New BRZ owner here

[AD55]

Originally Posted by gman6974

Hello everyone, bought a left over 2018 Pearl White BRZ M6 on January 4th and have put 4k miles on it so far.

So far I love It. It's fun and getting 31.4mpg is so awesome when you're coming from 15-17mpg. Only complaint is like a lot of people say is the power.

I have driven nothing but GM all my life and I use to have an '05 GTO M6 a few years ago so the power is my only complaint with the car so far.

Just an observation, but NO one should be complaining about the power of the BRZ.

I just have to ask, did any of the complainers actually test drive their BRZ before they purchased it ? It wouldn't take 2 minutes behind the wheel to realize this car is no power house. Actually, you shouldn't need to drive it to realize this, just look at the specs.

In your own case how can you not be disappointed about power when coming from a 6.0L 400 HP V8, generating 400 lbs of torque down to a 2.0L, 200 HP 4 cylinder that's not even turbocharged. Sure, the BRZ is about a 1000 lb's lighter than your GTO, but that's just not going to make up for 200 less HP.

In my own case I bought my 2014 BRZ strictly due to it's good looks and handling. It has more than enough power to keep me happy in the 90% of stop and go driving I do. Heck I'm even too chicken s**t to push it to probably even half of it's handling capability.

Now for the honesty part. I'm an old fart pushing 65, and found out a long time ago that all that extra power just gets you is a lot of tickets, higher insurance rates and the possibility of getting yourself or someone else seriously injured.

OK, so much for the lecture. I'll get off my soap box now and dream about my lost youth.

[gman6974]

Originally Posted by AD55

Just an observation, but NO one should be complaining about the power of the BRZ.

I just have to ask, did any of the complainers actually test drive their BRZ before they purchased it ? It wouldn't take 2 minutes behind the wheel to realize this car is no power house. Actually, you shouldn't need to drive it to realize this, just look at the specs.

In your own case how can you not be disappointed about power when coming from a 6.0L 400 HP V8, generating 400 lbs of torque down to a 2.0L, 200 HP 4 cylinder that's not even turbocharged. Sure, the BRZ is about a 1000 lb's lighter than your GTO, but that's just not going to make up for 200 less HP.

In my own case I bought my 2014 BRZ strictly due to it's good looks and handling. It has more than enough power to keep me happy in the 90% of stop and go driving I do. Heck I'm even too chicken s**t to push it to probably even half of it's handling capability.

Now for the honesty part. I'm an old fart pushing 65, and found out a long time ago that all that extra power just gets you is a lot of tickets, higher insurance rates and the possibility of getting yourself or someone else seriously injured.

OK, so much for the lecture. I'll get off my soap box now and dream about my lost youth.

Looked at the specs and test drove it before I bought and yeah I knew what I was buying. Doesn't change the fact I want more power and will eventually add more in the future. I pretty much love everything else about the car which is why I bought it.

[JR]

I'm not going to lie, on my test drive, I was surprised at how much low end torque it had and was underwhelmed from 5K+ in the rev range, as I thought it would produce a little more power. With that being said, I still decided to purchase it because the car felt like a damn race car when I first sat in it and the handling, shifter and clutch combo was good. It also had no rev hang, which was a huge plus in my book. I was coming from a 2018 Si, which had no top end and an atrocious amount of rev hang with some turbo lag.

Fast forward a little more than a month, and the car feels faster because I usually have no passengers and the temps are consistently below freezing. I am also more comfortable with the vehicle, so I can shift smoother and enjoy it more when I rev it out.

[ToySub1946]

My car has 57,000 miles on it and I'm still not consistently upshifting from 4th to 5th in the same manner.

We know that the default position of any shifter is spring loading to engage the 3rd and 4th gears from neutral, if we move the lever forward or aft.
Gotta get it out of that default the first thing, getting ready for that 5th gear. How is the entire operation accomplished...

Shall I strong arm it with my hand on top of shift knob ?

Shall I use a combination of palm of my hand and inside of my thumb, on sides of knob ?

Shall I do it entirely within areas of palm of my hand, on sides of knob ?

