GR86 Importing my 2023 JDM BRZ

[MartinT]

In October 2024, I engaged Torque GT to perform my purchasing and importing, having been referred to them by a few car friends. Darren was incredibly helpful and informative when I talked to him about my retirement dream of the perfect car. Having considered and rejected Lexus LC-500, Alpine A110, Porsche Cayman and even a Corvette Z06, it struck me that the best car I had ever owned was a BRZ Gen 1. So why not get a Gen 2, especially as they were never sold in the UK? There's nothing like a bit of rarity with a car and I had enjoyed the questions asked about my 2017 BRZ by many who had never seen one. A Gen 2 ought to really get the brows furrowed!

Darren had never imported a BRZ although they do a roaring trade in WRX STi and other Subarus. I told him I wanted a BRZ STi (a Japan-only model) but was quickly shot down when he said I couldn't as that model doesn't have a TDN number, essential for UK registration. I then asked him to look for the highest spec'd sports model he could find, young and with low mileage. Damned if he didn't phone me that same evening, saying that his team had identified a 2023 Sapphire Blue 'S' with full STi aero, STi v-bars and rear draw stiffener, and Fujitsubo exhaust, with only 5,000km on the clock. He sent one forlorn photo and a quick inspection report and asked me if I would like it. I said 'yes' and we agreed a price cap, which was the maximum drive-away price I would accept. They then reverse calculated the auction limit they would use in the bidding.

The next morning, Darren phoned me early and said "it's mine". They had successfully bid on it - excitement!!

The next business was for Darren and his team to create a full inspection report and send me the Japanese auction paperwork. He then arranged all of the export paperwork and put it on the next transporter ship available. Later that month, it was put on the Hoegh Borealis, quite the most insanely ugly ship I have ever seen!

To be continued...

 

[MartinT]

Cut to February 2025, and the great arrival. I had been tracking the Heogh Borealis on its journey from Japan using one of the commercial shipping tracking sites, and the closer it came the more excited I got. Finally, the big day arrived and it landed at Southampton.

Torque GT took some much nicer photos of the BRZ, which kept my appetite whetted until I could see it in the flesh.

Before I could get my hands on it, there was UK DVLA inspection (IVA) and registration (V5C) to perform. The only item required to pass the IVA was a speedo in MPH, which consisted of a neat dashtop GPS digital speedo requiring only power. No MoT is required as it's less than three years old.

Finally, Torque GT asked me what other work I wanted done before collection. I specified for them to change all the fluids - engine oil, coolant, gearbox oil and diff oil. This was to start off with a known base despite the car being young. I also asked them to ceramic coat it. Then it was ready for me to take the long train to Newton Abbott and be collected by Darren for the short drive to Torque GT.

To be continued...

 

[MartinT]

On 4th February 2025, I travelled to Torque GT to collect my car. In the flesh, this thing is drop-dead gorgeous and really quite stunning compared with just looking at the photos. Although sapphire blue wasn't my first choice of colour, I am very glad this is what I ended up with as it looks so much more grown-up and muscular compared with my white 2017 BRZ.

Photo as driven home before any mods were installed.

As received, the car drove really well. It was clear that, despite being quite softly sprung, the chassis was stiff, ride quality firm but supple, the engine was a revelation after the FA20, the exhaust sounded wonderful, the gearbox and clutch were hugely better than its predecessor and it was just a nice place to be.

I shall make further posts about the costings, things to know about JDM cars and all the modifications I have performed since acquiring it as soon as I have time.

 

[SiCaln]

Congratulations. I am still awaiting 10 years to register my JDM import due to the lack of TDN numbers (TRD 14R). A friend of mine imported a 2017 BRZ STi and got it registered, but besides that awesome car and wish you great experiences in it

 

[MartinT]

COST
I had set a drive-away cap of £32,000 with Torque GT before they bid in the auction. They reverse calculate all the costs (auction fee, mark-ups, shipping, registration) so that you know exactly what you will pay with no surprises and this system works very well. In the end, because they got a low bid price on the car (the Japanese love automatics and consequently manuals are not popular), my drive-away price, excluding the additional work I asked Torque GT to perform, was £28,800. I was extremely pleased with this price for a car that looked and smelled brand new.

INSURANCE
UK insurers uplift the insurance on all JDM cars, for reasons that have never been well explained to me. I knew it was coming, but the first quote from Adrian Flux, my existing insurer, shocked me with £1,800. For comparison, they were insuring my supercharged BRZ for £590. This was with zero no-claims bonus because it was a 2nd car to start with. I rejected the quote and looked around elsewhere. Torque GT recommended Howden and, sure enough, they were more reasonable starting with £1,400 with zero NCB. Now that I have sold the old BRZ and transferred the NCB over, I am looking at around £1,100 annually.

