shine

I've decided to name my new car Stitch, after the blue Disney character.

He's blue and has a big smile.

Saturday was quite a day!  First of all I was approaching 1000 miles on the odometer, so I took Stitch out for a nice long drive through some of my favorite roads.  Here is the odometer just as I was about to break 1000 miles.

The moment of truth.

It was very hard for me to keep the motor under 4000 RPM during the break-in period.  But once I passed the magical 1000 mark, it was finally time to let 'er rip!  I took it down Palomares Rd, which I think of as my own personal backyard test track, and then out past the wine country vineyards of Livermore, to Mines Rd.  Mines Rd is one of my most enjoyable driving routes.  It goes out to the middle of nowhere and then runs up Mt. Hamilton to the Lick Observatory above San Jose.  If you're an Initial D fan, Mt. Hamilton is like Bay Area's version of Akina.  It's a beautiful mountain road but an incredibly twisty and challenging drive.  Pretty unforgiving too -- if you make a mistake and go off the edge of the road, you're going off a cliff and down a long ways.  So you have to keep it safe and sane here.  I didn't switch the traction control all the way off, but did go to VSC Sport mode to have a little more fun.

And oh man, what fun it was!  This was my first real opportunity to see what this car is all about, rev it like it was meant to be driven, and push it a little in the corners to see just how crappy the tires are.  To my surprise, they gripped the road fairly well.  I like to drive with the windows down so I can hear the tires and they gave very good audible feedback.  A little scrubbing sound as you start to turn in, gradually increasing in sound as you push it harder.  On a few tight hairpins I got on the gas a little more aggressively at exit and got some wheelspin but as everyone has noted, nothing too dramatic and very easy to modulate.  The whole package was very confidence-inspiring and I was able to drive the car harder than I did the first few times I drove my MR2 there.  With an MR-layout you really have to watch for snap-oversteer if you get too aggressive, but the BRZ's FR layout is much more forgiving and predictable.  The suspension soaked up most bumps very well and I found it much more comfortable to drive than my fairly harsh-riding MR2.  And it offers fairly comparable levels of responsiveness and balance.  I was very pleased with the performance of the car, bone stock -- so I'm not sure I even need to do much upgrading for now, if my main usage of the car is for the mountain twisties I don't want to ruin the comfort and balance it currently has.  If I start heading to the track frequently, then that is another story.

On the way to Mt. Hamilton I stopped by a popular rest point for bikers and cyclists -- The Junction.  Got a few compliments from bikers as I rolled through, but I didn't stay long.  I was having too much fun driving!  When I got to the Observatory at the top of the mountain, there were no other cars there, just a few bicyclists.  The view up there is fantastic on a clear day.  Again, after a brief stop to take a few pictures, it was time to head back down and tear up the roads some more...

That wasn't the end of my day though.  I also had to take Stitch in to get smogged, so I could register it at the DMV this week.  So I stopped by my local smog test place, the guy there is cool and we talked about the car for a while and he even snapped a pic of it after the test.  Of course, Stitch passed with flying colors!

Then it was back home and time to give Stitch a much-deserved bath.  My wife was nice enough to help me clean the interior while I dried the exterior.

Then I spent the rest of the evening applying the 3-stage Meguiar's Deep Crystal Shine system.  Paint cleaner, polish, then wax.  My back is a little sore and my arms a little tired, but man the shine on the car is so impressive, like a mirror.  Maybe in the morning I will take the car out and get some more shots of it in its oh-so-clean glory.  

fusillade

All set up and waiting.

I woke up early this morning to get out to the local range to try and get some shooting in before it was time to head down to have lunch with my mom.  I was very anxious to put some rounds through my new SIG522 rifle now that I got the iron sights put in.  But when I headed up into the hills where the Chabot Gun Club is, the fog was incredibly thick.  Arriving right at the time they normally open, I was greeted with the sight of  a very quiet range.  They were holding all shooting until the fog cleared.  So I set up everything, even loaded my magazines and waited for the word.  An hour went by, and every time the fog cleared up a little, a few minutes later more fog rolled in.  Ughh.  Called my mom and pushed lunch back a little further.  Finally 2 hours of waiting paid off, the fog started to burn off and the sun peeked through the gloom.  Time to put up the targets and commence firing!

How did I do?

I was very happy with the results right off the bat.  I had the local gun shop Imbert & Smithers install the sights for me and it seems they did a bang-up job dialing them in.  Seemed perfect for the 25 yd distance I was shooting at today.  I didn't have to make any adjustments.  The SIG performed beautifully, made it so easy to nail the target.  Maybe 25 yds is too easy, next time I will have to move up to 50 yds and see if I can still keep it nice and tight.  Wish I had more fun time at the range, but I had to head back home and get ready for lunch with mom.

lifecycle

The old and busted.

Today I bid farewell to my LG Chocolate II phone.  So long, old friend.  You served me well. Except for the miserably short battery life and lousy signal strength at the end. I'll let it slide, and just remember the good times.

