BRZ - Round 2

[MrH]

The dude has been pretty awesome to deal with so far.  I explained the RDX to him and wanting a full paint correction.  He asked if it was a daily, and said that honestly, just do a single stage paint correction.  He said it will probably get 90%+ of any imperfection out.  It wouldn't be worth doing a ton of deep cutting to get it absolutely perfect just to put it through the daily grind.  He's willing to do it if I want to, but recommended going cheaper.  That's probably a few hundred bucks of work he could do, but knew it's not worth it unless it's some concours car.

[giant_mtb]

That's legit. He's definitely correct on that front. Single stage with a finish of wax or other coating/sealant is adequate for 99% of DD vehicles and is amazing to most people's eyes.

[MrH]

Finally met the dude yesterday.  Great guy, really pragmatic view of detailing.  I think he realized being a perfectionist isn't really the money play here.  Being easy to work with and schedule and competitive pricing.

Really happy with how the Outback and BRZ turned out.  BRZ isn't perfect, but for <$1k, it's the best I can expect.  The RDX was in process yesterday.  He's not going to get it perfect, but it'll look really good when it's done.  Just the nature of a not properly maintained, used, black car with piano black pillars.

[MrH]

Finally got all the cars through the detailer.  It's not perfect, and probably not quite as good of work as the guy I used for the S2000 paint correction and ceramic coating, but he was about half the price so I'm very happy with the results. The RDX had a ton of clearcoat scratches from just being a black, used car and came out better than I expected.






Mods so far:
- Phone mount
- Exhaust tip extenders
- JDM OEM clear corner markers
- Some LEDs in certain areas of the cabin and trunk just for better lighting


I'm closing in on 600 miles.  A few impressions so far:

- I absolutely love the color and looks.  I smile every time I see it
- The interior design is perfect for what it is.  No piano black.  Just lots of great, matte plastics.  Very usable design and all the creature comforts I could really want in a car like this (blind spot monitoring, CarPlay with a responsive head unit, nice digital dash layout, heated seats, good headlights, etc)
- Way more comfortable and quieter than the S2000.  The wife doesn't even mind riding in it, which says a lot.  It doesn't beat me up nearly as much as the S2000 did commuting in it.

Negatives:
- The sound system is kind of weird.  Most newer music it sounds really good?  Incredibly bassy for not having a subwoofer. But some older albums sound god awful.  Everything is really muddy and unrecognizable.  It's strange.  Most podcasts are fine, but sometimes there are guests and words that end in S are overly harsh.  There's an audio upgrade available I'm considering, but it's $500.
- The car is geared relatively short.  Keeping this thing <4k rpm for break-in has been difficult.  Can't wait for it to be over.
- Clutch feel is just like the 1st-gen, which is weird to say the least.  It has this massive helper spring that's variable. As you depress the clutch, the force required is all over the place.  Makes the whole experience strange.  I bought a clutch spring that everyone says solves the issue, I just need to install it.  Looks like a huge pain in the ass
- Shifter feel is just ok.  Not Miata or S2000 level, but better than the 1st gen.
- The rev hang is pretty bad.  I think once I get the clutch spring worked out, I'll probably get used to it, but it feels really unnatural to get off the gas so early when shifting.

[MrH]

https://youtu.be/8gvS3n8wI9Y

Holy shit. What a terrible design. I really don't understand why they would do this.

Finally wrestled the clutch spring out yesterday and replaced it with a much lighter one. It's like a whole new car. It feels normal for the first time.

Also swapped out the speakers with a set from OEM audio plus. Just listened in the garage quickly and they sound a lot better. Guess I'll see tomorrow on the drive to work.
 
https://oemaudioplus.com/gr86-brz/

[AutobahnSHO]

https://youtu.be/8gvS3n8wI9Y

Holy shit. What a terrible design. I really don't understand why they would do this.

I could only guess that the spring helping to make sure the clutch pedal is all the way "up" is to prevent wear on the clutch from people who hover their foot on the pedal. You have to be deliberate to push on the clutch- but then the spring helps reduce the work you have to do.

But it seems like an artificial "nanny" that just isn't needed.

[CaminoRacer]

That is super strange. Good to know it's a fairly easy fix. The clutch was one of the biggest reasons I prefer the ND Miata over a BRZ.