Definitely. It's not that more power "can" it is that more power "does". I couldn't have afforded the car at $30k+ sticker. That would have left me with used cars or an MX-5. Which, by the way, is around $25k for the model with the 6spd and LSD and it only has 167hp...

Congrats on the car. I just picked up my Silver BRZ a week ago and feel the same way. This car is the sum of its parts. It just makes you feel good driving it. They did a great job putting this car together. It reminds me a lot of my old Boxster S. So many little details that usually get left out of a car like this that you come to expect on something like a Porsche are found with this car. It puts a smile on my face every time I push the start button. Good luck to you. The following photo is for those debating symantics on your post.

Nothing great about the engine? You might want to watch Drive's latest YouTube video about the Crawford BRZ. The stock clutch apparently handles up over 400 ft lbs before it goes kaboom. IMO, this car doesn't need more power than a stock STI. Crawford himself talks about how he uses 20% throttle most of the time because it's just so absurdly fast.

The charm of this car in stock form is that it reinforces the race driver mantra of fast in fast out and has the agility and stability to throw itself into corners at high speeds with an optional drift if you get on the throttle and cut into the corner a bit sharper.

Basically what Subaru and Toyota handed us was an ideal blank canvas for those who want to go racing. It's fantastic as a stock daily driver, but if you want to dump a bit more money into it, you can have a track monster. Hell, TireRack has a 9" wheel option for the rear...

And I've stated that most people don't want to void their factory warranties right after buying the car. It's a horrible financial move. That's great news about the clutch. It means Subaru/Toyota can add horsepower without having to modify the drivetrain much.

I agree with you regarding stock STI horsepower levels. Around 300 hp in this car is perfect, and would require very minimal modifications to the remainder of the vehicle. But, this car is currently 50% short of that power figure.

I flog mine daily and there's no grin on my face when the tach sweeps from 5-7400. Maybe I'm too used to the "kick" of VTEC from my S2000 but I don't feel like there's much going on under the hood. It feels "flat".

The BRZ was never marketed or designed to target 1/4 mile times or drag racing. It was designed to bring back the feel of the older Japanese cars. It was designed to be a car you can drive everyday then take it to the track on the weekend for fun. It was made to drift around a corner and make you excited while doing it. For that, it has enough power. If you look at track times on various sites, it already beats many cars with more horsepower around a track.

I would compare this car to a work of art. Some people won't get it, some will find it amazing. I find myself wanting to go drive this car just because. The only thing I wish they would change is the torque dump at 4k rpm. I have a 450 hp car, and I hit the speed limit in 2nd gear. It's not fun to drive on the street unless you want your license revoked.

I agree with this. The car is not very rewarding when wringing (sp?) it out. It actually feels the same driving 6/10ths vs 10/10ths. <-- Which I guess is good or bad depending how you like your cars to react. lol Come to think of it, it's not too different from the STi's engine. The STi feels great in low end & feels like its in pain on the high end.

Even if you enjoy driving it all the time you can't deny the engine sucks. It has no personality and sounds horrible (stock at least). Not a lot of joy to derive from it, something even my GSR has. Maybe Honda high revvers have spoiled me :mad0259:

Agree, the FA20 isn't the best-sounding engine up top. The Honda B and K series had a crisper engine note. It does pull decently from 4500-redline though.

This is one of my main worries and posted a similar complaint in another thread.

The sound and rush of a high redline are just extra intangibles that are missing from the engine of the FR-S.

This was also my complaint about the K20A3 engine in the Civic SI. Which has an eerily similar powerband. That was a good engine too, in fact it was great. It was reliable, decent on gas (regular gas too), just not memorable. If it had a K20A2 I might not have given that car up.

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On the other hand, the sound of my WRX is awesome and really adds character to an otherwise bland car. The power band isn't my style, but the burble it makes at low RPM, the small backfires, and the sound when you wring it out...sounds really, really good. All of this with the stock exhaust and no sound tube.

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The irony is that the FR-S is a subjectively great, fun car with a objectively good engine. The FR-S, by virtue of the intangibles (shifter, seating position, handling) stirs the soul, but the engine doesn't. I would argue that the engine doesn't detract from the experience, but it doesn't really add anything intangible either. The engine doesn't stir the soul like the rest of the car does, IMO, and it really should.

Outside of modifications there's no way to alter the performance of the engine, but I've found that my exhaust really lets me enjoy the engine at least aurally. Especially in parking garages. I don't think it's as limp as everyone says, but I wouldn't mind more ponies.

I too, miss the vtec kicking in on my RSX. The BRZ just doesn't have the same engine note despite being more powerful(I had the base model).

I totally am agreed with you

Of course it feels flat. It's a flat engine. Duh!

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_engine"]Flat engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]

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