The Boring Cars of KwS - 2012 Subaru BRZ

[kws]

As part of my prep for the next trackday and to remedy an issue I had in the last one, I chose to upgrade my VSC control module to a newer one from a 2017+ GT86/BRZ.

It's well known on the earlier cars like mine, that the VSC, even in track mode, is far too intrusive. This was very apparent to me on the track when it was constantly cutting power when trying to exit corners, and it really reined in any fun (hence me trying to turn it off, and ending up spinning).

The swap is well documented over on the FT86 forum, but since that forum is dying and only works half the time, I thought I would cover my experience with it.

Toyota released some good info when the facelifted 2017+ cars came out, which clarifies the changes to the VSC unit and the change from SPORT mode to TRACK mode.

My original unit, being the ~16MY blue dot in the above diagram, shows how much more slip the MY17 unit allows, both in Normal and Track modes.

Toyota also clarified what the different modes are and the differences between the new and old modes.

I spent all my time on the track (except for the one time I tried Mode 5) in Mode 3, which is pressing the SPORT button and having both lights come on. I couldnt get Mode 4 to work, though, as TRC kept re-enabling when turned off.

The good news is the swap is pretty easy. Only the electronics unit on the ABS pump needs to be swapped, so no fluid is lost or needs to be bled, and other than having to swap two wires on the early cars like mine, it's plug and play. 2015+ cars may not need to be rewired, so double check that first.

I went on Yahoo Auctions Japan and hunted out a unit that met my criteria; it needed to be from a manual car, and have a production date after 2016. The manual car thing I had to check with the chassis number of the car the part was removed from, and photos of the unit indicated the build date

This number is the important one. Always check on the black plastic control unit (as this is the part we need), not just the alloy ABS unit, as it is possible to swap an older module onto a later ABS pump.

You can also check the part number on the ABS unit. 27536CA030 is one of the confirmed units that work (from the list on the FT86 forum), the 16 also indicates it's a later 2016 unit and matches the 16 date on the VSC module.

Now, to the actual job. This is the ABS pump with VSC unit on it, in the front LH corner of the engine bay

Plenty of space to work

Disconnect the battery before beginning work, just in case.

Start by removing the connector from the unit. This has a big latching mech on it, and you need to press in this little button before you can lift the lever up

The lever should lift up, push the connector away from the unit and then click into place up the top once it's fully unlatched

The back shell needs to be removed next. Cut the white zip tie holding the wiring, and then using a small pick or screwdriver pop the two clips on the harness end of the back shell, it then lifts up from that end and unhooks and comes away.

Once that is removed, you have access to the back of the wires. Before you can remove the two we need to move, you need to unlock the retaining clip inside the connector. This is the little pink tabs you can see inside the connector (when looking at the pin side)

It needs to be slid to the right of the connector in the photo (to the harness side of the plug) with a small pick or screwdriver

the below photo is unlocked, notice the gap above Pin 34

Now, using a small thin flat pin removal tool, you need to move the pink wire in slot 27 (top row, LH side) to pin 9 (labelled CLSE) and the white pin from slot 32 (top row in the middle) and move it to slot 8

Slots 8 and 9 are both filled with little white rubber plugs, which need to be removed. I used a pin from the front of the connector to poke it out a little bit and then finished pulling it out the back with tweezers, so I didnt loose it (and can reuse it in the now empty slots of pins 27 and 32)

I slid the wires into place, making sure they locked into place

Thats the wiring done. Slide the pink lock back, refit the rear shell, add a new zip tie to the wiring and put the connector aside.

The actual module itself is easy to swap. The screws are e-Torx E5 and there are four to remove

I didn't take any photos of the actual swap because I didnt want to risk any contamination, but this is what the inside of the old unit looks like

Remove the screws, carefully remove the old module, and then carefully and gently slide the new one into place, making sure all the sticking out bits go where they need to go.

It looks no different with the replacement unit fitted... but I know it's there.

To make sure that I walked the walk, I also grabbed an MY17 TRACK button from Japan. I couldn't be seen pressing SPORT like a peasant

This is easy to swap, just gently reach into the shifter boot and tug up on the front (near the radio) of the shift surround, and it will unclip and allow access to the back of it. You have to lift the front first, as the buttons actually hook under the centre console and need to be slid forward. There is one big plug in the button pack, which is unplugged here

Remove the two screws, swap the buttons over, screw them back in, plug them in and refit the surround

Much nicer than the old SPORT button

The only catch here is that the 2013 cluster doesnt have a TRACK light, so it will still light up SPORT when the button is pressed.

With the VSC unit securely in place, the connector refitted, and the buttons swapped, I reconnected the battery and immediately got a series of ABS and traction control warning lights on the dash. Dont worry, go for a quick drive and they should clear themselves.

