I spent a small fortune modding my 350Z and, as expected, saw none of it back when I came to sell. So this time I'm not modding the BRZ and it's staying OEM, so really there's very little point in this thread as I'm leaving it alone. Definitely. No mods.
This is how she looked after collection and a wash - stunning - if I do say so myself.
Despite the modification ban, I am allowed to do maintenance and preventative maintenance. Like all addictions, it starts with a gateway item - in this case a simple cabin filter. Original was absolutely minging.
Then the (I think original) wipers were looking quite smeary, so in with the Bosch. I did dabble in PIAA last time but I didn't rate their water clearing as much as the Aeros.
After seeing all the posts about battery capacity leaving people stranded, I plumped for another preemptive strike - more Bosch.
With a complete absence of Bluetooth it made the BRZ impractical as a work/commuter vehicle, so I decided to deal with that problem and fit a Sony headunit. I've since improved the surround finisher trim.
Naturally it made good sense to fit a reverse camera at the same time, another preventive job this one. Preventing bodywork repair.
Now there is not much point in being able to see out the back and not see what's up front, so I popped in a Mobius dashcam - unbeatable piece of kit at the pricepoint.
The screw covers in the registration plates were unsightly and the plates were frankly awful (overlapping text, dealer advert etc) so they were recycled and new ones fitted with double sided.
I also moved the rear one down a touch, as I wasn't happy with the use of negative space in the rear plate recess and it stopped it touching the reverse camera.
Subaru "forgot" to include an armrest to cover the expanse of hard plastic in the centre console, so I sorted out another bit of maintenance there.
Had to strap on the Captain Brave pants before drilling INSIDE the car, but manage to retain my dignity in the most part. You might have also noticed I popped in a lightning adapter for the headunit. I did initially retain the OEM USB/AUX port but I would have had to mount my phone on the dash or have unsightly cables knocking about.
Another bit of forgetfulness from Subaru saw me add a Beat Sonic shark fin, as this is stock on a MY2017, it's technically more maintenance.
This one was very nearly just a mod, but some of the OEM exhaust had some light surface rust, so yet more maintenance.
Thanks to bildingo for the Ark GRiP - it sounds brilliant at idle and at cruise, with a nice beefiness when you get on the loud peddle. On top of that it looks superb. Slash tips are JDM yo, but I think I prefer rolled. I genuinely won't be playing around with HFCs, de-cats or the rest of the exhaust as I can't be doing with the MOT hassle and CELs I've had to deal with in the past.
For reasons unknown Subaru don't have a cargo net offering for the boot, which given the way the car is meant to be driven, is a huge oversight. More maintenance required here. Picked up these self tapping fixings from fleabay.
And recycled the cargo net from my 350z
I have four spare fixings left over (enough for one more 4-point cargo net). If anyone wants them, please get in touch. Yours for free.
Last but not least, I allowed myself one genuine mod. A club sticker.
Local seagulls felt this relenting on my zero mods policy should be met with a dirty protest.
I had a go at the plastic scuttle under the windscreen, which is already looking tired even with our 4 weeks of sun a year.
Got a sample pot of this from a Waxybox a while back, decide to splash out on a full bottle.
Very easy to apply and buff, but I won't know if it's really any good until it's lasted 6 months or so. Definitely looks the part for now.
Now the bit of bad news. The dealer promised a service before I collected the car and after a week or so of nagging I got a copy of the invoice for work done (mainly for my service history). Disappointingly, the wrong grade of oil had been used and cheapo filters all round. So I splashed out on some Millers Nanodrive (I even got the right viscosity), a K&N oil filter and a Cosworth panel filter. She's now breathing better.
Worryingly, the best part of 10 litres of the olive oil the previous servicer used came out. I believe the correct capacity with an oil filter is 5.4L?
I had checked the dipstick at collection but it was only showing a splash over full! Needless to say I'm glad the wrong grade was used, as that convinced me to drop it out, so it was only over full for a short while. Slack work though from "professionals", the sump plug and oil filter were only touch tight as well - GRRRRR.
That's me for now, only maintenance and preventative maintenance from here on in. With that in mind, I've got a paint correction booked with a local detailer in a couple of weeks. I need to know what glaze the dealer valet used because it did an incredible job of hiding a truck load of swirls and random deep scratches. Soon to be perfect though