Easy BRZ-y, Wallet Squeezy
Discussion
And now for something a little different...
The technically ongoing but long dormant build thread on 18.3 litres of Australian boganism is here:
Hold(en) My Beer
Dedicated readers of that thread will notice the brief appearance of a BRZ that was acquired for the girlfriend. Sadly that left with said girlfriend, and I've really missed the car. Prices have been a bit higher than I was used to though, and the idea of paying ~14k for something I'd paid 11k for was a bit painful. I kept my eye out though, just in case something came up that was suitably 'reasonable'.
GT86s are generally a bit cheaper, and there were some available in the price bracket I felt comfortable with (under 11k...) but I prefer the Subaru front bumper, WR blue is a brilliant colour, most of the Scoobs have heated seats, and for me Subaru is just a cooler badge than Toyota. Most of the mechanicals are Subaru too. It had to be a Subaru I suppose is the point I'm labouring.
What should eventually appear but comfortably the cheapest BRZ for sale at under 10k, with 121,500 miles on the clock, and the dealer's name over the number plates so I couldn't check the MOT history. Oh and the dealer is in the New Forest, so only a 2 hour drive away.
Perfect.
I spoke to the dealer, got the number plate (originally they gave me the wrong one, even more encouraging) and confirmed with great surprise that the MOT history was cleaner than Jimmy Carr's tax return. Given the alleged presence of 'service history', it was time for a viewing.
2 hour drive completed and naturally it's raining, because viewing cars in the dry is the crutch of the amateur. It looks remarkably clean inside and out, the proudly erect pinch welds implying a distinct lack of incompetence, and aside from some rear window tintery and a smattering of 'carbon fibre' stuck on to things to add ballast, all appears well and reassuringly standard.
A nose around the interior finds an oil pressure gauge (the talisman of the pessimist) added to the dash and a C spanner in the glovebox.
"What's this?" asks my chauffeur (not her preferred title)
"That means this has had coilovers on it before"
Which just means the now fitted standard suspension is probably in decent shape though, right?
Quick chat with the dealer, service history seems remarkably fastidious, so it's test drive time.
Before I get to do my best Sherlock Holmes impression with regards to its history, the dealer explains that the owner of the garage on the same plot had bought the car 2 years ago with the intent to hill climb it. He'd thus done a load of stuff to it, done one hill climb, decided it was too heavy, and then left it largely unused for 18 months before returning it back to stock and selling it to the dealer.
Surprisingly up front, and given my generally abusive intentions for the car, not a concern at all
Test drive found everything in order, the cold start confirming a definitely not standard exhaust, no untoward noises or crashes, no throw out bearing noise, went into gears from cold easily and the whole car felt surprisingly tight and nimble.
I'd assumed the previous one being on coilovers contributed to its remarkable agility (and crashy ride), but it turns out they'd only contributed to the crashy ride. This felt just as responsive but without launching you out of your seat over a hump.
Engine pulled well, definitely a smidge slower feeling than the old one (which had headers, intake, remap etc.) and torque dip very much still present. Confirmed no switchable maps so possibly either never been remapped or was also put back to standard. Naturally compared to a 600bhp Monaro it's comically slow, but it's fun being able to wring out some gears without accumulating a 60mph closing speed on normal traffic and then going directly to jail.
Cutting to the chase, obviously, I bought it. This ended up taking a couple of weeks to sort as we negotiated a service being done (including spark plugs...) and they wanted to do a pre-delivery inspection and a valet.
Of course that two week delay from putting down the deposit to collecting the car meant the parts started arriving before having anything to fit them to
Collection went smoothly, average 43mpg on the way home (this will never be seen again), and the only issue was the TPMS warning light coming on 10 minutes or so after leaving. Stopped to get fuel, one tyre looked maybe a little squidgy, but it was only at the bottom so nothing to worry about there
So far, I've thrown on the arbitrary strut brace, this includes a brace for the master cylinder which is quite interesting, the firewall can flex a bit under heavy braking apparently, and this brace presses up against the MC and stops it from moving.
