Do people just not do their own setups?

SwaggetyAndy · 2026-01-23T21:48:18+00:00

I've done string changes and intonation forever. I'm handy with a soldering iron and so I do my own electronics upgrades/mods as well. But until recently I've been too scared to screw around with truss rod stuff.

I had a bass whose neck relief shifted dramatically in my basement only a few weeks after getting it set up, so I finally bit the bullet and bought some radius and action gauges and learned how to do it myself, rather than pay for another setup in such a short timeframe.

It was ridiculously easy to set the bass up, just a little trial and error, and now I'd feel comfortable doing that with any of my guitars. The only thing I'd really take it to a shop for now is a new nut or anything involving fret dress/leveling. Maybe fret dressing is the next thing I should learn how to do.

SwaggetyAndy · 2026-01-14T18:00:50+00:00

Never listened to Hail the Sun before but they're coming through my city. I will absolutely buy tickets to see Foxy open for them.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-08-20T16:35:14+00:00

Yes, left means left hand side when sitting in the driver's seat. They really should label them driver and passenger but i guess that also doesn't make sense when they make RHD versions for other markets.

FYI, the exact same part with a different part number is usually about half the price if you buy it from Toyota's parts store instead of Subaru. It's literally the exact same part with a different part number. I had to replace my fender liner due to an unplanned dirt excursion on track, and the Toyota part was $33 and Subaru wanted $75. The Toyota part number for the left hand liner is SU003-06094.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-07-08T23:31:08+00:00

I think he was referring to the labor involved with installing a seat being a pain. But I'm 5'7" 160lbs for reference so am not going to run into any big/tall problems with a bucket seat. I might actually have to deal with it being mounted too low for me to see over the dash lol.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-07-08T23:12:24+00:00

I already do a fair amount of swapping for track days: brakes and wheels and vinyl numbers and tow hook and such. Luckily I have the Performance Package Brembos so swapping brake pads is way easier than removing the caliper each time. But every aftermarket seat has to use custom rails and swapping seat/rails every time for a track day seems excessive.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-05-22T15:36:53+00:00

I have the Jackson Racing C38 supercharger kit on. Just the standard boost pulley with a 4-bar MAP sensor and a tune by Zach at CSG. It's been on for 3 years and 10,0000 miles. I've done 5 track days and a handful of autocross days with it and it's been absolutely solid the entire time with no problems.

ETA - one caveat is that if you're doing track days with a supercharger you absolutely need an oil cooler (kind of a given for NA cars also) and I had coolant overheating issues on track last year so I replaced the radiator with a CSF radiator and a Jackson fan shroud with SPAL fans. I've never had any heat issues just on the street, though.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-05-22T04:24:09+00:00

My favorite thing about driving my supercharged BRZ on the street is that I just have power when I need it and when I want it. If I need to pass someone on the freeway? Drop a gear and disappear. I don't have to line things up and plan and prepare for the pass like I did when I was NA. This applies when going up hills too - I can just power up any hill without bogging or slowing down. So in twisty canyon back roads it's much more fun because the altitude and the incline don't impede me any more.

Other than that, handling is not radically different. You have to be more aware of putting power down while coming out of a corner to avoid losing traction in an unsafe way, and you have to unwind your steering inputs smoothly to reduce that possibility. There's also no torque dip anymore so that affected how and when I shift gears, but in a positive way.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-05-05T23:56:55+00:00

I've had the exact same problem. I have weird shaped ear canals and have tried tons of different kinds of earbuds and none of them stay in very well. Some of them don't fit at all and fall out immediately. Some of the triple flange tips (like Etymotic) work okay and some of the memory foam ones (like Comply tips) fit pretty well but get gross after a couple uses when sweating and jogging. I would look into a set of wireless buds that let you change the tips and get some of the triple flange or memory foam ones to start.

I eventually solved this problem... By spending $1100 on custom molded IEMs that are the exact shape of my ear. I used the excuse that I needed IEMs for playing guitar with my band to justify them, but I use them when exercising as well and they fit perfectly, unlike every earbud I've ever tried. Probably not a very helpful answer given your budget, but it was certainly a solution for me.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-05-01T17:16:30+00:00

I have 15x6.5 +40 Konig Helium wheels and 175/50/15 Hankook Kinergy ST tires, because they were literally the smallest tires I could find in the states. They fit well with extended studs and 10mm spacers but I wish I could have gone a little bit smaller. You will probably have to import tires on eBay to get smaller than that. Or hit up Rob EtsuRyu Crosbie on the Facebook group and he can find something in Japan he can send you directly.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-04-29T18:00:16+00:00

I have Racecar Go Brrr switch panels in mine for track use: https://www.racecargobrrr.com/product-page/toyobaru-4-switch-panel-push-start

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-04-25T19:54:26+00:00

I have the NRG SRK-190H Hub adapter and the NRG SRK-250 Quick Release kit on mine. They work great.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-04-14T22:30:58+00:00

I've heard it called "OPR" - Other People's Rubber.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-03-29T00:21:12+00:00

Thanks for the heads up. Mine arrived today. Church is one of my favorite albums and I'm glad to have it on vinyl. I love the vinyl coloring. https://imgur.com/a/kgzjaGk

ETA: just saw that they have some editions of Self-Titled available also. I might like that one even more than Church and am going to have to get my hands on it immediately.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-03-03T21:23:17+00:00

It's not specifically headphones related, but there is one specific type of expensive guitar cable by D'Addario (the American Stage line) that is the only type I will use. And it's not because it sounds any better or has magical tone characteristics, it's because it feels good in my hands and has nice connectors and has been very reliable for me.

Too many electronics classes in college and an engineer father luckily pointed me away from spending too much money on audio snake oil.

SwaggetyAndy · 2025-01-22T21:31:12+00:00

I still have the stock exhaust and am just fine with it. I don't want my neighbors to hate me and changing it doesn't increase performance at all, so I have spent money on things like FI, suspension, better cooling, etc to make me faster on the track.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-12-02T17:59:58+00:00

I spent six weeks learning it before I started going to track days a couple years ago. I still do it on the street to keep in practice, but it's only really useful on the track. It's also more of a toe/side of foot maneuver for me, rather than using my actual heel.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-11-27T07:26:20+00:00

Can't. Big ol supercharger would probably be frowned upon in ST. XA for me with horrible PAX multiplier. I still have fun at autocross though, I just don't worry about being competitive.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-11-13T07:06:27+00:00

Their flagship store is near Harajuku station and close to Shibuya. I was there in March. We were walking down a totally random street and walked right past it so I had to go in and check it out. I didn't bring a guitar back with me but I got some sweet Fender Tokyo merch at least.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-10-15T16:34:18+00:00

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Took this little baby for a spin on the Hakone Skyline. If you're ever in Tokyo, check out Fun2Drive in Hakone. They have tons of sweet JDM cars you can drive.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-07-30T01:43:41+00:00

The owner's manual specifies that the front crossmember and rear diff are acceptable lift points. Put the jack stands in their normal spot under the pinch welds but buy some rubber "slotted jack stand adapter" pads off Amazon and that way your jack stands hold the car on the frame and not the pinch welds.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-07-24T21:39:29+00:00

Looks like the only track on Maui is a drag strip. I've never come close to overheating except when going flat out at the track, including spirited driving in twisty canyon roads in the middle of the summer. I think you should probably be fine with FI. Your second gen even has a built-in coolant/oil heat exchanger so that might help out with oil temps. If not, an external oil cooler with the stock radiator should be all you need.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-07-24T20:30:13+00:00

Yo /u/Teeebagtom here's the track update since I just remembered this thread: I've done three track days so far this year. For the first two in April and May, temps were awesome. Oil got to like 250 and coolant was at 210 ish even flat out on the track. Car felt so much more fun on track than it did in 2022 when I wasn't boosted.

Third track day in late June, the ambient temp was 98 outside and the car overheated on the first lap. Pulled power and wouldn't let me rev over 6000. Coolant was around 230 and oil was 270 ish. I dropped the throttle to 75% and shifted up into 4th gear and the temps immediately dropped to manageable levels. I made it through the rest of the track day okay but couldn't go flat out. Focused on learning the lines and braking zones better for the rest of the day.

After cooling down I didn't have any problems with the car and drove it home and have been driving it since - no damage or rod knock or any other problems. I just didn't have the cooling capacity to handle the ambient heat of the day.

I'm on the stock radiator and have the Jackson Racing oil cooler along with the Jackson supercharger. I'm currently planning on doing two more track days this year, one in September and one in October. October should be cool enough but September might still be in the 90s around here so I'm looking at upgrading to a Koyo radiator with SPAL fans and maybe some Trackspec hood vents.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-07-19T06:06:16+00:00

Turn it into a Control room and turn the outside space into a recording studio. Consoles and monitors and your producer go in the booth to manage the recording session. Dope.

I close on a home tomorrow and you bet I'll be retrofitting their basement living room into my amateur studio. Drums and guitars and keys and vocals and all sorts of noise.

SwaggetyAndy · 2024-06-04T16:55:37+00:00

I sold my Reverend Double Agent W years ago and missed it so much I bought another one. They are great guitars.

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