Stutopia

Your mods are always really impressively thought through, I'm so impatient! 👍

Soooooooo jealous, been looking for similar for ages.

Nice! How come 86 drivers are all show and BRZ drivers are all go?!?

Last couple of starts and also during a journey (after ~90 mins driving) today, I could hear a squeak from up front. This is not the HPFP/crickets sound and does not appear linked to engine/drivetrain/wheel speed. It’s a little intermittent, but when I parked up and had a listen under the bonnet, I could have sworn it was coming from the AC compressor. Toggled the AC on/off a few times and I think it did fluctuate, but not on/off with the AC switch. Battery voltages seems fine (OEM has been replaced with an upgraded unit). Aux belt was replaced a few thousand miles ago. Anyone had similar occur? (~70k) Is there anything else around there it might be, that I should look at? Is there a bearing and or clutch in the AC unit that might be replaceable? Any other ideas/suggestions welcome. Thanks, Stu.

Got it looked at by my mechanic during a service. The AC pump is the source of the squeak, not only does the sound come right out of it, it temporarily went away with a little lube -sadly returned with a vengeance shortly after. Will try and source a replacement from a breaker.

Cheers for the links, I will have a read after work. I checked my history, new belt went on in Feb 2019, probably done 10k. I think it was a Gates belt, which I’ve used before on my 350z with no issue, but I’ll replace as a matter of course. I’m due a service in 6 weeks so I’ve just brought that forward and will ask my mechanic to investigate both the suspicious compressor pulley and the tensioner tension then.

Thanks Lauren, it’s a (relatively) inexpensive place to start, so will try that as a starter. I’m pretty sure it’s less than a year old, might have a look at the tensioner too.

Typically when I’ve let a product get too dry to work with, I’ve reapplied the same product, left it for a very short time to “reactivate” it and then buffed/rinsed it away. Obviously there are situations where that won’t apply, like ceramics. If it were me, I’d try a normal two bucket wash, ideally with a decon shampoo, or a regular one with a higher than usual product:water ratio. Failing that, I’d snow foam it with the same product but following the manufacturers recommendation this time (so you’ll need a favour from someone with a PW and a foam gun). I’d be surprised if you’ve got anything more than a stain (as opposed to actual damage), just a matter of finding the right chemical to shift it. As always, least aggressive method first, in small test areas. Obviously, your results may vary, this is what I would do on my car, what you should do is down to you. Call a professional detailer if you are unsure.

Was the foam still dripping off when you rinsed, or was it stationary and evaporating off?

Got these spare from the Reyland kit, as I already had a Goodridge lines in place. Brand new, unopened. Looking for £45 including postage (within the uk).

I don’t believe in spacers, but once I get some more track time under my belt, coilies could be a thing, perhaps boost...

Been a busy few weeks. A short while ago I did a lovely 2 minute mod, getting rid of the plastic dash panel and slipping in something altogether more bovine This week the first job was to collect a rental whilst the BRZ is in the shop. Free upgrade to a C Class as well, thank you Enterprise. Rather enjoyed the change of pace, I can see the attraction of wafting on the highway; as it gets harder and harder to enjoy the roads through a combination of road surfaces and traffic. It was pretty quick and deathly silent compared to the BRZ, didn't really get on with the 9 gears, it was never in the right one - but I wouldn't mind trying a non-oil burner, with 2-4 more cylinders though. Anyway, the reason for the rental car was to drop off the BRZ, for these little beauties to be fitted. AP BBK for the front end. Thanks to Reyland for supplying the kit. All went on smooth as butter. Much like the fairer sex, it seemed rude not to tend to her undercarriage whilst she was on top (of the ramp). Looks rather fetching all buffed up, if I do say so myself. As for the back end, as per my other thread, I just wanted these to match the fronts, rather than perform better. So I sent off some OEM rears to be refurbished and painted at Godspeed. Sadly, the courier was a day late returning the finished items, which isn't a huge deal, unless you've already handed back your rental car and find yourself carless, miles from home - d'oh! Helpfully, my mate, who is also my mechanic, happened to have his own DC5 around, so I got the loan of that for the weekend. As you can imagine, not only was I relieved to have a car to get home, I was very excited to drive a 'Teg. I've not driven VTEC (yo!) before and the DC5 is a fairly well regarded vehicle in JDM folklore, to say the least. It certainly did not disapoint. So much fun. Ooooodles of grip, that addictive burst as the revs surge and as pretty as you like - if I didn't have a lightweight sports coupe, I'd be VERY tempted to go to the dark side of FWD for one of these. Anyway, the rear callipers arrived today, looked sweet and went straight on. Huge thanks to @will300 who very generously, not to mention trustingly, lent me his OEM rears to go away and be refurbished and painted, so as to cut the time my BRZ was off the road. Top bloke, I'm very grateful for your help, not just with the callipers but info and advice too - callipers coming your way in tomorrow's post. All in all, a pleasing bit of work all around. A nice blend of form and function.