In addition, I've chucked on some red Valenti tail lights to replace the F&F style originals
And as it's a blue Subaru, ordered and received a set of gold wheels... Naturally this meant having to line them up to see what they'd look like, because those are the rules right?
Very pleased, tyres ordered and will be fitted on the 16th.
This also meant a bit of investigation into the TPMS. Picked up an Autel TS508WF and 4 programmable sensors (for the new wheels) Turned out the TPMS light was for one of the sensors not being detected, 3 of them had very similar IDs and one of them was totally different, so I suspect that one had been replaced and the car not programmed with the new ID.
All programmed now and the light is off. I'll mimic the IDs for the 4 sensors for the new wheels, so will be able to swap between them for winter etc., without upsetting the TPMS.
This will be taking on daily duties from the Commodore, currently seem to be averaging ~35mpg (a significant improvement from ~20) and I'm absolutely loving the car already. It is so much fun at low speeds, the exhaust is pleasingly quiet on the motorway but has lots of nice 'rorty' tones to it at various rpm / throttle levels, and the general nimbleness of the car just makes it so much fun.
I have an HKS UEL header on the way to give it that appropriate Subaru boxer rumble, and having been so impressed with the Monaro's setup, am chatting to Shockworks about some very road biased coilovers to make the ride a little more sophisticated than standard and drop the ride height 15-25mm or so.
Really couldn't be happier with the car. Used FA20s are about £3k on ebay and interestingly there's off the shelf wiring kits to swap in the later 2.4 / FA24 from the GR86. A used FA24 is around ~£6k, so if the engine does decide halfway to the moon is enough, I've got options...
The technically ongoing but long dormant build thread on 18.3 litres of Australian boganism is here:
Hold(en) My Beer
Dedicated readers of that thread will notice the brief appearance of a BRZ that was acquired for the girlfriend. Sadly that left with said girlfriend, and I've really missed the car. Prices have been a bit higher than I was used to though, and the idea of paying ~14k for something I'd paid 11k for was a bit painful. I kept my eye out though, just in case something came up that was suitably 'reasonable'.
GT86s are generally a bit cheaper, and there were some available in the price bracket I felt comfortable with (under 11k...) but I prefer the Subaru front bumper, WR blue is a brilliant colour, most of the Scoobs have heated seats, and for me Subaru is just a cooler badge than Toyota. Most of the mechanicals are Subaru too. It had to be a Subaru I suppose is the point I'm labouring.
What should eventually appear but comfortably the cheapest BRZ for sale at under 10k, with 121,500 miles on the clock, and the dealer's name over the number plates so I couldn't check the MOT history. Oh and the dealer is in the New Forest, so only a 2 hour drive away.
Perfect.
I spoke to the dealer, got the number plate (originally they gave me the wrong one, even more encouraging) and confirmed with great surprise that the MOT history was cleaner than Jimmy Carr's tax return. Given the alleged presence of 'service history', it was time for a viewing.
2 hour drive completed and naturally it's raining, because viewing cars in the dry is the crutch of the amateur. It looks remarkably clean inside and out, the proudly erect pinch welds implying a distinct lack of incompetence, and aside from some rear window tintery and a smattering of 'carbon fibre' stuck on to things to add ballast, all appears well and reassuringly standard.
A nose around the interior finds an oil pressure gauge (the talisman of the pessimist) added to the dash and a C spanner in the glovebox.
"What's this?" asks my chauffeur (not her preferred title)
"That means this has had coilovers on it before"
Which just means the now fitted standard suspension is probably in decent shape though, right?Quick chat with the dealer, service history seems remarkably fastidious, so it's test drive time.
Before I get to do my best Sherlock Holmes impression with regards to its history, the dealer explains that the owner of the garage on the same plot had bought the car 2 years ago with the intent to hill climb it. He'd thus done a load of stuff to it, done one hill climb, decided it was too heavy, and then left it largely unused for 18 months before returning it back to stock and selling it to the dealer.
