New guy
 

Hello. I'm a former Mustang GT guy. Before the Mustang, I had an S2000. Seems like one of the BRZ/86 twins might be my next fun car. Why is it that when I look on autotrader, all the 2019-2020 86's are either black or green (and there are a lot of them on the lot, both 2019's and 2020's)?

And the BRZ'S are very hard to find? Searching on Subaru's website, the 5 Houston dealers, who each have 200-300 Subaru's in stock, show only 2 BRZ'S in stock. I'm near Houston, and would like to buy a blue BRZ/86. Any advice? Are the BRZ's really in high demand /short supply, or can you still get a discount from MSRP?

(You can tell all I've done is Internet research so far, can't pull the trigger until early next year.)

Next step is probably the Edelbrock supercharger. Is there a shop in the Houston or Austin area that I should consider for the SC install and tuning? I'm not looking to race, just have a good handling, decently powerful car to drive. The car would share DD duty with my Wrangler.

Thanks.

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Go to a dealer and tell them you want a blue one.

yeah, the brz is typically more rare, despite the frs/brz being more of a subaru creation than a toyota. i second your motion to supercharge, thats what i did, its simpler than people let you believe. something to consider is you can often get the brembos if you go w/ brz

Welcome and good luck with the search, the car is a blast to drive.

Welcome! hopefully you follow through with the purchase. Why are you set on a BRZ? Also, are you against a used one that's a few years old? I can understand if so, just curious. The cost between new and used would easily be the supercharger and the associated install cost..

It's part of the agreement between Toyota and Subaru. They build a higher percentage of them as Toyotas as they come down the line. I don't know the global difference but you can see it in US sales figures (from carsalesbase.com)

The percentage is the percent of BRZs in overall sales in the US. It would represent the approximate build rate I would think depending on whether they sell the same ratio globally.

I'm not absolutely set on a BRZ/86, but it seems like the best fit for me, most bang for the buck. The BMW Z4 looks interesting, but it's a $55k car with the 2 liter, and no option for a manual tranny. On a side note, autotrader shows more blue Z4's in the US than blue BRZ's. One local dealer has 3 Z4's, two are demo's, all have the 3 liter. What other car should I consider?

I'm not against a low mileage used one, I just think a lot of these cars get modded and driven hard, and the supercharger will stress the engine too, so probably better to start with a fresh engine.

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Haha no I meant why not get an 86 or FR-S instead of a BRZ. I wouldn't ever push someone away from these cars until they own one and decide they don't like it.

While some of them may be driven hard, honestly you could say the same about most vehicles, they're just driven hard in different ways. I'd trust a car that gets beat doing 0-60s at street lights, than one where mom has the car in drive at 6k RPM before it has finished turning over and never changes the oil. With low mileage, I don't think much ownership would render it " damaged". With 20k miles and never having changed the oil, it's not like the engine is doomed to failure and will fare any worse than a new car.

Most of these cars are purchased by people that just drive them, like any other car.

It seems like the Limited Edition Hakone Toyota 86 (green) was the first of the 2020 models to hit US soil. If the black ones you see are 2019's than they are probably left over Limited Edition TRD models. The rest of the 2020 range will be coming however, Subaru appears to show up later than Toyota. (Even though both are built in the same factory.) By the time you're in the position to buy there'll be lots to choose from.

Yes go to the dealer you trust, tell them what you want in your BRZ (color, ect) Get the PP! Tell them what you will pay for it. If they want a sale they will find you a car. Had a Honda dealer pull a CRZ from Houston just to make a sale.

Thumbs up on the Performance Package!

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Drive a few before going too deeply down the rabbit hole. V8 torque aside, the little fa20 is an acquired taste in its own right. I love it but I'm a fan of quirkiness in general.


This forum is littered with stories of buyer's remorse.

A stock twin is the most fun you can have behind the wheel of a slow car!


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I wouldn't even consider buying a used car in the Houston area....way too many flooded cars, from all the millions of floods you've had...LOL.

New car dealerships are just not interested in promoting this car, whether they be Toyota or Subaru. It's the rare dealer that even has one on the lot. They want to sell what the stupid majority of buyers are purchasing these days. Buyers want practical and don't care about the fun to drive factor.

They don't make this car in green. Maybe online the black ones look green in certain light.

Miata or a used Lotus Elise are your other choices...Oh, yea that Cayman used as well.

My 2005 Mustang GT sits in the garage for five years now. Finally I took it off the road this year, can't rationalize the insurance on a car not driven but once or twice a year.

Check insurance prices on one of these Toy/Sub cars. My insurance is twice the price of my Mustang to insure my FRS. I am 73yo and my insurance is $1300. a year for the FRS.

I really, really needed a warranty on a Ford product. On this FRS no warranty needed. Bought new, now with 67,000 miles and zero need for any repair so far. Made in Japan rules !


I've owned maybe 60 or more cars in my lifetime, nothing as great as this in my past. After driving my FRS for 5 years, still get out of it many days with a smile and find myself laughing...

I have not driven an S2000, newest Miata, or any Cayman, so what do I know ? My FRS literally fits me and my body, I don't think anything else could do better for me.

