eikond's WRB premium BRZ - Review and Journal

[Mac1235]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Today @eikond & I installed a set of RCE Yellow's on his super clean WR Blue BRZ. Here are some pictures, starting with the "before" ride height:


RYE_6421.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6417.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6438.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6439.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6451.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


Here are the "after" pictures:


RYE_6457.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6458.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6470.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


RYE_6473.jpg by Ryephile, on Flickr


There are some suspension stroke measurements I'd like to share. All the ride height measurements are from axle center to the apex of the wheel arch. Note that I forgot to measure the rear motion ratio, so everything I'm mentioning stroke-wise in the rear will be wrong until it gets fixed. Thanks for your patience.

Stock Ride Height: 14 5/8" front & 14 3/8" rear
Stock damper full droop: 17 7/8" front & rear

Front damper free stroke [no bumpstop contact]: 3 9/16"
Front stock bumpstop length: 2 5/16"
Maximum possible damper stroke [100% theoretical bumpstop squeeze]: 5 7/8"

Rear damper free stroke [no bumpstop contact]: 3.0"
Rear stock bumpstop length: 2 3/16"
Maximum possible damper stroke [100% theoretical bumpstop squeeze]: 5 3/16"

RCE front bumpstop: 2.0"
RCE front free stroke: 3 7/8"
RCE rear bumpstop: 1 1/16"
RCE rear free stroke: 4 1/4"
RCE Yellow ride height [provisional]: 14.0" front & 13 7/8" rear

Translation: The stock suspension has 1 5/16" front and 1 1/16" rear free compression damper travel before becoming bumpstop active. Crazy as it sounds, this is more than many cars in this weight range. The RCE setup with the new bumpstops add back precious free compression travel, at the expense of a more aggressive bumpstop curve. As such, with the RCE setup at its ride height, there is 5/16" less free compression travel in front and 5/8" more free compression stroke in back versus stock.

Long story short, the RCE Yellows are about as smart as lowering springs get, in my experience. They keep a reasonable amount of free compression travel, which will keep ride quality decent.

The only install notes worth posting is the rear suspension appears to have implemented significant usage of stock rubber bushings put in torsion to add damping to both the control arms and anti-roll bar. We had to use a big-ole-2x4 piece of lumber to leverage the rear suspension to allow the coil-overs to be removed from the car. This suspension tuning strategy isn't terrible per se, but it will reduce the anti-roll bar wheel rate and effective damping level as the bushings wear out.

Cheers,
Ryan

I need to see this car in person, this is something I have been wanting to do since I bought my car. How much does it cost to borrow your expertise? A case or two?

[L3P47]

Even though you already bought the OEM mudguards I still reccommend the Rally Armor Mudflaps. With the OEM mudguards they only protect what they cover really. Since they wrap the fender creating a pocket mud, grime, and road salts will sit and there and build. After a year it will fade your paint. The Rally Armor Mudflaps are straight and don't wrap to your vehicle. They also hang down2 inches more than the OEM giving more protection to the paint. Plus they look aggressive as hell.

[eikond]

Originally Posted by Mac1235

I need to see this car in person, this is something I have been wanting to do since I bought my car. How much does it cost to borrow your expertise? A case or two?

No payment necessary.. I would be more than happy to help. Truth be told.. I spent more time yesterday watching Ryan do the work on my car.

While I've done spring swaps in the past, I would have gotten stuck a couple times without him (and a couple of his buddies). The rear struts were really difficult to remove and replace. Having gone through it once I would certainly be able to repeat the process. Anyhow.. it's nice to have friends willing to lend a hand.. and I'm more than happy to pay it forward anytime.

[eikond]

Originally Posted by L3P47

Even though you already bought the OEM mudguards I still reccommend the Rally Armor Mudflaps. With the OEM mudguards they only protect what they cover really. Since they wrap the fender creating a pocket mud, grime, and road salts will sit and there and build. After a year it will fade your paint. The Rally Armor Mudflaps are straight and don't wrap to your vehicle. They also hang down2 inches more than the OEM giving more protection to the paint. Plus they look aggressive as hell.

I think you are correct on this mudguard topic. I'm going to put on some side skirts in the near future and I've already determined that the OEM guards are not compatible with the skirts without some serious dremel skills.

I have two issues with the Rally Armor flaps.. first.. I'm not sure I like to see so much flap.. you say "aggressive" looking, but I don't like that look quite as much. I think the OEM guards have a much cleaner look. My second complaint is price.. Rally Armor flaps are like $130.. and for what?? You get four stamped poly/rubber flaps with a pretty logo on the back. I could go to Home Depot and probably get some material and cut it out myself for $20 tops.

On the flip side.. if $130 is what it takes to protect the side of my car from rock chips destroying my paint.. And going with flaps saves me from scratching or fading around the install area, then that's a fair price I suppose.


Anyhow.. thanks for your thoughts on the topic. I appreciate the input. I'll put some thought to it and see what I can come up with.

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by eikond

No payment necessary.. I would be more than happy to help. Truth be told.. I spent more time yesterday watching Ryan do the work on my car.

While I've done spring swaps in the past, I would have gotten stuck a couple times without him (and a couple of his buddies). The rear struts were really difficult to remove and replace. Having gone through it once I would certainly be able to repeat the process. Anyhow.. it's nice to have friends willing to lend a hand.. and I'm more than happy to pay it forward anytime.

Thankfully Mike has lots of experience wrenching on cars too. Between the 3 of us we were bound to figure it out. It does make me wonder if the pre-production car that RCE used to write the instructions has different bushings than the production cars.

Now that we know the couple tricks from this Sunday, doing it again would be way easier and quicker.

*Tip 1: use the front subframe and rear diff to jack up one end of the car at a time. Start with the front end so you can use the e-brake to stabilize the car. When lowering the car, lower the rear first to again bring the e-braked wheels to the ground first. Chocking the tires is also a smart idea.

*Tip 2: Hockey pucks on the jackstands minimize weld-seam damage. The sheet metal is very thin and a bare jackstand would damage/bend it.

*Tip 3: Big a$$ 2x4 for leverage on the upper rear control arms to remove rear dampers.....OR, unbolt the lower control arm and be prepared to re-torque it at new ride-height.

*Tip 4: Before lowering the car off the jackstands, put 2x8's under the tires so the jack clears the chassis at the new lower ride height. Uber-slammed cars will need more wood.


-->Correction on the suspension travel notes. It appears both stock and RCE have the ride height pretty much close to contacting the bumpstop up front, and a bit of free compression travel in back [more with RCE than stock]. This is more in-line with other sporty and sports cars that weigh about 2700-2800 pounds [e.g. MINI, GTI, Miata]. eikond's perception of a better or at least similar ride quality may be due to a more progressive RCE bump stop.

Cheers,
Ryan

[kask2_6.0]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

Thankfully Mike has lots of experience wrenching on cars too. Between the 3 of us we were bound to figure it out. It does make me wonder if the pre-production car that RCE used to write the instructions has different bushings than the production cars.

Be glad you didn't swap out the bushings. Talk about a super PITA! Especially the rears.

@eikond how did your alignment end up with just the crash bolts up front?

[eikond]

Originally Posted by kask2_6.0

Be glad you didn't swap out the bushings. Talk about a super PITA! Especially the rears.

@eikond how did your alignment end up with just the crash bolts up front?

I think I got some camber up front. I wound up getting some adjustable camber bolts from summit racing (they look identical to whiteline but half the price). They are a bit long.. but function perfectly. We could definitely see the top of the hub move in and out when spinning the bolts. I believe they say max camber is -1.75* So hopefully we're close to that.

I do plan to get an alignment done sometime this spring.. maybe next month. After a drive on the tollway in Chicago last summer during some nasty road construction i took some huge impacts to the front suspension, and I always felt like it was a little off after that. Plus, now that I have lowering springs and aftermarket wheels it's a really good idea to get the alignment done.

[kask2_6.0]

Originally Posted by eikond

I think I got some camber up front. I wound up getting some adjustable camber bolts from summit racing (they look identical to whiteline but half the price). They are a bit long.. but function perfectly. We could definitely see the top of the hub move in and out when spinning the bolts. I believe they say max camber is -1.75* So hopefully we're close to that.

I do plan to get an alignment done sometime this spring.. maybe next month. After a drive on the tollway in Chicago last summer during some nasty road construction i took some huge impacts to the front suspension, and I always felt like it was a little off after that. Plus, now that I have lowering springs and aftermarket wheels it's a really good idea to get the alignment done.

