Computer Cases and Small Air Compressors

More for my series on packing Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ).

As usual, the Subaru BRZ continues to be the car we need for 99%+ of what we do. 

This time we had: sporting goods (including cross-country skis and snowboarding boots), other donation items, a Corsair 7000D Airflow case (big), as well as the rest of the components to build my spouse's new PC.

Fall 2021 Autocross Events

Thus far I have not posted much from out autocross exploits. Mainly, it usually is not all that exciting. But, when we went to the Boston BMW SCCA Autocross Novice School I had a big spin.

One of our fellow participants captured it and sent it to us and said I could share!

Car was okay as far as we can tell so far. We drove it the rest of the day, did our timed laps, and seemed to have no issues.

Cagalli Yula, Gilly's Auto, Krown Rust Proofing

Fourth year taking Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ Limited) to Gilly's Auto now in Lebanon, NH for her annual Krown treatment. As usual had a nice conversation with Josh and Heather while the car was being sprayed.

As usual I used this time to examine the underside of the vehicle.

Cagalli Yula - Brake Pads, Rotors, and Brake Lines

As we plan to do High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) events and track days in the future, plus the fact that our brake pads were rather worn, as well as brake lines that should be replaced according to research I did on service life.

List of parts:

Brake Pads (Front): Carbotech XP10 - CT929 - Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT86 / Scion FR-S (Front)

Brake Pads (Rear): Carbotech XP10 - CT1124 - Subaru BRZ / Toyota GT86 / Scion FR-S (Rear)

Rotors (Front): StopTech - Premium Blank Rotor - BRZ/FRS/GT86 - USDM Front

Rotors (Rear): StopTech - Premium Blank Rotor - BRZ/FRS/GT86 - USDM Rear

Brake Lines (Front): StopTech - Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines - Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 - FRONT

Brake Lines (Rear): StopTech - Stainless Steel Braided Brake Lines - Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 - REAR

Brake Fluid: Project Mu G-Four 335 Racing Brake Fluid - DOT 4

Cagalli Yula, Gilly's Auto, Krown Rust Proofing

Third year taking Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ Limited) to Gilly's Auto in Grantham, NH for her annual Krown treatment. As usual had a nice conversation with Josh and Heather while the car was being sprayed.

Between this and the last visit we have got winter tires and new wheels and summer tires. Josh lets me take a look underneath and thoroughly examine the under side.

Cagalli Yula - Wheels Installed

We got the wheels, tires, TPMS sensors, center caps, and new lug nuts installed on 04/26/2020 and have been driving on them since. Post about order here and delivery of wheels and parts here.

List of parts:
Wheels: Gram Lights (RAYS Wheels) 57DR 17"x9" 5x100 with 38mm offset
Lug Nuts: McGard SplineDrive Tuner 5 Lug Install Kit w/ Locks & Tool (Cone) M12x1.25
Hub Centric Rings: Project KICS 2 Piece Hub Centric Ring Set 65mm Bore with 56.1mm Thickness
TPMS Sensors: DENSO Tire Pressure Monitoring System Sensor
Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport 4S 245/40ZR17

Cagalli Yula - Wheels Delivered

Per my recent post, we now have the wheels, center caps, hub centric rings, and lug nuts.

Wheels: Gram Lights (RAYS Wheels) 57DR 17"x9" 5x100 with 38mm offset
Lug Nuts: McGard SplineDrive Tuner 5 Lug Install Kit w/ Locks & Tool (Cone) M12x1.25
Hub Centric Rings: Project KICS 2 Piece Hub Centric Ring Set 65mm Bore with 56.1mm Thickness
TPMS Sensors: DENSO Tire Pressure Monitoring System Sensor

Cagalli Yula - New Wheels Ordered

We previously mounted snow tires on our Subaru BRZ. We have since ordered new wheels for the car for its summer tires.

Vivid Racing:

1) Gram Lights (RAYS Wheels) 57DR 17"x9" 5x100 with 38mm offset (semi gloss black)
    We bought these with the intention of mounting Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires in 245/40ZR17 size.
    List Price:      $333.68 (each)
    Total Price: $1,334.72

Cagalli Yula - Snow Tires

We bought snow / winter tires for our 2014 Subaru BRZ. The old tires we had, Continental Extreme Contact DWS (All Season) were a good set of tires for commuting, road trips, etc. At five years of ownership (and tire age) we started to autocross. The additional tire wear severely reduced traction and tire performance, even in normal driving. The car got a lot more skittish.

By skittish I mean the car was a lot more prone to spinning the rear wheels and over steer. We decided that despite the fact that our old all season tires had only been stuck in winter twice, it was time to replace them.

