Series.Blue Adventures

[Stang70Fastback]

2015 Subaru BRZ Series.Blue
Upgrade and Adventure Journal



October 18th, 2014
An Introduction:

Hello everyone! I've been lurking on these forums for quite a long time, and I have been wanting a BRZ since the first rumors started permeating the internets. I've been on several test drives at various dealerships over the past few years, but never had the means to actually take one home with me.

Until now! I am finally the proud owner of a 2015 BRZ Series.Blue, which I literally purchased off of the showroom floor. For the uninitiated, the Series.Blue is a special edition of the BRZ, with only 1000 sold in the US (500 in Crystal White Pearl, and 500 in World Rally Blue). The local dealership accepted my low-ball offer via email, and so I visited to look at the car and consider it, but not actually buy it. Once I saw the car, though, and the special interior, I pretty much completely fell in love and knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a Series.Blue. This is my first "fun car," and also the first car I've ever purchased. My previous (and only other) car was a 1998 Subaru Outback that was handed down to me 8 years ago with 180k miles, and which I sold with 285k miles when I purchased this car.

I'm super-excited to join the Toyobaru community, and I look forward to all the adventures I'll most certainly have with this new car! For now, here are some pictures! (For some reason, all the in-dealership photos came out blurry, so I took some more in the parking lot just after purchase.)

On the showroom floor:





In the dealership lot, next to my Outback:



In a parking lot near home:




LET THE ADVENTURES BEGIN!

[Stang70Fastback]

October 21st, 2014

I don't claim to be a photographer, but I'm damned proud of this photo I just took with my Samsung Note 3 phone. It wasn't planned or anything. I was just driving by and decided that it might make a good spot for a photo. Jumped out and snapped a quick picture, and this was the result. All I did in post was pump up the saturation and sharpness a bit! And people say cell phones can't take good photos...

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October 24th, 2014

Changed the boot screen to something a bit more appropriate:



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November 13th, 2014

Finally got my winter tires mounted... and not a moment too soon! I've used Blizzaks in the past, and always thought they were absolutely fantastic. This year, I decided to try the Generals for two reasons:
1.) I knew, this being my first RWD car, that I'd probably have at least SOME fun on them, and didn't want to do that on expensive Blizzaks.
2.) Everyone insists that the Generals are 90% as good as the Blizzaks for 50% the price, so I decided to see it that was true.

The tires are General Altimax Arctic 205/55R16 on steelies, which came mounted/balanced from from Tire Rack. (For reference, the stock tire size is 215/45R17.)

These tires are SO flobbery that they freak out the stability control. They basically take so long to respond that the car thinks it's sliding when it isn't. I took a video to demonstrate. You can see how little I have to turn the wheel to get the car to react. Yay, floppy tires!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOz-C33bloE[/ame]

UPDATE: After a winter season on these tires, I can say that while they are sufficient, they definitely aren't as sticky as the Blizzaks in the snow. I'll probably get Blizzaks next time 'round. These weren't bad by any stretch, but someone in the Toyobaru club here had the Blizzaks, and when having fun in parking lots, it was apparent that he had a lot more grip than I did.

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November 19th, 2014

I accidentally went fast:



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November 21st, 2014

Finally chased down an annoying rattle. Turns out this clamp that secures the front of the cat's heat shield had come completely loose and was dangling/rattling. Tightened it back up and we are good to go! I hope there aren't any other parts that weren't properly tightened from the factory...!

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November 30th, 2014

For those of you who don't know, Subaru used my photo as their "Fan Photo Friday" picture a few weeks back on Facebook / Tumblr / Flickr / etc...
Now someone just sent me this link. Hahaha, my car is SO famous! I guess I should be annoyed that they didn't ask my permission, or that I'm not getting a royalty, but really - who cares. I'm famous!

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December 3rd, 2014

Today I had the front of the car wrapped in Xpel Ultimate protective vinyl. Subaru paint is notoriously thin, so this was very high on the list of things I wanted to get done ASAP. The install was done by Body-Skins Inc., and I was very pleased with the results. You also get to sit right there and watch them do it, and ask them all kinds of annoying questions the entire time. I paid $750 when all was said and done, which got me the entire front bumper, the mirror caps, and the leading 18" of the hood and front fenders. I chose Xpel Ultimate since it's apparently the best one available right now, with its own clear-coat layer and the ability to self-heal from minor scuffing. The end results were fantastic. You can see the line across the hood, but it doesn't really bother me, even though I'm generally way too OCD about that kind of stuff. People either see that and know what it is and ask about the wrap, or I have to explain it to them, but either way it's a conversation piece.

Cleaning the front of the car until even the smallest spec of dirt or dust is gone:



Now it's super clean and ready for the install:



Starting with the bumper. It looks like a real PITA to get seated properly:



Working on all the little parts and slowly sticking them to the bumper:



The kit isn't meant for a Series.Blue (or any lip) so they had to trim it:



Mirror cap covers:



The hood:

(I opted for a "bikini cut" vs. a "straight cut." Since the line on the hood is visible, the curved bikini cut makes for a more natural-looking line that matches the curves of the car. The straight cut gives you a bit more protection a little higher up on the hood, but looks a bit uglier since it's just a straight line across the hood.)



Fenders:



Finished product:
(You can see a faint line on the fender. Super-bright, direct sunlight like this makes it the most noticeable.)



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December 8th, 2014

I replaced all of the bulbs in my car (except for the fog lights) using DiodeDynamics products. All bulbs are 6000K white, except for the ones I've highlighted in their respective colors.

Front Turn Signals - XP80, 510 lumens (pair) - $90
Rear Turn Signals - XP80, 510 lumens (pair) - $90
Front Side Markers - HP3, 56 lumens (pair) - $12
Rear Side Markers - HP3, 56 lumens (pair) - $12
License Plate Bulbs - SMD2, 24 lumens (pair) - $8
Reverse Lights - XP50, 410 lumens (pair) - $90
Door Puddle Lights - SMD12 Board, 118 lumens (pair) - $28
Vanity Lights - SMF2, 16 lumens (pair) = $10
Dome Light - SMD12 Board, 118 lumens - $28
Trunk Light - FlexLight, 200 lumens - $12
LED Flasher Module - $10

Total Cost: $400 (I only paid $325 due to sales and whatnot).

You can click here to see all the options.

Sample before and after of light output:

And here is a video I made comparing their XP80 "brighter than stock" turn signal bulbs. It's a bit wordy, but it gets the point across... (note that none of the interior lights, had been replaced when this video was made.)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bluPcUmVgI[/ame]


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December 7th, 2014

Spending an evening with the temptress:



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December 27th, 2014

This bridge made for a pretty picture:



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January 4th, 2015

Finally getting an opportunity to drive the car in some real snow. So far, the snow tires are doing their job. Definitely not as quick off the line as the Outback was, but still manages just fine! This seemed like a good place to take a photo, since the white house and white snow made a good contrast to the WRB

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[Stang70Fastback]

January 5th, 2015

Finally got around to doing some sound deadening. Sorry for these photos being blurry and whatnot; apparently I wasn't holding my phone quite steady enough. As I'm also re-writing all of this several months later, I'm going to do my best to remember how I approached this:

