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Shad

New owner, Subaru BRZ in blue

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Hi everyone

I'm the proud new owner of a 2015 Subaru BRZ in blue with just under 25k miles, as of 2 weeks ago today.

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So a little about me - I was daily'ing a Volvo V40 until being furloughed at the end of March, and with the Volvo not seeing much use and the risk of losing my job, I exited the finance agreement and replaced it with a 2001 Mazda MX-5. The Mazda is great and a fun project (it needed a fair amount of servicing and fixing up), but even I will admit now it's just not practical enough and was a bit of a spur of the moment purchase (test driving a convertible on a sunny summer's day, who wouldn't have bought it?!). I'll be finishing off some jobs on that car soon, ready to sell in the spring.

Then browsing the classifieds one evening, as you do, I chanced upon a GT86 and realised it could be exactly what I need - practical enough in terms of boot space, decent creature comforts, and a fairly entertaining drive. I remembered sitting in one at Goodwood in 2013 and the "just right" feeling. When I came across this BRZ for sale it seemed ideal, although was less so when I viewed it in person (not exactly the full service history as advertised). So here I am, two weeks later, absolutely loving the thing.

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The very first job I did was replace the original tyres (which were all cracking on the sidewalls quite badly) with some new Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2s. Then last weekend I changed the engine oil and filter, gearbox oil, diff oil, brake fluid, clutch fluid, pollen filter, air filter, and added injector cleaner. Unfortunately the car had not been serviced since August 2018 and was about 6k miles overdue - not ideal, but not terrible either. The car is now running brilliantly - smooth and quiet, excellent MPG (an indicated 41 just on the way home from picking it up), and lovely balanced handling.

In fact I'm having to give it a bit more respect than I originally thought. My weekend toy is a Caterham 7 which obviously wipes the floor with the BRZ, and just about anything else. But the BRZ has about 15hp more, and much less grip, and surprise surprise likes to move around a bit! I'm not convinced I understand what the traction control/stability control is trying to achieve half the time but I'll get a better idea after a track day in the spring hopefully.

My only gripes with the car so far are the clutch feel and lack thereof, the slow response of the throttle pedal, and a slightly long brake pedal. The clutch I will have a play with the bite point position, and may also change the pedal spring and possibly the slave cylinder too. The throttle I get the feeling that will need a remap to resolve, so that can probably wait. And the brake pedal, I suspect that's just how it is after doing some research (it's better for the fluid change, and the pedal comes to you with a bit of heat in the brakes, and it stops fine with no pedal creep). I also have the ubiquitous rattle/creak from the rear deck/parcel shelf to try and fix. Oh and the stereo is really irritating - do they all revert back to radio every time you start the car? And why doesn't it remember the shuffle settings on USB?! Infuriating.

So that's me in a nutshell - love the car, loved reading and researching here and elsewhere before buying, and looking forward to a good few years of ownership until a GR Yaris is within reach...

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Cheers guys. I may see you out and about Martin, I'm only just up the road. Good to know the throttle can be cured ok - can the factory ECU be reprogrammed or is it a case of going for something standalone and a full mapping session? I've read about how there's more throttle angle in the first half of the pedal travel, but for me the more annoying part is the delay to close the throttle when I come off the pedal. At the end of the day you can't beat a cable!

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20 minutes ago, Shad said:

Cheers guys. I may see you out and about Martin, I'm only just up the road. Good to know the throttle can be cured ok - can the factory ECU be reprogrammed or is it a case of going for something standalone and a full mapping session? 

It can be done with the stock ECU most use ECUTEK software

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1 hour ago, Rich196 said:

It can be done with the stock ECU most use ECUTEK software

That's good news, thank you, I'll do some research. Any recommendations for someone in the south to do the work?

1 hour ago, gazza82 said:

Let us know how the Dunlops work as they are on my list. Did you stick with 215/45R17s or go with a different size?

