MrH's BRZ Thread

[Eye of the Tiger]

With all the hype about the handling, I can't believe the GT86/FRS/BRZ actually failed the avoidance maneuver "moose test"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aIcvFJM4DU

[Secret Chimp]

Man look at that sweet ass insta-drift. How could Mike have chosen terminal blundersteer by going with BRZ

[Cookie Monster]

Hey Mike, does your car have those ECU problems that other owners have been reporting? It seems like a good amount of the people with problems have had their engines or cars replaced.

[AutobahnSHO]

pooor subie...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=JaS7n6qKQe4

[Rich]

With all the hype about the handling, I can't believe the GT86/FRS/BRZ actually failed the avoidance maneuver "moose test"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aIcvFJM4DU

LOL

[MrH]

I have yet to watch the Moose video.  I saw it posted it on the BRZ forums though.

Hey Mike, does your car have those ECU problems that other owners have been reporting? It seems like a good amount of the people with problems have had their engines or cars replaced.

No ECU problems.  I saw some were having issues with it, but it's not nearly as wide spread as everyone is making it out to be.  Maybe 100 or 200 out of thousands and thousands already.  They had no idea what was causing it at first, so they were just replacing engines, doing whatever they could at first.  Turns out an ECU reflash is all that's needed.  Has to do with basically a tolerance stack up and how parameters were being read by the ECU...no worries.


I will say though, something is going on with my car that's really strange.  I was driving back from Columbus last Friday and pulled off the high way to get gas.  It had been raining on and off, so the roads were pretty slick.  Of course, I had to swing the tail around on a big left hand turn coming off the highway.  Pulled into a gas station, and something smelled like it was burning.  Smoke coming out from one of the wheel wells.  Popped the hood, couldn't find what it was.  It wasn't coming off the back tires...

I keep catching vague whiffs of it while driving.  I took a quick look, and nothing was dragging on a tire or something like that.  The underbody has a plate that runs pretty much the whole length of the engine.

Here are my two thoughts of what it could be:

1.  The clutch.  I adjusted the positioning of the clutch pedal awhile back.  Every one did it to the car because the friction point was so high, it was tough to get a smooth start, and just really uncomfortable to have your leg hover so high in the air.  There are a few bolts than you can basically loosen, and adjust the pedal.  If you set it too low, the clutch will never have full pressure on the flywheel.  I wasn't aggressive with it at all though, just slightly lowering it.  I'll readjust it back to it's stock location and drive it hard and see if I smell anything.

2.  There's a plastic bag melted onto something under there.  I'll get the car up on jack stands this weekend with the wheels and under plate off and see if I can find anything.

Anyone else have any ideas?  Belts all look good, etc.

[280Z Turbo]

You've overcooked your rice.

[SVT666]

You fucked with the clutch and now you're paying for it.

[MrH]

Doesn't smell like clutch though   I believe I'm still within spec according to the service manual too.

[280Z Turbo]

You fucked with the clutch and now you're paying for it.

Do you even understand what he's talking about?

[AutobahnSHO]

I hate clutches that engage on the floor or at the top of the pedal travel..

[Cookie Monster]

Do you even understand what he's talking about?

H, while you're shifting hard, does the tranny grind at all? That's also a sign that your clutch isn't engaging all the way.

Hopefully it isn't an oil leak or something.

[Eye of the Tiger]

H, while you're shifting hard, does the tranny grind at all? That's also a sign that your clutch isn't engaging all the way.

Hopefully it isn't an oil leak or something.

Disengaging.
And you can only shift as fast as the synchros will go, unless you are tricksy enough to override them.

[Cookie Monster]

Disengaging.
And you can only shift as fast as the synchros will go, unless you are tricksy enough to override them.

Yes that.

[2o6]

Maybe it's the plastic bag making a nasty stink?

[MrH]

Maybe it's the plastic bag making a nasty stink?

That's what I'm thinking.

H, while you're shifting hard, does the tranny grind at all? That's also a sign that your clutch isn't engaging all the way.

Hopefully it isn't an oil leak or something.

Disengaging.
And you can only shift as fast as the synchros will go, unless you are tricksy enough to override them.

Nope, it's disengaging just fine.  On the forum, there's a test to do after you adjust to make sure you're still engaging and disengaging fine (basically, put the car in first, creep until clutch is completely out, stop and immediately go into reverse.  Should have some nasty grinding when trying to go into reverse without being completely disengaged).

I've also put it through every load I can imagine to see if I can get slip while it's in gear (floor it in 1st and 2nd at peak torque, flooring at way too high of a gear while the engine is bogging, etc).  Can't get any slip there either.

It's gotta be a bag or fluid leaking somewhere is my guess.

[SVT666]

It could be a slow coolant leak.  When the intake manifold on my old Mustang cracked, I had coolant dripping on the exhaust and it really smelled quite bad.

[2o6]

Burnt coolant is pretty distinctive, though. It usually smells like fish.

[Raza]

It could be a slow coolant leak.  When the intake manifold on my old Mustang cracked, I had coolant dripping on the exhaust and it really smelled quite bad.

[giant_mtb]

That's what I'm thinking.

Nope, it's disengaging just fine.  On the forum, there's a test to do after you adjust to make sure you're still engaging and disengaging fine (basically, put the car in first, creep until clutch is completely out, stop and immediately go into reverse.  Should have some nasty grinding when trying to go into reverse without being completely disengaged).

I'm no expert, but I don't see how that is a valid test at all.  Many manual transmissions will experience grinding like that.  If you've ever ridden a four-wheeler or dirtbike, you'll know that sometimes in order to get it into gear, you need to slip the clutch a bit first because something isn't lining up just right in the transmission.  I've even experienced this on the A4, especially when cold.  It wont want to go into first, but if you push it towards first (gently) and slip the clutch a bit, it'll pop right in and you'll be  on your way.  I'd suspect going from first to reverse right away could produce a similar situation...but like I said, I could be just way off.

[Cookie Monster]

Yeah, when my car is cold it doesn't like to go into reverse, so I have to keep rowing between 1st and reverse before it will actually go in.

[2o6]

Most reverse gears are unsynchronized, so it's not going to mesh just right. The only car that I've driven is able to go from 1st to Reverse easily was the Focus; and Reverse in that car was synchronized.

[MrH]

...but guys, it goes until reverse just fine.  Clutch isn't touching anything.  It's completely disengaging, and I can't force it to slip at all when it is engaged.  I doubt it's the clutch.

Thank you all for the elementary description of how reverse and gears work.

[SVT666]

Luckily it was covered under a TSB.

[Raza]

...but guys, it goes until reverse just fine.  Clutch isn't touching anything.  It's completely disengaging, and I can't force it to slip at all when it is engaged.  I doubt it's the clutch.

Thank you all for the elementary description of how reverse and gears work.

[Eye of the Tiger]

You know, it could be that your clutch isn't fully disengaging now because your adjusted it wrong.

[r0tor]

I hear its possible to not adjust your clutch properly.  That could be a problem.

[MrH]

Lol, you guys are such assholes. If I push the clutch in while moving and in gear, it wouldnt drop to idle. Everything points to it engaged and disengaging just fine.

[S204STi]

I hear its possible to not adjust your clutch properly.  That could be a problem.

[Secret Chimp]

Lol, you guys are such assholes. If I push the clutch in while moving and in gear, it wouldnt drop to idle. Everything points to it engaged and disengaging just fine.

That doesn't mean it can't be skating the flywheel just enough to make it a little stinky.