Current Mod list as of 4/12/13

Engine:
Apexi drop in air filter
Dimple Magnetic Oil Drain Plug
Prova Oil Filter
Invidia Q300 Catback W/ Ti-Tips
Nameless Performance Overpipe/Downpipe Catted
Kartboy Lightweight Crank Pulley
GrimmSpeed Oil Cap Matte Silver
GrimmSpeed Battery Tie Down


Suspension:
Tein Street Flex Coilovers W/ Pillowball uppermounts
Whiteline Front Swaybar 20mm
Whiteline Rear Adjustable Swaybar 16mm
Cusco Front Strut Bar W/ Master Cylinder Brace
Cusco Adjustable Rear Lateral Links



Drivetrain:
PST Carbon fiber Driveshaft
Whiteline Gearbox Positive Shift Kit
Whiteline Rear Positive Traction Kit
Cusco Engine Mount Set
Cusco Rear Differential Support Brace



Wheels/Tires:
Work CR KAI Ultimates - Custom Blue
-18x9.5 +38 Rear
-18x8.5 +47 Front
Bridgestone Potenza RE-11
-245/40/18 Rear
-235/40/18 Front



Brakes:
Front: Brembo GT 355x22 2-piece Rotor, 6-piston calipers - custom white color
Rear: Brembo GT 345x28 2-piece Rotor, 4-piston calipers - custom white color




Exterior:
Lamin-X Yellow Head Light Covers
APR Carbon Fiber Brake Ducts
APR Carbon Fiber Side Rocker Extensions
APR Carbon Fiber Rear Bumper Skirts
Carbign Craft Carbon Fiber Alternator Cover
STi JDM Clear Corner Lights
APR Carbon Fiber Formula GT3 Mirrors
APR Carbon Fiber Front Air Dam



Interior:
JPM CoachWorks Black Alcantara W/ Red Stitching Shift Boot
JPM CoachWorks Black Alcantara W/ Red Stitching E-brake Boot
Kartboy Short Shift Kit W/ Rear Bushing

Tools needed: 14mm socket or wrench, ramps or jack and stands, oil drain bucket, small funnel, fresh oil, and oil filter. Gloves and shop rags are very nice but not required.
Time Required: I would give yourself about 30 minutes to complete the oil change.
Difficulty: One of the easiest oil changes I have done.



First I like to make sure the car is somewhat warm but not hot. You will want to drive your car up onto the ramps, or jack the front of your car up with a jack and make sure to secure it with jack stands. Pop the hood and locate the oil filter and oil filler cap on the front driver side(left side) of the engine bay. Take off the oil filler cap and put it aside in a safe location.




Next go under the car, and you should see the large metal under plate, and you will notice a large access hole, this is where you will be able to access the oil drain plug. Take your 14mm wrench and loosen the oil drain plug, and make sure your oil drain bucket is close at hand so you can get it directly under the oil flow path as you are removing the oil drain plug.





As oil is draining, you can start to remove the oil filter on the top of the engine. With the filter being on the top of the engine, you should not have to worry about the filter spilling oil as you remove it, should be a very clean removal. Once the filter is off, I like to clean the mating surface of the engine to ensure a leak free seal on the new filter.





Install the new filter and tighten down to manufacturer or oil filter specs. Once you have let the oil drain for a sufficient time, you can screw the oil drain plug back in the oil pan and torque to factory specs.









Last step is to fill the engine with oil, we used a small filter which will help keep any oil off the engine. Subaru states the oil capacity is 5.8 quarts, but ours did not take quite that much, so I would fill it to around 5 quarts and check the oil level, and top off if needed.





Put the oil cap back on, start the engine and make sure the oil light turns off. Get out of the car and check for any leaks. Once you have confirmed there are no leaks, double check everything, and enjoy your fresh oil! Now go for a drive!!!





We decided to use the Dimple Magnetic Drain Plug on this oil change, the part number is M16X1.5X12 which is also the dimensions of the oil drain plug. The new Dimple plug will use a 15mm head, so if you do go this route, make sure to have a 15mm wrench handy as well. We also used the Prova Sports Oil filter, part number 10000SP0010

Our new BRZ, the Albino Rhino is officially broken in!!!! Now this is where the fun begins. I did a fresh oil change before I was able to take it out for a true test drive, and once that was done, I was able to finally get a true feeling for what this car can do. I decided to get away from work and from the city and found a winding road that whips it way up one of our many local mountains. Taking it easy at first I was able to feel the suspension on the rough roads, even though it does feel stiff, you get the impression that the tires never want to leave contact with the road, it just feels so incredible planted and stable. I found a few fast corners that looked like they would just be a ton of fun, so I went past those corners, checked for any traffic, and once I knew I was in the clear I headed heavy footed for the corner, a bit nervous but excited to see how this car did in the fast sweepers. All of my nervousness was instantly replaced with a giant smile, which quickly turned into some type of giddy laughter as I realized I could have easily done another 20-25 MPH through the corner.

The grip you get out of this car is unbelievable, and to think it is riding on Prius tires makes you scratch you head in confusion, as the grip feels like something you would get out of a much more aggressive tire. Also the corner was not particularly smooth, and I was amazed with how well the suspension soaked up the rough bumps and kept the tire gripping to the road like they were made out of glue. Next I wanted to have a bit more fun with the car, which means getting that rear end to step out. I continued down the canyon, perhaps a bit quicker than I should have, but it is so hard to resist the speed when the car just encourages you to go faster, I almost feel like if you did not drive it hard, it would make fun of you on facebook or something, calling you slow and dimwitted. As I value my facebook image I made sure I would show this car I was not your average sissy driver and found a few series of tight corners that I could really test the car on. Approaching these corners, again very nervous as you just never know how a new car is going to react, I was a bit cautious, but as soon as I turned in and mashed the gas in 2nd gear, the rear end comes out in a very controlled and very predictable manner, and as soon as I let off the gas, the rear end snapped back into place. To get the rear end to really come out on you, and stay out, you are going to have to put in some effort, the natural tendency is for the rear to snap back into place, which I think is just fantastic having driven too many RWD cars that always want to snap oversteer on you, leading you going backwards into the nearest ditch or tree. I do need some more practice with this, but after a few quick tail slides, this car just inspires confidence and makes you feel like a drift king. Now I am not talking about getting the car sideways at 90 degrees, as I just don’t have the huevos for that(don’t tell the BRZ that, I can hear it firing up the computer already), but just those fun little power slides that you can easily do powering out of a sharp corner, and this car is the king of that for sure. With everything being so tight and together on the car, you can feel what the front end is doing and exactly what the rear end is doing as well, so it is hard to not have confidence and know the car will easily pull you out of the slide without having to call the insurance company. One thing I did not really touch on in this review was the power. With the engine finally broken in I was able to take it to redline, and luckily I did not have any unrealistic expectations that the engine would turn into this high revving beast, as it just is not. Now I am not saying the power is bad in anyway, as you can easily get this car up and moving quicker than you would ever need, so we’re just going to call the power levels adequate and leave it at that.

All around this car appeals to me more and more every time I drive it. I often can find questionable situations to put this car in which would embarrass other cars, and this one just seems to excel all while leaving you with white knuckles and a huge ear to ear grin. You can create whole new levels of fun by just dodging around man hole covers, paint stripes etc.. It reminds me of the first sport bike I ever road, it just feels so nimble that you can’t help but to test it out by purposefully avoiding every little thing on the road…”I am sorry officer, it is brand new, so I just needed to make sure those..umm.. pebbles on the road would not hurt my tires”. Just remember to be safe and have fun!

Stock vs Apexi