The stance fixated BRZ is “for going out”
23 November, 2023 – The GIRLS CAR COLLECTION, a girls-only event, was held in Akihabara, Tokyo. Among the approximately 30 cars owned by girls who love cars, we spoke to the owner of a Subaru “BRZ”, which looked stock at first glance, but on closer inspection was finished to a high degree of perfection with its suspension.
First Customisation: BRIDE Seats
Ms. Sato became the owner of a Subaru BRZ GT about three years ago. Before that, she had been driving an ‘Impreza’ on the circuit.
“I wanted to drive a cool car to meet my friends. I decided to keep the Impreza for the circuit and wanted an additional car for going out.”
So she decided to purchase the BRZ. On why she bought a BRZ instead of an 86:
“You see 86s all the time. But I thought I didn’t see any BRZs, so I chose the BRZ.”
She bought a used stock BRZ and the first thing she worked on was the seats.
“I guess the person in the car before me was bigger or something, and the seat was a little worn. I thought it was embarrassing, and I heard that there was a smaller size seat, though not specifically for women, so I installed a BRIDE seat on the driver’s side only. I have the seat rail raised to the max, but my face still doesn’t go up too much. And so naturally, next was the suspension and steering wheel.”
Suspension settings over the exterior
At first glance, Ms. Sato’s BRZ does not appear to have undergone any major customization, but the suspension has been carefully set up, with the wheel’s surface aligned, the camber angle set to an exquisite level, and the ride height set to a very particular level. What are the specifications like?
“The dampers are D-MAX, but I changed the springs to 326Power to suit this car and added helper springs. Since the car is low, the spring rate is a little stiffer to prevent rubbing, but it’s still set up for a comfortable ride. The arms are also partially 326Power. The wheels can be ordered in 1mm increments from WORK, so I’ve made them suit this car, but the big calipers don’t fit on these wheels, so I had to do a bit of fiddling to get them 5mm off the wheels.”
“The fenders were interfering, so I cut the lip off but the steel plate is so thin that I cut it leaving the welds so that it doesn’t lose strength and won’t rust. Then there’s the 3D alignment adjustment. The concept is a simple, cool car without too much extra work. The other thing is that the car should be able to pass inspection.”
All that’s left to do is to fix the small details
As for the steering, she has fitted a Nardi quick-release system, but she says she hasn’t actually taken it off much. With simplicity being the concept, she has no plans to make any major changes to the body in the future, but she does have plans to modify some of the smaller parts.
“The muffler is being reduced as it’s hitting the ground, so I’m thinking about what to do about that for the future, and if there is an aftermarket part that raises it a little, I think that would be fine. I’m also thinking about putting a 3mm spacer in the rear, but because the wheel would come out too much I’d want to add a little bit of negative camber, and I’m wondering if I should also add a lip spoiler.”
translated by DeepL
