McDude

Hint - they run fine on 95RON too! The engine has a knock sensor so will pull out spark and I doubt most of us would notice the difference if it is running retarded. Marketplace fuel in the UK often comes out at ~96+RON so it usually runs better than the fuels the cars were developed on (they are usually developed to a reference fuel rather than actual marketplace). Maybe on a hot day under high load you might push it to knock on 95RON. All said, I run mine on whatever premium fuel is available at the time. Engine never knocks and pulls just fine. Only combustion issue I ever had was on old spark plugs.

I know there are plenty of aftermarket options for steering wheels, but I wanted to go OEM+ so I got a wheel trimmed up on exchange (they trim up a wheel they have in stock and you send your old one back once you've got the new one) by https://royalsteeringwheels.com/ The result is fantastic, beautiful materials, perfect stitching. Really highly recommended. I went for perforated leather, like the OE part - but much better leather, around the grips and alcantara top and bottom. Red stitching and a centre stripe - I know the centre stripe can be a bit nobby, but I think it looks great! I've always liked the stock wheel but just wanted it clad in something better!

Good job!

So my BRZ has seen very little use over the past weeks and whilst the battery is relatively new even it won't hold a charge forever. I've had to jump start it a week ago and thought it would be okay for another week, however when I went to start it there was no response to the key fob at all. I opened the door with the key and the alarm went off (though not especially loud) it still wouldn't recognise the key and any key button presses. Connected up jump leads and had a good connection, I could even operate the electric windows! But no cranking. Battery is new in the key fob, it's as if the alarm/immo isn't recognising it. Car is at work so only tried with one key fob, the one I had, so I could try the other, but it's a pain getting down there and would need to take jump leads etc. What I mean is when I go I'd like it to be to get the car started so if there is a known procedure to get the alarm/immo working and/or the key recognition that would be a massive help.

That wouldn’t explain why it won’t crank with jumper leads.

That logic would suggest that going straight to switch backwards would do nothing, this isn't the case as it does switch the seats on.

I personally rate the leather/alcantara seats in the lux, I think it looks much nicer than the cloth, but that is only personal. I also really like a heated seat, in my car the rocker switch is forward for high, back for low i.e. both ways on the rocker switches them on, you don't have to go to the high setting first. My car also has the arm-rest which I'd previously assumed was part of the Lux Pack, but maybe the previous owner had it fitted as an additional option. Either way, if I was buying another BRZ I'd get the Lux pack again.

If you're in Braintree, why aren't you using Perkins Subaru? Surely much closer? I'm not promoting them, just curious. They did my valve recall and seemed to have done a good job.

Sorry if you already mentioned this and I missed it: what future warranty are they offering you on this work? ie you had a perfectly good engine, if it fails in a year do you have any comeback? Even if the failure was due to the rework it can be very difficult to successfully argue the point. Not saying you’re doing the wrong thing getting the work done, only interested because my car also needs the rework and the dealer is being slow to get back to me. I may take elsewhere but Subaru dealers are in short supply. Whilst it is the same work as the Toyota, I doubt a Toyota dealership would take it on.

I got mine from a BMW dealership - they'd got it in as a trade in and had priced it too cheaply. They put it on Autotrader at 10pm and I called them they minute they opened the next day. I didn't even haggle, it really was too cheap and I didn't want to miss out. The dealer reckoned he'd never had so many calls about one car. 18 months on and it still looks a bargain against other BRZs.

I also have a Scottish plated Mica Blue BRZ in Essex! It's worked out well for me!!! Welcome.

Yes - what Vad said. Nothing to hit and they control the cars so no one is going at the same time so I wouldn't bother.

I've done this training 3 or 4 times in the past and it is absolutely brilliant! This was a long time ago though and in an Elise; I didn't find it tough on tyres, but then again it was an Elise which is notoriously good on tyres! The description of the day above is pretty spot on but they will tailor the advice to suit your ability. I have pondered doing this again in the BRZ as you could have a lot of fun on the high speed corner.

I'm not convinced that a Scottish winter is really much worse than an Essex one (and I've lived half my life in both areas!). The debate for do you/don't you need winter tyres in the UK isn't clear cut but having run them in the past, the confidence in cold, wet conditions is worth the bother and on the odd occasion you do get snow then they are remarkable. I got caught on the way home last winter when I struggled to get up a small incline in Brentwood with only a flurry of snow. Sitting in the car going 10p/5p and praying to the gods of snow that I wouldn't be the tw@t holding up rush hour traffic I vowed I would not make the same mistake again! I love the Primacy tyres in summer so will keep them, I have a spare set of alloys. The outlay of getting winter tyres is then offset by not wearing out the summers so much. I still get your point though - you can get by without them and I've left it a bit late to get them this year. But I figure I've got 3 months on them until summer again.

Seems there are lots of people on here with the Nokian winter tyres; are you happy with them? (I see mostly positive comments) Anyone got the Conti Wintercontacts? They get some very good reviews and comments that they are very suited to the UK winter conditions i.e. cold and wet rather than snowy all the time. I'm about to boot up but just can't decide what to put on. Other brands are available and would welcome feedback/thoughts.

