MotorTrend

120 Hours - Week to Wicked 2013 Subaru BRZ: Day 5

Recapping our weeklong daily driven-weekend (track) warrior build
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At the start of the week, we began piecing together our 120 Hours/Week to Wicked 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited to reflect a pretty typical build strategy for an average enthusiast. We set out to assemble a daily driver that we could track on occasion, and via a strategic plan and some key project partners we think we've hit that mark. We picked up a 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited RWD sport coupe a few weeks back, contacted industry friends to help out with some proper modifications, and before we knew it we were elbows deep into transforming our Subie to match our vision.

On Day 1, we upgraded suspension with a set of RS-R Sports-I coilovers, killing two birds with one stone, principally lowering the vehicle's center of gravity for better handling performance but also making the BRZ look cool as hell with a new stance. We freshened up the girl's joints with an Energy Suspension Hyper-Flex master bushing kit to replace the factory rubber with much more durable and responsive polyurethane bushings, and since we were tinkering around in the wheel wells anyway we improved brakes with EBC BSD slotted rotors and Yellowstuff pads.

Day 2 we went out and got our Falken AZENIS FK510 Summer UHP tires mounted on a foursome of Flow Formed Konig Freeform wheels in Radium Bronze, kicking to the curb the spindly factory running gear. Continuing with a focus on cosmetics, we also secured carbon fiber APR side diffusers and rear spats to dress up the exterior, and Tuesday's final tasks were installing the BuddyClub tail lights and resuscitating the heavily oxidized headlights with a Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit.

We got over the hump by tackling one of the longest installs of the build, the SPEC Stage 3+ clutch and aluminum flywheel, and also took the time under the car to unbolt the OEM exhaust and bolt in one of GReddy Performance's new RS-Ti titanium exhausts, which are ridiculously light. GReddy also came through with one of its new hard urethane front lip spoilers for the BRZ, which extends down the front lower edge of the car by some 17mm.

Day 4's big upgrade was a Vortech centrifugal supercharger, which should hopefully take power output to a respectable level (our dyno date to end the week fell through—we'll get the Subaru on the rollers next week). We also installed some supplementary bits, like an Odyssey Extreme Series battery and CSF all-aluminum radiator. Finally, to keep our BRZ snug as a bug in a rug, Covercraft came through with a polyester knit and spandex indoor car cover that has fleeced cotton on the inside—perfect protection in the garage so nothing can spill on or ding up our prized whip.

And that's all she wrote! Our Subaru BRZ Limited is now headed for a life of commuting and the occasional circuit flogging, and we had a lot of fun putting her together! If you are interested in any of the officially sponsored products featured in the build, we encourage you to hit up their respective manufacturers.

For this build, the official sponsors of the Super Street Week To Wicked Subaru BRZ 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/

#poweredbyvortech https://www.instagram.com/vortechsuperchargers/

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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