No complaints from me so far, standard 215/45/17 size. Outside of what we run on the Caterhams I don't really have any current knowledge of tyres so the Dunlops were recommended by a friend who's happy with them on his Impreza. They seem to get decent reviews on the GT86/BRZ too. The Michelins were the thick end of 6 years old and had badly cracked sidewalls, so not a great point of reference. I'm only around 200 miles into the Dunlops but the car doesn't break away on power as agressively as before. Ride quality and road noise about the same I think. Wet braking is good, and the overall neutral balance of the car is still there but probably with just an overall higher level of grip now. But again, the old tyres were well past their best.

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156Front.thumb.jpg.875bb58d24e6848f388c69287c750d1e.jpg20170301_110737.thumb.jpg.9311973605b15b1d868b4724d3666215.jpgCheers. I ran SP Sport Maxx on my old Alfa 156 and was more than happy with handling and breaking, but obviously that was a FWD. I went through 3 sets and they all did 30-40k miles. (Except one rear pair when a shock spring plate collapsed!!!). 

They are my preferred choice for the BRZ if I can ever get these damn Primacies to wear out!! 😁 Also thinking of going 225/45R17.

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3 hours ago, Shad said:

That's good news, thank you, I'll do some research. Any recommendations for someone in the south to do the work?

I use Abbey Motorsport not far from Reigate off the M25.  They are excellent with a deep knowledge of the 86/BRZ.  They fitted my Harrop supercharger and remapped the ECU using ECUTek software.  If you want good performance naturally aspirated, have them replace the exhaust manifold and remap it.  It transforms the car and gets rid of the midrange torque dip.

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11 hours ago, gazza82 said:

They are my preferred choice for the BRZ if I can ever get these damn Primacies to wear out!! 😁 Also thinking of going 225/45R17.

Good luck wearing those things out! They'll be be too old and hard long before that happens I suspect. I wondered about a wider size as well, but where as the Michelins seemed to almost have a bit of a stretch on the rim which looked a bit odd, the Dunlops fit much more square and seem better suited to the wheel. Unless you need the extra grip, you might find the 215 width is ok. They cost me £83 a corner including fitting, pretty good value.

 

9 hours ago, MartinT said:

I use Abbey Motorsport not far from Reigate off the M25.  They are excellent with a deep knowledge of the 86/BRZ.  They fitted my Harrop supercharger and remapped the ECU using ECUTek software.  If you want good performance naturally aspirated, have them replace the exhaust manifold and remap it.  It transforms the car and gets rid of the midrange torque dip.

Thanks, I'll check them out. There's also Horsham Developments very near to where I live so I'll speak to them as well. The torque dip is real for sure, although it's a bit like VTEC when the power comes back! I'm finding that pottering around normally it doesn't get in the way, and when I'm on it I'm higher in the revs anyway. Will give it some thought...

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On 12/6/2020 at 9:43 AM, Shad said:

Good luck wearing those things out! They'll be be too old and hard long before that happens I suspect. I wondered about a wider size as well, but where as the Michelins seemed to almost have a bit of a stretch on the rim which looked a bit odd, the Dunlops fit much more square and seem better suited to the wheel. Unless you need the extra grip, you might find the 215 width is ok. They cost me £83 a corner including fitting, pretty good value.

I'd prefer the extra grip! Even if I am in the minority .. :)

Even in a gentle shower tonight the rear end stepped out on a mini-roundabout with lots of traction control lights in dash .. but that may also have been down to the proximity of two petrol stations and an industrial estate. That part of the road was liable to be glossy with diesel.

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What do you think about fuel consumption is good or is too high? I know the 70 - 75 mph in uk is a low speed to drive but I am expecting to collect a gt86 from 2019 next saturday. I don-t care about consumption but I ask you as first impression what do you think about it. Hope to get retired with my 86 looks awesome. Tip - try to add sporty steering wheel and lower your suspensions - change alloys 18 inches should be better

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