Church

IIRC only issue/complain for alcantara-leather ones reported in forums is by relatively low mileage visible wear on side bolsters leather. But yes, those seats certainly were in GTs too, after all they are here in mine (late MY2013)

Leather+alcantara seem acceptable to me .. never been fan of full-leather. Simply because how god awful is if in summer one wears just shorts/t-shirt, and there is own skin touching leather. Sweaty unpleasant result. So my view is that not big loss, if any . Gain - only easier to keep clean from stains. Prefer personal comfort to that.

Then PP unavailability further simplifies purchase decision. It makes sense if it comes on car, then extra cost is reasonable, but those shocks+brembos+wheels cost so much more if sourced by parts individually, so that many aftermarket BBK kits (including ones, that will work with OE non-PP wheels, and ones that are more capable then PP brembos) will cost noticeably cheaper. Pitty that only one color GT has it. It's matter of taste, but that blue paint is not among my favourites. Would have been much nicer, if one could choose that option with any color car, imho that would make that option chosen few times more often. Lauren: hmm, it takes a bit longer even on hotter mode in my car. And it still needs for me to sit in for heating to heat.

BRZ-123: IIRC for GT86 it was not exactly performance pack, but only in some blue edition(?) GT86 that had all those goodies. Didn't know that Subaru @UK hasn't made that extra set available (IIRC called performance package for USDM brz).

If there had been choice, i'd wish to have heated steering wheel though. Sadly not an option. Also regarding seat heating, there is bit i dislike in their implementation - they work only if one sits there. So if i wanted for seats to heat up during 5mins i brush snow off from car to sit in already warm - no, similar to you, if i'd switch them on, i'd feel it only half-way already driven distance to work.

I have top trim and find myself almost never using seat heating, after all, when it's cold, most probably wear warm outerwear eg. coat, thus i won't feel cold inside car anyway. Seat finish .. i guess it's subjective thing, imho cloth seats are good enough, and of same shape anyway. IIRC there are some extra lesser importance bits in car top trim, like electric light for sun visor, HID lights, fogs, but main things in car that matter (eg. LSD), usually are in all trims. Only thing i'd check if it's in lower trim too - digital speedo. Very usable feature i'd miss. BTW, some pros of cheaper trim in my eyes are slightly lesser weight of car with unheated cloth seats, and foglight places usable for brake ducting inlets. If one buys used, due little difference between trims, i'd take whichever with lesser mileage/in better state/cheaper, no matter the trim. If one buys new, i'd rather think if to get one with performance package (brembos/shocks/wheels) or without, but again, ignoring "comfort bits" in trims.

Keyword - cold. And if winters are very mild, there always are all seasons (including mentioned vector 4seasons). I mostly posted in defense of primacies if using in how they are not ever designed/intended to. Some summer tires may do a bit better in cold and wet, but it's not something to generalize/rely on, every tire is compromise and something else needs to be sacrificed. For example - threadwear / rolling resistance in PS4 case (and also primacies being older tire. Progress/improvement never stops). And "exception proves rule"

Even on primacies these cars can grip more and go faster then many average generic family cars (wasn't with our cars on primacies that they still could pull 0.75G on skidpad?). If it seems that they are dangerous, imho you are overpushing and driving in too risky fashion. That is if it's about summer use, if winter's, then wrong season tire choice (again not attributable specifically to primacies, but to summer tires in general used in wrong season/weather). Normally one shouldn't get better tires for it to be "safe"/"not end up in ditch", but rather rethink how one drives, as most traffic signs (eg. about sharp turn ahead) / posted speed limits / average traffic flow speed are erred more on safe side for even less capable/grippy cars. You chosen all seasons for winter, did wise, but it doesn't mean that primacies are inherently bad, just used (if now) in wrong way/season.

Oh. As it's one of mods i'm interested in .. can you comment a bit more detailed on ergonomics of operating light stalks with spacer installed?

You didn't do same at fully lowered position? Then it looks like procedure known to me may have excessive steps too

Camber shouldn't affect much handling driving in straight line on good road. What it changes - grip during cornering (thus by a lot grip during fast taken turns, and grip balance front-rear, thus understeery/neutral/oversteery behaviors) and on uneven road pavement with lot of camber car often tends to change grip between wheels and follow longitudinal grooves. Stability is much more affected with toe (and it's unevenness) imho.

It might not be always only due greed, but simply because of how logistics had been set up. Both toyota and subaru being international manufacturers has own part manufacturing/storing/distribution logistic systems that they reuse even if in some cases (some parts? some models?) for some things it misworks. I also recall seeing some times in forum that "get part X with PN Y at subaru, it's same, but cheaper then at toyota". Also some dealerships can sometimes put own extra markup. Imho this particular gasket case not worth generalizing over. I simply would try to find PN at both toyota and subaru .. and search it up in online part shops, then inquire at dealerships.

Pads also don't play much role in distances as long as brake assembly as a whole provides enough brake friction/torque to be able to lock wheels. Higher or lesser brakes overall friction will mean just how long pedal travel will go to that same-max-possible-with-tires-installed-point. Once wheels are locked (or as one of variations, ABS is triggered), it doesn't matter how much exactly friction keeps them locked, 100.1% or 300%, you won't stop faster vs what max grip of tires allows. So only cases when BBK can shorten distance is when previous brakes setup max friction is less then grip of tires, for example scenario of very grippy low threadwear track slicks and stock brakes+stock pads (simplest indicator if you can or cannot lock wheels braking or if you can or cannot trigger ABS), or in less common case, if car is modified (with eg. aero downforce mods, for example fitting big rear wing but no front splitter) in way to noticeably shift grip bias from stock grip bias, thus braking better with brakes bias that is more optimal to such changed grip bias). Then again to some extent stock brakes can be modified even for these cases, for example with aftermarket higher friction pads to counter former max friction issue with too grippy tires and staggered pads choice (or installing custom biasing valve) for later case. So advantages of BBK is just as Deacon says - increased heat capacity (and/or better cooling). Brakes are after all device to convert kinetical energy to heat, with finite capacity and specific rate of dissipating acumulated heat. That's where OEM brakes shortcomings are. Not stopping distances. Same distance braking, but for eg. 10min, not 30min long track sessions, prior overheating and starting to loose brake proper functioning for various reasons, if such wording easier to understand. (leaving out less important advantages, eg. in some BBKs wearables are cheaper, many allow weight reduction, and yes, looks & coolness :), as those are secondary to main, heat capacity increase, and can be offset with drawbacks of aftermarket BBKs, such as cost, corrosion issues, noise, worse wheel clearance (and in some cases non road-legality)) And you don't hit that limitation unless you have modded car to differ way past what manufacturer designed it. Tires with twice the grip the stock ones are hardly what manufacturer intended it for and designed all the rest subsystems to work with (eg. suspension and brakes), OR are driving like one shouldn't legally, with on-track like repeatedly full on acceleration overspeeding past limits (take note, that many speed limits are usually posted for average cars/trucks/vans, many if not most of which have even less grip then ours with stock primacies) and then full on braking (risking being rear ended or simply looking a***ole in eyes of others) and repeat that many times, OR overheat during long downhill on mountain road. But even while last one is valid scenario even if driven within speed limits .. aren't people being taught anymore of proper brake use on downhills with engine braking and alike? Even BBK can be overheated on long downhill, though it will last longer, so even with BBK one shouldn't abuse brakes past reasonable.

I'd think of stock jack only as something compact to bring around for emergency wheel change, and by such it's shortcomings are easier to ignore. Otherwise it's awkward to use and i already had it once topple over, luckily i have habbit to put wheel under car. For real lifting such as seasonal all four wheel with other season tires change, some pad change, or for trackday i'd get normal trolley hydraulic jack. It is too oversized though to bring around all the time, so i use mine only when working on car (don't forget jackstands!!) or bringing along to trackday.

AFAIK Subaru dealers have bad habbit of asking VIN to find parts in their inventory system. Better prepare/find out them beforehand.

IIRC one pot rears, two pot fronts. Common for OE brakes of that size. It shouldn't matter much for daily driving how much pots there are, as many pots are more only for more even press very large pads, and it's fronts that do most job, but redundant pots will complify design, add failure points, rise manufacturing costs. BTW, if it may come handy, part numbers for rubber seals sets are for front SU003-04523 and for rear SU003-04098. Also worth using right greases for right uses. For example not all greases are ok on rubber, not all where high temps. As for situation in general, piston sticking (i guess what you meant with aggressively dragging), seizing, not knocking back, in most cases it might be from improper lubrication (on eg. slider pins) and/or dust build-up in calipers (eg. where pad "ears" go). It might be some issue with piston or caliper scratched/deformed (eg. by high temps burning off dust seals and crap/dust getting in there) and alike, but imho way less probable. And usually issue happens with just one brake, easily locateable by comparing temps of brakes, so changing all four sounds like (expensive) overkill. Also just slight squaling here and there during slow driving is not always any big issue. If really seized and that brake assembly overheated by past reasonable from constant pad drag, then it's big issue needing to fix, i doubt in happening at all the brakes though. I'd just take to competent shop and tell to change seals & dust boots, thoroughly clean with appropriate chemicals, brush wire and alike tools calipers, properly grease where and with what needed and call it done. OK, ok, and tell them extra to inspect rears, voicing your concerns and that list (of whatever done 4 weeks ago) made issue reappear. Even if one caliper needs to be replaced, it should cost .. a bit less then four and certainly less then BBK, no?

To me it sounds like case of brake overhaul. And i don't think it's any inherent issue of OE brake design. Rather common design, used in many if not most cars for stock brakes. And if anything, our fronts are same as on wrx (IIRC 2005?) and rears from legacy gt. But i don't see many complaining about stock twins or wrx or legacy their brakes wise or major recalls with them.

