Sazexa's FR-S

[Sazexa]

Hey guys. I'm new here, but, looking to lurk around, see some pretty cars, get and give information. All that juicy stuff. Anyways, I just recently got the car two weeks ago. Scion FR-S, 2015, Firestorm Red, 6-speed manual. This thread will be a log/journal of my modifications to the car, and my personal input on it. As well as perhaps questions that might be able to be answered somewhere in other threads, or by people reading my journal. So far, I'm in love with the car. Super pleased with it's stock capabilities. I should say, my previous two cars were nothing too special. My first car was a 1998 Plymouth Breeze (ew!) and my second was a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta 1.8T. Both were automatic. The Jetta got me wanting to get a nice car, and do some mods to it. It was a fun and zippy little car. But the FR-S is definitely a step up.

So, as I said, I got the car about two weeks ago from today, which is 6/20/2015. So far, here's been my experience: I went in to the dealership, and asked to test drive. They had only a white 2015, and two 2013's with the dealer installed body kit in blue and orange. Coming from a Jetta that was on it's last legs, the new ride seemed VERY nice. Also, working at an Audi and Porsche dealership, I decided I wanted something. So, the dealer contacted another one and had a red manual one shipped in. The day I was supposed to get the car, they had some serious issue with the harness and the salesman said they would sell me a different car instead of that one. I had the vin of the original red one to verify. About four work days go by, and they get a second red one with a manual transmission. This time, no issues. At least not right away. After getting the car home, I noticed some mis-alignment of the bumper on the passenger side, particularly right along the corner of the light where it meets the passenger side front fender. I contacted the dealer about getting it fixed (as well as a small patch of paint missing on the bottom left underside of the front bumper.) Their solution was simple, take the bumper off the original red FR-S they got, and put it on the one I ended up buying.

So, they did so. The alignment is definite closer/better, but still not perfect. Upon further inspection, I see a VERY small crinkle in the passenger front fender, and noticed scratches along the bolts under the hood for the passenger fender, and that it appears to have been painted. So it seems this car had a small incident and needs some light work to get things settled there. Also, the paint seems to be chipping way too soon/easily on the bumper, so I will have that refinished and fixed also.

Aside from this the car runs flawlessly. And I've been loving it. So, now let's get to the good stuff. I myself have some basic knowledge of cars, along with a shop of good mechanics, a father who has been a mechanic for 30 years, and a local very good performance/tuning shop. So let's get on to the list of goodies currently in-store for the car. The list is relatively in order of how I'm looking to get things.

- Tires/Wheel
Obviously the stock tires are... Acceptable. At best. Some people prefer the loose-ness of them. I'm more of a grip than a drift type kind of guy. I'm going to trying and get 235/35R18's all around, with a set of four Enkei Raijin matte black rims (18" x 8.5"). I've also got some Pirelli's bookmarked, not sure of the exact model, but they're around $320 per tire. I'm pretty sure they'll fit without issue, but if anyone knows otherwise, please let me know!

- Exterior/Interior
Some accenting items all around. Looking at getting the Spec-D "black projector" head lights, with the lighting accent. Also going to try and make it so the accent/DRL light is always on. Get the Spec-D corner light kit, some Spyder deflector black-out kit, Spyder tail lights, a Spyder third brake-light. Probably a carbon fiber cover (or replacement) for the faux carbon fiber dash board accent around the radio. As well as other accents, like a shift knob and parking brake styling. Smaller, other insignificant stuff. Other carbon fiber parts include a hood, spoiler, fender-accent piece, and (vinyl wrap with clear-coat glossy covering) roof, and painted accents on the mirrors.

- Exhaust
I'm sort of open to suggestions. It is a daily driver vehicle, so, I don't necessarily want louder. But I'll gladly take something that sounds deeper/meaner (definitely not like a fart-can/rice-box), as well as trying to squeeze in some extra power, and/or dropping some small amount of weight. I've heard good things about a Greddy exhaust for the car.

- Suspension
Seeing as it's a daily driver, I'm thinking about maybe getting just stiffer springs, or perhaps if lowering at all, just doing so by an inch. Not sure I really need to do too much for the suspension work, honestly. Perhaps stiffer sway bars? Open to suggestions. Trying to keep it handling well, but functional for a daily driver.

- Cold Air Intake
Looking at something probably like the AfE (by recommendation of a friend), says it's a pretty good one.

- Braking System
I'm going to also upgrade this, once it eventually gets pretty well-worn. There is a PowerStop kit, for relatively cheap. With better pads and slotted/drilled rotors, for relatively cheap. I'm not too sure about replacing calipers. Open to suggestions here also.

- Induction (Supercharger)
Looking at getting the Innovate Supercharger. That whine. I believe the kit is around $4,400, but I'll probably invest in an intercooler also (if not supplied)

- ECU Tune
That local shop comes into play here, helping me squeeze out some extra performance where capable.

- Clutch
Lastly, I'll probably end up destroying the clutch somewhere along the line of these upgrades (and also considering this is my first manual car, but I'm doing pretty well!) Something more durable and able to be released faster.


Anyways, that's it for now. It'll be a long and slow process, but I'm hoping in the end I can keep the car's weight to around 2,500-2,800 pounds, between add-ons and reductions, and hopefully get myself to push around 300-350 HP & at least 250 ft-lb. of torque. Anyways, here she is. So, here's to a long road ahead!

[D_Thissen]

Welcome! Many would suggest to just skip the CAI and get a quality drop in filter as it has nearly the same gains. For springs and exhaust I would recommend RCE yellows springs and an Invidia Q300. Zero complaints

[Sazexa]

Originally Posted by D_Thissen

Welcome! Many would suggest to just skip the CAI and get a quality drop in filter as it has nearly the same gains. For springs and exhaust I would recommend RCE yellows springs and an Invidia Q300. Zero complaints

Thanks for the welcome!

I'll look into the Invidia exhaust, I was told it's pretty good, for the price. Regarding the springs, I'm looking to get either black or silver (MAYBE red) springs. So, yellow might clash with my planned look.

If the gains are really extremely similar, perhaps I will just get a filter. Might be easier to rig in, anyways.

[Sazexa]

Update:
Ordered some interior cosmetic pieces, for the interior, waiting on rims to be on sale.

Does anyone have information on Intec's "Full LED Euro headlights?" I'm thinking about getting those, the bezel is so sexy.