Tyler Walkem joined the Navy in 2011. He became a Navy Corpsman and served with the Marine Corps for 6 years.
"I was deployed to Afghanistan in 2014," states Walkem, "then finished out the last 2 years of my career at a naval hospital in San Diego, CA." He bought the 2014 Subaru BRZ in 2014 after he came back from Afghanistan, and kept it stock for about a year or so.
"I started following builds like @notofu, @staycrushing, @derpyfrs, and @solus86," he remembers, "these guys inspired me and the direction I wanted to take with my build back then, and it's crazy, because now we're all homies." He liked the styles that were coming out, and it made him interested. So he started learning and teaching himself things.
Initially, Walkem wanted a Subaru STi but he thought that for the price of one he could build a bigger and better car with the money he would've saved. "Plus, the BRZ looks super cool," he mentions.
The original intentions for the BRZ were to make it a show car and the only challenging thing for him during the build process was how over-saturated the BRZ/FRS scene was. "I appreciate the creativity from other enthusiasts with this platform," he mentions.
"Take your time, gather parts over time and build your car right the first time," Walkem states.
Photography by Christian Dizon (@calicarclique), @gabedot86.
ESSENTIALS
Owner: Tyler Walkem
Location: El Cajon, CA
Vehicle: 2014 Subaru BRZ
Horsepower: 350 (estimated)
Club: Team Elevate
SOCIAL
Facebook: /tyler.walkem
Instagram: @_skdmrk_
ENGINE & PERFORMANCE
- SBD turbo kit
- Mishimoto oil cooler
- Radium Engineering catch cans
EXHAUST
- GReddy Sus Speed Master 3" titanium cat-back
- Invidia front pipe / over pipe
PERFORMANCE ELECTRONICS
- Tuned by Zach at CounterSpace Garage
- Rovi dash cam
- CarLock OBD2 scanner
DRIVETRAIN
- South Bend Stage 3 clutch
WHEELS & TIRES
- Custom 18" Work VS-SS wheels
- Bridgestone Protenza tires
- ARP wheel studs
BRAKES
- R1 Concepts rotors
- Hawk HPS pads
- Stainless steel lines
CHASSIS & SUSPENSION
- ST Suspension XTA coilovers
- Whiteline sway bar endlinks
- Buddy Club lower control arms
- Voodoo13 toe arms
- Cusco strut tower brace
EXTERIOR
- Rocket Bunny V1/V2 kit
- C-West front bumper, side skirts
- Rallybacker diffuser
- Custom carbon fiber spoiler
- Custom 1-of-a-kind carbon fiber hood
- APR carbon fiber mirrors
LIGHTING
- Custom BRZ headlights
- Valenti Revo taillights
INTERIOR
- Auto Power half cage
- Status Racing seats, harnesses
- Buddy Club seat rails
- Nardi steering wheel
- Works Bell hub
- Rasceng shift knob
- Full Sweidit interior
AUDIO & MULTIMEDIA
- Kicker Comp 10" subwoofer
- 2500 watt amplifier
FAVORITE MODIFICATION
"Definitely my C-West front bumper and the widebody kit."
FUTURE MODIFICATIONS
- Wheels
- Rebuild or swap the motor
SPONSORS
- Gearwax
- CarLock
SHOPS & MECHANICS
- Tyler Walkem
- CounterSpace Garage (tuning)
- Ghost Wrap (wrap by me and CJ)
PHOTO GALLERY
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