-1.75 would be nice. With the crash bolts I was only able to get -1.3. Will probably go with camber plates in spring to get closer to -2 degrees, but if the bolts you have can get that much camber I may go that route. If I was you I'd get the alignment done as soon as possible. Chances are your toe isn't too far off but better to make sure since you have new tires.

[MightyMeeple]

Wow, the front lip, wheels and now the drop are working great together! You've built the look I 'm hoping to get towards eventually.

Nice mods!

[eikond]

Originally Posted by MightyMeeple

Wow, the front lip, wheels and now the drop are working great together! You've built the look I 'm hoping to get towards eventually.

Nice mods!

Thanks!

I think the silver fender accent also helps a lot. I'm glad I opted for that accessory package when I bought the car.

I can't wait to get the skirts and rear valance on to complete the body kit. . I think it looks a little funny right now because the front lip hangs lower than the sides. Hopefully I can get to that the first weekend of April.. maybe I'll have the spoiler by then as well.

[eikond]

I installed new stoptech brake pads today. Easiest pad replacement I've ever done.. it's so nice working on a new car! All the bolts come loose with little effort. Plus since the stock pads are still so new, I didn't have bleed out any fluid or force the pistons back in to make room for the new pads. They just slip right in!

I hope they bite better than the stock pads.. I have not been happy with those.


I installed my side skirts today as well. These are Bayson R.. same as the ebay stuff. I am pleasantly surprised by the fit.. very nice. They included 10 self tapping screws and four bolts w/ washers and nuts. The front and back holes on each side can take a bolt and secure on the inside with a washer. The 5 holes in the middle use the self-tapping screws. I drilled a small pilot hole in each place and then screwed them in.

Pics:













Next project will be the rear valance and rear spats. Maybe tomorrow?

I still want to do brake lines in the near future as well.

Also, I'm still waiting for my stivo spoiler to come.. that's been a very long wait. Hopefully it will come soon.


Still waiting for Megan Racing to release their dual tip exhausts.

[eikond]

Nothing picture worthy to report back.. but I wanted to let everyone know that the brake pads made a notable improvement in braking feel. The stoptech pads definitely have a bit more bite to them and make for a more confident brake pedal. +1


I guess my spoiler is stateside finally. So it should be shipping out today or tomorrow to me.. i'm crossing my fingers to have it here by this weekend so that I can put it on the car.


I'm learning a bit about photography.. For some reason all the pictures i've been taking seem to make the front end of the car seem big and wide.. a little out of proportion.. when in reality the BRZ has a very sleek nose. I was talking to another BRZ owner with some photography experience and he demonstrated something intersting for me. When you are zoomed at the minimum (I think my lense goes to like 18mm or something) it makes a bit of a wide angle that gives objects in the foreground a little wider look than what you see with your eyes. When you step back a bit and shoot at around 50-55mm it is much more natural. If you keep going back and use a telephoto it will make the front look a bit narrower than normal.

So I need to take some new pics from further away with the zoom at 55 or so.


I also need to wash and wax the car.. Would be nice to have some decent weather and some free time for that.

[eikond]

So we finally had a sunny day. It wasn't exactly warm, but at around 50* it was good enough for me.

My intention was to do a really good clean/polish/wax and then to install my spoiler, rear spats, and rear valance. I didn't get the last two done.. but I cleaned and waxed the hell out of this car. So I feel like it was time well spent. I think it was at least 6 hours outside.. a fun day!










I hung the valance in place but didn't have time to figure out how to fasten it.. I was tired and cold.. Still.. it will look really cool.

[eikond]

My review of the STIVO spoiler..

not impressed. Granted it was cheap at $350 shipped and painted.. but still.. not the best piece and even at that price, I'm not sure I got what I paid for.

I love the design.. The shape of the part and the lines are fantastic. It really looks good on the car (from a distance).

I don't love the paint match and I hate the fitment.



Notice the fitment issues.. it's like they didn't get the trunk curve quite right on the outside edges. There is a gap at both the front and back side.


In this photo you can see the paint is odd.. it's the same base blue, but it seems like a different clear finish or something.. just a bit off color. Also, notice the bad fit on the top right.






The shot isn't so clear here, but you can see the paint color issue: It's close, but you can definitely tell it's not factory.