Performance package vs stock
 

Hi everyone,

I test drove a used 2014 Scion FR-S a few years ago and found that it was effortless to kick the tail out and control a short drift. I almost had to be focus on the use of the accelerator to avoid a drift during a turn. It lived up the Jermy Clarkson review of being able to drift while reading a book.

Last year, I bought a new BRZ with the performance package. I have to work to get the back end to kick out, and it does not seem as controllable after the tail is out. It just doesn't seem as fun as the FR-S I test drove years ago.

I then saw this video review on YouTube: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jenmPpubBBY[/ame].

The driver was the original stig, and he seems to share the same sentiments at the 8-minute mark as I do.

Has anyone gone from an early version of our cars to a newer version with the performance package? If so, do you feel that the older version was more fun than the new version?

I am not looking to trade-in the car due to the depreciation hit so please do not go there.

The spring rate on the FRS was set up to favor oversteer in corners. I believe it has stiffer rear springs(correct me if I'm wrong)
I had to guess that probably explains why you felt it was easier.

The newer cars are set up more neutral with slightly different spring rates revised shocks and different sway bars.

This ^


put in a stiffer rear sway bar and itll come back to being a more lively car.



I see this complaint alot, kids put on 245's and full coilovers and the car is harder to slide around or "less fun"

really one of the local autox- guys love the 215 HP Primacys on his car because it keeps the liveliness for street use and then goes hard with a 245 potenza re71 for racing.

Ive got the brz ts rim so im going to get a good bfg 225 on it and thatll be my street set up.

Thanks. Do you have any recommendations on a stiffer sway bar?

I use whiteline's total sway bar kit, which is front and rear with endlinks and braces

but if you are just going simple youll want: https://whitelineperformance.com/col...r54xz-sway-bar

this one.

I went from 2013 FRS to a 2016 FRS with the TRD Lowering Springs and I can definitely say my first one was a touch more prone to oversteer..

Also OP keep in mind the wheels with the PP are half an inch wider which ain't much but it would keep things a little more planted..similarly in that video OP posted, the TRD 86 has bigger + wider wheels which likewise hurts the playful nature of the car.

The shocks and struts were horrible in the 2013. The rear shocks have no travel and work like crap. It promoted oversteer for sure but I'm more into cornering fast, which it did not promote.

If you want your car to have less grip and handle worse just put some all season tires on it.

Damnit my car grips too much, thing handles too well. What have I done?


This is not a mustang.

I have a 2013 FR-S, and after their time was done I swapped the Primacys for PS4S stock size. Totally different car, it went from drifty to racy. For my next tire set I'm doing what @subaru said, all seasons.

They recognized that people are tracking the crap out of these cars because they are great track cars, and shifted the design in that direction. PP is 100% about grip.

You do not need god's own front brakes to drift, but you do benefit from them on the track.

The cool thing is that you can muck around with setups and make the chassis into anything. That is the pure magic of these little beasties.

So finally got a Whiteline rear sway bar. I am sad to report that at the stiffest setting, there is no difference between stock. Does anyone have any more advice?

What size sway bar did you get? What is the stiffest setting rated for? How are you measuring the difference? What tires/size are you on?

OP. Start with tires. My PS4s on my summer setup are completely different then my BFG comp2 All seasons on my winter setup. I like both, with the all season being more tail happy. You are literally tuning the car to your style so only you know what works for you. That takes experimentation and unfortunately none of it is cheap. Maybe contact some locals with diff setups that would let you do a short test drive. Hate to recommend this sway bar or theses springs, etc and spend thousands only to figure out if you just put crappy tires on the rear you might get the car to where you want it.

Practice

Thank you for this recommendation.

At first, I didn’t notice a difference, so I took it over to a mechanic. They figured out that the link bolts the needed to be tightened. Afterward, I am happy to report that the vehicle is more prone to oversteer (controllably) and enjoyable. I’m not a drift king, but I can get the tail to kick out just a little. Thank you again.