Just sold S2000:https://bringatrailer.com/listing/20...ign=2019-11-13

I've had some similar cars to you. Owned a S2000 for almost 10 years. Still have a 2015 Mustang GT, though the jury is out whether or not I will keep it.

I was looking for a small, nimble, sports coupe for over a year. Something that would be like a cross between a S2000 and RX8. With the nimbleness and feel of the S2000, but a coupe and a little bigger and more comfortable (since I'm in my 60's), like the RX8 I also used to own. For me it came down to either the BRZ/FRS or Nissan 370Z. Both were the kind of 'old school' (ish), analog-feeling pure sports cars I was looking for.

It was a close choice, but in the end I recently bought a BRZ. It's not as powerful or fast in a straight line as the 370Z, but I think it does everything else better - superior handling and chassis dynamics, more comfortable and roomy interior, much better visibility. It captured what I was hoping for - similar driving feel to the S2000, but a little bigger, a little more comfortable, and a coupe. What it lacks in power compared to the S2000 I think can be addressed with your choice of mods (FI or NA).

The reason you might be finding thin inventory is because the 2019's are pretty much sold out, and deliveries of the 2020's are only just starting. If you're not buying until early next year, by then supplies of 2020's should be widely available, and you should have your choice of colors.

Good luck!

I absolutely love my BRZ. Matter of fact I prefer driving this car over my other cars too and I’ll say that in those forums as well. Five months since purchase and 10.5k miles of ton of fun

You need to hire or borrow one for a week.

They are fun little cars, BUT, if you like power then maybe they are the wrong car.

Handling, whilst they handle OK from the factory they are far from sorted from factory.

In saying that, if you know what you are getting into you will be fine.

I got the performance package on mine, Brembo's are good, Sachs were crashy, I knew this goin in and suspension upgrades were budget for, my car handles great after binning the Sachs and getting an alignment solution.

As for power, stock is like any peppy little 2.0l car, I tuned mine up to 200hp and it was alot better. A year later I had a AVO turbo installed pumping around 270hp and 280nm, car is now super fun and not overly stressed.

My view of the twins are they a fun little sports coupe stock and a good base for a little manual RWD toy, add some handling mods and a little boost and they are much much better, and performance wise, still good bang for your buck.

TL;DR I could not own a stock twin.

Good advice, but I've never seen one at the rental companies, and it wouldn't be a manual. The S2000 had small engine power at low rpm, then the engine came alive at high rpm. So you had to really rev it if you were in a hurry. The Mustang was the opposite, but way too mushy on suspension and too much weight to have a snappy feel.

What did you replace the Sachs with? Is there a thread with alignment specs? I haven't come across it.

Thanks

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I use a local Australians company product, the MCA - STREET PERFORMANCE.

https://mcasuspension.com/products

I have also fitted the MCA traction mod, with noticable positive results.

As for camber settings, as the car is a well abused streeter I have -1.5° front and -1.0° rear with zero toe everywhere.

The MCA have adjustable top hats, and for the rear I have Superpro adjustable rear lower control arms and adjustable toe arms, the toe arms came with the LCA's but are not necessary at my height levels of 350mm front and rear (20mm drop).

These settings are using my current Bridgestone Potenza RS3 tyres well, the RS3's are OK, but RE004 Hankooks are much better grip wise in the dry, the RE004's fall over a bit in the wet though, hence my change to the Bridgestones.

But, ask someone else, and opinions will vary.

My not a build thread > http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133311 containing stuff I found usefull, and stuff that I wasted money on.

At this stage the car holds its own and is near on perfect for my needs.

Maybe the OP doesn't even have to tell the dealer. They will know when he shows up

Welcome. I've also somewhat noticed that there isn't that many BRZ's to choose from in Houston. I bought mine from Superior off of 249. I didn't get a super amazing deal or anything, but it was CPO, low mileage, the color, transmission, and trim I wanted so I'm not complaining. I would say just be patient and look around for a good deal. It's a big purchase and you don't want to rush and buy something you don't want. I love this car. It's great to drive and I have zero complaints. Good luck man hope to see you out on the road in a twin :burnrubber:

Thanks. When I was trying to sell the S2000, which I bought used in Houston, I had a dealer tell me that "Houston is not a manual transmission market." Of course, that may have just been an excuse for their low-ball offer. I also bought the manual transmission Mustang in Houston, actually it was Autonation in Katy...

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Totally agree, I was just yet again thinking about this very subject (FA20 love/hate) the other day. Far from the smoothest engine, and not “the best” sounding (although I’d argue that) either, but definitely unique and quirky- and something amazingly satisfying about ringing out that 2L box of bolts, especially on the street where you can go at least 7/10ths+ most of the time w/o ever breaking the law, killing yourself, or killing someone else.

How funny! My first test drive was from my house back to the dealership because my wife drove it home to surprise me. Less than a minute into the drive, she asked me what I thought of it. I just shook my head and said "Psshhh... bucket of bolts." It wasn't until my second try a week later that I decided to really give it a whirl. That's what it took. I was sold.