FRS Test Drive from Cayman S / Exige Owners Perspective *WITH PICS*

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

It's interesting how similar the FR-S/BRZ and the Cayman are, considering how they're both very agile cars that both have a chassis capable of far more power, though of course in the case of the Cayman, Porsche doesn't want it to steal too many 911 customers.

GT3 (or any 3.8L I guess) swapped Cayman is the ticket baby.

[micmic]

Originally Posted by Rosso_Corsa

Interesting to know about the new 328i. I've been curious about that one as well. I don't understand why everyone is going electric. Probably for efficiency.

Most companies are going the electric steering route in search of each and every last 10th of an mpg they can improve on their cars.

While fuel economy, and the fact that they are already using electric power steering in the Impreza and Legacy, would dictate the use of it in the BRZ, the major benefit was that it allowed Subaru to lower the motor even further to improve the center of gravity.

See the video at 10:15 for their explanation:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ0sDiL87eE"][SUBARU] 1 of 2 SUBARU BRZ Development Movie - YouTube[/ame]


Thanks for the informative write-up!

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

GT3 (or any 3.8L I guess) swapped Cayman is the ticket baby.

Yeah. Unfortunately that's not in the cards anytime soon, even if the new 911 (991) is as awesome as it is and a huge leap from the previous 911 (997).

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by DeeezNuuuts83

Yeah. Unfortunately that's not in the cards anytime soon, even if the new 911 (991) is as awesome as it is and a huge leap from the previous 911 (997).

Hm....how much does a blown (IMS failure) M87 Cayman S cost? How much is a crashed 996 these days...?

[ESBjiujitsu]

thank you so much for your review and insight in comparison to the other cars! Love the Cayman and the Lotus!!!:happy0180:

[mkxr]

Originally Posted by micmic

Most companies are going the electric steering route in search of each and every last 10th of an mpg they can improve on their cars.

While fuel economy, and the fact that they are already using electric power steering in the Impreza and Legacy, would dictate the use of it in the BRZ, the major benefit was that it allowed Subaru to lower the motor even further to improve the center of gravity.

I believe the electric power steering system also weighs less, and has less maintenance (no fluids, etc.).

[solidsnake4119]

Great review. Thanks

[Jedi1]

I've spent more than a little bit of time in Porsches over the last two years. Everything from Cayman R's, Boxster Spyders to TurboS 911's and the 991 CarreraS. While the fit and finish in the FRS is by no means that of a 185k TurboS, it is definitely nowhere near what you described.

The switch gear in the FRS is weighty and nice to the touch. The Seats, while not on par with Alcantara are definitely several steps beyond all other cloth seats I've ever sat in. I would like a bit more weight in the steering and ultimately a touch more road feel, but this car at 27k is communicative, nimble and reassuring at the limit.

I do love knowing how others feel this car stacks up to the benchmarks of sports car performance that are currently out there. And I appreciate that everything that I've just written and the original poster wrote are our opinions regarding the car. Having said that, I just couldn't walk away from the value per dollar that the FRS represents. The other cars we were considering were a PDK CaymanS, an 05-07ish Elise or Exige and several 996 variants. The FRS won because of its styling, handling, no nonsense interior, paddle shiftable trans (the wife wants to play and has a bad back. This coupled with almost instant shifts, rev limiter banging gear holding and rev matching on downshifts led to the auto trans choice.) and amazing maintenance plan and 7-100k warranty (yeah, we went there. Didn't want to pay for that trans if it decided to play up in a few years!).

Value per dollar and the challenge of turing the FRS into a National Level SCCA ST player were just too much for us to resist.

Sean

[DubGUy]

[QUOTE=Rosso_Corsa;251650]
FT86CLUB Homepage Featured Story


Hi guys,

I currently own an '06 Cayman S and my buddy owns an Exige S. We have both been extremely curious about the FRS/ BRZ and took one for a drive today.

Since the Cayman S has been repeatedly touted as the benchmark for the development of this car, you may be interested in my impressions. At least, I have been extremely curious to see how this sub 30k car compares to mine.

Let's start with some pictures.

Attachment 8534

Attachment 8535




- What I did not like was the noise. It's rough, coarse and unrefined. Reminded me of my '02 Impreza's motor.


So should it sound like this?

or like this?

[arbnpx]

Originally Posted by Rosso_Corsa

- Extremely good suspension. Firm yet supple at the same time. This is BMW territory. It's so much more comfortable than my lowered Cayman S with H&R and reminds me of the best BMWs like the 3 series.

I have to ask: what generation 3 series does it remind you of? I haven't had a chance to drive that many fun cars, though I did get to drive an automatic transmission E90 328i, and the FR-S suspension does seem to have that "firm yet supple" feeling, glued to the road, communicating the traction state, but also comfortable enough to not jostle around like more aggressive coilovers. However, the FR-S definitely feels about 400 pounds lighter than the E90.

I'm reminded of the BMWBlog article "Why the E30's true successor is a Toyota" article: http://www.bmwblog.com/2012/01/24/op...r-is-a-toyota/ ...but I've never had a chance to drive an E30. I'm still curious about this; has anyone compared an E30 to an FR-S / BRZ yet?

One note on the exhaust: it's defintely a four cylinder at heart. People looking for an I6, boxer six, V8, V10, or V12 sound will be disappointed. However, the FR-S / BRZ exhaust note target seems to be the AE86's 4A-GE engine. Examples, from some rather famous videos to FR-S fans:

Tsuchiya in his 20v 4A-GE
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqrMSMr1ezw"]Keiichi Tsuchiya- TRD AE86 - YouTube[/ame]


Chris Harris in the GT 86
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=romf-G6CZ7g"]The Toyota FT-86, GT-86, Scion FRS - CHRIS HARRIS ON CARS - YouTube[/ame]

Compare the tones of the exhaust notes, and it seems to be a very nice homage. I feel it's something that's been underappreciated by people who haven't heard the AE86.

[Rockstar]

Originally Posted by Tbomb 25

You know i just have 1 question why on earth would you drive the auto and compare it to those 2 legends with 1 1/2 arms tied behind its back? Wow...this is amazing....lol

Not all dealerships have both manual and auto ready for you to try. Nowadays more people get auto than manual, of course dealerships would have an auto.

[Soravia]

I'd say, retro fit hydraulic steering from a junkyard Miata for the best of both worlds. This car is made to be modded.

[nedmundo]

Originally Posted by arbnpx

I have to ask: what generation 3 series does it remind you of? I haven't had a chance to drive that many fun cars, though I did get to drive an automatic transmission E90 328i, and the FR-S suspension does seem to have that "firm yet supple" feeling, glued to the road, communicating the traction state, but also comfortable enough to not jostle around like more aggressive coilovers. However, the FR-S definitely feels about 400 pounds lighter than the E90.

I'm reminded of the BMWBlog article "Why the E30's true successor is a Toyota" article: http://www.bmwblog.com/2012/01/24/op...r-is-a-toyota/ ...but I've never had a chance to drive an E30.

It reminds me of the E90 with Sport Package because of the "firm yet supple" feel you described so well. The FT86's light weight makes that feel easier to achieve, I'm sure. I have driven other 3 Series generations, but don't remember them well enough to comment. I did ride in a friend's E46 (with Sport Package) recently, and it seemed harsher than the FR-S, but was fully loaded so that might not be a fair comparison.

Thanks for posting that link. Cool article, and cool site. Their review of the 328i Sport Line hits the nail on the head regarding its depressing weakness: almost completely numb steering, which, IMO, is completely unacceptable in the most performance oriented 3 Series short of the M.

[PCYang]

I would have taken this review more seriously had it not included 4 grown men in the vehicle. That skews suspension and steering input.

Appreciate the effort though.