After learning a hard lesson about brakes last season… it’ll come as no surprise that the next modification I have in store for the car is an Endless Big Brake Kit! I always knew I would be going the route of upgrading my kits with Endless but the selection process was actually not very straightforward as there’s not a lot of english Endless details on the web. Thankfully Leo from First Gear has excellent Japanese skills and was able to translate the available choices for me. In addition, Peter, Li and Chris all provided me with tons of advice and input in getting me the perfect big brake upgrade for my car. I’ve never learned so much about brakes, benefits of 2 piece rotors, Endless membership cards and much more super interesting stuff. After deciding on all the detailed specs, the most difficult decision was actually caliper colour selection LOL. I always thought yellow brake calipers on a blue car looks super hot but the thing that bothered me (and I’m still not sure I’m fully at peace with it today) is the red sticker on my te37SLs. I’m a subscriber of a car should have a primary colour and just one accent colour in addition to base colours such as carbon fibre or black. I’m super happy with the brakes and the yellow calipers but may look to one day change up wheels or look to remove the red sticker from the rims. 1st world problems… but something that does keep me up at night!

I finally got around to getting my good friend and super photographer Chad to take some shots of the car. I can honestly say that the majority of the nice photos of the car are from him! Not only the photos turn out really well but it was really fun to hang out with him at a few locations to snap some photos of the car.

So… with the new Voltex wing and Recaros, I felt pretty great out at the track. Lap times were improving and I had this higher level of confidence to head deeper into turns, braking later and later. Or so I thought… LOL. I went off into the gravel at turn 4 as my front brakes were completely cooked.

The track junkies open pit lane track days are so awesome in that I get a ton of seat time, often staying out for close to 10 laps at a time with only 10 to 15 minute breaks between sessions. This is excellent except that it quickly burns through your brake pads. So much so that I didn’t even know they were done until it was too late. Rotors and pads were completely fried! Might be time for the big brake kit upgrade next season.

Here’s another example of something that I didn’t really believe in…. a lot of the guys that frequent track days all wore gloves but I didn’t quite understand how wearing gloves to drive would be advantageous. When I received these from Narita Dog Fight (huge fan of NDF), I was still skeptical as I wore them and drove the car around some back roads. I felt a little disconnected from the steering wheel and didn’t really understand why almost everyone wore gloves out at the track.

Post Track Day Update:

Okay…. I absolutely get it now. Initially I thought wearing gloves made me feel disconnected to steering inputs and controls but I actually found they gave me better grip and control. Another thing I found was that I think my hands were a little less fatigued versus when I didn’t wear racing gloves. Last but not least, I think it’s one of those things that make me feel a little more professional (at least looks wise) when saddling up and getting ready to head out for some laps ha ha ^_^

I will admit that this was something that I was afraid to get for the longest time. Being somewhat “older” (imo) within the car enthusiast scene plus being new to track driving… I had the mentality that cars with large wings tend to draw too much attention. I remember having countless discussions with my wife about getting a “wing” on my car and she absolutely loved making fun of me - saying I was too old to be driving around in a car with a “ricer” looking type wing.

To my pleasant surprise, after the wing was expertly installed by Legundary Tech Chris at First Gear - I fell in love with how it all looks. With the new trunk (without the STI gurney flap and OEM BRZ spoiler) plus the wing with the centre mounts, it just looked like a completely different car. The wing actually somewhat completed the look of the car. It looks way more aggressive and actually looks more like it belongs on the track.

Post track day update:

After a couple of track days with the wing - I can confidently say that it is doing what it’s supposed to do. There’s a couple of turns (5 & 6) out at Catrol (Rad Tourque Raceway now) that used to scare the bejesus out of me a little…. everyone kept telling me that in my car, I barely needed to slow down and can tackle them at a pretty high speed. I always somewhat slowed down entering those two turns (also because I did “go off” after turn 5 before) but after the wing was installed - the car does indeed feel a lot more stable and I’m now a lot more confident in pushing through turn 5 and 6.

I’ve always been quite skinny - my ectomorph body type is great for things like running long distances but it’s been pretty horrible in keeping me in place in the stock OEM BRZ driver’s seat. Once again, Peter L. and Leo started whispering in my ear…. first Peter sent me a JDM article / catalog filled with JDM Recaros that do well in the twins. After that, a trip to First Gear where Leo had one for me to sit in and I was sold immediately.

And of course, I couldn’t stand the look of having different seats therefore I ordered a pair of them to complete the look.

Update (post track day):

I don’t know why I waited so long to get these seats…. they make a world of difference out at the track. From now on, seats are near the top of the priority list for any vehicle that I plan to bring to the track.

To be honest, I didn't know much about air intakes other than what I read online and through magazines when I was younger. I knew the basics, the more air the engine gets the better it will perform. How to get the engine more air was the trick and I hadn't really known about the Beat Rush air intake until Leo from First Gear recommended it. I still recall the afternoon where he sat me down and showed me photos, dyno chart s plus in-depth product details. Staring at the photos (who doesn't love the front area with the little window to see the air filter?!?!?!) I absolutely fell in love with it from an aesthetics perspective. Then came the dyno charts... I didn't expect much as I heard the twins didn't typically obtain much in terms of performance gains from air intakes but surprisingly there was consistent information online that this unit had measurable benefits. (still very minuscule performance gains but it was more than I expected). During the install, some creative thinking had to be done by the legendary tech Chris as I was installing a HKS oil cooler on the passenger side fog light area... exactly where the intake hose was supposed to go for this intake. Something like this is trivial for the legendary tech though, he customized a special bracket and mounted the intake hose in front and off to the side of the radiator. Check out the set of super nice photos taken by the legendary tech from First Gear (he's not just the best mechanic but also a really good photographer!). ‍Honestly, after this was installed - I constantly stare at the engine bay (or photos) because it's such a beautiful piece of equipment that compliments the look of the engine bay as a whole. Couldn't be happier with this Beatrush Intake by Laile.‍

The moment I told a few track experienced friends that I absolutely loved track days and will be back out there... is the exact moment when they all recommended that I look into getting an oil cooler. I've got to thank Leo for recommending this HKS unit. I'm going to have to do some measurements to see how it performs but from online research, this piece of equipment does what it advertises to do and should lower temperatures.