C-Quartz Reapplication; Photography / Photo Shoot Information (Part 2)

We decided to follow up our midnight parking garage photo shoot with a daytime one. Recap: C-Quartz reapplication after two years by Arlington Auto Detailing, car super clean, and we decided to take some photos.
Because we had bright sunlight I decided to do these photos in a different way. For the majority of the photos I took them fixed at 100 ISO and then overexposed, at middle white balance, and underexposed.
Lens used, 

EF-S 10-22mm | f/9.0 | ISO 100 | 1/15 | overexposed 2 stops

C-Quartz Review & Reapplication; Photography / Photo Shoot Information

It has been over two years since we first did a C-Quartz application, which is the expected life time. We had Arlington Auto Detailing do a full detail, including removing the shallow swirl we had acquired, and reapply C-Quartz. Arlington Auto Detailing has been my go to shop for my bi-annual auto details since moving up to the Boston area.

In terms of two year satisfaction with C-Quartz: I am happy, it makes it really easy to keep the car clean and makes a lot of things that would otherwise damage the clear coat just wipe off without caring. At the same time it does not protect against small rock chips at all. In the future (any new car and/or repaint of a car) I would do a full PPF wrap with a ceramic coating on top to get the best of both rock ship / minor scratch protection and easy to clean paint / film protection.

That all said, with the car looking rather clean and pretty and my building having a parking garage as part of its complex I decided to do a midnight parking garage photo shoot.

EF-S 10-22mm f/9.0 ISO 100 20"

Cagalli Yula, Gilly's Auto, Krown Rust Proofing

Second year taking Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ Limited) to Gilly's Auto in Grantham, NH for her annual Krown treatment. Josh and his wife are good people and company during the process. This time I decided to take some photos underneath while she was up on the lift.

As you can see, the exhaust pipe has some real rust to it. But aside from the exhaust rust she is much cleaner than expected of a 2014 that has seen five winters.

The answer is not always Miata...

One more for my series on packing Cagalli Yula (2014 Subaru BRZ).
Today we picked up a 6 ft. folding table and 4 folding chairs for an event we are hosting and packed them in our car. That was along with our bin that holds our detailing, spare oil, maintenance, and emergency items as well as a snow shovel.

Cagalli Yula - 60 Month Service Fluids

I still do not have regular access to a garage and therefor am still having the car serviced. Cagalli Yula, my 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited, is hitting her 60 month birthday. She only has 45,000 miles. According to the owners manual it is therefore time to drain and swap: engine oil, transmission oil, brake fluid, and rear differential fluid. Engine air filter, cabin air filter, and oil filter will be changed as well. These changes are recommended for 6 months or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first.
A point of caution: It is not uncommon for dealerships to provide different service recommendations than those in your vehicle's owner's manual or to attempt to up-sell service that you do not need. Keep in mind that the owner's manual is the source of truth for what the engineers of your vehicle thought was required maintenance wise for your vehicle.

GrimmSpeed Front License Plate Relocation Kit

Now that I live in a state that requires both front and rear license plates (a first for my Subaru BRZ) I needed a way to mount the front license plate.

The problem for me is that Subaru's solution is to drill holes into the bumper.

Grocery Shopping with a Subaru BRZ

This is another one for my unofficial mini-series on how much stuff you can fit into a Subaru BRZ.

What all fit in my Subaru BRZ this time?

Pictures for a Friend: 2017 Subaru BRZ Series.Yellow

A good friend of mine is looking to purchase a BRZ or two for his projects. But he lives in a part of Canada that does not have a lot of Subaru dealers and so asked me if I could photograph the Series.Yellow the dealership here had and a white and/or gray BRZ if the dealership had them. Unfortunately they only had the Series.Yellow.

Cagalli Yula, Line-X of Cumberland County, Krown Rust Proofing

Krown provides a rust proofing treatment that is applied annually. The reviews on it are very good, they have been in a business for a long time, if it is something you are interested in it is worth looking up. I use it on my daily driven Subaru BRZ because I would like the chassis and body to last a good long time rust free.

If you get the car treated early enough, i.e. within 6 months of purchase, Krown will guarantee the car to be rust free for life.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), ProClip Angled Mount & Adjustable Holder Install and Review

Waze is a wonderful application for navigation, knowing where traffic, accidents, and knowing where cops are. My wife and I use it a lot on road trips. But, being cell phone based it is negligent to use when it is not mounted somewhere that allows you to keep your eyes on the road. To this end I installed a cell phone holder.

In terms of places to put a phone the (more or less) stock interior of a BRZ does not have a lot of good places to put a phone and see the screen while looking out the windshield.

Cagalli Yula (Subaru BRZ), On-Site Detail, Ultimate Detail

I had the car detailed by On-Site Detailing.
James Church took care of the detailing for me and was both very quick and extremely thorough and did a great job. I would use them again.

My wife took the car on a trip and parked it in a rather wet and muddy place.