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Time to read 9 min
Moving further into 2024, the Subimods team returned for another round of customer conversations, research, and number crunching to build a new list of “Top Five Most Wanted Products” for the month of February – but this time, concentrating on the 2022 BRZ platform. Most members of our exclusive enthusiast family know that the BRZ is a coveted model with its classic sports car lines, front engine with rear wheel drive, and six-speed transmission that has been reworked and amplified to be another Subaru that is sleek and built for fun to support its agile, cat-like personality. This proven enthusiast’s treasure has prompted our team to bring some of its driver’s favorite modification offerings into the spotlight.
February brought us a brand-new scope of solutions for the BRZ modifier as customer feedback and lists of wants are never held to a consistent trend as time passes. We are always amazed to hear what customers are getting their hands into and what products pull their focus. As always, it is our top priority to share these metrics and preferences with the Subaru community and give insight on the manufacturers who are changing the game with smart engineering, design, and style – while keeping the real enthusiast top of mind during their creative process. Now, let’s outline the products covered in February’s video segment where Subimods CEO Nick Nazzaro sits down and gives a brief outline of products from Ohlin, Alpharex, AWE, Greddy, and HKS while supporting the best interest of the enthusiast family as a whole.
We could categorize the 2022 Subaru BRZ as a motorsports enthusiast’s “Leatherman” or “Swiss Army knife” since it has a great personality and style right off the showroom floor. “The BRZ GR86 platform is a great car out of the box”, Nazzaro points out at the beginning of the segment, “The car is amazing whether you want to do drift, autocross, or circuit racing. I mean this is a car you can drive to the track, put it on the track…and you'll have a great day. But suspension upgrades on this car increase that enjoyment tenfold.” Our first product entry on this month’s list comes from a premiere manufacturer and respected supplier of performance who has definitely made their mark in the industry and is the perfect architect to give the BRZ the right amount of stability to bring its potential past anyone’s expectations. Öhlins Racing has been injecting their passion for performance and racing into the motorsports industry and successfully worn the crown as a leader of performance suspension parts – in multiple genres - since their founding in 1976.
The Öhlins Road & Track Coilover System is truly a premium set-up that reflects the provenance and spirit from which it was built. The price point of this product is higher than the competition alternatives, but it truly proves its worth through its quality, technology, and the delivery of promised performance. The Öhlins Road & Track Coilover System aligns perfectly with the BRZ personality and is a solution that can be flexible enough to give the driver the exact experience they need to amplify the inner details of what makes the BRZ a unique and classic sports car. “This is a product that we have on our BRZ”, Nazzaro explains, “The cool part about the Öhlins product…you can kind of curate it the way you want.” Smartly engineered with the creativity of the enthusiast in mind, this product slips into the win column quite easily. Nazzaro adds, “Öhlins is kind enough to offer their kit by default with no top hats so an end user could say, Alright, I want to use my stock rubber top hats…be able to get some upgraded performance… get the car a little bit lower but not have all of that noise vibration and harshness.”
There is no better compliment to a sharp, exterior modification than new headlight technology. The Subaru BRZ is one car that screams style and demands attention in the daylight hours but should also crawl through the nightlife leaving a definite impression burning over any roadway it chooses to discover. Customers who are drivers of the BRZ are pulled to the most impressive and effective lighting offerings on the market to guarantee that their car not only lights the way but turns the darkness to white. The California company Alpharex USA is becoming a memorable competitor in the automotive lighting arena and is a new face looking towards the Subaru market. They are specialist lighting designers, engineers, and manufacturers who are offering high-quality, LED headlights that are both innovative and stylish – two perfect ingredients loved by the Subaru enthusiast
Coming into the list at number two, the Alpharex NOVA-Series LED Projector Headlights give our community another quality choice for their beloved BRZ platform and a number of options depending on style and functionality desired by the driver. Alpharex USA is another company who spends a lot of time and energy developing their manufacturing process to produce a product that excels in both illumination and projection. Opening the box exposes an exciting set of eyes that any enthusiast would love to pop in their vehicle. ““it's a cool product for the user who's focused on style and also is not wanting to compromise any performance”, Nazzaro said. “There's a lot of times where concerns come up…where the OEM headlight is actually very good, right? I don't want to lose any performance…I don't want to lose any depth, brightness, whatever…Alpharex has blended that style with performance very nicely – It’s definitely a product you want to take a look at.”
The Pennsylvania-based AWE should be a familiar brand to many enthusiasts – even to those who are new to Subimods. The AWE Touring Edition Exhaust System is the most desired exhaust we have available for the BRZ. This product has been available for over a year, but still pulls in the popularity numbers needed to bring it into our February list at position number three. We recently highlighted the AWE Exhaust System in a popular product feature and installation segment hosted by one of our team experts, Steve Tuzzio which has obviously prompted continued interest in their special brand of quality and innovation. AWE has invested over three decades in their business and brand recognition gaining enormous respect within our community of enthusiasts. It was not surprising to the Subimods team when AWE’s popularity allowed them to pull away from the rest and help us to illuminate their engineering and how it adds value to the BRZ personality and adds strength to the platform’s voice.
AWE’s Touring Edition Exhaust System is a very versatile, modular assembly that was designed with precision, intelligence, and with the logical vision that will only assist in a successful, seamless installation by the enthusiast. Whether the BRZ driver desires a quieter, more ominous tone, or a defined growl, the AWE system steps up to deliver what the modifier wants and keeps it very flexible for change in the future as the car’s responsibilities and personality morphs and matures. “This exhaust suite for the BRZ similar to Öhlins - it’s very modular”, Nazzaro explains. “You can get their touring, you can get their track, you can get their black diamond tips, or their polished and you don't have to live with that.” Regarding the featured system’s flexibility, Nick continues by saying, “The quieter system deploys their 180 technology which helps eliminate drones from the power band of the car. It gives it a more professional tone-while still being pretty loud”, evident in the installation segment demonstration drive conducted by Steve T.
The designers at Greddy have created an important part that could prevent a serious problem for BRZ drivers that choose to extend their cars duties from daily driving and touring to full out track performance. This smart and affordable addition may be the best investment a BRZ enthusiast can make to ensure their car has a longer, uncomplicated life filled with high performance and successful experiences. Simply, the engine’s oil can become uneven during circuit driving scenarios involving common but dramatic acceleration, deceleration, and intense braking. When this course of events occurs, it can spell disaster for a BRZ driver who just wanted to push their car around the track and enjoy some exciting performance. Avoiding a situation when your oil pressure drops, and your engine blows may be worth a couple hundred-dollar investment of preventive modification.
Sliding into the fourth position is the low-profile but heavy lifting Greddy Aluminum Oil Pan Baffle Plate which deals with these concerns surrounding the FA/20/FA24 engine oil pan containment issue. Greddy Performance Products, based in Irvine, CA, under the umbrella of Trust Co. Ltd of Japan, is a premiere supplier of automotive performance parts founded in the spirit of enthusiasts. Greddy’s Aluminum Oil Pan Baffle Plate is a smart component that has become the focus of our BRZ customers who want to keep their cars on the road and healthy in all conditions. “If you're already concerned about your oil system in the car, you're going to pull the pan, you're going to look at the RTV. You may have a shop clean it up”, Nazzaro explains, “Why not take that extra added insurance for a sub $200 product and get that baffle plate in there? It's cheap insurance.”
Most Subaru enthusiasts have investigated and researched cold air intakes to add to their modification wish lists. There are many manufacturers in the marketplace who offer different levels of intakes that promise different results. Obviously, the purpose of this component is to bring cooler air into your car’s engine and its combustion chamber. A good intake that efficiently injects this lower air temperature allows the engine to get a nice kick of power and efficiency simply because of the higher oxygen density in the cold air. Cold Air Intakes are a popular product within our customer base of Subaru enthusiasts and a well-discussed subject between drivers looking for a little amplification of performance on whatever platform that has captured their dedication. HKS USA are established and respected specialists in many categories of aftermarket parts which include several options of cold air intakes for the Subaru enthusiast. They are quite often the subject of conversations that engage the Subimods team.
Stepping into the fifth and final spot for February’s Top Five Most Wanted is the popular HKS Cold Air Intake Full Kit w/ Suction Pipe and Intake Duct engineered to enhance the performance of the Subaru BRZ. “The beauty of the HKS intake is that it is an extremely premium product,” Nazarro proclaims. “HKS releases nothing without massive R&D…so this is a product that can be installed without a tune. It is not going to compromise performance in that way whereas some other intakes may…and it is going to give you a nice upgrade in terms of performance - also from a style perspective.” The HKS brand will always provide a valuable promise to deliver a combination of engineering, performance, and style that rides on their iconic label and manufacturing prowess. “This one, specifically combining all of those elements together, is going to get you the best product out of the gate”, Nazzaro adds. “Personally, I wouldn't want to compromise with an intake because of the fact that it simply is more effective when it's used as it's designed by that manufacturer.” The smart and carefully designed solution offered here through the HKS Cold Air Intake is a great, popular example to close out our February list.
Bryon Turcotte - Marketing Writer/Analyst
Turcotte has worked as a writer, journalist, and digital content developer for 30 years. He began his career in music journalism in 1995 then worked for several years as both a staff writer, managing editor, and a freelancer for both regional and national music publications. Over the next three decades his contributions extended beyond the music industry as he served within the realms of higher education, science and technology, manufacturing, and finance. He has been serving as a content developer and writer on the Subimods Marketing team since August 2023.
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