First you need to remove your door card. This is fairly straightforward. You need to pop the door handle trim piece off (from the bottom) with a bit of force. There are two screws underneath that need to be removed. There is also a little cap covering a third screw inside the door handle. Once you've removed these three screws, then you can remove the door card. I start at the bottom, get my nails under where the door card meets the metal, and just give it a quick yank. Work your way around, and you will snap all the poppers out one by one. There is a black popper on the upper inside edge of the door card that will go flying - so don't loose it. Once you've popped them off, you can "unhook" the card by lifting it out of the top slot. DON'T PULL IT AWAY YET! There are still a few wire harnesses you need to unplug, and you need to disconnect the door lock and handle assembly. If you study it you will see how the cable connects, and you can just turn and remove it. Once removed, you are left with the door, which has a plastic liner sealing the door to protect from moisture. Lots of people remove it and then re-seal it back on later, but that goop can be messy. Other people just leave it off entirely, but I don't like doing that. As you can see in the photo below, I simply cut a flap in the liner which I later re-seal with some tape. All I did in the door here (and I forgot to take an after photo) was apply some Damplifier to both the inner and outer door panels. The outer one is the one which rattles and vibrates the most. Just reach through the holes in the inner skin and slap some squares of deadener on the outer skin. You will see one piece applied to it from the factory (close to where the speaker sits.)

Next I moved on to adding Luxury Liner Pro MLV (Mass-Loaded Vinyl) to the door. This is what blocks external sounds. This is much more difficult and time consuming. First I traced and cut out the outline of the door card onto the MLV.

Then I basically just trimmed it to fit inside the door card, cutting holes for the poppers and wires and speaker, etc... These photos are of both doors, and you'll noticed I did them differently. For the driver's door, I ended up using just one huge piece, and rather than flaps I actually cut out some sections for where the door handle goes and where the screw points are (for the passenger door, I just shoved the screw through the foam, but all I ended up doing was stripping the nylong threads that the screws go into, so I had to buy more of those ($5 from the dealership.) Also note the photo where I had to shave off a bit of the foam block stuck against the door to make up for the added thickness of this new sheet of material. I also removed the foam strip along the edge of the door, as this liner made up for it as well. The hardest part of all is re-installing everything... especially if you're doing this on your own. You gotta apply a bit more force to snap the door card on too. End result is a slightly heavier door which doesn't rattle, blocks exterior noise, and significantly improves the stock speaker sound quality!

Also added Damplifier to the outer skins behind the rear seats, as well as a layer of MLV on the inside, as well as adding some under the rear seats. Also (not pictured) is a giant slab I added against the back seats (slid it under the trim so it's invisible.)

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January 6th, 2015

More snow! So far so fun!



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January 14th, 2015

It might be time for a car wash...



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February 2nd, 2015
MASSIVE SNOW STORM!!!

Well, ladies and gents. It happened! This ended up being a MASSIVE snow storm, and the BRZ handled it like a champ! I won't bother you guys with ten paragraphs. Suffice it to say, as you can see in the photos and videos below, that I had an absolute blast! I didn't get stuck once, even when driving through 6+ inches of unplowed snow, and several of my Toyobaru friends even came out to play! Long live RWD and winter tires!

Early on in the storm:





Parked at a friends house waiting for "the gang." Notice I'm already plowing snow here.



Out having fun!



Later that night, a shopping/gas run, because why not?





Later that week (mmm... salty...)

And here are three videos showing some fun. The first is a video I caught of an accident, which also shows the kind of road conditions we were out having fun in. The second video is of me following my friend in her FR-S. This girl's car is lowered 2" and other than a quick instance of getting stuck towards the end of the video, she did fine as well, and this was 6+" of snow here. The third video... I can't remember if it was this same storm, but nonetheless, it's a video I threw together when a bunch of us went out in the snow to have some fun!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFTLyGCggJQ[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=encKbvur8kU[/ame]


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-CGeQnd6WQ"]When it snows all day, the Toyobarus will play! - YouTube[/ame]


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February 6th, 2015

Yay for giant nails in the road! Amusingly (or not) I didn't initially realize the tire was flat. This is because I was stuck in traffic and never got up past 30 MPH... not to mention that the winter tires are already pretty soft and flobbery. I finally noticed something wasn't right when accelerating would send the car ever so slightly in one direction, and decelerating in gear would send it ever so slightly the other. Pulled over and noticed the tire was completely flat. On the bright side, Discount Tire was able to patch it for free the next day!

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February 7th, 2015

I have a new friend in the local club!



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[Stang70Fastback]

March 3rd, 2015

So yeah. I went ice racing this past weekend. It was AWESOME. Ice racing. On a frozen lake. RACING ON ICE. Because #RACECAR! The video here is one of my slowest laps, but also one of the most sideways, so it made for a better video, lol. You also get to see some guy who wasn't paying any attention pull onto the track in front of me just as I'm flying towards the finish line. Blah!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C__1VoabkTI[/ame]


Arriving at the lake:



Driving off the boat launch ramp onto the lake:



AHHHHH!!!



The beast:




The group:



Lined up at the start:



Lolz:



Stopped on the track:
(The red car had spun out into the snow. They had a big pickup that would drive around and pluck people out.)



Impromptu track shot while the red car gets yanked free:



Please don't crack!!!



These following photos were all taken by RP Photography:



























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[Stang70Fastback]

March 7th, 2015

Baby's first oil change, and back to summer wheels/tires:

One difference between this and my last car (Outback) is that I had to go to Lowes and have them cut up a 2x10 wood board so that I could cheat my way onto my ramps. Otherwise I can't make it. So that's a new experience. I decided to go with high-end AMSOIL Signature Series 0w20 oil, which is apparently rated for 15k mile change intervals under SEVERE conditions, and a whopping 25k under NORMAL conditions. I'm definitely not going that long, lol. Also, the idea of a top-mounted oil filter is fucking BRILLIANT.







Yay! Summer wheels! SUCH RESPONSE. MUCH GRIP. VERY STIFF. WOW!



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March 9th, 2015

Just a glamour shot:



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March 15th, 2015

Took some shots in a parking deck and did a little tweaking after:





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March 15th, 2015

Sweet rolling shot thanks to my friend, RP Photography:



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March 27th, 2015

I had some fun with this one. This is actually a static photo that I took on a deserted highway at 3 AM. I stopped, got out, and took this photo in the middle of the road. The blur was added afterwards to give that feeling of speed. Probably no big deal to people who know how to do this stuff, but I'm a n00b at photoshopping, so I was pleased it turned out so well, lol.

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March 28th, 2015

Another sick photo (light-painting!) by my friend, RP Photography:
(I couldn't help but add that text caption to it :P)



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[Stang70Fastback]

April 5th, 2015

Easter Sunday photos next to an old barn with another WRB BRZ:
(Had a little fun with photoshop too for some of these photos.)





















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April 12th, 2015

I accidentally went even faster...



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May 17th, 2015

My first autocross in this car!!!



[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE-E3AmaLw0"]5.17.2015 - Caterpillar Autocross in the BRZ! - YouTube[/ame]


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June 23rd, 2015

10,000 miles!!!



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[JoeDemo]

How well did the sound deadening do in your opinion? Would you do more? Im about to purchase a BRZ and sound deadening is a big concern for me. Probably my 1st or 2nd mod to car. Thanks!!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Stang70Fastback]

Originally Posted by JoeDemo

How well did the sound deadening do in your opinion? Would you do more? I'm about to purchase a BRZ and sound deadening is a big concern for me. Probably my 1st or 2nd mod to car. Thanks!!!

It did help. Not as much as my goal, but that's because I never had a chance to finish. I still need to do above the parcel shelf, and the driver's side rear panel and seat bottom. Until then, all the sound comes in those areas. Hopefully I'll get around to it soon.

What it really helped with was sound quality from the front door speakers. Really cleaned up the lower frequencies nicely. Also gives the doors a nice, solid feel when you close them

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June 27th, 2015

I visited the Baha'i House of Worship today. Found a spot for some pics

[Stang70Fastback]

July 12th, 2015

Second autocross ever in this car in Milwaukee!


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfkwBTqMQMw[/ame]

[Stang70Fastback]

July 19th, 2015

Third autocross with Chicago SCCA at Lake County Fairgrounds!


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1h-Roa0hPs[/ame]

[Stang70Fastback]

July 25th, 2015

She's sexy and she knows it!