Surprisingly up front, and given my generally abusive intentions for the car, not a concern at all
Test drive found everything in order, the cold start confirming a definitely not standard exhaust, no untoward noises or crashes, no throw out bearing noise, went into gears from cold easily and the whole car felt surprisingly tight and nimble.
I'd assumed the previous one being on coilovers contributed to its remarkable agility (and crashy ride), but it turns out they'd only contributed to the crashy ride. This felt just as responsive but without launching you out of your seat over a hump.
Engine pulled well, definitely a smidge slower feeling than the old one (which had headers, intake, remap etc.) and torque dip very much still present. Confirmed no switchable maps so possibly either never been remapped or was also put back to standard. Naturally compared to a 600bhp Monaro it's comically slow, but it's fun being able to wring out some gears without accumulating a 60mph closing speed on normal traffic and then going directly to jail.
Cutting to the chase, obviously, I bought it. This ended up taking a couple of weeks to sort as we negotiated a service being done (including spark plugs...) and they wanted to do a pre-delivery inspection and a valet.
Of course that two week delay from putting down the deposit to collecting the car meant the parts started arriving before having anything to fit them to
Collection went smoothly, average 43mpg on the way home (this will never be seen again), and the only issue was the TPMS warning light coming on 10 minutes or so after leaving. Stopped to get fuel, one tyre looked maybe a little squidgy, but it was only at the bottom so nothing to worry about there
So far, I've thrown on the arbitrary strut brace, this includes a brace for the master cylinder which is quite interesting, the firewall can flex a bit under heavy braking apparently, and this brace presses up against the MC and stops it from moving.
In addition, I've chucked on some red Valenti tail lights to replace the F&F style originals
And as it's a blue Subaru, ordered and received a set of gold wheels... Naturally this meant having to line them up to see what they'd look like, because those are the rules right?
Very pleased, tyres ordered and will be fitted on the 16th.
This also meant a bit of investigation into the TPMS. Picked up an Autel TS508WF and 4 programmable sensors (for the new wheels) Turned out the TPMS light was for one of the sensors not being detected, 3 of them had very similar IDs and one of them was totally different, so I suspect that one had been replaced and the car not programmed with the new ID.
All programmed now and the light is off. I'll mimic the IDs for the 4 sensors for the new wheels, so will be able to swap between them for winter etc., without upsetting the TPMS.
This will be taking on daily duties from the Commodore, currently seem to be averaging ~35mpg (a significant improvement from ~20
) and I'm absolutely loving the car already. It is so much fun at low speeds, the exhaust is pleasingly quiet on the motorway but has lots of nice 'rorty' tones to it at various rpm / throttle levels, and the general nimbleness of the car just makes it so much fun.I have an HKS UEL header on the way to give it that appropriate Subaru boxer rumble, and having been so impressed with the Monaro's setup, am chatting to Shockworks about some very road biased coilovers to make the ride a little more sophisticated than standard and drop the ride height 15-25mm or so.
Really couldn't be happier with the car. Used FA20s are about £3k on ebay and interestingly there's off the shelf wiring kits to swap in the later 2.4 / FA24 from the GR86. A used FA24 is around ~£6k, so if the engine does decide halfway to the moon is enough, I've got options...
Cambs_Stuart said:
Really good buy, the gold wheels look very nice. Interesting to hear about the bulkhead flexing, my impreza used to do the same.
The chap I bought my 3.0 legacy from said he wanted to swap the H6 engine into a GT86, which I thought would be a fun thing to drive.
I did see a thread on the gt86 forum about someone swapping in an H6, did seem cool, it mostly dropped in at least in terms of chassis mounts etc!The chap I bought my 3.0 legacy from said he wanted to swap the H6 engine into a GT86, which I thought would be a fun thing to drive.
Can't wait to see the gold wheels on the car, hopefully they don't look too silly at standard ride height until I get the coilovers on!
