Andy`s BRZ

saving up for the Ohlins road and track. my friends here (mostly Mike Kang from counter space garage) ruined me for taking me on a ride in some of his crazy set ups like JRZs and Tein SRC and now I can never go back haha.

having said that, I feel like it`s money better spent if I go for a CARB legal supercharger kit as the car already handles pretty well and all it really needs is more camber.

I`m just a sucker for good quality dampening (roads here in SoCal is unbelievably bad it makes Atlanta feel smooth) and would like a bit more comfort/planted feel.

Mike told me brakes is where I should be really spending my money...

my next mod is probably the usual bolt ons and a tune.

 

these just came in the mail... the steering rack bushings made a night/day difference on my bugeye. hopefully it will do the same on the BRZ. steering is quick but lacks the extra communication..

 

got the steering rack bushings in! very positive results. short review:

the best part is the positive snap you get when you put in the new bushings!

previous experience: I remember doing this mod on my bugeye wrx and it transformed the steering feel on that car. steering weight got heavier and the feel was more direct; it became almost BMW-like (the BMs in the E46 years) with just a $50 part so it was a no brainer for me to do this on the BRZ. I was hoping for a similar result on the BRZ, as I personally wanted a bit more feel through the steering.

Verdict: To be honest, the bushings didnt transform the car like it did on the WRX. I could really feel the difference of how soft the stock bushings were vs the Whiteline bushings. My BRZ only has 30k miles so I guess it`s still relatively new, but the stock bushings are not that much softer than the TiC ones. I`m sure over time it will become soft like gum though. When I took the oem bushings out I could push down on it with my finger nails and it would deflect maybe about 2-3mm. Not much, but there is play in there for sure.

However here are a few critical things I have definitely noticed after the installation.

On the BRZ, I dont necessarily have an issue with the quickness of the steering ratio but the lack of feel on what kind of surface I`m driving on. With the TiC bushings, I can feel more of the road texture. this is really nice especially when driving on wet surfaces as you need to know how much of your tire is touching what. It`s also a distinct feature that often gets filtered out on cars with electric steering.

Bump-steer is almost gone! with the oem bushings, the steering angle would change a bit when you hit a bump in a mid-corner, and this is completely mitigated with the new bushings. On-center feel on bumpy surfaces is very solid now and the result is that you have more confidence on public roads with dips and undulations.

I felt the need to get the harder bushings after getting bigger wheels and stickier tires, and I got exactly what I wanted. I can only imagine how much more steering feel I would get after I start doing more serious suspension work.

I think it`s worth the time/money to invest in these bushings if you are a sensitive driver (which I believe most FRS/BRZ owners are), but I can see some people saying it didnt make that much of a difference.

I really like mine and just wanted to share my experience.

thanks TiC!

 

first track event ever in my life at the Streets of Willow! it was an amazing learning experience in every single aspect as a car guy I dont even know where to begin.

my day started at Counter Space Garage with Mike Kang and Ted Park



we headed up the 5 and over the Angeles crest canyon. Terrible idea to roll out with these guys as I found it extremely difficult and life threatening to try and keep up with them with a full set of tires and tools in my back seat

subaru represent! it`s unfortunate that the twins are really separated from the rest of the subaru crowd... I dont even get the waves that much anymore




105 F at this time and day in the desert... some FI cars were having issues with the heat


this little guy tracks my time


GT Academy guy Chris lapped the streets at 1:33 with EVERYTHING stock and my best time was a 1:40 with the michelin PSSs lol.. I got to watch him on the canyon run as well and he is just impossibly fast.


my car all prepped for the first session


twilight session starts!


there is a glowing rotor photo somewhere I just gotta dig it up... aha. this is why you need AP racing brakes


meanwhile here is a short video of the event.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZRoxBDl5ZU
[youtube]HZRoxBDl5ZU[/youtube]

 

Nice!!! That time you clocked wasn't bad if that was your first time.

 

haha yea first time, but I had my 245 Michelins to rely on

 

I`m determined to practice...


in GT6 sucks that you cant officially drive ccw

 

shot of my car from Everyday Driver!

 

decal ideas... just need the wrxatl one.

 

any other iconic subaru number to represent you think? open for suggestions... maybe i`ll just do 14 for alonso my fav f1 driver

 

GT-R antenna ready for first layer of primer! waiting on the Grimmspeed WRB paint

 

primer wet sanded and just waiting on WRB paint from Grimmspeed...

 

damn it cant make up my mind...

 

Is this gonna be on for good?

 

I wouldn't...

 

nah not permanent. just a vinyl to rock for a while. here is my latest.

 

and this thing has been progressing nicely... not a paint gun/booth quality, but not too shabby for a spray can. it`s like a 90% match.

 

progress on the livery:

inspired by the livery on the GT3 RS 4.0. the red stripe is the STI cherry blossom red and the number 14 that belongs to my favorite F1 driver Fernando Alonso. the Japanese letters mean mockinbird that refers to my screen name on the forums Mokinbird87. matte gold stripes will be a close match to the wheels...