As above on my old gunmetal 350z, decent results.

PM’d

Not me, I’m the other end of England. There’s someone else out there with exceptional taste too!

Cheers. Mine rattled before the swap, wish I’d think of this when the card was off. Ta.

In other news, chucked a load of heavy 2mm sound deadening, with some thick but light foamy stuff on top in the rear arches and void and the front door and under the rear seats, whilst I fitted the Focal plug n play kit. It's an improvement but it's not perfect, more than good enough for what I intend to use the car for though. Finally got around to a starter mod too. I know it's late but I was looking for ages for something other than the valentis, just to mix it up, but the prices were bonkers on the other stuff I liked. Pleased with the results though P.S. Do anyone else's drivers door control panel buttons vibrate under BASS?

OMG, of all the time and money I've spent on trying out various detailing products and tools, weird and wonderful products, budget and boutique, I've finally found the Holy Grail. Who knew it was blue with red ears? I've had my eye on an inline water filter for ages but was always a bit skeptical about the filtration being quite good enough to get rid of all the particles, but it turns out it is AMAZING. I should've just taken the gamble years ago. Really pleased with the results, being able to completely eliminate the drying phase is not only labour saving and reduces the love marks of towel drying, it also frees up some time to do other little jobs like restoring black trim. Bonnet after leaving the water to evaporate. And the roof. And an unnecessary glamour shot

I'm due new discs all round and I've come close to running out of brakes a couple of times in the Alps and once on a driver training day, so I've ordered the Reyland AP kit (in red) for the front. It seems a simple choice given the price and positive feedback on here. However, my OCD is going to drive me nuts that the front will look the shizzle and the rear will just look rusty brown. I noticed AP do a rear kit, which I am assuming will match up nicely with my ordered front kit, but I wondered if I have options beyond: AP rear kit (from someone other than Reyland) Get some matching AP discs and DS2500 pads for the rears, have the calipers painted a matching colour? Anyone had some painted? By whom? Price? Any other options, perhaps another manufacturer's kit? I know that our cars are heavy on the front end and I'd be doing the rears more for cosmetics than anything else (notwithstanding the discs are due soon) I'll happily concede this is more about form than function - that said, plastic covers are not an option! Also, how many litres of fluid am I looking at to do all around from empty? Thanks all.

Indeed, the rears are all about my compulsions on form, the fronts are for function; which is why I’m considering painting or the STI brembos. I do realise loads of very serious track workers are in it for pure bang for buck, but I guess I’m just wired differently.

Glad it’s not just me that’s irked by the paucity of rear options. Never knew how good I had it on the 350z with Brembos all round. I’d buy the Blue Edition for the upgrades, if it was in mica blue that is.

Do you mind if I ask how much the refurb was? I checked out BCS and requested a quote, but haven’t heard anything back,

Thanks, I’m very pleased with them. 18x8 - 5x100 - 45mm with 225x40 rubber Only just got setup done this morning, so not had a chance to get a feel yet. It appears it was long overdue, even before the wheel switch, as the tyres that came off the rear had interesting wear to say the least. I think a diversion on my commute down a farm road didn’t do me any favours the last few months!

Turns out that modifying houses is even more expensive than modifying cars, so after messing about for a year, I decided to get my priorities right and treated her to some rims as a reward for being so well behaved (touch wood) since the recall work as done. She seems to be running very sweetly indeed since being taken to bits and put back together again. Long may it continue. Anyway, back to the mods, big thanks to @Adrian@TORQEN for sorting me out with some rims. I did come extremely close to pulling the trigger on some TE37s but couldn't get the precise fitment I wanted, so decided to save a few quid on some Enkeis and uphold the tradition of WR Blue with Gold. Very pleased with the look. Perhaps still sitting bit high, but I've got plans for that. First things first though, setup tomorrow to get her back in alignment.

I got quoted £80 IIRC for the plugs by Subaru when they’re doing the recall, I’m also getting clutch and assorted bits for £375. Diff oil you can price at Opie and its about 15 minutes work to drain and refill.