What do you wish you'd known before owning?
 

Edit: I'll try to keep updating this first post so people searching on the subject can find the list easily.




I'm dipping my toe into the waters, looking at cars, test driving, etc. and I'm pretty sold on an 86/BRZ as another toy to replace something I rarely drive. I see some griping about mechanical issues, etc., but realistically angry/upset people are a lot more likely to post than happy owners, so it's hard to sort wheat from chaff. Is there anything about the BRZ/86 you wish you'd known prior to purchasing? I know that some complain it's low on power, but I've already got bikes and powerful cars available, I'm looking for something I can wind out without going to jail. My current DD is a 2016 Fiat 500 Abarth which is hilariously fun, but it's not exactly a precision instrument.

Also, hi :)

edit: I don't want to, but pending a neurologists visit I might be forced to go auto. I'm not sure if I'll still be in the market for an FRS with an auto... it's a pretty decent automatic trans, but I'd rather have a lot more torque with an automatic. I'll have to go test drive one. I really want to go stick but it's hard to stick one handed.

To better state my use-case: I intend to use the BRZ/86 as a weekend car/intermittent trip-to-work car. I don't really plan to mod it, there's something nice about leaving a car (mostly) stock. I'm an "oem-plus" kinda guy these days. I think my days of v8 swapping fieros are behind me :D

Feedback so far:
Suboptimal headunit stock [regardless of scion/subaru/toyota/year] (slow, laggy, inconsistent) -> replace with aftermarket. 2din standard size makes this easy.
Prius tires should be replaced for much improved handling and feel -> hoon 'em til they die then replace.
Low power -> This shouldn't be a surprise. It's possible that the low power complaints are because of the torque dip.
Torque dip -> it's there, is not as much of an issue as expected, but still kinda annoying.
Automatic is pretty decent -> slower to 60, much better than past automatics. AT good in traffic, MTx good for those with more athletic intent.
Paint chips easily -> Clear bra is a good idea
Performance package is worth it if you have any sporting intentions -> would cost a lot more to do the upgrades separately.

Oh and if anyone has to give me flak for dd'ing an Abarth, go ahead and get it out of your system :P the thing is dumb fun, and I drove it off the lot for under 14k new :P still makes me laugh every time I drive it, even after a year.

The OEM stereos are bad. It's common knowledge, but I spent more time researching mechanical and dynamics subjects so when I picked up my '17 BRZ I had a "Wow, this DOES suck" moment in regards to the stereo.

Also, the 'Prius tires" are better than most will admit, especially while your learning the car.

Honestly i'm in love with my car. My thing is i wish i had an actual plan when i started modding. I wasted way too much money on stuff i ended up selling or not using. Wish i had more a solid modd plan. Other than that honestly the car is perfect for what i want to do with it in my eyes.

The 86 will not be as fun as the Abarth as a DD, however it offers a rewarding drive in a different way. I had more fun tracking the FRS because I took it more seriously and it has more potential. It's hard to beat that "stupid" fun that the Abarth offers though. Lucky for you, you'll have both.

Agree. It makes me laugh when I see one.:popcorn:

I wish I had learned about it sooner. I literally bought the very first one I ever laid eyes on in pictures or real life.


You nailed the complaint thing. There are hundreds or even thousands of guys with zero issues for every person that has a major one.


The "no power" thing is also a minority of owners but they want very specific performance points for a bargain basement price. The same group complaining about "no power" would be whining if it carried a $45K price tag.

I am still looking and I am stunned how poorly the audio/nav system was designed (or not designed) in the earlier models. It is what I would expect from a Tata. I now know I will have to replace an OEM HU if I buy an earlier model!

I rented one last trip to Vegas. It was a hoot and if I commuted mostly in the city I would have one in a heart beat.

My 14 Scion Canadian HU is not bad at all. It isn't top of the line or anything but get's the job done with no issues. On or even above par with any other car in the price point. Now, I hear that the BRZ and US ones of that same year bite the big one...

I have '14 monogram head unit with navigation. I think it is completely decent for radio, sound, bt phone, and navigation. I use it everyday without any complaint. It could be better of course with Android auto, capacitive touch sensor, and brighter, high resolution screen. But that is an upgrade I can do anytime in the future, I don't feel the need yet.

Do you also have this one?
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dkZh7hB_12w/maxresdefault.jpg

Yep but without nav. It seems to be one of the better ones they have used. I have never seen a car with so many different HUs used across the model years and trim levels (BRZ). It is like they rand down to Best Buy and said "give us all the car HUs you have in stock" every time they changed years.

To answer the OP question. Definitely the HU, it is really bad. When I get in my wife's 2013 Nissan it is light years ahead of the 2017 Subaru HU.

Everything else about the car I love, and I love that you can have fun driving at the limit of it's ability (at the track) and not be afraid of it. I have the biggest smile on my face when I get to be on the track.

HP Primacy tires are fine, and they love to tell you when you reach the limit with loud screams. They actually wear quite well, I have 5 track days on the stock tires and they are holding up well.

Yeah the stereo doesn't bug me, I rarely use one. It's standard sized, so easy enough to swap out if I wanted.

I still have to take the wife for a test drive, I'm 6'2" and she's 6'1", so gotta make sure we're both comfortable.

LOL, then maybe we don't understand the pain others are having with the completely different head units.

The one in the 13 that I test drove was horrible. I was very relieved when I actually didn't have any issue with the 14 one.

I love this car to a degree some may think it's unhealthy. One thing I wish I knew is NOT to get the paint protection bs the dealership sold me on. Also get a clear bra as soon as possible and have a pro apply it. Now mine has too many nics and scratches to be worth putting on a clear bra now. When I pay off the car in a couple years first thing I will do is get the whole exterior detailed by a bodyshop and then put a clear bra on.

