BRZ as daily driver?

[Pakjk89]

Alright so basically I am planning to buy the BRZ, plain and simple, as a daily driver. No track days and probably not any mods either. I live in northern Virginia where snow and bad weather is minimal, but the more I read these post, the more I start believing maybe it's a crazy idea to keep just this one car as my daily driver considering I won't even mod or go to the track with it and that during rain and snow, driving rwd is not favorable at all. Any opinions? Thanks in advance.

[tranzformer]

These OP's questions sound similar to yours.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=Daily+driver

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=Daily+driver

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=Daily+driver

[dookie11]

What's wrong with this car as a DD? I'm getting this as a DD. Cuz there's no other good looking coupe out there.

[ashtray]

I'm getting it as a DD. RWD is no issue - I drove in NJ and MD in a RWD pickup truck as my only car (man, that was dicey in snow!). If you are concerned, get a second set of rims with snow tires and you'll be fine.

Consider a trip to VIR if you get the chance/urge though. But this isn't a track toy, it's a real car for everyday use that also can have fun on a track.

[underthecurve]

Not sure if I am understanding you correctly, but my thinking is that if this is your daily driver you should not mod or track it. Put it into a wall at a track event, there goes your ride to work. Your turbo kit voids your warranty, and throws a bearing, there goes your ride to work. As far as rwd in bad weather, don't drive like an asshole and keep the electronic gismos on.

[Corey]

If you drive like a normal person you will most likely never even notice the difference between FWD and RWD. People like to exagerate the dangers a lot but realistically most people who crash, especially in poor weather, would have crashed regardless of the drivetrain. It will be a fine daily driver.

[Pakjk89]

Great. Thanks for the info guys. I was mainly concerned because my parents don't want me to drive a rwd car as a daily driver and I wanted some input on whether their concern was a legit one. I know I should be concerned with bad weather but I figured a good pair of snow tires should do. Agreed?

[dookie11]

Oh I get it, why the debate on this car as a DD, cuz you guys live in varied climate neighborhoods. It never snows and hardly rains here in SoCali.

[ashtray]

You need to learn how to drive the car differently than a FWD car in the rain.

In a FWD car, when the roads are slick and you go around a turn a little too fast, the FRONT tires lose traction and the car pushes out of the turn. To correct for this, you reduce speed and continue to turn the wheels in the direction of the turn. (so a right turn, car starts to slide, you keep the wheel turned to the right. This is called understeer.)

A RWD car reacts differently when it loses traction around a turn. The REAR wheels push out, causing the car to start to spin. In a right hand turn, the way to correct for this is to turn LEFT during the slide. (this is called oversteer)

In EITHER case though, you pretty much always point the tires in the direction you want to go. With a RWD car that is spinning, this requires you to turn the wheel the opposite way. Watch the Pixar movie "Cars" to get it.

[Pakjk89]

Originally Posted by ashtray

You need to learn how to drive the car differently than a FWD car in the rain.

In a FWD car, when the roads are slick and you go around a turn a little too fast, the FRONT tires lose traction and the car pushes out of the turn. To correct for this, you reduce speed and continue to turn the wheels in the direction of the turn. (so a right turn, car starts to slide, you keep the wheel turned to the right. This is called understeer.)

A RWD car reacts differently when it loses traction around a turn. The REAR wheels push out, causing the car to start to spin. In a right hand turn, the way to correct for this is to turn LEFT during the slide. (this is called oversteer)

In EITHER case though, you pretty much always point the tires in the direction you want to go. With a RWD car that is spinning, this requires you to turn the wheel the opposite way. Watch the Pixar movie "Cars" to get it.

Excuse me for being a complete car noob but I have always wondered what understeer and oversteer meant and this is exactly the best explanation ever. I read that the BRZ tends to understeer though. What does that mean relative to bad weather/slippery conditions?

[serialk11r]

I'm not sure these things matter really, you don't see people avoiding say a Corolla or Prius or Camry because they don't have good grip stock, you don't see people avoiding SUVs because they roll over easily, etc. It's a sports car, I'm not an expert on this but I'd think that a car built for good handling would have more control than not given equal tires, unless it's deep snow that the bottom of the car won't clear. Well I guess the slightly front heavy RWD would be a problem in ice too.

[Godzpeed]

just get a decent set of winter tires and RWD will do fine in snow.

[Dark]

Originally Posted by Godzpeed

just get a decent set of winter tires and RWD will do fine in snow.

The car has traction control. Get a set of winter tires, it will be a winter beater.

[ashtray]

Originally Posted by Pakjk89

Excuse me for being a complete car noob but I have always wondered what understeer and oversteer meant and this is exactly the best explanation ever. I read that the BRZ tends to understeer though. What does that mean relative to bad weather/slippery conditions?

That was a simple explanation. There's cases where a fwd car car oversteer, and a RWD can understeer. Know how the car is behaving while turning and losing traction and which wheels are being driven will help you react to maintain control. But in pretty much all cases, you point the wheels in the direction you want the car to go.

The BRZ might understeer a bit in dry conditions under hard cornering. depends on the suspension setup.