Welcome into the household, the new iPhone 5. I got the black one.  It's oh so slim and sleek, and lightweight.  Very impressive.  The screen is quite sharp and a joy to stare at.  I've spent a good portion of the evening loading it up with apps, music, and pairing it to my cars.  Even paired to the stereo via Bluetooth and played a few songs.  I haven't had a chance to try out the new ear pod headphones yet though.

The new hotness.

I guess you could say I've finally joined the 21st century by giving up the basic phone and picking up a smartphone.  Though technically I've been carrying a smartphone for a while, the Blackberry I have for work.  I never used it for much more than checking my emails and the occasional photo though, it just wasn't all that appealing to me as a smartphone option.  I think in this day and age a smartphone needs a touchscreen, without it you are just not able to interact intuitively with your data and apps.  Just my opinion.  It works for other people I suppose.

It was a natural pick for me to go with the iPhone since I already have an iPod Classic and an iPad.  Since I've already poured dollars into the Apple iTunes and App Store, it didn't make sense to go Android.

Of course that didn't stop V from recently buying the latest hot Android phone as an upgrade to her old HTC smartphone.  She got the Samsung Galaxy S III in white.  We spent a few minutes on Skype video chatting each other from opposite sides of the house.  What a pair of dorks we are.

transmissive

I've been driving the BRZ for a week now, and here are my first week impressions:

Driving with a 4K RPM limit (during the break-in period) is a real bummer... I'd forgotten how difficult it is to baby a car in its early age.  This car revs really quickly and trying to stick between 2K and 4K all the time is not easy.  Thankfully the car has a programmable rev limit light that I set to 3800 and it reminds me when I hit that to upshift.  It really does feel like driving with one hand tied behind my back, knowing that the car should be revving up to 7400 RPM for the full experience.  Can't wait until the first 1000 miles are through with.  I can't really comment on performance and handling yet, as I haven't really pushed the car's limits very much... it's pretty much been just commuting to and from work.

Voodoo knob tested on BRZ.

Still getting used to the clutch and transmission.  Getting better with the clutch now but the 1-2 shift is still a little unsmooth.  All the other shifts seem fine.  Drove a few days sitting in stop-and-go traffic which is fantastic practice I guess.  I took the shift knob off to try some others I had available to put on there, and it is remarkable how heavy the stock shift knob is.  The Voodoo knob from my Spyder that I tried on there is pretty hefty but I think the stock one is pretty comparable.  The Voodoo doesn't fit perfectly so I am not going to use that one, but I might order another Voodoo knob specifically for the BRZ.  

The GPS/navigation is a bit of a letdown compared to the one in my Lexus.  The unit loses GPS signal often and it takes several minutes before it locks on again.  The voice sounds a lot more robotic than the Lexus lady's voice.  And the interface just isn't as smooth as the Lexus's.  You'd think after 6 years any ol' navi would be as good as a 2006-era Lexus navi.  But I guess it's not so.  Same with the phone/bluetooth function.  Maybe it's the old phone I'm using, but there is a 4-5 second pause when I get incoming calls and press answer, before the radio stops playing and I can start talking.  It's just a little unpolished and I expected a bit more from the 2012 technology.

Don't get me wrong, I think this car is pretty fantastic and it's definitely a step up from the basic feature set of the MR2 Spyder which it more or less is a replacement for.  Better seats, better stereo, better ride quality than what I remember the MR2 had before I modified the suspension.  Better information display and controls, better interior materials.  And more storage which is not hard to accomplish when you're comparing to the MR2.  One bummer I've found though is, my rifle case won't fit in the trunk without folding the seats down.  That could have some security implications, as I might not want to take this car out if I'm stopping anywhere else before or after the range.  Guess I should have just bought a big truck, eh?  No.

Well today's my birthday and I have to say I've got all the toys a boy could want.  New car, new rifle, and my  new iPhone is on the way.  Oh and my lovely wifey is making me stone crab for dinner.  Yummmy... OK gotta go!

reflections

My car is finally here!  Woot!  

Here is the truck delivering it to my house:

Since my car was going to be waiting around for a week or so before it got picked up, I figured I would get some things out of the way. 3M clear bra was applied to the front bumper, and window tint to the sides and back. The sales mgr at the tint place was nice enough to snap a shot of the car for me after the tints were done:

Here are some thoughts after only 2 days driving the car.  A lot of this is going to be duplicative or obvious to other BRZ owners, but this is more of a personal log of my impressions.  Perhaps it will be useful to future owners or people considering this car, who have similar automotive backgrounds to mine.

Day 1 impressions.  Exterior.  Car is very low to the ground, and the overall look is aggressive.  Very classic GT-car proportions.  A poor-man's Aston Martin Vantage.  Even when dirty the WR Blue paint is very shiny and eye-catching.  In photos I feel the BRZ looks a little awkward, the big "mustache" bumper in front and the the rear trunk lid/tail lights were in my mind weak points in the design.  In person these things seem to fade away as the overall look is very handsome.  I had been previously considering all kinds of cosmetic mods to improve the look, but now that I see it in person I'm not so sure I feel so strongly about needing to modify these things.  It looks fine the way it is.

