13-16 vs 17 BRZ impressions after 2 weeks of ownership

[steve99]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

- The balance of the 17 is far, far superior to the 13. The 13 was an understeering pig, that only kicked the rear end out if you forced it, or made a grievous driving error (contrary to what the press would like you to believe). The 17 is much more balanced with changed spring rates and a stiffer rear sway bar (how many of you have seen me preach a stiffer rear sway on stock suspension for years now

haha agree, I thought it was just me that found it understeery unless you used a bootfull of throttle, my first mod was stiffer rear bar and camber bolts.

[weederr33]

Originally Posted by Alltezza

Do you know if the headlights(wiring wise) and front bumper is compatible with the 13-16 models?

For those that don't wanna trade up(;

I, too, would like to know this. But if it's anything like the 10 Series, or Monogram or other special editions, I would assume the wiring is different. :/

[~el~jefe~]

i wonder if the performance package would kill the less harsh ride? I am debating on getting it, and have to decide by this weekend.

I test drove an AT 2017 and the ride was very comfortable! No P.P. though of course.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by ~el~jefe~

i wonder if the performance package would kill the less harsh ride? I am debating on getting it, and have to decide by this weekend.

I test drove an AT 2017 and the ride was very comfortable! No P.P. though of course.

The PP is more tuned for track so I would presume it will actually have a harsher ride. Probably not much different though. The PP is a great buy if you track. Not such a big deal for street use.

[~el~jefe~]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

The PP is more tuned for track so I would presume it will actually have a harsher ride. Probably not much different though. The PP is a great buy if you track. Not such a big deal for street use.

Sadness. I keep hoping to test drive one, but that never will happen. Or find someone with one who tested a few types, also might not happen for at least a long time.

Like you said longer ago, I guess I could sell the shocks/struts if I do not like them. The wheels are nice and the Brembo's are great on mountains like you noted.

One douche writing for Road and Track tested the performance package but said nothing about comparison ride quality. The only guy I know who tested it, wrote the tiniest ****ing article on the planet. Reviewers kinda suck bad.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars...-drive/http://

[mazeroni]

Originally Posted by ~el~jefe~

Sadness. I keep hoping to test drive one, but that never will happen. Or find someone with one who tested a few types, also might not happen for at least a long time.

Like you said longer ago, I guess I could sell the shocks/struts if I do not like them. The wheels are nice and the Brembo's are great on mountains like you noted.

Question: I am aware that that the Series.Yellow gets the PP, but is the PP package even available right now? Based on the Subaru website, it appears it isn't an option until Winter 2017. At least in the US.

I personally wouldn't sweat it. If you just want to tackle mountain roads, a new set of pads and brake fluid might be enough. That is what I have heard around here. Even on the track, it sounds like the stock brakes aren't all that bad. Or at least enough to get you by unless you are serious-track-star-#1

[~el~jefe~]

you can order it on standard subaru website in the USA.

[prj3ctm4yh3m]

Originally Posted by mazeroni

Question: I am aware that that the Series.Yellow gets the PP, but is the PP package even available right now? Based on the Subaru website, it appears it isn't an option until Winter 2017. At least in the US.

I personally wouldn't sweat it. If you just want to tackle mountain roads, a new set of pads and brake fluid might be enough. That is what I have heard around here. Even on the track, it sounds like the stock brakes aren't all that bad. Or at least enough to get you by unless you are serious-track-star-#1

PP orders are MIA with no ETA

[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by prj3ctm4yh3m

PP orders are MIA with no ETA

QOTD. TBH, IMO your use of acronyms was a bit OTT.

[prj3ctm4yh3m]

Originally Posted by Sport-Tech

QOTD. TBH, IMO your use of acronyms was a bit OTT.

LOL

[Scrappydoo]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Original post in the build journal here:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...=111506&page=6


After a few weeks of driving the car around, here are my thoughts.

- The 2017 is a HUGE improvement over the 2013-2016 car. The core of the car hasn't changed, but this is a more mature, better dialed in version of the car. Overall, this is what the car should have been, in 2013. Driving this and a 13-16 back to back, I can tell the original car was rushed, and not quite what it could have been.

- I much prefer the output of the 2013's HIDs, to the 17's LEDs. The HIDs could be leveled manually, whereas the LEDs are fixed height. The factory aim is legal, but on the high side, and regularly blinds drivers on the other side of the road. I've quite frequently been high-beamed by a driver at an opposing stoplight, who thinks I have my high beams on. Additionally, the older HIDs output a much broader spectrum of light, versus the LEDs, which put out a lot of blue, but very little yellow or green. As a result, green/white highway signs are almost black/white at night, and yellow center lines are a very pale highlighter yellow instead of a very rich orange/cheese yellow. High beam output and spread are about similar.