Not an easy task deciding which method works best.

If I have a passenger, are they noticing my sometimes awkward movements ?
It's only the 4th to 5th shift which is the odd one to manipulate.

I believe this may be what gman6974 was relating to.

[e30kawi]

I really gotta start driving mine more. Had it ten months and only 56xx miles.

[Stephen W.]

Originally Posted by e30kawi

I really gotta start driving mine more. Had it ten months and only 56xx miles.

YOU? How about ME? I've had my tS for 5 months and have just over 3,000 kms (under 1900 miles) on it.
OK, so it's been in the garage hibernating over three of those months but still... I wanna drive!
Hopefully we'll get that early spring those Ground Hogs predicated.

[gman6974]

1 month and @ 4800 miles. Sounds like you guys have some garage ornaments.

[Chikna]

Mine is almost 6 months and it has already 5,500 miles. Being a daily driving car with 40 miles a day commute to work I still think that I am learning LOL. Fun in driving manual than auto. Today, I am taking Honda Pilot to work to bring some stuff since I can't fit that stuff in this tiny car.

[AD55]

Originally Posted by gman6974

Looked at the specs and test drove it before I bought and yeah I knew what I was buying. Doesn't change the fact I want more power and will eventually add more in the future. I pretty much love everything else about the car which is why I bought it.

I probably misinterpreted your original statement. Sounds like you knew exactly what you were buying and your not so much "disappointed" in the power of the BRZ but rather having an issue getting used to the difference between it and your GTO.

I've actually been there myself, having owned V8's and for one reason or another trading them for something with much less HP. Definitely something that takes time to get used to.

There seems to be a consensus on this forum, and elsewhere, that a set of header's and a tune can really wake up the BRZ's Boxer engine, maybe enough so that you won't really need to invest in something like a turbo. Due to the car being so new and still within factory warranty, it's probably not a good idea to do anything extremely radical anyway.

[AD55]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

YOU? How about ME? I've had my tS for 5 months and have just over 3,000 kms (under 1900 miles) on it.
OK, so it's been in the garage hibernating over three of those months but still... I wanna drive!
Hopefully we'll get that early spring those Ground Hogs predicated.

I feel your pain brother. In the fall I fully intended to put the BRZ up for the Winter but the weather here in SW Ohio has been all over the place. One day it's in the teens and snowing, 2 days later it's 60 and the sun is shining. About the only days I don't take it out for a spin is when the roads are icy. I see it sitting there in the garage by it's lonesome, and I'm like a junkie that needs a fix.

I'm positive if I had one as new as yours I would definitely not be doing this.
Heck when Spring came it probably still wouldn't leave the garage for fear a bird might take a crap on it. I could have easily afforded a new one but due to my deep seated paranoia I bought the 2014 instead. Who knows, maybe a few sessions with a good shrink might help.

[gman6974]

Originally Posted by AD55

I probably misinterpreted your original statement. Sounds like you knew exactly what you were buying and your not so much "disappointed" in the power of the BRZ but rather having an issue getting used to the difference between it and your GTO.

I've actually been there myself, having owned V8's and for one reason or another trading them for something with much less HP. Definitely something that takes time to get used to.

There seems to be a consensus on this forum, and elsewhere, that a set of header's and a tune can really wake up the BRZ's Boxer engine, maybe enough so that you won't really need to invest in something like a turbo. Due to the car being so new and still within factory warranty, it's probably not a good idea to do anything extremely radical anyway.

I won't be doing anything to it for a while. More than likely until the warranty is close to running out.

I've always owned V8s so it's definitely different but I love it regardless. Definitely needs lowering as well.

Hadn't driven my girlfriend's 2016 Corolla S 6spd in a while and drove it a couple days ago. Holy hell I forgot how slow that damn thing is. The BRZ felt like a supercar when I got back in it.

[e30kawi]

Originally Posted by gman6974

1 month and @ 4800 miles. Sounds like you guys have some garage ornaments.

I'm on call a lot for work and I hate leaving it parked in an open lot for days at a time. So yeah, mine stays in the garage unless I know I'm not bringing a work truck home.