I'd advise against retrofitting brakes from other car. Of course, illeffects may matter less for not tracked car, that is not pushed and driven with nannies on, but it still feels wrong thing to do. OE twins brembos IIRC will cost 2.5K for brake part + cost of wheels that will clear them (original IIRC didn't), or extended studs & spacers. Still, can you tell what issues your brakes had that warrant caliper replacement? Usually most issues can be handled by simple rehaul of brakes. Replacing seals, regreasing, if worn, pad change, sometimes extra bedding, with calipers very rarely getting to state of not usable.

Hmm. Wait a sec. Why there was need to change calipers and why all four (not some scamming from dealership by chance)? Or you inquired about retrofitting of OE brembos? Those it makes little sense to buy separately, way too expensive, and by then yes, aftermarket BBK makes more sense to buy, to get as good for less or better for that unjustified price (good deal as option for new car though).

Audiophiles and wine-testing professionals can be quickly shamed with something very simple, called "blind testing" :). "butt dyno" was mentioned in meaning/context, as change to better or worse most probably cannot be felt and thus mostly product rating/evaluation, even if from own experience, plays little role. And you are 100%, absolutely, swear on bible, sure that "quieter" & "run smoother" is not there because you expect it in subconsciousness and drive differently? For example, some exhaust bolt-on mods theoretically should add performance & let engine run more efficiently and should rise fuel economy .. but then again it's possible that simply driver's foot becomes "heavier", so to see that extra performance he paid for, and so to hear more audial pleasure he paid for, thus running more often at higher rpms or flooring more often, instead of granny eco-coasting and early downshifting, as result fuel economy drops, even though to driver it seems that he drove no different as before. Actual gain (or opposite) should be evaluated by leaving out personal/subjective bit and with trying to eliminate other variables. For example, that quietness/smoothness to be measured with actual sound level meter and something to measure actual vibrations of engine, with it operated in some mechanized/automated way for repeatability. Long term wear level - on larger number of engines (to reduce particular bad engine possibility) running with or without those additives, filled/operated/run in some specific testing rigs same way. One shouldn't undermine placebo feel/positive affirmation bias/purchase self-justification big role in personal/subjective tests. We are humans, it's our nature, it's known shortcoming of our psiche. We paid money for that, we expect it to enhance things, and we'd hate of opposite and feel remorse of finding out that money was spent for naught or if we need to admit own mistake. Unfortunately there are many less honest vendors/shops/institutions that are glad to exploit known shortcoming/trait to make money.

Slightly curious .. if one removes battery power, does active ecutek mapping mode still "stick" or reverts to some default/first?

They look good .. and you probably paid for them + wheels .. i guess 1-3K? And from looks side 90% consists of wheels .. that could be bought alone w/o BBK then. BBK for looks .. very few look or notice something behind wheels .. and for most of that simple painting of calipers should do/be much cheaper/won't bring any mentioned drawbacks. Remember infamous meme of caliper-less front brakes on golf in Fast & Furious movie? When i stumbled upon pic "on internet", yes, it was funny. But watching movie - i simply didn't noticed that fact. Shows how big portion of looks BBK calipers actually may make up in eyes of majority. It's just like with too wide wheels just for sake of looks. Very few will notice but owner will need to suffer illeffects. Rarely someone looks on width of wheels on car in front, rarely anybody has weird fetish on leaning down to look at width on parked cars. Hence my advise for changes be done with rational thinking/evaluation of price&return/doing homework and learning about possible illeffects too.

Driving within legal speedlimits, even when "enthusiastically"/"hard"/"canyon runs" will never taxate enough brakes (with exception of long mountain downhill driving), so shouldn't impact getting or not BBK. But possible BBK illeffects, eg. worse wheel fitment/clearance (extra $$$$ to by new wheels (and maybe tires)), not getting enough heat in brakes/loosing bedded layer in daily driving and often BBK pads not having noise and vibration reduction bits like shims and such, thus noise/squealing problems, or bad resistance to eg. road salt for more track oriented kits w/o dustboots and of dual-piece rotors, are much more possible to propagate, way more so then chance of ever hitting stock brake limits. If you don't track, no need for BBK. If one does drive on public roads to objectively need BBK, imho one's licence should be suspended. So my recommendation would be to keep using stockers and money better spent elsewhere :). Be it some comfort/visual mods, better and more frequent maintenance. ... or .. start tracking (and by time maybe actually need BBK), as it's imho very interesting and fun hobby and i never regret got hooked on, despite now spending lot on it.

Placebo feel/positive affirmation bias/purchase self-justification feel has high chance of valuing product wrong. If there are any actual changes then it should be of extent not detectable by "butt dyno" and only in long term at best and if you have two identical and identically used cars. Otherwise only frequent oil sampling checks at laboratory may tell a story. So that own "personal opinion" is worth little. One shouldn't be able to tell difference. To me enough that makers don't advise such, that people that abuse cars most (motorsports) don't use such. My car expenses are already high (due sometimes tracking car too). There are better things (and wearables) to spend on, that actually make difference (or need due replacement).

My choice would be to stop paying for redundant snake oils all together.