Growing up I've always marvelled at the amazing cars that a famous, rare tuner shop in Japan put out. Powerhouse Amuse always seemed to put out the best cars and aftermarket parts. I tried to look into getting an Amuse dual exhaust for the BRZ in 2018 but didn't have any luck. One day out of the blue, Chris shot me a message and said the president of Amuse was visiting First Gear and there was an opportunity to order the exhaust of my dreams. It was honestly a no brainer and after meeting Leo for the first time for about 45 minutes talking about parts, I had my order placed. The attention to detail and the quality of this exhaust is nothing like I've ever seen before. The nice detailed touches that Leo requested are amazing and I feel blessed to be able to have this fine exhaust on my car. It has a perfect balance of a nice deep sound yet does not drone when driving around town.

Photos courtesy of Chris Breau

Heard lots of great things about Tomei headers... I initially was thinking of the unequal length header but was advised by Leo (First Gear) that with him knowing my tastes would not like the sound of it. Plus the equal length header seemed to provide more top end HP. Thoroughly happy with the decision to go with the EL and am enjoying the performance gains and sound. ‍Photo credit: Legendary Tech Chris

One of the reasons I absolutely love the twins (BRZ/86) platform is that there's so many aftermarket parts for it. While I'm carefully planning out the larger modifications, there's plenty of small, elegant cosmetic parts that add a personalized touch to the car. ‍

Let me just say that I haven't had this much fun in a very, very long time. I've auto crossed in the past with my 7th gen celica GT-S but truly didn't really know what to expect heading out to Castrol / Track Junkies for the first time. The moment I arrived, I was greeted by some familiar faces and also was welcomed by a ton of strangers. Honestly, it was so refreshing to meet so many friendly people in the paddock. The bus ride tour of the track was awesome, class room sessions were super interesting and the on track experience with my instructor was absolutely amazing. I realized how much of an amateur I was when it came to driving a road course at speed. All the endless hours of Gran Turismo gave me an idea of what it's like but there's really nothing that can compare to physically being out there trying to find the optimal driving line, braking hard, hitting the apex and accelerating out of turns. It was a truly humbling experience yet I also loved how difficult and challenging it was. It meant there would be tons to learn and this hobby will provide me with a life long learning experience to become a better driver. Last but not least, being out at the track made me love my car even more. All the complaints I hear about the BRZ / 86 being underpowered and slow now fall on deaf ears. This car is fantastic out at the track and I can't think of a better car for someone new like me to learn the ins and outs of car control. I'm officially hooked and I find myself day dreaming quite often of more and more track time. Kudos to Track Junkies for running such a great program to welcome new comers. I'm a huge fan and will be trying to get out there a few times each year moving forward.‍

Photo Credits: Piotr Ilnicki

Can't decide what aftermarket spoiler I want to end up with therefore STI gurney flap in the interim. Many thanks to Chris for telling me about this JDM Subaru STI part, the install and awesome photos are also from him!‍

The stock OEM taillights have always somewhat bothered me with the excess amounts of chrome in them. I actually struggled quite a bit in deciding which set of tail lights to try and landed on these. I love how they're clean, don't have any chrome and aren't too wild to be distracting. I'm not very handy or mechanically inclined but I figured I should begin to be more hands on with the car. Other than the clear side markers, this is the 2nd mod that I've installed by myself. Unfortunately, just a few weeks after I installed these - Intec Carbon Fibre tail lights caught my eye and I think might switch up to those one day.

These Cusco Strut braces look amazing with the bright blue accents (this is the start of my Cusco addiction) and they increase the stiffness between the strut towers.

Right after I got the rims, I knew immediately that coil overs were next. The stock ride height was something that bothered me and putting the te37s on without any camber adjustments made the car look like it was a 4x4 off road vehicle somewhat. Many thanks to Peter Luu for recommending these RSR Sport i coilovers. I wanted something to lower the vehicle, allow for camber adjustment, provide a somewhat comfortable ride for the street, yet capable for track days. UPDATE: The fitment and camber adjustments were slightly off for an entire year until the Legendary Tech Chris perfected it (no more wheel poke)‍

I think it was the year 2001 when I saw te37s in Import Tuner magazine. I was dreaming of owning a 7th generation Celica GT-S instead of my (pretty mediocre) Mazda Precidia MX-3.  Now this issue of Import Tuner featured a modded 7th Gen Celica GT-S therefore this car and everything about it caught my eye. I can remember it almost like it's yesterday, the wheels on it looked absolutely amazing. That was mt first exposure to te37s... When I found out how much they cost, my plan to purchase a set quickly fell flat. Fast forward 14 years later and the very first thing I purchased shortly after I got the BRZ was these rims of course.