Jonny1984 said:
Lovely! I really like the Blue that the BRZ came in. Need to start a thread for my freshy acquired GT86 now 
I love the blue too, it's great and changes a lot in different light. It's novel for me having parts available next day, novel and dangerous! Be good to see a thread on the 86cerb4.5lee said:
Love the blue and gold combo. 
These are properly rare too. Enjoy it.
I've not had a 200sx to confirm, but I bet you'd feel right at home in this if you gave one a go! There's a supercharged 86 for sale for 15k Lee, you know it makes sense... These are properly rare too. Enjoy it.
Mr Tidy said:
Those gold wheels just look so right!
I can't wait to get them fitted! It'll possibly look a little 'odd' still being at factory ride height as they're going to be pushed out in the wheel wells a fair bit more, but that won't last too long tozerman said:
Love a good BRZ thread. I have a silver one and love it to bits, so I look forward to seeing what you do with it
Have you done much to yours? It's very cool there being so much available for them, I have done a lot to my Monaro over the 15 years or so I've had it, but it was always a struggle to find aftermarket parts or people's experiences with said parts. There's so much info available, and so many options with this platform, it's great.To be honest, not much.
I've lowered it 15mm using Tein springs the same rate as Oem ones, IMO it looks just right with that slight drop.
I've had the wheels painted Weiss Gold, and fitted an oil cooler kit from Icp which uses standard Subaru parts from other models. Also adjustable rear lower arms along with front camber bolts to get the alignment as I like it.
That's it to be fair, I'm not really into heavy mods just OEM+ if you like
I've lowered it 15mm using Tein springs the same rate as Oem ones, IMO it looks just right with that slight drop.
I've had the wheels painted Weiss Gold, and fitted an oil cooler kit from Icp which uses standard Subaru parts from other models. Also adjustable rear lower arms along with front camber bolts to get the alignment as I like it.
That's it to be fair, I'm not really into heavy mods just OEM+ if you like
tozerman said:
To be honest, not much.
I've lowered it 15mm using Tein springs the same rate as Oem ones, IMO it looks just right with that slight drop.
I've had the wheels painted Weiss Gold, and fitted an oil cooler kit from Icp which uses standard Subaru parts from other models. Also adjustable rear lower arms along with front camber bolts to get the alignment as I like it.
That's it to be fair, I'm not really into heavy mods just OEM+ if you like
Yeah I'm only planning on a 15-25mm drop, partially dictated by speedbumps but also keeping as much suspension travel as possible. Any pics of yours? Curious what a 15mm drop looks like, agreed it really doesn't need much of a drop to still look really good without compromising too much on being liveable.I've lowered it 15mm using Tein springs the same rate as Oem ones, IMO it looks just right with that slight drop.
I've had the wheels painted Weiss Gold, and fitted an oil cooler kit from Icp which uses standard Subaru parts from other models. Also adjustable rear lower arms along with front camber bolts to get the alignment as I like it.
That's it to be fair, I'm not really into heavy mods just OEM+ if you like
I've been looking at the Subaru heat exchanger that's available and bolts in line with the oil filter, looks like it can use the coolant lines off the throttle body just as a way of heating the oil up quicker and then using the cooling system to help keep the temps a little more in check. Is this similar to what you have done or did you go with an actual cooler?
I'll be popping camber bolts on initially but ultimately will have some coilovers on, which will inevitably make me look at adjustable arms
I'm really torn between going spoilerless or putting on the TRD ducktail (not sure I trust the fitment of the various other aftermarket options), the VLAND headlights also look quite decent, and longer term I'm considering taking out the 'moustache', which involves cutting out the front grill section and bonding in new mesh, but that'll probably be a winter project as there's plenty of fun to be had first!
SturdyHSV said:
Yeah I'm only planning on a 15-25mm drop, partially dictated by speedbumps but also keeping as much suspension travel as possible. Any pics of yours? Curious what a 15mm drop looks like, agreed it really doesn't need much of a drop to still look really good without compromising too much on being liveable.