- The balance of the 17 is far, far superior to the 13. The 13 was an understeering pig, that only kicked the rear end out if you forced it, or made a grievous driving error (contrary to what the press would like you to believe). The 17 is much more balanced with changed spring rates and a stiffer rear sway bar (how many of you have seen me preach a stiffer rear sway on stock suspension for years now?), and I have, literally, not had VSC intervene once, while driving the car around. Even going around corners, WOT, at what I would consider somewhat questionable speeds, the VSC does not intervene, because the car is not losing control. I can get a nice bit of throttle steer around corners with the stock output, but the output is not enough to actually kick the rear out.

- The only time I've had VSC intervene, is when I've intentionally done something to see when it would kick in.

- The OEM Primacys are excellently matched to the stock output. Yes, there could be more grip. Yes, there could be faster response. No, more grip and response wouldn't make for a better stock car. Think Miata. The new Miata is intentionally designed for driver enjoyment, rather than pure performance. I believe that's why these tires were chosen. That, and MPG. The OEM tires also make a nice, audible white noise under cornering, that changes to a screeching when you start approaching, and then exceeding the limit.

- I've averaged around 30-31 MPG combined. That's taking into account a stop-and-go traffic, some light canyoning, the occasional redline sprint, and commuting on the highway. I fully expect this to drop 20-25% once I put on a stickier, non-low-rolling-resistance tire.

- I like the diameter of the steering wheel versus the older steering wheel. I don't, however, like the new material. Even though it's technically "nicer", it feels cheap. I also don't like how the back of the wheel, at the connecting points of the "T", stick out.

- The steering wheel controls are convenient, but that's about it. The Mute button is nice. Every car needs a mute button. My s2000 has one, and my 3000GT VR4 had one.

- The LSD tuning is different. This one is less harsh, or at least it seems to engage less harshly. In a 13, I would hear it chatter making u-turns when cold. This one seems to chatter less. Maybe it's a function of the 4.3 final drive, or the factory fluid, vs the thicker stuff I normally use.

- The torque dip is much narrower now. The car is much friendlier to drive around in traffic, since the powerband extends up to 4k instead of 3k like before. Coming out of the torque dip is, literally, like hitting Vtec in the s2k. You will feel it, and hear it. If you're in the torque dip, it's worse than before.

- The car seems much friendlier on 91 than before. Race gas saw virtually zero power gains. The car attempted to advance timing, failed, and decremented the IAM, temporarily losing power.

- The car wants to dump fuel at high RPMs much more aggressively, to protect the cat. Anytime you want to redline, you may need to do a few pulls to actually get full power, at least on the stock tune.

- The new leather touches in the interior look nice, especially the dash piece.

- I'm not a fan of the "piano black" bezel on the new head unit. It will scratch very easily.

- The new head unit "lags". By that, I mean the bluetooth input has a delay of about a second, whereas the 13/14 head unit does not. The Pandora integration is nice, but because the head unit is slow, trying to scroll through radio stations to find one is annoying.

Might be coming across as a little bit of a bellend..

[Lonewolf]

Originally Posted by prj3ctm4yh3m

PP orders are MIA with no ETA

Those who ordered PP BRZ's have started to receive VINS and are slated to get their cars in January

[prj3ctm4yh3m]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Those who ordered PP BRZ's have started to receive VINS and are slated to get their cars in January

Thx. i think i got one but the SOA rep i got last time i called was a lame and would neither confirm or deny. thx subaru

[curiosul]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

- I much prefer the output of the 2013's HIDs, to the 17's LEDs. The HIDs could be leveled manually, whereas the LEDs are fixed height. The factory aim is legal, but on the high side, and regularly blinds drivers on the other side of the road. I've quite frequently been high-beamed by a driver at an opposing stoplight, who thinks I have my high beams on. Additionally, the older HIDs output a much broader spectrum of light, versus the LEDs, which put out a lot of blue, but very little yellow or green. As a result, green/white highway signs are almost black/white at night, and yellow center lines are a very pale highlighter yellow instead of a very rich orange/cheese yellow. High beam output and spread are about similar.

Background before the questions:
For about 7 years I'm using 55W HIDs on my cars and recently I found some nice 75W sets (true 75W).
I recently bought a new car (Ford Transit Connect Wagon) that comes with halogens in a reflective enclosure.
Stock bulbs were acceptable on dry pavement but like non existing on wet.
As soon as I switched to HIDs, it's like night and day. A friend of mine even told me that if there's anything he likes about that car it's the lights.
Now, because the new BRZ/86 has LEDs, it means no upgrading without changing the whole headlight which, in turn, means NO UPGRADING (settling basically).
I don't care about color, just light output on wet roads.

Questions:

How much worse is it (compared to the HIDs)?
Is it a strain to drive at night in the rain?
Also, from the pictures, it looks like the high beam is the same bulb that turns upwards. Is that the case?
Do you know of any (relatively cheap) upgrade method?

P.S. I've had the 75W set for almost a month and I was never flashed by incoming traffic. But that might also be because the headlights on the Transit Connect are way higher than on the BRZ therefore they are angled lower (for the same distance) therefore they need a higher deviation to bother people in the incoming lane