Open Letter to Potential FR-S Buyers & Disillusioned Owners

[UltramarineLuck]

As the largest (to my knowledge) forum for the FT86, this site draws owners and those interested in buying an 86. There are a lot of cool picture posts, stories and more, but as an enthusiast forum, sometimes the conversation is entirely rosy ("I LOVE MY CAR") or dismal ("I HAVE A PROBLEM HELP ME").

One thing we tend to do is divorce our discussions from reality and talk without context about the car we own or intend to buy. That said, I want to paint a picture of ownership for people that is contextual to the market and the price you pay for the car. This is mostly from personal experience, but I think it holds up to what most people have gone through. I may be preaching to the choir, but hopefully this helps someone.

If you're planning on buying the car and immediately (say, within a year) dropping $10,000 in mods into it, really sit back and consider what you're doing. Unless you're just in love with the looks or getting it for an absolute steal, you're likely going to be happier with a car that bases closer to your end budget. A higher price tag comes with better interior appointments, an intended experience (as opposed to the modded experience) and better valuation later in life. Some candidates that come to mind would be used BMW 1 M-Sport, Cayman S, C6 Vette or a new Nissan 370Z.

The car is not particularly fast, and it's not really designed to be. It's a very safe way to have a lot of fun in your everyday driving experience. The car communicates to the driver in a way that many six-figure-plus supercars cannot. This is what makes many of the auto journos that rave about the car really love it. If you're really into the tech sheet comparisons, the horsepower war or just love seeing three numbers on your speedo, this car will never truly satisfy you. You will likely spend boatloads of money trying to achieve 400+ hp and will spend long nights trying to fix issues with it. The stock car will get beat off the line by most (maybe all?) V6 Hondas - but that's not what it was designed to do, anyways.

Across Facebook, it looks like people have forgotten the point of the car and are ready to offload it as quickly as they can to find something different - especially those that dumped a ton of money for FI and other pricey mods. To me, that's sad, but I want to offer up these words as a way to help people understand what they're getting themselves into before they buy the car so they can avoid being in that situation in the first place.

So, if you're a potential buyer, know what you're plopping your $25,000 down for (and understand that your other options in the segment are the Focus ST and the V6 Mustang, or MX-5). If you're a current owner disillusioned by a lack of power or underwhelming interior appointments, remember why you bought the car in the first place and why it was so well-received.

[s2d4]

Fair comments mostly I guess.

What you are saying is:
1. Know what you want.
2. Research what you want.
3. Use your brain to connect 1 and 2.

I think you are fighting a losing battle, number 3 always fail.

[Tromatic]

You cant fix stupid.

[Hot Lava]

Originally Posted by Tromatic

You cant fix stupid.

Therefore I Forrest Gumped in to my current means of conveyance.

[DarkSunrise]

I have to admit, I don't really see the point of this thread. People bought this car for whatever reason (looks, handling, feedback, glowing reviews, etc.) But ultimately, it's a niche car among niche cars. Having owned the car, if an owner wants to sell it and move on, that's their decision. It's not the right car for everyone and that's fine. Nothing wrong with that IMO.

[paulca]

Honestly I have no idea why you lot want it, Toyota designed it to meet exactly my requirements for a car.

It will NOT be modded, it will NOT be pimped, it will NOT be riced.

I do not intend to win a game of trump cards with it. I do not intend to sit in car parks on evenings showing it off. I intend to drive it, enjoy it and hope that it makes me grin ear to ear for years to come.

I pick it up tomorrow morning. I know I comment maybe in haste as I have only test driven it and technically don't own it yet, but I somehow doubt I will be disappointed.

I don't want a V6/8 muscle barge, I do not want a sup'ed up family run about I want a sports car. If I didn't need a daily driver and had a garage I'd buy a Lotus 7 or maybe an Ellise, but I don't and the GT86 is the car for me at this point in time.

[Annahra]

Originally Posted by paulca

I pick it up tomorrow morning. I know I comment maybe in haste as I have only test driven it and technically don't own it yet, but I somehow doubt I will be disappointed.

Yeah, I'd say you have to own the car for a good 6-12 months before you can really comment on how you feel about it. EVERYONE is super excited when they buy it; it's when you drive the car day in, day out that you really learn if it's the perfect car for you.

[Frost]

I just want it eventually to have 200-220whp (vs the 170whp stock). That's a 50hp gain over stock.

Do able no? Or am I being disillusioned?

[FRSTRM]

I've owned it for roughly 15 months and I still absolutely love it. I built it as a show car and am recently getting into racing it as well (autocross). The only issues I have simply stem from OCD show car problems that happen with every car (rock chips, etc.). So as a BUDGET daily driver/show car/race car... it's everything I've wanted it to be.

[FRSupra]

I see what the OP is trying to get across, but it's not going to stop until possibly the IDX takes the spotlight, especially since it's so affordable.

There is still that small bunch of us who are quite aware of how well of a car this is without the need to ruin it with FI, and as sales numbers will continue to rise, hopefully the group will continue to grow. As for the others, they are being traded, wrecked, riced, and put simply ruined.

[jflogerzi]

I see what the OP is trying to say. Granted it all depends what you want. And I don't understand if someone wants to get the car and then drop 10K into it, why does that bother you. Its there car, you worry about yours. Alot of times someones car is an reflection of that person. There is a line (thats highly blurred) of what people consider tasteful mods or rice. At the end of the day do what makes you happy. Don't worry about others. We only get 1 life on this world. Make it count.

[FRSupra]

Originally Posted by Frost

I just want it eventually to have 200-220whp (vs the 170whp stock). That's a 50hp gain over stock.

Do able no? Or am I being disillusioned?

Why? Just so you can say it has that much HP? It' doesn't need anymore than it has.

Everyone loves HP, bottomline. But that's not what this car is about. This car is about handling performance and lightweight agility.

Let me put it this way, a mustang, for example has a high HP engine, but no amount of money will allow it to handle as good as the 86, because it simply does not have a boxer style engine (mounted as far back and as low as possible). Just as no amount of money could make the 86 as powerful as the mustang, because it simply does not have the powerplant, or the components to go with it.

If you were to add more power, your also adding weight, which changes handling performance and before you know it, it will not be an 86 anymore.

Do you really want more power, or just the idea of knowing it has more power? Do you just want to say it has X amount of power.

Cars that are considered "driving nirvana" never have had tons of power.

[UltramarineLuck]

Again, it's not about mass perception adjustment, more so as a way for people to line their expectations up with reality.

Most people don't understand what "fast" feels like - and that's because fast feels different in every car. Fast in a Rolls Royce Wraith feels different than a Surbaru WRX, but they also happen at different speeds. They expect that because the number is higher on the speedometer that they'll be happier with the car, and that's often not the case. Many modern supercars have to be pushed very hard (unreasonably hard, to unreasonable speeds that are not attainable even once a month) to "feel" fast.

This post is for the person that thinks they need a machine that goes 100+ mph and probably doesn't. Guys that track their cars already know what they want and need, but daily drivers? Probably not.

[FRSRAVEN]

I fall into this category.

I was disillusioned by this mysterious two door sports car that everyone was raving about and I had to be on a waiting list to get. When I got the call from the dealer that they had one, I drove over an hour and a half to see it. On the test drive I felt connected to the road like I was in a race car, and it felt like nothing I had driven before.

It took me a year to finally hate the car enough to sell it. I loved looking at it. I loved the way other people looked at it. And I absolutely loved driving it....for the first 15 minutes. Then it got cramped, loud, and uncomfortable. That "wonderful" boxer motor made a delightfully terrible noise as I putted around town, but didn't even pack enough punch to overtake a V6 mini-van.

No thanks. On a small windy mountain road its a blast. However I've yet to find a small windy mountain road in my part of Texas. Here I have long straight interstate and high speed limits, so I traded in the FR-S on a Mustang GT. Its more comfortable, faster, and makes a much better noise. It doesn't have that direct drive feeling of the FR-S, but its a better daily driver.

But that was not a fair assessment of the FR-S. I'm not a "tuner", and never fit in with the "tuner" crowd. I should never have bought a tuner car. For some its grand, for others its just not the right fit. The problem is it had such a strong hype train that it seduced some people who probably wouldn't have bothered with that type of car otherwise.

But I still like the forum, so I hang around.