I've been looking at the Subaru heat exchanger that's available and bolts in line with the oil filter, looks like it can use the coolant lines off the throttle body just as a way of heating the oil up quicker and then using the cooling system to help keep the temps a little more in check. Is this similar to what you have done or did you go with an actual cooler?
I'll be popping camber bolts on initially but ultimately will have some coilovers on, which will inevitably make me look at adjustable arms
I'm really torn between going spoilerless or putting on the TRD ducktail (not sure I trust the fitment of the various other aftermarket options), the VLAND headlights also look quite decent, and longer term I'm considering taking out the 'moustache', which involves cutting out the front grill section and bonding in new mesh, but that'll probably be a winter project as there's plenty of fun to be had first!
[url]I've been looking at the Subaru heat exchanger that's available and bolts in line with the oil filter, looks like it can use the coolant lines off the throttle body just as a way of heating the oil up quicker and then using the cooling system to help keep the temps a little more in check. Is this similar to what you have done or did you go with an actual cooler?
I'll be popping camber bolts on initially but ultimately will have some coilovers on, which will inevitably make me look at adjustable arms
I'm really torn between going spoilerless or putting on the TRD ducktail (not sure I trust the fitment of the various other aftermarket options), the VLAND headlights also look quite decent, and longer term I'm considering taking out the 'moustache', which involves cutting out the front grill section and bonding in new mesh, but that'll probably be a winter project as there's plenty of fun to be had first!
images.pistonheads.com/46639/202603134836738[/url]
[url]
images.pistonheads.com/46639/202603134840339[/url]
These are the only ones I have that show the 15mm drop, they do show it quite well..
Regarding the oil cooler kit, I considered the one that uses coolant from the throttle body ( which would have been much easier to fit) but I chose this kit as it takes the coolant from where it enters the block by the bottom rad hose and thought that it would be better, a bit of a pain to fit but not too bad.
https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/product/icp-brz-g...
I do all my own servicing, always have done. The local Subaru dealer is hopeless. I have always used 5W30 oil without issues, the 0W20 was used mainly to reduce emissions I believe.
I fitted the lower arms and camber bolts myself and had the alignment done by Northampton Motorsport.
Cheers.....Tony..
tozerman said:
[url]
|https://forums-
images.pistonheads.com/46639/202603134836738[/url]
[url]
|https://forums-
images.pistonheads.com/46639/202603134840339[/url]
These are the only ones I have that show the 15mm drop, they do show it quite well..
Regarding the oil cooler kit, I considered the one that uses coolant from the throttle body ( which would have been much easier to fit) but I chose this kit as it takes the coolant from where it enters the block by the bottom rad hose and thought that it would be better, a bit of a pain to fit but not too bad.
https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/product/icp-brz-g...
I do all my own servicing, always have done. The local Subaru dealer is hopeless. I have always used 5W30 oil without issues, the 0W20 was used mainly to reduce emissions I believe.
I fitted the lower arms and camber bolts myself and had the alignment done by Northampton Motorsport.
Cheers.....Tony..
Ahhh thanks for that, suprising how effective a 15mm drop is!images.pistonheads.com/46639/202603134836738[/url]
[url]
images.pistonheads.com/46639/202603134840339[/url]
These are the only ones I have that show the 15mm drop, they do show it quite well..
Regarding the oil cooler kit, I considered the one that uses coolant from the throttle body ( which would have been much easier to fit) but I chose this kit as it takes the coolant from where it enters the block by the bottom rad hose and thought that it would be better, a bit of a pain to fit but not too bad.
https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/product/icp-brz-g...
I do all my own servicing, always have done. The local Subaru dealer is hopeless. I have always used 5W30 oil without issues, the 0W20 was used mainly to reduce emissions I believe.
I fitted the lower arms and camber bolts myself and had the alignment done by Northampton Motorsport.
Cheers.....Tony..
I was also just looking at that exact ICP cooler setup, for much the same reasons you said, looks like a very OEM setup, good to know there's an expert presumably fairly nearby (I'm in Northampton...)