If not an obvious thing like a worn bush - rear seat loose?!?!

I've owned many an interesting car in my time and I've done my fair share of modifications and ICE installs but when I picked up my BRZ a couple of weeks ago I knew I was past all that. Some of the Japan's finest chassis and powertrain Engineers have worked their magic on this car and WAIT A MINUTE!!!! Who thought it was acceptable to put a stereo in a modern car that is so awful?!?! I genuinely didn't think modern cars came without Bluetooth and the sound coming out the speakers is dreadful! I'm not some fox eared audiophile, I'm a normal human with a fairly sub-standard pair of ears but said ears were offended. So... I did my research and pondered and priced up various options and I've gone for a fairly middle-of-the-road if not lower end solution. That said with the headunit, speakers and the myriad of connectors I'm in for about £500-550 The headunit is a Pioneer SPH-DA120: It has Bluetooth and AppleCarplay (which is a good way to get cheap navigation). To install you need... ISO to Toyota/Subaru harness: Antenna harness: USB harness (if you want your USB port to work): Wiring-wise, that's all you need, but you will find this plug on the left is now redundant (thanks to this forum for confirming this is okay to leave unconnected): It is so easy to wire up a chimp could do it (well I did it so it can't be difficult): To make the double DIN stereo fit the gap I used (other parts are available): The part of these that goes down the side of the stereo is quite thick so I Dremmeled them thinner - I need to do a bit more as you'll see in the install pics later I'm still not 100% happy with the fit on one side. Finally you need brackets OR you need to modify the existing ones: There is a bend at the top which interferes with the side of the new headunit, I cut these off and opened up a couple of the mounting holes - you can see red dots where the cut/drill marks were. The brackets will look like this when fitted: Finally, put the whole lot together. It's all poke yoke so you can't get it wrong. Installed it looks like: And at night: There's a little gap between the headunit and the plastic spacers just on the right hand side, which isn't as bad as it looks in this picture because the flash has reflected off the metal in the gap, but it's still not good enough so a bit more Dremmeling will sort that out. Overall though it looks 'right' and makes the cabin feel much more modern. It also doesn't look aftermarket which is what I wanted to avoid at all costs. The headunit allows you to change the colours of the buttons and the theme of the screen so I've gone 90s orange to match the microwave oven clock. So, how does it sound? I've got some Focal IS165TOY speakers to add and some Dynamat superlite (~1500g weight for enough to cover the car - I didn't want to add weight if I could help it as that is not in the Colin Chapman ethos of "just add lightness") but as there are other write ups on the Focal speakers I thought it would be interesting to just see what it was like on the stock speakers with no additional sound deadening (I'll do that this weekend). Incidentally I went for the Focals as I just simply couldn't be ar5ed to muck about with running new speaker cables, find places for crossovers and generally tinker and fettle to get the speakers to fit. You know what? It's really VERY good, much more solid sounds, you can hear the tweeters working and doing a bit more work and in general the audio quality is really very decent. I wasn't expecting that and I'm not sure I'd update the speakers if I hadn't already bought new ones. Don't get me wrong, I will and I'm sure they will be better still, but the standard Subaru speakers with a good headunit really aren't bad at all. I did have the really low end Subaru unit before and I believe the Toyota units are better so perhaps the difference is more marked in a BRZ. I would be interested where others have mounted their mics for phone or where it sits in a GT86. Putting it on the steering cowl seems the best bet unless anyone says otherwise. Speakers will be added at the weekend and I'll update this thread. Questions always welcome, answers will probably be made up! McDude

Did you check under the 'safety' recall link? According to that site my car is not affected. I'd not be too worried if it was, when they have the engine out I'm sure one could negotiate a new belt and plugs at the same time for cheap (as others have suggested).

I assume Subarus aren't immune to this issue? Anyone checked with a Subaru dealer?

I know this has been covered before but damned if I can find the thread(s). Has anyone on here got experience of getting a mountian bike in the back of the BRZ (or GT86)? I'm assuming it's a both-wheels-off job, but I'm hoping the pedals can stay on. Easy job? Fiddly? Going to scratch the crap out of the car? I've got a large frame hardtail with 27.5" wheels if that helps at all. A Whyte 901 if you're interested in such things! Ordinarily it goes on the roof of the family car, but that's not an option this time.

Yes run DMR V12 flats which are quite bulky. Like you say, there's plenty space once you are past the boot opening. I'll figure it out.

Is it any easier going in via the doors or is that just asking for trouble?

Another heated seat fan here. Just a really quick way to get some heat. But horses for courses. I find it astonishing they were fitted after shipping. What was the the logistics? Ship cars without seats but with the loom in place? Junk a load of non-heated seats? What was the intended purpose of the space where the switches sit? Sounds like a very expensive way to add a feature whichever way you look at it.

PM'd

Wings! They are wings, not fenders!!! We are not americans. Carry on!