I`m probably gonna get something like this and get them cut...
http://www.carwrapdirect.com/matte-car-wrap-vinyl-gold-air-free/

 

both I`m thinking of ditching the graphics on the top... maybe I lose .25 drag coefficient from the new antenna cover :naughty:

 

Please no.

 

these arrived finally! time to go quad tip on the BRZ.


I dont think I have ever seen zip tie as an OEM piece lol.

 

still tinkering with the idea of a livery although I am for sure just going to use a magnetic number for track days only.

 

these are on the way from Japan land for me!

 

cant wait to get my rumble back

 

finally installed the GT-R antenna cover! looks so much better now...






car needs wash

 

TRD muffler garnish installed.



before being taped down...



custom quad tip coming soon! wonder what it will sound like with the Tomei UEL header.

 

this happened today.

 

9/13/2014

Tomei stuff came in.







you can see the welded sections have been buffed out even on the inside...

 

high quality looking stuff from tomei.

 

purdy

 

got the rumble back but may have a leak somewhere... or maybe it`s the crappy welded quad tips creating weird resonance... will post videos soon!

 

oh that`s just lighting. there is not a gap there, it`s the highlight of the light reflecting . I think it`s where the donut gasket is, where the front pipe meets the cat back exhaust section.

 

or maybe i`m just not used to the thin titanium exhaust walls boucing and creating resonance... I`m gonna install my friend's oem catback without my quad tips to see if that makes it any better.

 

got rid of the titanium straight front pipe. lost a bit of throttle response, but the car sounds sooo much nicer now. it`s not the bright high pitch rattle, but a more deep tone. the craptastic quad tips still resonate a bit but it was definitely the titanium pipe noise that I wanted to get rid of.

maybe I`ll pick up a catted front pipe from Invidia...

 

Berk Tech Catted front pipe. Mine was just over $200 from Counterspace Garage.

 

yep... seems like that`s what Mike and David recommends. do you think it is more of a deep tone that I am looking for?

 

Code ROFLCOPTER for 2% off their site.

EDIT: sorry. forgot to add that it gives you more volume. doesn't really modify the tone much more than increase the volume about 5-10%.

 

here is what the Tomei UEL header and the overpipe sounds like:
[youtube]vphNlfPZQmw[/youtube]

 

thanks for the tip but I think I probably get a pretty crazy deal as I`m good friends with them

 

the Germany business trip finally happened didnt have time to stop by the Nurburg Ring, but got to drive on the Autobahn, and I just happen to get the GT86 as a rental car!

at the Frankfurt airport...


the Jag was 450 euros per day vs my $70 rental, so I ditched that




it`s been raining like crazy in Frankfurt, yet not a sign of still water anywhere.. how do they drain it so well?


wish I took a better photo of this... lots of custom red leather in this GT86...


cool euro cars I dont get to see in the states...

 

I`ve decided to hit up the Porsche museum while I was near Stuttgart.



the famous "bridge" that sends the chassis over to the paint booth.


cars ready for test drives... for 65 euros, I`ll pass.


one day I`ll have a garage with glass walls so I can sip my espresso next to my babies


this driving simulator alone was probably worth the 10 euro ticket to get in.


form studies of the shift knob and various sketches





a sound tube that plays certain car's engine note and the black rubber floor vibrates to give you the full experience.


918 test car. it was really nice to see this in person... cant imagine the amount of beating this thing took to gather all the precious data


silhouettes of the 911's from the past


Panamera concept and test car. the concept car seems to be from the first Boxster era. wonder how much effort it took to bring this car to production.


the hybrid GT3 race car.


some of the trophies that Porsche won in races

 

boxster concept.




cutaway of the variable turbine geometry!!!


hollow 911 turbo wheels... how is this done?


fiberglass body of a race car, weighing only 170kg...


on my way to Munich.


and that amazing road again... Autobahn is really pretty nice.


rest areas on the Autobahn seems to be accompanied with small cafe that serves quick bites. Now I know where the Koreans got the idea from


filling up in Germany. the other "premium" gas was at 100 octane. Sadly, I was on my corporate credit card, so I could not try the 100 octane gas.


at a whopping 66 euros, the difference in price of gasoline was not as much as I had imagined...


wish the fog light feature was standard on the US twins.. so nice...



Germans have my kind of diet





the Marienplatz

 

at the Mercedes dealership... the new C class and the Brabus smart!



RS5 ready to hunt down some BMWs and MBs...


Cant wait till i go back! Nurburg Ring for sure next time.


some thoughts on the GT86:
wow it is really set up for oversteer vs my BRZ.
brake pads HAVE to be different. I took the car upto 230KPH and it stopped much quicker than my stock BRZ.
at 180KPH the hood starts to rattle. speeds over 200KPH, the hood wants to fly off the car.

 

Cool pictures. Thanks for sharing.

Still have never been to Europe... My sister just got back from Paris and Versailles... I really need get out of the US for a week or two!