My clear bra is shredded and coming off soon. Sure it helped with small chips but it looks worse than the paint when bigger stuff hits it.

100,000 miles and no complaints......BTW the automatic.....lets just say there are plenty of the manual guys who cannot keep up with me.

only a couple of things i wish i knew(or could have gotten, i suppose) before i got mine:

1. that there would be a performance package brz--i wouldn't mind those brakes, updated dampers, and other random 'refinements' if i were keeping the car stock.
2. wish i got some kind of paint protection film/coating like opticoat or whatever else is out there-- sure, it won't protect against the bigger things, but it's one of those, 'would have been nice to haves' from when the car was new.

I second #2.

I wish I would've known how much I would actually enjoy driving again. I owned a lifted wrangler before the brz and just driving was always a hassle. Owning the brz has made me appreciate taking back roads at high speed and rowing my own gears again. The HU is okay, but it could always be worse.

few minor things:

- i loved the car and hated the wheel gap so the first thing in was a set of springs that dropped it an inch. i wish that i'd have known up front how low this car minus an inch would be. its the kind of low where i watch for things in the road cause im scared theyll f up the body. where i make sure that i dont enter a friends driveway head on thats too inclined or i would scratch the bumper.

- also that a minor change in the shift knob to a lower counterweighted one would make the shift action feel so much smoother.

- or that a simple clutch height adjustment would make driving the manual so much better.

enjoy the twin. please do yourself a favor and get the manual though. if you can't because of medical reasons i would highly suggest getting something else as my personal opinion. most of the fun of this car is due to the immediacy and ability to control your inputs and an auto diminishes that.

You guys should be fine. I'm 6'3" and theres more than enough room for me. My girlfriend drives the new Miata..thats a bit of a tighter squeeze lol.

Ah but this car is where driving an auto still shines. It isn't a 1984 slushbox and can still be a blast with the manual shift. All you take away is a foot.

I wish I had known how much fun I would have with this car. I would have bought one in 2013 instead of 2015.

I wish the HU was better and it had a subwoofer - bass sucks in the 16 BRZ. Wish it did not have TPMS. Oh and the crickets.

I test drove both manual and auto. The paddle-shifting is great and no manual could come close to shifting at that speed. I found the auto (in manual mode) much more fun that the manual. And yes, it frees a foot - and a hand.:w00t:

Probably would have stepped up to a BRZ limited or FRS special series to be the upgraded features.

I would seek out a pro detailer rather than a bodyshop fyi.

I wish I'd known how difficult it is to explain to people the difference between a car enthusiast and a driving enthusiast.

Honestly. The thing I dislike most about this car is how poorly understood it is.

By people that own the car, no less...

I wish I would find a way to shut people's mouth when they say I should have bought something more practical. Works for me, no kids, no need for cargo space (It already has so much, it's unreal!)

In all seriousness, I wish I knew how well it would behave in the snow. Everyone told me it would be unstable and unreliable because it was a low RWD car. I almost didn't pull the trigger then I said "Fuck it, I'm young and I can waste money on Winter tires and if it doesn't work out, I'll get a winter beater". No regrets.

People call me not a real "car guy" when I reveal that I don't work on my car. I agree with them, I'm not. I enjoy driving my car and could careless about anyone else's car or how superior it is. I don't even like talking about my car to people, I like to talk about driving experiences. People find me weird when I say I'm going on a road trip for vacation to drive, they always recommend me places to stop by for sightseeing. Sightseeing does nothing to me, it is a waste of time. If I could see only fun roads, gas stations, restaurants and hotels I would have a great vacation.

Been driving mine everyday since I got it last week... I am literally obsessed to the point where some may think I care only about my car. I definitely couldn't have afforded it in 2013, but I definitely could've have worked harder to get it sooner than last week haha.

Car is a dream for me, it's also my first car that I owned, and first standard. Life is great

Similar experience in that people were telling me rwd won't work in winter and that the car is unreliable, screw what people think, the car isn't for them, it's for me.

Again with people talking about how superior their cars are I could care less, the car is perfect to me, and it's a price that I can afford without having to eat rice and only rice everyday... I eat rice and potatoes.

Anyone who would give you flak hasn't driven one. First time I heard it start up, I knew I loved it. I had one too, but traded it in for an STi. Now I'm in the BRZ. I wish I could have them all.

Hehe the abarth isn't "smart" fun, or "classy" fun... It's just juvenile hooligan "pound a beer, crush the can on your head, and light off fireworks" type fun. It's also a tardis - there's a ridiculous amount of room inside :P

I need a car for myself, my laptop and my coffee cup. This works very, very well and there is nothing that would be more "practical" for me. On those very rare occasions when I do have to move one or two passengers I still have the ability which was a deciding factor in my getting this car over something like a Z.


My one very brief temp ban (the longer term guys may recall that) was due to a very heated argument with some asshat that told me that if I didn't work on my own car I must "pay people to sleep with my wife". I spent decades working on my own cars including a couple of full off frame restorations on some classic but I no longer have the desire to do that. Because I don't work on my car does not mean for one second I lost my love of them or am any less of an "enthusiast" but simply I have better things to do with my time. Being a "car guy" does not require you to work on them and the term "enthusiast" does not mean you have to like one certain type of car. There are raised truck mudders, Prius mileage misers and minivan ride enhancing guys that think our cars are a joke and they are every bit an "enthusiast" as anybody here.

How would you describe the GN? One of my favorites!:w00t:

BTW - I think you are hearing that owners like driving their 86's which is a huge plus. I mean, why not drive something fun!!:thumbup: