BRZ vs GR86 vs GT86 (Japanese)
 

Sounds like the BRZ is more stable at speed. Video also shows the difference between the two steering knuckles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sphaEohh37Q

Flat foot shifting that BRZ!

I wish there was subtitles

That’s pretty much the gist of it. The GR is better suited for stuff like drifting and tail happy driving whereas the BRZ is better for time attack and track duty. It’s more planted, stable, and easier to control at the limit, so you can push it harder and generally be faster overall. That’s exactly what I want, personally.

Nice, the BRZ driver finally woke up after the first few corners.....

First time I've seen both cars together with license plates on the front. No surprises here, the plate spoils the front ends of both.

We almost got rid of front plates in our province a couple of years ago but our premier didn't have the balls to stick to his election promise on that in the face of police chief hysteria.

The BRZ is better at drifting and maintaining long drifts. The driver in this video explains that he controls the BRZ much better than the GR86

https://youtu.be/6zjSNoSlabo?t=630 use cc and translate

Here's a great demo of how well the BRZ drifts. The black car is the premium edition and then he drives a limited edition. The fun starts at 7:30

https://youtu.be/4392FhXDjKI?t=450

I've watched all these videos. Especially this Lovecars video. Made my choice very easy.

The more I see the BRZ the stupider it looks.

Then switch bumpers after buying the better sports car. Pretty simple 🍻

I like the grin and dimples look of the BRZ better than the inferior handling characteristics of the 86. President of Toyota Motor Corp. – Akio Toyoda -- Toyota's chief test driver must be livid. :lol:

PS - I'm only kidding around.:burnrubber:

PS - I'm only kidding around.:burnrubber:[/QUOTE]

Lol. Me too. Except for the BRZ being 1% better 🤣🤝

Probably more like 5% better.:popcorn:

I ordered a 3mm larger rear sway bar, 17mm - 3 way adjustable. It's on a truck, on the way home.

I ordered a 3mm larger rear sway bar, 17mm - 3 way adjustable. It's on a truck, on the way home.[/QUOTE]


Very nice. Waiting on Swift Spec R springs. Going with Bilsten B8s, Raceseng camber plates and Cusco lcas for now.

That's going to be an awesome setup!

I'm keeping mine a bit more conservative for the moment. Gotta keep it real when I drive Tail of the Dragon on my hard rubber Primacy HPs. I live about an hour and a half drive from there.

With the amount of modifications you're doing right out of the box, doesn't seem to me that the likely near-imperceptible differences between the two cars mattered a whole lot for you anyhow.

But they did. Aluminum knuckles, stiffer bushings and more rear lateral stiffness with the BRZ will help those parts work better. Why i went with the Cusco. Heavier and stiffer. I don't want all that rear movement with the GR86.

stiffer bushings too? :w00t: Siightly heavier springs may be on the table soon too then.

Something as simple as an alignment can make more of a change in handling than these two specific cars exhibit. Were their alignment settings compared?
The Ford Escape face isn't as easy nor as cheap.

With the same alignment, you're still going to get less movement in the rear, more linear breakaway with less lateral and vertical motion. I'll take that even just for piece of mind. Background in shifter karts. First car to really modify as much as I want so all the details are important to me even if they seem trivial to others.

My angle is mainly 86 fanboys insulting the BRZ looks all along and now that the 86 is released, it underperforms compared to the BRZ. I especially enjoy that the smug little snob, Savagegeese, favors the 86 and his little duckling followers bought in on his bias. :happyanim:It's just a bit of friendly rivalry, that's all.

The BRZ front end is growing on me, like the 4th gen catfish camaro did.

Still easier to press some stiffer bushings in then change the facia I’d wager.

I'd rather not do either. Lot of effort. Image conscious buyers are so weird lol

Now really, it's not that bad. Everyone that sees my car up close has nothing but compliments to say about it. It's mainly social media influencers that make a big deal about it. wait till they catch onto the 86 underperformance issues.:confused0068:

Performance issues… from what I’ve read and watched on YouTube, the slight differences in character come down to subjective preferences in handling as much as the facia is a subjective thing. Take Keiichi Tauchiya for example. He drove the new twins back to back a few different times now and stated all the same things: GR is more slippery, BRZ is more planted. But if I recall correctly, when timed, he was quicker in the 86. Either way, he’s reluctant to pick a favorite. It’s probably just that both are perfectly fine and fun.. but likely also wants to avoid this sort of discussion *insert sane “lol” smiley here*

(This forum has about the worst smiley choices.)

I have no intention of hitting the track, so more playful character and better road trippability is a plus for me. When I heard that the engine tunes for the two cars are different/done by each respective OEM, that really sealed the 86 for me. If I went BRZ I’d be scrambling to get that factory tune off the car ASAP. Even without a turbo, Subaru will find some way to blow it up. I wouldn’t let them tune my lawnmower.

Totally understand this. Mine will be mostly DD and I'll be sticking with thin and tall wheels/tires. I don't want too much grip. After i saw the throttle maps that validated my choice for me. And having had it a month, the rear end steps out easily. So my reasoning is that I'd rather have the stiffer rear end and more linear throttle map to hold those drift angles more easily even if it's easier to initiate oversteer in the GR86. Also why I'm going with Swift Spec R. Softer in front. Stiffer in the rear.

Ah, yeah, saw that earlier. You’re correct, he does find the BRZ easier to control for drifting due to its stability. The point I was getting at in my initial reply was more about how the makers have setup their vehicles for the style of driving they think their customers will enjoy the most. Even so, when you get right down to it, though, even for tail happy fun a more stable platform is still the best, as that host and some others have noted. BRZ is definitely the better of the two I think for handling in general. Can’t wait until mines arrives.

There's no wrong answer. Just fun arguing lol. Truth is buying a GR86 even just for that awesome logo on the steering wheel is valid. Buying the Subaru because you can't pronounce "Toyota" is valid. They're both dream cars and grateful as an enthusiast they both exist. I also doubt there will be many new cars I'll be interested in the years to come. So when it's time for my next car, might be a GR86 to switch things up lol. Cheers man.

I much prefer the looks of the GR86, but I'm going to buy a BRZ (as long as the dealer is reasonable) because I prefer the better more sophisticated driving dynamics, and better components.
I've never compared the two by driving on the track side by side, but I'm sure they are VERY close. I'm just going by the reviewers, and hoping that they are right!
Looking forward to getting it, breaking it in, and heading to the track!

Was the GT86 tuned?

Based on its speed and handling, I would bet 10 to 1 that it is tuned