Contributor I
So first: Thanks to my friend @Nanuka for the much-needed prodding after too many months of spinning my proverbial wheels listlessly.
Starting on this Overland Bound adventure of sorts has given a lot of the vague notions and ideas I had for my car much more concrete tasks to target, and goals to achieve.
I figured starting a thread on the build plan for the car would be a good place to start, as much to get my ideas in the open where others and chime in as anything else.
I purposefully bought a stick-shift and more stripped-down model of the BRZ so I'd have a base to build something unique on, and inspired in part by DT_FRS on InstaGram but aiming for a less extreme build since I want adventure, not racecar. :) The year I purchased them they changed the rear diff to a higher ratio for the stick-shift, so there's a bit of extra torque to work with as a result. This leads to my current plans, in order of what they allow for:
That's the extent of the planned 'powertrain/suspension' changes, with most of the rest being where I'm wide open for suggestions:
Lights, LEDs obviously but are there certain types which are more popular or "I wish I knew about those when I started!" that people can suggest? I'm holding off somewhat on this until I have more experience with Mon (the nickname of the car) as well, so I'd love suggestions that would fit on a BRZ.
Interior storage is one place the BRZ shines quite brightly, and shockingly so. I have plenty of space for a week of supplies for one person with room for modest luggage and clothing, it's worked well for such trips 3-4 times already. But one obstacle I have is limited height for that storage space, so many common packaging approaches don't quite fit. Like the ubiquitous "5 gallon bucket" option for some things doesn't quite work, so I'm having to pick over ultralight backpacking forums for suggestions for tools and the like.
One of the few true failings is the roof sheetmetal can't support a long-term roof rack (almost all makers of them pulled the products from market) so I'm limited to rear-hitch storage shelves. Any particular good/bad brands of those out there these days? There's so many options that it's hard to research them because every single one has good and bad reviews but it's all spotty and spread about.
Anyways, here's to the start of what I hope will be a longer build thread with time.
Starting on this Overland Bound adventure of sorts has given a lot of the vague notions and ideas I had for my car much more concrete tasks to target, and goals to achieve.
I figured starting a thread on the build plan for the car would be a good place to start, as much to get my ideas in the open where others and chime in as anything else.
I purposefully bought a stick-shift and more stripped-down model of the BRZ so I'd have a base to build something unique on, and inspired in part by DT_FRS on InstaGram but aiming for a less extreme build since I want adventure, not racecar. :) The year I purchased them they changed the rear diff to a higher ratio for the stick-shift, so there's a bit of extra torque to work with as a result. This leads to my current plans, in order of what they allow for:
- 2" Lift (front and rear), for obvious reasons but allowing the next step without needing to cut and fabricate around the front strut tower mounts:
- A "Mantis" high-angle turning kit (same vendor), in part for the added turning angle and MUCH tighter turning radius, but primarily the additional 2.5-3" of track width in the front it adds and making the front suspension have parts that are more feasible to swap trail-side and with designed-in failure points in case of common mishaps.
- This should (in theory and from initial measurements) allow for a small tire size increase (from factory stock 25" to 27") to allow moving to 215/65R16 tires for off-road use, which is available in a wide range of heavy-duty options. Including a very solid KO2 heavy-duty choice.
That's the extent of the planned 'powertrain/suspension' changes, with most of the rest being where I'm wide open for suggestions:
Lights, LEDs obviously but are there certain types which are more popular or "I wish I knew about those when I started!" that people can suggest? I'm holding off somewhat on this until I have more experience with Mon (the nickname of the car) as well, so I'd love suggestions that would fit on a BRZ.
Interior storage is one place the BRZ shines quite brightly, and shockingly so. I have plenty of space for a week of supplies for one person with room for modest luggage and clothing, it's worked well for such trips 3-4 times already. But one obstacle I have is limited height for that storage space, so many common packaging approaches don't quite fit. Like the ubiquitous "5 gallon bucket" option for some things doesn't quite work, so I'm having to pick over ultralight backpacking forums for suggestions for tools and the like.
One of the few true failings is the roof sheetmetal can't support a long-term roof rack (almost all makers of them pulled the products from market) so I'm limited to rear-hitch storage shelves. Any particular good/bad brands of those out there these days? There's so many options that it's hard to research them because every single one has good and bad reviews but it's all spotty and spread about.
Anyways, here's to the start of what I hope will be a longer build thread with time.
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