Interior.  Getting into the car the seat sort of embraces you and it feels a little weird compared to most other car seats but it's still comfortable.  As everyone has said the basic controls are right where you want them to be and everything falls into place.  I was able to get in and just drive the car with minimal adjustment.  Move the mirrors, adjust the seat, ready to go.  Having driven mostly Toyotas all my life there was very little confusion about what does what in the Subaru, all the controls felt very familiar.  The interior style is very basic, subdued, functional.  I like that.  No fancy wood trim or excessive chrome/metal to distract your eye from the pure function of driving.  I might replace the shift knob with something a little heavier (and a little more flash), and call it a day.

Driving feel.  I have not really pushed the car much in my limited time in it, but am very pleased with how the controls feel.  The steering is tight and well-proportioned.  The brake pedal has the perfect firmness and responsiveness.  I feel the throttle is a touch sensitive but I probably just need to adjust to that.  Clutch as many have noted, has a very high engagement point.  I know it can be adjusted but I will leave it alone for now, starts were a little unsmooth to begin with but I think I am getting accustomed quickly.

Day 2 impressions.  Commuting with the car is very comfortable.  Ride is decent, certainly smoother than my MR2 Spyder which is on Eibach Pro Kit springs and Koni shocks.  Sound of the car is fairly mellow, especially since I am upshifting at 4K.  I imagine it will get louder above that, but for now it's definitely one of my quieter cars.  All my other cars have aftermarket exhausts on so I am probably used to more sound and enjoy it.  I went ahead and programmed my shift light/buzzer to come on at 3800 RPM to help keep me in line during the break-in period.

Took a coworker and a friend out for rides in the car, both commented on how low the car is.  When you are sitting in the car with the door open, it's easy to just reach over and touch the ground.  That is a huge component of how this is a sports car, the low center of gravity design is key to the handling and driving feel. I haven't really thrown the car into a corner at speed yet, but so far it feels very sure-footed and stable.  Cruising on the freeway seems easy and uneventful, the car needs nowhere near the amount of attention and correction that my MR2 does.

I'm no audiophile, but the sound system in the car seems decent, I have listened to music via FM, HD Radio, Satellite radio, and through an iPhone via USB.  A fair amount of bass coming from the door speakers, enough to feel the vibration hitting my left leg which is a little annoying.  I managed to pair my phone to the head unit, but haven't made a call yet.  I have a fairly old-school basic phone, the LG Chocolate 2, so the pairing seems to be a little wonky.  I think I have to hit OK on my phone everytime I get in the car to allow it to pair to the car. A little lame but I have an iPhone 5 coming and that should pair without issue.

I've noticed a few weird ergonomic issues.  Visibility seems compromised by the left side mirror when I'm making a left turn. And the pointy triangle window on the forward part of the doors that remains in place when you have the window down, seems like a safety hazard when getting in and out of the car, my face seems to get uncomfortably close to that pointy piece on the way in or out.  My old SW20 MR2 had a similar window piece but I don't think I ever had issues with it.  Maybe I have to train myself to move differently.  Or roll the window all the way back up first.

This is my first 6-speed manual, and I've been driving my old MR2 5-speed for over 12 years so I've gotten pretty used to driving it and this is a bit of a change.  For the most part the shifting is straightforward, but I do occasionally stumble on a shift due to the spacing on the shift pattern being a little wider on the BRZ.  The 5-6 shift is easier to get used to than I thought.  But one thing I tripped up on a few times already is thinking that R is where it was on the MR2, namely where 6th now is.  I have caught myself shifting into 6, then remembering that I have to lift the reverse lockout and shift back into where 1 is to get to R. I feel like it's a little bizarre that you back up in R, then you have to pop it back into neutral, the lockout ring pops back down, and then you put it right back into the same spot to get to 1.  Will just take some getting used to I guess.

Also, I woke up extra early so I could wash the car before work and was able to inspect all the exterior of the car more closely.  Cosmetically I'd say the car arrived in 9.5/10 condition.  Most of the cosmetic issues are actually with the clear bra and tint that I had installed -- there are a few small bubbles here and there, or some imperfections in the bra install.  Minor issues really, and I am not going to worry too much about it.  I'm still really glad I got them installed, the benefits outweigh the minor downsides.  One thing that kind of caught my eye though was the rear bumper film installed at the port, part of the Pop1B package, there seems to be a small fleck of something (dirt or sand or whatever) underneath the film.  A little disappointing that they flubbed that little detail on the install.  I am pleased that the bumper film does not have a big honkin' SUBARU lettering across it, there is only a very small discreet Subaru logo on one end to let you know it's a genuine Subaru part/add-on.  Also being really nit-picky here, but for some reason the wheel locks on each wheel (also part of the Pop1B) had some kind of white paint or residue on the face of the lock, that I had to scrape off of each one.

Passed 100 miles on the odo on the way home from work... 900 miles to go on the break-in!

reward for reading through all that.  Parked in a row of all blue cars at work today, including my friend's Fiat 500 that came by for a visit.  Interestingly they are all different shades of blue.