I havent been able to test the TRACK mode yet, since my next trackday isnt until later this month, but the giveaway that it's working is (other than no warning lights on the dash) that the SPORT light in the dash no longer comes on with a short press of the TRACK button, it now needs a 1 or 2 second hold of the button to activate.

The other benefit, one that I havent had a chance to activate yet, is allegedly you can enable Hill Start Assist, to hold on hills, which might be handy if I'm feeling too lazy to use a handbrake. Details on turning it on in 2017+ cars is here, as it's off by default.

I look forward to seeing how it reacts on track now, and will update with my thoughts when I can. I'm really hoping I will see some improvement in my lap times if it will stop killing my corner exists.

[kws]

Last trackday was so I could try the car out as close to stock as I could handle. Now that was done, it was time to throw some more bits I had been holding onto, onto the car.

The first to go were the front brake pads. I quickly found the limits of the Dixcel ES pads at the last track day, with them turning my friction material into smoke and not a heck of a lot of stopping power.

I took the RH side pads out first and although certainly glazed and shiny, they didnt look too bad

I was interested to note that the fancy copper brake grease the pads came with was all gone, leaving just a hard clump of gunk I had to scrape off the clips the pads are meant to slide on

After much research, the general consensus for 86/BRZ owners that track their cars much harder and faster than I will, was to use Endless MX72 Plus pads, so I grabbed a set from Japan.

On paper, the specs arent that different to the Dixcels, other than being able to go up to 750c instead of 600c. Little did I know the two are worlds apart.

Annoyingly, the Endless pads do not come with shims, so unless I wanted to risk them squealing and being annoying, I needed to steal some shims from other pads - in this case, the Dixcels.

I fit them with plenty of the ceramic grease the RDA pads come with, and made sure the sliders were still greased and moving freely

The left-hand side is where it gets a bit more interesting. This is the side that was smoking hard after every session. I'm guessing due to the circuit being a lot of right-hand turns, the left front brake is having to take more weight and force.

It had gotten hot enough to cook the coating on the shim

Again, all the brake paste was cooked into hard sludge. Removing the pads showed that I had well and truly overheated them

What was shocking to me was that just using my finger, I could crumble the edges of the friction material like it was made of plaster. Compared to the other side, the pad surface was very rough and crumbly.

Nice clean and new Endless friction material

Fitted to the car with some new ceramic paste, and some shims I stole from the pads that came in the car when I got it (since the Dixcel ones were cooked on this side).

The rear pads were fine, with plenty of meat and the grease still present

With the brakes all set to go, I moved onto the suspension.

I got lucky on Facebook Marketplace shortly after buying the car, and ended up with a cheap set of Cusco Touring-A damper adjustable shocks. Designed as OE replacements, but giving 40 steps of adjustment from soft to firm, I wanted to give them a try and see if I could tune the suspension a bit.

I started with the fronts. The shocks I got had a pair of fronts already assembled with OE springs, so I could build them up on the bench with the new STI top mounts I bought, and not have to disassemble the stock ones on the car at all.

One of the main reasons to change the shocks out was that my front top mounts wouldn't pass a WOF due to extensive cracking

It turned out the replacement shocks also had cracks in the top mounts, albeit not as bad

I had purchased a set of STI reinforced top mounts to replace them regardless, so it wasnt an issue

I removed the old top mount

Fit the new mount, and it was ready to fit to the car

Removal and fitting was pretty simple. Undo the lower bolts on the knuckle, undo the sawybar link, disconnect the brake hose and ABS wire from the strut, and then its three nuts on the top mount to make it drop out. I use a bungee cord to hold the knuckle/hub back and stop it flopping down.

The replacement just bolts in, including another small upgrade, a Whiteline camber bolt, set to maximum negative camber (1.5 degrees, as confirmed by the alignment afterwards)

Whilst in the general area, it was also quite easy to swap the front subframe bolts out for the uprated "TS" (Tuned by STI) bolts. Two on each side

The new bolts have a thicker flange on the head, but otherwise appear the same. I probably wouldn't bother with these

Old on top, new on bottom

I swapped them one and at a time, torquing them to spec as I went, so as not to disturb the subframe alignment.

With one side done, I repeated the same work on the other side, subframe bolts and all

Once done, I moved to the rear. These were bare shocks, so I had to remove the old ones first.

I first removed the boot lining so I could access the top mounts for the rear shocks

To drop the shock out, you need to lower the arm by disconnecting the inner bolt where it mounts to the subframe

The LH side has the added bonus of the headlight adjuster link, make sure to disconnect this

Undo the subframe bolt, the swaybar link, and the bolt from the bottom of the shock and let the arm swing down. You do not need to disconnect the bolt on the hub end of the arm, leave that in and use it as a pivot (I removed it because I'm a fool)

With the shock removed, I disassembled the strut and swapped the spring and top mount to the Cusco shock

It helps to take note of the alignment of the spring and top mount when moving it from the old one to the new shock, so you know which way to reinstall the strut.

It helps to use a jack to lift the inner end of the arm up whilst you wrangle the shock into place, and then again to lift the hub so you can torque everything at ride height.

I also used uprated bolts for the lower shock mount. Once again, thicker flange but otherwise the same.

The adjuster for the damper sticks a fair way into the boot

I cut a small slot in the lining on each side for the adjuster to poke through, so that I could still access the adjuster knob on the top

Finally, I installed the front STI upper and lower rear subframe stoppers. Normally, there is a big gap between the subframe and the body of the car, which allows the subframe to move up and down when power/torque is applied. The stoppers fill that gap with polyurethane rings, to reduce movement without increasing the NVH too much.

For the top ones, I removed the bolt and slipped the top plate out. The stopper goes between the bush/subframe and the plate

The lower one goes between the subframe and the lower brace

After an alignment, the car was feeling very good on the road, so all that was left to do was take it to the track.

Parts Used

Endless MX72 Plus Front Brake Pads - EP386MXPL
Cusco Touring-A Front Shock - 965 65T F
Cusco Touring-A Rear Shock - 965 65T R
STI Front Strut Mount - ST2031055001 x2
TS Front Subframe Bolts - SU003-05212 x4
TS Rear Lower Shock Bolt - SU003-05213 x2
TS Rear Lower Shock Nut - SU003-05235 x2
STI Upper Stopper - ST20176AS000 x2
STI Lower Stopper - ST20176AS010 x2

Please note, these parts are specific to my car and may vary. Please check before ordering.

[kws]

After the huge disappointment that was the first track outing, I made some changes and gave it another go.

Per my last update, the BRZ was now running damper adjustable Cusco shocks all round, 1.5 deg front camber, STI subframe stoppers, and Endless brake pads.

I didn't grab a lot of photos this time, but we had an absolute cracker of a day

Blue car squad rolling again

We started the day with the training sessions, and already I could feel the car was more playful and giving me a bit more leeway before pulling back on the fun.

Once out in the actual track sessions though, is where the changes really shone.

The biggest difference was the brakes. The Endless pads are 100% a better option than the Dixcels. I was leaning very hard on them all day, with lots of late braking, and not once did they overheat, smoke or give me a firm pedal. A night and day difference from what I was having to put up with last time.

This made a huge difference in my confidence. The other change was the VSC unit, taken from a 2017 car, which was definitely giving me more freedom and not pulling power when coming out of corners like the 2012 VSC unit was. Even in standard mode it was better, but Track Mode gave me the freedom I was looking for last time.

It did still catch me at one point though, when my tyres weren't as warm as they should've been, and I got a lump of liftoff oversteer before the hairpin

 

(some upper Muppet messed with his phone settings, so no telemetry on the videos this time )

The Cusco shocks honestly didn't excite me that much. Yes, if you dial them up high they get fairly firm, and it's unpleasant on the road, but the difference on the track didnt seem to be that big. I suspect if you used anything other than stock springs with them, it might make a positive difference, but I am unable to lower the car due to my driveway. On the street I run them about 15 clicks from softest (out of 40) and on the track I was running 30/35 front/rear.

In saying that, the camber bolts set to maximum 1.5 degree negative did give a sharper turn in, I would recommend these.

My fastest time on the day was a solid 1:30.58, a huge decrease over my previous PB. A long way from my first track day in the Jazz where I got a 1:50.33

Annoyingly, there were some glitches in Racechrono (like the 153-127kph on the back straight) but the times were consistent.

Compared to my fastest last time, 1:32.21, I was now braking way later and carrying more speed on the straights (a byproduct of the VSC unit not cutting power anymore).

Last time, it looks like I had more speed in a couple of corners, since the only way to go fast was to carry as much speed around the corner as I could. If I could combine the cornering speed of having bad brakes, and the rest of the later sessions, I would've been pretty rapid.

Here were the two fastest laps, a 1:30.74 followed by the 1:30.58.

 

I did have to slow down after these though as the oil temps were getting too high (it briefly peaked at 130c before dropping - Oil pressure was holding strong considering). One mod I would recommend for regular trackday users, would be a proper air-air oil cooler as the heat exchanger does a good job getting the oil to temp quickly, keeping it stable and dropping it quickly once you back off, it just cant keep the over all temps down enough.

Over all, I had a blast. The first outing was disappointing since the brakes let me down, but this time there were no issues, just me and the car going corner to corner.

Sadly, I decided this would be the last time I track the car. I have taken it to where I wanted to, experienced what I wanted, and had my fun, so the car is for sale. Even if I still own it in January when the next trackday is, I'll be taking the Honda instead to give that it's turn.