Driving impression of a '17

[darthpnoy1984]

Originally Posted by guybo

LOL, keep telling yourself that! You will find reasons and excuses, LOTS and lots of them. I still haven't returned to my normal driving habits almost 1 year and 17k miles later







I installed a lip, side skirts and spats last week. The day after I did it was hella windy and I noticed the wind buffeting the car a lot MORE than before. At first I thought maybe there was a problem or something, but nope.

Glad to know your enjoying the car my one year of ownership with my FRS I've already used 20K miles since I picked her up at 26K miles. Amazing DD honestly I don't find the ride punishing as many folks here think it is.


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[2017-BRZ]

Originally Posted by tomm.brz

i noticed too the thing about the wind
Would a front lip, and maybe side skirts, improve this?

I have an sti front lip and its functional at speed.

[tomm.brz]

Good to know

[Wondark]

Someone had asked me about crosswinds in a PM with the STI spoiler/skirts and such. Although I have not been in heavy crosswinds yet and can't compare without the parts, I don't think it's terribly bad. I notice things like this in several cars that I've owned or just borrowed but has only been exceptionally bad in a few. Obviously a lighter vehicle is going to feel more prone to a feeling of just being tossed in the wind but this car has a pretty low stance and aerodynamic features than some of the cars I fear.

Vehicles I am scared to drive due to crosswinds.

Geo Metro
Smart "Car"
Small Box Truck

I'm not saying this to downplay the crosswind concern, just saying that I honestly notice this issue in just about anything I drive. My wife's Mazda 6 in a crosswind nearly has you fighting just to keep it in your lane and if that's a concern in our car I suppose it's just a price you pay.

[TylerLieberman]

I finally drove a '17 yesterday and honestly.......

Ehhhh.

It's still the same recipe that I love from the original '13MY I owned when they first came out. I was really hoping the gearing change and narrowed torque dip would be pretty noticeable and it just wasn't.

I mean, it feels a bit better in the mid range, but not by much. That being said, it's still a great car, but after driving a '17, I'm not as inclined to buy another one as I thought I would be.

[Stephen W.]

I too took a ‘17 for a test drive yesterday. Twice the car moved unexpectedly from the one side to the other side of the lane. I thought it must have been me, not being used to it’s steering. Never thought it might be cross wind induced. And that makes sense because it occurred as I crossed between two open fields where I could see the wind blowing.
So, if it’s that noticeable at low speeds how are the twins around big trucks out on the highways?

[Tcoat]

Trucks don't seem to have as much impact as an actual wind. Hardly even notice them. Now like you said any good wind from an open space hit pretty hard sometimes.

[spike021]

Today on the freeway I felt the wind for the first time. It was kinda funny because it didn't look windy just looking at the trees and stuff, but I was definitely being pushed by some nice gusts.

Plus this car zoomed by me on the left side and I felt a bit of a push to the side.

Wasn't too bad though.

[artongdou]

I can feel it when there is heavy wind. Probably because the car is so light weighted.

[HKz]

Originally Posted by Stephen W.

I too took a ‘17 for a test drive yesterday. Twice the car moved unexpectedly from the one side to the other side of the lane. I thought it must have been me, not being used to it’s steering. Never thought it might be cross wind induced. And that makes sense because it occurred as I crossed between two open fields where I could see the wind blowing.
So, if it’s that noticeable at low speeds how are the twins around big trucks out on the highways?

here in az where we can have some pretty strong gusts it is occasionally noticeable going by a semi but really the way the wind affects the twins feels no different than how it affected my 240sx, celica or my pop's mr2 so i have never been put off by it. probably all due to the lower curb weights

[osidak]

Just finished up two longer trips and I am pleasantly surprised by my fuel economy

Charlotte NC area to Charleston SC - I saw a calculated 32.4 mpg
Charlotte NC area to Marion SC - I saw a calculated 32.9 mpg

I accelerated briskly - shifting around 4,000 rpm and kept it 5 to 10 over

Going to Charleston there was plenty of stop and go traffic and the still never explained multiple 80 to dead stops on I-26 and I-77

I am not going to complain. I figured I would be lucky to see 30 mpg

[krayzie]

Delete your sharkfin antenna should improve the car's ability cutting thru the crosswinds.

[~el~jefe~]

Originally Posted by osidak

Just finished up two longer trips and I am pleasantly surprised by my fuel economy

Charlotte NC area to Charleston SC - I saw a calculated 32.4 mpg
Charlotte NC area to Marion SC - I saw a calculated 32.9 mpg

I accelerated briskly - shifting around 4,000 rpm and kept it 5 to 10 over

Going to Charleston there was plenty of stop and go traffic and the still never explained multiple 80 to dead stops on I-26 and I-77

I am not going to complain. I figured I would be lucky to see 30 mpg

That is very good for non cruising mpg. I am happy to hear this. EngineeringExplained on youtube noted high 30's even breaking 40 driving it in unpopulated areas cruising around. My 2006 mini cooper S never got above 31.5 on highway trips at 70-71mph. NOrmally, my old car now only gets 24.5 combined ny city and cruising at night. 33 mpg will be a big change dollar wise per year.

[spike021]

Originally Posted by ~el~jefe~

That is very good for non cruising mpg. I am happy to hear this. EngineeringExplained on youtube noted high 30's even breaking 40 driving it in unpopulated areas cruising around. My 2006 mini cooper S never got above 31.5 on highway trips at 70-71mph. NOrmally, my old car now only gets 24.5 combined ny city and cruising at night. 33 mpg will be a big change dollar wise per year.

I've only been getting 22mpg or so but mostly city driving so far with a little highway driving (like 3 trips of 50 miles on the freeway each).

But that's probably also due to me still learning manual and how to shift efficiently.