car.



It didn't take long for modifications to come. I had already ordered a shark fin, scheduled an opti-guard appointment, and had received the car with zero body-work 'prep'. Now that I knew what the trunk space looked like,
I planned out my sound system upgrade, and ordered sound deadening material from Fat Mat. A Nameless' axleback was also in the mail a few weeks after. In total, these are the modifications I made last summer/fall:

Visual Garage Sharkfin
Nameless axle-back exhaust
DDM Tuning HID 6k
Full suite of LEDs including DRLs
Kicker 10" L7 with 12x12x12 sealed box
Kicker ZX750.1 amp
50 SQ. Ft. of FatMat (about half used)
Tein H-Tech springs
Perrin crank pulley


Final pics in! Waiting on my custom plate....

[Squishy86]

Did you happen to name your car after a certain female actress that probably many of us know and love?

[itdansharpe]

I had to Google and now I see what you mean. Nope!

[itdansharpe]

Last Thursday I initiated stage 2 of my project build, placing some orders for several key items that I picked up Saturday:

- Rims: Enkei Raijin 18x8.5 + 45, 18x9.5 + 45
- Tires: Hankook Ventus V12 245/35, 265/35
- Eibach sway bars
- Eibach Sportlines lowering springs (More low)
- EcuTek cable / licence
- Password:JDM strut tower bar
- G-Tech Pro Fanatic SS Performance logger
- Nameless 2.5" up-pipe / front pipe

Photos:




















On order:

- FBM Base stage 1
- Five Axis Spoiler
- A full suite of stopping power upgrades

[Chimpo]

I used to stay in Barrie a lot for my previous job. You're gonna need all the power you can get to not get run off the 400!

[ATL BRZ]

I like where this is going!

[L3P47]

Good to see another Firestorm. Nice mods and build so far man.

[iamkyle]

nice ride. I lived in the Barrie area for 13 years and still visit yearly.

[Tansey86]

Very tasteful mod selection thus far. Anticipating pictures of the sportlines and those wheels.

[itdansharpe]

Got my tires and rims back from a local tire shop I trust, perfect job, very happy with it. Brought them home and had to see....






Lots of wheel gap still, even on Tein H Tech's. With the stock tires, there's about a three finger gap, now there's a two finger gap.


*Good News* This configuration fits well! I anticipate it fitting well with the Eibach Sportlines as well... although I think I'll need to adjust rear camber... possibly front as well. Feedback on that would be great.

So, this works:

265/35 on 18x9.5 + 45
245/35 on 18x8.5 + 45
Drop: f1.0/r0.8

[MightyMeeple]

Nice mods so far, and thanks for sharing! I would love to see some pictures of the whole car with new wheels/tires a little further back. I'm seriously considering those Raijin's for my car.

[itdansharpe]

Thanks! I'll be happy to take some nice shots when she's ready to come out of the garage. Summer is coming...

[itdansharpe]

Small update:

Pulled the stock rear sway bar out, putting in the new one tonight.

[itdansharpe]

Small update,

New 6K HID's installed, thanks to DDM Tuning.
New 6K LED DRL's installed, thanks to HID Powerhouse.