MotorTrend

120 Hours - Week to Wicked 2013 Subaru BRZ: Day 4

A Vortech supercharger, CSF radiator, and Odyssey battery take our FR project over the top, and a Covercraft cover keeps it snug until tomorrow's dyno day
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We have a date with the dyno on Day 5, so Day 4 meant wrapping up our street-level Week to Wicked Subaru BRZ build. We mentioned yesterday something big on deck, and today our friends from Vortech Superchargers dropped by early in the morning to install their kit on the car. We also threw on a new radiator and battery to support the increase in horsepower and torque, then nabbed a Covercraft cover to keep the car incognito until its big reveal.

The Vortech kit is 100-percent complete and 50-state emissions legal. The process of installation began by removing the factory headlights, airbox, serpentine belt, and wiper fluid reservoir to make room, as well as unbolting and setting aside the alternator. We also reused the factory MAF sensor.

The guys just finished installing the compressor part of the Vortech kit and new belt when our radiator arrived from CSF—perfect timing! The heat exchanger is thicker than stock and a full aluminum design, whereas the factory rad has plastic end tanks; this thing should cool a lot more efficiently. To install the new unit, we had to first drain the old one, then unbolt the core support, fan shroud, and a/c condenser. Once we yanked the hoses and disconnected the electrical, the old radiator came out and the new one slid (with a little finagling) in its place.

Back to the supercharger—Vortech engineers thought of everything when they developed the kit for the FA20 boxer engine. The forced-induction system includes a sexy black intercooler, all charge plumbing (also in black), a blow-off valve, serpentine belt, necessary bracketry, and even a replacement wiper fluid tank and hood prop stay for relocating. There's also a replacement airbox (that looks like it came from Subaru) and Vortech includes the tune, an Ecutek re-flash for the Subie's ECU. When complete, the Vortech blower should supply an additional 9psi of boost pressure.

The final bit of under-hood work was plugging in an Odyssey Extreme Series battery to replace what came with the BRZ. Odyssey batteries feature Thin Plate Pure Lead (TPPL) technology, as well as Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) separators that hold acid in place to prevent spills, even when installed on their sides. TPPL technology is applied to the manufacturing of flat plates made of 99.99 percent pure lead, not lead alloy. These pure lead plates are made thinner, enabling more to fit in the battery for increased plate surface area. The additional surface area enables TPPL batteries to generate more power as well as provide longer service life, greater reliability and deep-cycle capabilities.

And for the big reveal, you'll have to wait until tomorrow! Helping us keep it hidden until then is a Covercraft car cover, made from polyester knit with spandex added to the yarns. The special stretch fabric follows vehicle contours and inside is 100 percent cotton sheared to a fleece finish. Covercraft covers are available in 6 different colors.

We have one more day to go! Make sure to come back tomorrow to see how much power the Super Street Week to Wicked/120 Hours Subaru BRZ makes on the dyno!

For this build, the official sponsors of the Super Street Week To Wicked Subaru BRZ build, includes: Falken Tires, Konig Wheels, Greddy Performance Products, SPEC Clutch, Covercraft, Energy Suspension, Odyssey Battery, RS-R USA, and Vortech Superchargers

Follow the entire build

To see more behind the scenes photos, outtakes, and videos, search these hashtags on Facebook and Instagram:

#covercraft https://www.instagram.com/covercraft/

#energysuspension https://www.instagram.com/energysuspensionofficial/

#falken https://www.instagram.com/falkentire/

#greddyperformance https://www.instagram.com/greddyperformance/

#konigwheels https://www.instagram.com/konigwheelsusa/

#odysseybattery https://www.instagram.com/odysseybattery/

#RSRUSA https://www.instagram.com/rsrusa/

#specclutch https://www.instagram.com/specclutch/

Bob Hernandez

My dad was a do-it-yourselfer, which is where my interest in cars began. To save money, he used to service his own vehicles, and I often got sent to the garage to hold a flashlight or fetch a tool for him while he was on his back under a car. Those formative experiences activated and fostered a curiosity in Japanese automobiles because that’s all my Mexican immigrant folks owned then. For as far back as I can remember, my family always had Hondas and Toyotas. There was a Mazda and a Subaru in there, too, a Datsun as well. My dad loved their fuel efficiency and build quality, so that’s how he spent and still chooses to spend his vehicle budget. Then, like a lot of young men in Southern California, fast modified cars entered the picture in my late teens and early 20s. Back then my best bud and I occasionally got into inadvisable high-speed shenanigans in his Honda. Coincidentally, that same dear friend got me my first job in publishing, where I wrote and copy edited for action sports lifestyle magazines. It was my first “real job” post college, and it gave me the experience to move just a couple years later to Auto Sound & Security magazine, my first gig in the car enthusiast space. From there, I was extremely fortunate to land staff positions at some highly regarded tuner media brands: Honda Tuning, UrbanRacer.com, and Super Street. I see myself as a Honda guy, and that’s mostly what I’ve owned, though not that many—I’ve had one each Civic, Accord, and, currently, an Acura RSX Type S. I also had a fourth-gen Toyota pickup when I met my wife, with its bulletproof single-cam 22R inline-four, way before the brand started calling its trucks Tacoma and Tundra. I’m seriously in lust with the motorsport of drifting, partly because it reminds me of my boarding and BMX days, partly because it’s uncorked vehicle performance, and partly because it has Japanese roots. I’ve never been much of a car modifier, but my DC5 is lowered, has a few bolt-ons, and the ECU is re-flashed. I love being behind the wheel of most vehicles, whether that’s road tripping or circuit flogging, although a lifetime exposed to traffic in the greater L.A. area has dulled that passion some. And unlike my dear ol’ dad, I am not a DIYer, because frankly I break everything I touch.

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