Given your car history I can't help wondering how long it will be before you do something like this!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mr Tidy said:
Given your car history I can't help wondering how long it will be before you do something like this!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
cerb4.5lee said:
Mr Tidy said:
Given your car history I can't help wondering how long it will be before you do something like this!
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
I'm determined to keep this one slow!
Bit of a test fit as it was up on the quickjacks
Bled the brakes, replaced the bleed nipples with the one way valves bleeders. Turns out it already had braided brake lines so the ones I bought will be going back
10mm spacers on to ensure theoretically push the wheels out just right, they certainly look a little 'aggressive' at full droop!
Replaced the factory studs with 10mm longer ones, fortunately these could be slipped in to place without having to undo anything beyond taking the disc off
Press them out with a ball joint splitter
I'd already acquired a bearing / tapered cup tool for pulling the new studs in, all went quite well.
Attempted to put some camber bolts in but couldn't work out the tang on the washer on one side, wasted about an hour scratching our collective heads before deciding it'll be on coilovers soon so perhaps just admit defeat this time...
Hadn't settled after being up in the air, but was surprised how much of a difference the 10mm spacers have made to the appearance of the factory wheels.
Loving this thread and BRZs! I had a 2012, sold it because I was either going to die or lose my licence. Something to do with needing to rev the nuts off it but I could never just pootle along. If I could I too would get a WRX blue and have the same badge snobbery over Toyota.
Bookmarked!
Bookmarked!
Didn't fancy pulling the quickjacks out for a couple of bolts, so thought I'd use the factory jacking point on the front subframe. Naturally, the jack doesn't fit under the chin far enough to reach it.
So I thought I'd do one side at a time, and just made a recess in one of the rubber blocks to protect the pinch welds.
Then it turns out I had to fix the jack as this metal bar was so bent that the handle had run off the end of the springs used to pump it.
By this point, it would have been quicker to get the quickjacks out
It turns out, unsurprisingly, we were just being thick with the camber bolt. You got 2 washers per bolt but only need 1, and it goes on the nut side as pictured, rather than the bolt head side as we thought.
This is because the little tab on the washer fits in on the thin side (left) of this bolt, rather than the thicker side...
Before and after camber, only a small change, allegedly - 1.5* or so
Trip over for mother's day was an opportunity for a bit of b-road fun, it's a great car and I can't wait to get it on track actually. Pedal felt good after yesterday's bleed, the short gearing makes heel and toe a lot of fun too, you can really zip down through the gears
Tyres going on the wheels tomorrow, will I be able to resist fitting them to the car immediately? Probably not...
So I thought I'd do one side at a time, and just made a recess in one of the rubber blocks to protect the pinch welds.
Then it turns out I had to fix the jack as this metal bar was so bent that the handle had run off the end of the springs used to pump it.
By this point, it would have been quicker to get the quickjacks out
It turns out, unsurprisingly, we were just being thick with the camber bolt. You got 2 washers per bolt but only need 1, and it goes on the nut side as pictured, rather than the bolt head side as we thought.
This is because the little tab on the washer fits in on the thin side (left) of this bolt, rather than the thicker side...
Before and after camber, only a small change, allegedly - 1.5* or so
Trip over for mother's day was an opportunity for a bit of b-road fun, it's a great car and I can't wait to get it on track actually. Pedal felt good after yesterday's bleed, the short gearing makes heel and toe a lot of fun too, you can really zip down through the gears
Tyres going on the wheels tomorrow, will I be able to resist fitting them to the car immediately? Probably not...
Mr Tidy said:
SturdyHSV said:
Haha, I've already spent enough time helping Sam take that engine in and out
I'm determined to keep this one slow!
I didn't realise you had been involved in Sam's build but that makes sense.I'm determined to keep this one slow!
I'm guessing you'll have the new wheels fitted within a week!
As for the wheels, just dropped them off for some tyres!
Will inevitably put them on this evening, even if it's raining out
Although I'm a little unsure how they'll look at standard ride height, it might look a little odd... We shall soon see though!Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff