Need help solving a complicated problem.

[Spektyr]

So here's the deal: I'd like to tame the ride of the '22 GR86 a little so that my wife is more likely to drive it.

It's all part of my master plan that is, as yet, not working particularly brilliantly. See, first she drives the car, then she starts to enjoy driving a sporty car, then she wants to make the car sportier. That way I get to put some FI on it (once that's possible) and have Moar Power.

Yeah, I realize it's a long-shot. But I'm not giving up yet.

My experience with cars is mostly under the hood or behind the wheel, not really a wheels/suspension guy. From what I read, lighter wheels often makes more difference in ride quality than suspension. As a bonus, it also tends to improve every aspect of handling, which is definitely important to me because I don't want to make the car mushy, I just want to make it more pleasant so my wife will enjoy driving it more.

We got the Premium, so we're riding around on 18's right now as well.

I was thinking of getting some lighter 17" wheels and tires (maybe RPF1s), but I'm not against possibly going down to 16" if it would make enough of a difference.

The key things are improving ride comfort/quality, not spending a boatload of money (currently every purchase is a red-flag to her that I'm going to dump tons of money in the car), and not losing much (if any) quality of performance.

Honestly, I'll put passenger tires on it if it gets her to drive it more frequently, but I'm hoping it won't come to that.

So that's the problem. The question is: is there a way to do this where there will be a significant improvement in smoothing out the bumps without spending a lot of money (and which keeps a reset to stock a simple wheel change away)?

I don't want to say $1500 is the budget, because I think it's worth more if it can accomplish the goal, but if it CAN be done for something around that number (or I can at least convince her that's what it cost) that would be a good value in her mind, and thus push the door a bit further open for spending money on other upgrades.

(To be clear - this isn't a "getting permission from the wife" thing. This is simply making sure she doesn't resent the car. There's a world of difference between being allowed to do something and your wife being happy when you do it. I want the latter.)

[2020BRZtS]

I would ask her if it's even important to her to like the car. Cars in my family are very different for each driver and every one is suited to the primary driver. i agree she shouldn't resent you for making the car what you want it to be but at the same time there's probably a handful of things she does that you are not consulted on and you don't even notice or care.

My wife drove the BRZ exactly once. She said it wasn't for her and moved on.

[Spektyr]

It is not important to her to like the car.

It is important to me that she like the car.

If she enjoys the car it simplifies me modifying it now and in the future, because I'm improving something she benefits from. If not, then I'm spending money on something that only I enjoy.

We already have interests in common, and interests that we don't share. I want this to be one that we share because the budgets for shared hobbies can be larger without either of us feeling there's a disparity in the spending between her fun and mine.

[x808drifter]

Does she even like cars?
This should be something you don't even have to ask.

[ZDan]

Lighter-weight wheels isn't going to make that big a difference. Different tire sidewall height going to 17s will make a minor difference. Picking a tire specifically for "smooove ride" and low noise will make the biggest difference in perceived ride quality.

Best bang/buck would be to pick out the best-rated tire for ride and sound tire and fit them on your existing wheels. But Michelin Pilot Sport 4 are already rated very highly for ride for a Max Perf tire. A good all-season tire rated highly for ride/noise should be perceptibly smoother. But at the cost of ultimate grip and handling precision/feel.

[soundman98]

this reminds me of when i was a kid, my mom tried this same tactic with brussel sprouts. she coated them in cheese. she steamed them. she added bacon. she grilled them.

all in an effort to make me want brussel sprouts because it was important to her that i wanted what she wanted.

it didn't work.


i feel like this is encroaching on the "what women want" aisle of the book store. it's not 1 book, or a dozen books. it's an ENTIRE AISLE.

the reality is that you know her better than us. if you can't figure it out, we haven't got a chance.

[2020BRZtS]

Some things in life you have to tell yourself you are worth it. If you find yourself explaining it to a therapist in couples therapy you will know you made the wrong decision.

[CedN]

Tyre wall and tyre choice can make a pretty big difference, in both noise, harshness over bumps and tramlining. It won't transform the car fully, But it could definitely change a car from harsh to pretty ok.

[x808drifter]

Originally Posted by CedN

Tyre wall and tyre choice can make a pretty big difference, in both noise, harshness over bumps and tramlining. It won't transform the car fully, But it could definitely change a car from harsh to pretty ok.

Or sloppy/floaty.

[churchx]

The point is - different people value different things in car with different priorities.
Also, if comfort was mentioned, on some accounts twins will always suck (due their essence being - good enough drivers car for cheap (not luxury upmarket gt coupe), so lacking noise insulation, rattly interrior, reduced practicality, maybe sucky audio (especially in 1st gen)), and lighter wheels won't improve much "comfort" (lighter wheels may do better on larger road defects due less inertia to "follow" up/down, but less inertia will dampen worse small road effects, where otherwise tire would do most of damping and heavier wheel would vibrate over them less). Bigger diameter ones will reduce for certain, due lesser tire sidewall height that will have harder time to dampen stuff out.
What people usually like in drivers car is nice handling feel. Sharp & communicative steering, ergonomic and nice to use driver's controls like seat/steering wheel/pedals/gearshifter .. but often one has to choose .. sharp steering OR more comfort/less noise.

[CedN]

Originally Posted by x808drifter

Or sloppy/floaty.

Absolutely, it comes with drawbacks in other areas. People prioritise different things, i see people on here that run their cars on all season tyres all year around, mind boggling for me, but not for others

[Spektyr]

The reason I provide backstory (wanting my wife to enjoy the car) is to avoid what I would get as answers instead: "lul why u buy racecar if u no like racecar!"

Trust me to know what's realistic expectations regarding my wife. I'm explaining why I'm asking about the wheel/tire combination itself, not asking people to figure out what my wife likes. I already know that.

If there's a reasonable way to put different wheels/tires on the car that will make her enjoy driving it more, and it doesn't carry a price tag that makes her upset about the money before she even gives it a chance, that's a worthwhile option to consider.

I know that it's possible to tame the ride quality and improve the handling with the right set of coilovers (at least according to what some people have said online). But that tends to come with a price tag she won't be happy with and even if it's the exact same price there's the perception: changing tires is simple, if I'm changing suspension it sounds expensive.

I'm happy to consider suspension options as well, it's simply a harder sell.

Another component of this... shall we say "project" is to introduce the idea of being able to make the car more to her liking. If I spend $1500 and she likes the way the car drives better that's a real, tangible improvement for not-too-much money.

She's aware of the idea as a concept, but there's no concrete experience.


As the car sits now she prefers to drive her Honda Fit. So she gives the GR86 very little drive time (basically none) which means she can't fall in love with driving it.

This is all the "why".

The "how" is what I'm asking about. Based on my research it seemed that wheels/tires would be a possibility that is easily reversible since I'm keeping the 18s anyway, and shouldn't break the bank.

EDIT: to be clear - it's not my intention to be rude.

[2020BRZtS]

I totally respect your why but I honestly thought the focus was on getting your wife to like the car more. My wife's solution to the car she could give or take was to go out and buy the Jag she always wanted. Any animosity, resentment or other ill-will toward the BRZ and related changes went away real fast. But that's her.

[Spektyr]

Originally Posted by 2020BRZtS

I totally respect your why but I honestly thought the focus was on getting your wife to like the car more. My wife's solution to the car she could give or take was to go out and buy the Jag she always wanted. Any animosity, resentment or other ill-will toward the BRZ and related changes went away real fast. But that's her.

I get that, and that's one approach.

But my wife is not currently a car enthusiast. It's not a requirement that she become one, but I see a path through which that might happen. I need to remove the obstacles before it can be put in motion.


I love to tinker with stuff. For the most part my hobbies in this direction are not particularly expensive. Homebrewing is probably the biggest one where I could easily dump a couple grand on upgrading the brewing equipment. She likes beer and still gives me the "no, we're not doing that" look when I point out some slick stainless steel equipment. (We're doing that, she's just saying no "for now".)

The hurdle with the car is she doesn't yet like driving it because she hasn't really given it a chance. She already has the car she likes the most - a Honda Fit. She doesn't want to change it, and doesn't see any reason why we should change any part of any car.

So if I can demonstrate, without spending large piles of money, that a car like the GR86 can be made "better" by her definition, I can not only get her to drive it more (and have a better chance of the plan progressing) but I also demonstrate that it's not simply throwing parts into a car for no good reason.

Ideally she drives it, loves it, and then wants the same kinds of performance goodies I want. Realistically it will be more along the lines of I get to do more (but not all) of what I want to do provided it doesn't make the car more unpleasant. Which is inline with my goals anyway.

I want a car that you can prowl around in and looks/sounds convincingly stock, but when you put the spurs to it becomes something decidedly more. A Clark Kent/Superman kind of thing.


If I prove it's worth a little money to do it by smoothing out the ride for her first, I get more buy-in from her on everything else. Otherwise it never stops being "the car I'm wasting all that money on".

Maybe she drives it and remains entirely uninterested in cars beyond their utility. But I don't get past step 1 until I get step 1 done.