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MartinT

MartinT's BRZ

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I had the engine/gearbox mounts changed today at Abbey Motorsport.  The bag labels say TRD, but the parts are stamped Subaru, so I guess they are identical to the STi parts.

The new mounts are a whole world of difference in terms of handling.  The chassis feels tight and precise, there is no jerkiness on pull-away and the whole car just feels more stable and better planted.  This is what was needed to complement the Bilsteins.  There is no more gearbox noise than before.  It was a very worthwhile upgrade for the cost.

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1 hour ago, MartinT said:

I had the engine/gearbox mounts changed today at Abbey Motorsport.  The bag labels say TRD, but the parts are stamped Subaru, so I guess they are identical to the STi parts.

The new mounts are a whole world of difference in terms of handling.  The chassis feels tight and precise, there is no jerkiness on pull-away and the whole car just feels more stable and better planted.  This is what was needed to complement the Bilsteins.  There is no more gearbox noise than before.  It was a very worthwhile upgrade for the cost.

Yup. It also makes the gearbox feel nicer I found - feels like I am pushing the gear lever against more solid resistance, less energy from my arm being "wasted" as it were. Small but noticeable improvement :)

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I saw a post on FB from someone who had just bought a gear knob from BilletWorkz.  I had a look at their site and the next thing I knew, I had ordered myself one as a Xmas pressie.  I'll post a piccie when it arrives.

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Yeah, couldn’t resist! Ordered the Japanese font, 86 logo on a weighted hybrid in black with red splash.

Definitely a tad excessive, but based on how good yours looks it had to be done  

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I have one of these in white, red font but no STI etching.

It looks and feels great... except on a cold day! Reminds me of the original Puma which had a similar metal bulb, changing gear with my sleeve pulled down 😄

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Did you not buy the cloth cover (they call it a beanie) for really cold days?

I'm not sure I'll ever use mine, though, as I rather like the solid, weighty coolness of it :)

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10 hours ago, MartinT said:

Did you not buy the cloth cover (they call it a beanie) for really cold days?

I'm not sure I'll ever use mine, though, as I rather like the solid, weighty coolness of it :)

I had no idea such a thing existed. I've just googled it and I'm not sure I could bring myself to use such a tea-cosy. While I said it was like the original Puma, it is nothing like as bad as that; the Billetworkz part is a bit chilly, you'd swear the part on the Puma had active cooling in it. The Puma part was bare aluminium whereas these have a thick paint layer on them so I think that takes the edge off.

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2 hours ago, McDude said:

I had no idea such a thing existed. I've just googled it and I'm not sure I could bring myself to use such a tea-cosy. While I said it was like the original Puma, it is nothing like as bad as that; the Billetworkz part is a bit chilly, you'd swear the part on the Puma had active cooling in it. The Puma part was bare aluminium whereas these have a thick paint layer on them so I think that takes the edge off.

I can still vividly remember how horrendous the puma knob was on frozen days. Loved that car!

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I can still vividly remember how horrendous the puma knob was on frozen days. Loved that car!
The civic type r still has a full aluminium one and that feels ice cold. 🧊 I got myself a Raceseng one with the delrin on sides , so is not too bad..

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

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The car is boosted well with the Harrop/Rogue/TD performing beautifully, it handles just right with the H&R Super Sport springs and Bilstein B8s, there's plenty of grip balanced with playfulness from the 235/40 PS4s on 18 x 8.75" XXRs, and I've adorned it with some subtle personalisations.

What next?  Time, finally, for a big brake kit.  I'm keeping it sensible.  After all, my car is strictly for road use as my daily commuter.  After discussing it with Scott at Abbey Motorsport, I'm going with an AP Racing 330 kit for the fronts.  Just braided lines for the rears, keeping the stock calipers/discs and Cosworth Streetmaster pads.

It's booked in, together with the MOT, for 1st April as I try to make each visit to Abbey a worthwhile one.  At least the car should be clean by then.

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Nice one Martin. Someone on here was selling a full set of 4 brakes from an impreza for a deal (£1000). That's an option to consider.

With AP what colour callipers did you go for?

 

Someone also posted about this one, if you want to explore. Megane brembo conversion kit.

 

https://k-system.pro/en/product/bbkgt86brz4potbrembo/

 

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

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Too late - already ordered from Scott!

With a white car and red stitching/highlights, the red calipers seemed the natural choice.

The Pads are Ferodo DS2500, does anyone know how they compare with my current PFC Z Rated pads?

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Sounds similar to mine Martin, I have the Reyland kit with their own discs, with braided lines and stock calipers/Cossie pads at the back. I think I had the PFCs on the front beforehand, though that's going back a while now. I'm perfectly happy with the AP/Ferodo setup at the front. Great stopping power, feel is pretty good (though I'm no driving god) and they stand up to abuse on track much better.

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Good news: my MOT and AP Racing 330 front brakes are due this Friday at Abbey.

Bad news: got a horrible dent when (presumably) a branch fell on my car during the storms.  It's not terrible, on the nearside rear wheel arch, but it's enough to upset me.  This, together with my bonnet looking a mess from stone chip damage and (my) poor touch-up repairs, means a probable trip to Popo's in Basingstoke soon.

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