These are fully comprehensive, declared value £28,800, performance mods declared, I am 66 years old and garage the car overnight, living just outside a countryside village near Basingstoke.

ROAD TAX
This one surprised me. I thought Torque GT had made a mistake classifying the BRZ as a 'PLG' - Private Light Goods vehicle. When I queried it with Darren, he said they classify all their imports as PLG otherwise the DVLA reject them. Huh? Consequently, the road tax is twice the cost I had expected. I have sent the relevant forms to the DVLA to reclassify it as a car and will see what transpires. If they argue, I'll try sending photos and asking them where I should load up the goods? The BRZ has a 199 CO2 rating so just comes into a lower road tax band - if it's classified as a car.

SERVICING
I continue to have Abbey Motorsport perform all of my servicing and bigger mods. They use LiquiMoly Toptech 4200 oil and only proper OEM parts. They have a dyno and Hawker alignment facilities and a local friendly MoT station. My first service is due soon and will only be an oil change.

FUEL ECONOMY
My economy is running at 10.2l/km which translates to around 29mpg. It's a bit worse than the old car but my driving pattern has changed now that I don't commute 80 miles a day any longer.

 

[MartinT]

MODIFICATIONS

The car as it looks now.

PERFORMANCE

• Full set of Brembo 4/2 piston brakes with DBA slotted rotors and ceramic pads
• STi ZD8 red springs + alignment
• 15mm JapSpeed spacers all round
• Goodyear 225/40 18" tyres
• HKS GT-Spec EL catted manifold
• HKS catted front pipe
• Outbound Motorsport inlet horn
• K&N drop-in filter
• TRD door stabilisers
• Mishimoto magnetic sump plug

EXTERNAL

• STi fender garnishes
• STi badges front/rear
• Greddy rear window aero
• Bonnet struts
• Subaru puddle lights
• LED reversing bulbs
• Driven Media centre brake light flasher

INTERNAL

• STi Start/Stop button
• STi Gear knob
• STi sill plates
• LED bulb set (all internal)
• Ottocast Android Auto wireless adapter

COMING SOON

• Eventuri intake + dyno retune

 

[ZN8]

The only item required to pass the IVA was a speedo in MPH, which consisted of a neat dashtop GPS digital speedo requiring only power. No MoT is required as it's less than three years old.

View attachment 37401

Thats a bit unusual, can you not just switch it on the dash on a BRZ? On the GR86, if you scroll over to settings there is an option to toggle the units between mph and kmh.

 

[CPH6R]

The BRZs have a different menu setup and I also have no ability to switch from KPH to MPH in a European spec model. It is insane .... but unfortunately it's the way it is. I drag an old tomtom out the cupboard and fix to the windscreen to achieve a visible MPH reading in the UK. BRZs do however the ability to keep tyre pressure sensor readings when you switch to the sport setup for dials so its not the only quirk/difference.

@MartinT great write up, thanks for that. Loving the setup. How you going to use it? Is it a daily, track or show and shine car?

 

[MartinT]

Thats a bit unusual, can you not just switch it on the dash on a BRZ? On the GR86, if you scroll over to settings there is an option to toggle the units between mph and kmh.

Sadly, the JDM model has no units switching. Metric is what you get.

 

[MartinT]

@MartinT great write up, thanks for that. Loving the setup. How you going to use it? Is it a daily, track or show and shine car?

Thank you! It's very much my daily, I never wanted more than one car and, being retired, two doors and two seats (ignore the rear seats) are perfect. I look forward to a drive anywhere every day!

 

[KobayashiMaru86]

Sadly, the JDM model has no units switching. Metric is what you get.

Wonder if it's country could be changed so you get different options. Using OBD dongle and an app I see it does pressures in BAR to 2dp but only shows to 1dp, tyre temps and even PSI are available (seen other countries can show this) but we don't see any of it on the dash. In the Skoda days, the Fabia vRS had a manual speedo in mph but the digital one would be kmh. Since I wanted the digital to also be mph and I never had intention of going to Europe, by changing the car to think it was in Australia, it showed the digital in mph as it assumed the manual would be kmh.

 

[MartinT]

I think I've exhausted all attempts to set the country or change units. At least the clock does 24 hours!

If you think the car is tricky, you should do battle with the Alpine 7DNXF2 head unit installed as an (expensive) option by the original purchaser. It's Japanese only, with no language settings - I can't even change the time zone for correct day/night mode. I've used lots of Google Lens to translate the screens to set it up. Now that I've got Android Auto working, it doesn't matter any more. It fires up in Japanese, switching to AA and English. Magic!

I'm tied to the Alpine as it records both front and rear cams.

 

[MartinT]

Installed the Driven Media centre brake light flasher module. Very easy install, 10 mins max.

 

[MartinT]

JDM Talking Points

• No TPMS! It's an option and in Japan people tend not to select it because their roads are so smooth. I could find no way of retro-installing it so I installed my own TPMS Bluetooth sensors (from AliExpress) tied to a programmable alarm module and an app on my phone.
• No charcoal filter in the airbox and (unverified) no GPF filter in the exhaust.
• No head unit as standard! Many JDM cars come with no head unit, so make sure to check if you're looking to import a vehicle. Mine came with an Alpine 7DNXF2 which is Japanese-only, not configurable to another language and cannot change the time zone. Get ready to do a lot of Google Lens translation with your phone if you get a similar Japanese-only head unit. The good news (with mine, at least) is that it supports Android Auto (and Apple Car Play if you're on the dark side). That means, since your phone is driving the display, you can run Waze or Google Maps for navigation, and BBC Sounds, Radio Paradise etc. for radio and Spotify/Qobuz etc. for streamed music.
• The indicator stalk is on the right! In fact, these two stalks are reversed with wipers on the left. It takes reprogramming your muscle memory.
• Units in metric only. Your importer will have fitted a MPH speedo display, but bear in mind the dash is all-metric with fuel economy displayed in l/km.
• Small changes to the heater/aircon controls with a Sync button, but easy enough to get to grips with.
• User manual is in Japanese but I downloaded the universal English manual which has some variations for USDM, UKDM and AUSDM cars.
• All the interior lights are horrible light bulbs. Don't know if UK/EU cars are different? I bought an LED kit and replaced them all, including the external reversing lights.
• If you find a JDM car with STi aero (or GR/TRD aero), grab it as the cost is hardly any different, but the cost of importing the pieces from Japan is astronomical (I know because I had an STi front splitter on my old 2017 BRZ).
• Ditto if you find a car with STi v-bars & rear draw stiffener installed. It's commonly specified on Japanese cars. I was very lucky with the Fujitsubo exhaust, it's an option on the Subaru option list but not sure how prevalent that one is.
• If you buy a car with only one key fob (I did buy it knowing it had only one), be aware that getting another one is beyond a PITA. They are pre-coded and only available from Subaru Japan. I am now trying to get one through Subaru UK. It's not going to be cheap.
• If you are buying a BRZ (not a GR86), beware that you will need BRZ specific Brembo brakes if you intend installing them. This is because of the aluminium suspension knuckle. FastWRX in the USA was the only place I found stocking the correct calipers in kits. The kit is complete and everything goes on well. Also make sure you add the rear brake dust shields for the larger rotors, the advice to bend the existing ones could result in nasty rubbing noises if you're not very careful.

 

[MartinT]

SUSPENSION

This time around, the suspension is far more conservative and all the better for it. With my first BRZ, I over-lowered it with H&R Super Sport springs and over-damped it with Bilstein B8 dampers. It was too stiff and wanted to take hard corners with the rear hopping. It was also too low and consequently grounded quite a lot, eventually putting a big dent in the (awful) TD exhaust.

Lessons learned. This time around, I have retained the stock 18" wheels which are rather nice, and got rid of the noisy 215 Michelin PS4 in favour of 225 Goodyear F1 A6 to increase the contact patch. Grip and handling are instantly improved. Furthermore, the track is widened with 15mm JapSpeed studded spacers and the car is lowered around 12mm with STi Gen 2 red springs. Abbey Motorsport performed a 'fast road' alignment. The result is better clearance on the country lane I live in, far better handling, more grip and more supple ride quality. This is definitely a case of less is more.

 

[grzoostuff]

Welcome to the BRZ/GR fold, glad to see if there's a will there's a way to continue to get these great cars into the UK

 

[MartinT]

Welcome to the BRZ/GR fold, glad to see if there's a will there's a way to continue to get these great cars into the UK

I was pretty hacked off with Subaru UK for not bringing the BRZ over. Too busy selling crapbox SUVs, not even the WRX gets a look-in.

 

[MartinT]

These dyno results (before/after) are from the HKS catted EL manifold + front pipe with EcuTek tune. Power translates to around 255bhp and the torque improvement is impressive. It also explains why I set my rev beep to 6500rpm.

 

[OPC100]

Well done. When I first read the thread title I thought, why not just get a UK GR86. It would be less hassle. But that was just me thinking what I'd do. Then I thought if it wasn't for guys like you, there wouldn't be lots of interesting jdm cars in the UK.

So much respect for going down this route and I'm looking forward to seeing many more different BRZ/GR86 models coming over from Japan over the coming years.

 

[MartinT]

When I first read the thread title I thought, why not just get a UK GR86.

LOL - it's a damned fine question and worth asking. The truth of it is that I was very much enjoying my 2017 BRZ at the time the extremely narrow GR86 order window happened in the UK. When the time came to contemplate replacing it, I really REALLY wanted the Subaru badge again because, well, I liked being a part of the rarer brand at meetings

I never thought I would have a car so rare that I know of only one other in the UK!