Official 2017 MY CHANGES (Full Document) and Backwards Compatibility Discussion

[Lonewolf]

Subaru spends all this development time and money improving the FA20 and the gearing and then restricts the improvements to the manual model only? The quick model gets quicker, the slow one stays slow (maybe even gets slower due to added weight), how is that improvement over time?

How about charge an extra 500-750 bucks for the auto guys for the good FA20 so they actually have useable power and torque throughout the rpm band as well...

I like how they finally fixed the taillight sealing issue...lol

[Resolute]

Actual pic of the new engine bay with red aluminum intake manifold, courtesy of Motor Authority:



Link to Motor Authority's first drive of the new BRZ:
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...t-drive-review

[Oxyg3n]

Just a quick google search brought this up. Didn't read it yet but thought I'd post it.

http://www.motor1.com/reviews/64734/...17-subaru-brz/

[Guff]

Originally Posted by Oxyg3n

Just a quick google search brought this up. Didn't read it yet but thought I'd post it.

http://www.motor1.com/reviews/64734/...17-subaru-brz/

Good find! I'll make a thread for this!

[Oxyg3n]

Motortrend's jab at it.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2017-...-drive-review/

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[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by Oxyg3n

Motortrend's jab at it.

http://www.motortrend.com/news/2017-...-drive-review/

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Great read (as are the other two posted).

As I was hoping, they had the old version on site for comparison drives, so Subaru obviously has a great deal of confidence that the MCR'ed car has noticeably improved in terms of its handling and ride. Looks like they were right according to these reviews.

Frankly, I can’t picture anything that packs more giggles for this little money.

[Flasher]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

So, I know everyone was excited about the new Performance Package available on the 2017 - specifically the Brembo brakes. I tried to find information about the size of them in the PDF document, and couldn't find any direct information. Then I looked at the massive data spreadsheet at the end of the document. All the listed models for the US market had the same rotor diameter (294mm, which is ~11.5", which is the standard rotor size.)

On a whim, I looked at the Japanese models, and look what I found. I'm going to ASSUME that these are the Brembo rotors, considering that these models also come with the 17x7.5" wheels that you get with the Performance Package. If so, I'm seeing 326mm, which is ~12.8", which is ~1.25" larger than the standard size! A decent size increase!

This isn't an official confirmation, obviously, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion.

As for the Brembo brakes I guess they will probably reuse the same design as used in the 2002 Impreza WRX, since the FT86 uses also the WRX 293 mm brakes.

I quickly checked wicht parts Brembo offers for that WRX type and there is indeed a 326 mm disc listed.

[Sport-Tech]

Can't quite figure out why they are going with a half-inch wider rim on the PP if they are not mounting a wider tire.....

[Stephen W.]

Originally Posted by Sport-Tech

Can't quite figure out why they are going with a half-inch wider rim on the the PP if they are not mounting a wider tire.....

Scratching my head over that one myself.

[drew_kar]

I'm running a 7.5 in wide wheel on the primacies.. definitely not ideal.

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[krayzie]

But I'm running 7.5 in wide wheel on stock size AS3s and it's perfect.

[Bristecom]

Originally Posted by Sport-Tech

Can't quite figure out why they are going with a half-inch wider rim on the the PP if they are not mounting a wider tire.....

It's to fit the Brembos up front without changing the characteristic of the tires too much.

Originally Posted by drew_kar

I'm running a 7.5 in wide wheel on the primacies.. definitely not ideal.

Why not? Not progressive enough?

[drew_kar]

Originally Posted by Bristecom

It's to fit the Brembos up front without changing the characteristic of the tires too much.



Why not? Not progressive enough?

It keeps the progression of the stock setup (which I like). The slightly stretched tire gives a little better feel from what I can tell. I'm just tired of the primacies. I hope they go with a better tire for the performance package. On stock rubber and stock pads I feel as if I more braking power than grip.

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[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by Sport-Tech

Can't quite figure out why they are going with a half-inch wider rim on the the PP if they are not mounting a wider tire.....

1: to increase the effective tread width
2: to reduce tire squirm.

The wider wheel will stretch the tire somewhat, the section will stretch 1/4" for every 1/2" gain in wheel width. When you do that, the sidewalls angle slightly, allowing more contact with the shoulder blocks of the tire. So increasing wheel width actually will allow you to use more of that tire, within reason. (I would never recommend to exceed the tire manufacturer's recommended width range!)
The stretch in the sidewall preloads the structure in the sidewall, reducing the flex in it during cornering, keeping the car tighter in transitions. A lot of miata guys tend to follow this rule of thumb to maximize a certain tire size's effectiveness: keep the wheel width 1/2"-1" larger than the ACTUAL tread width.

*Actual tread width can vary wildly from tire to tire: a PSS is 7.7", a Primacy HP is 7.5 in the stock size. My current tires are 7.3" in that size.

-Josh