I have a conundrum
 

Hi guys,

I'm in the market and the BRZ tugs my heart strings.

I'm a 36y/o male Australian. My current car is a lightly modified 2006wrx hatch. Previously I've had a 98 Mitsubishi Mirage and an 80 Corolla. I have some track experience (in my Wrx and an 07 Wrx sti), a fair bit of go kart experience, and have driven some v8 rally buggies.

I've also driven countless iracing laps in the Miata, and quite a few in the gt86 in Assetto Corsa. Great fun!!

Here is the conundrum. I have around $60k aud ($43k usd) to drop on a car.

Do I buy a new BRZ (40kish aud), and throw 20k on FI, suspension and tyres?

Do I buy a used 2012/2013 BRZ and drop 30k on every upgrade under the sun?

Do I play the waiting game and hope the Subaru turbo rumors are true? (if they are, the value of a FI current Gen will drop significantly, possibly turning either of the above options into a massive waste of cash). I would drop $60k on one of these puppies without hesitation if the specs are right and it's a true STi.

Do I look elsewhere for my RWD fix (eg bmw)?

Do I stay boring and get the 2016 Wrx and save some money?

Some unknowns - do Subaru/Toyota have some kind of agreement not to provide modified engines so as to keep the twins competitive and equal(ish), thereby making new models mere facelifts? I wouldn't be surprised. If one brings out an amazing build on the twins base, the other would be left with lower sales.

The streets I'll be on are a mix of suburbia, freeway and twisty hills. I know I need more power. My mirage was a fun decently handling car, and my parents Impreza drives great - but they are missing the juice. Same with the cars in the racing sims (yes I know not real life).

Help me :). I've consumed so much gt86/BRZ media and info in the past few months, it's hard to think!

Thanks.

Before we start anywhere I am going to tell you that there will be no Subaru BRZ STI with a turbo. SoA already came out saying that they will not make a turbocharged BRZ because they don't want it to affect their WRX/STI sales.

Now,
If I could do it all over again I wished I would have waited for a even slightly more used FRS. Why? because they are starting to become pretty inexpensive. I love mine (bought used 19k miles for 19k usd)

If I was put in your shoes I would definately go for a used (but maintained properly) BRZ and slowly build up the car with the mods YOU like. You will soon realize if you've ever drive this car that the car has enough power for what it is despite everyone saying it's slow blah blah. The BRZ is a very capable car one a great driving/ feel car. With your budget you can beable to pick up a used one and mod it to perform exactly the way you want wether it be FI or anything else.

Hope this helps and I'm looking forward to see what you decide to do :D

Thanks for your reply.

Do you know if there are any significant changes between 2012-2016 as far as build quality or anything else?

Are you kidding me?! :fighting0040:

The only change I would consider are those to the valve train allegedly incorporated around July 2014.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...74#post2415874

Thank you :). Exactly the type of thing I was unaware of.

I would look elsewhere. Idk exactly what, but you could buy a nice corvette in the states for less than a brz with mods and still be faster.

if you do go for the BRZ, get a 2015+. it comes with the sharkfin antenna standard and a way nicer key among other things lol. I believe that you would like the car the way it comes from the factory. drive it stock like that and upgrade what you feel is lacking. no need to do everything at once

Heh! Shark fin is great... And keyless start/entry with a purty key... Might just be swayed to limit my search now to my15+

Thanks :)

WR Blue, Hyperblue, Dark grey and Lapis. I feel my choices are narrowing.

Corvettes are more expensive here, and I've always hated the look. If it's not suby, I'll prob go European or another Japanese car.

They just feel big & mushy, IMHO.

What corvette have you driven? Lol. They feel like a brz with power for the most part. Steering feel isn't as nice but it is precise.

Can you not get a monaro? Jfc, with holden there I dont think i would look at another make.

I'm not an expert but I've driven a few. Steering, clutch, brakes, throttle, big fat wheels.

They're super fast but I always preferred my underpowered 240Z. With exception to the seating position relative to the wheels, the 86 beats my old Z in the "feels" department hands down.

Different strokes... :cheers:

With that much money I would go with some V8 coupe.
If your crazy enough you can make yourself a kit car.
It really depends what you want your new car to do. The BRZ is a fun sporty commuter car pretty much a Miata with back seats.

Yeah, but it's a different type of car. Big and muscly. I'd rather a Wrx.

Not sure they are made any more.


I'm really after nimble and fast, not boat and fast

Ha ha... "back seats." That's cute.

All american imports here in AUS are overpriced. A new corvette is well over 100k. Even camaros are only just starting to come down and they're literally just a monaro lol. If I was going to spend that kind of money I'd buy a nissan gtr which is the best bang for your buck car on the planet.

I had the option to buy a new BRZ but I decided not to. BRZ was 45k and my one owner 2012 86 was only 26k. I'm glad I did because I now have heaps of extra coin to spend on the car. The way I see it, why spend 40 something grand on a car just because it has a sharkfin antenna when you could buy a near new one and buy your own sharkfin antenna with a small fraction of the 20k that you've saved? That's provided, of course, that you're happy to buy a car with a few ks on it..

Yep, you can cram 4 people if you try. Just make sure everyone is under 5'7" and less than 200lb.

Two midgets fit fine in the back.

so many thoughts - all inappropriate

Pretty sure the camaro isn't built on the monaro platform.......

Yeah my bad, got mixed up with GTO...but still, camaro is Zeta chassis, which is still based on the holden VE-VF so I was kinda right lol

Good luck regardless of your choice. The Subaru BRZ is a joy to drive and an extremely capable platform. You will not regret it! As far as FI I highly recommend the SBD turbo kit as it is a great bang for the buck and well sorted out at this point. Make sure to get an oil cooler and if at all possible a custom dyno tune. If interested message me your Facebook and I will add you to the SBD Turbo Facebook page we have awesome support.

Cheers,

-Nate

2016 models have a reverse camera, very useful lol. I like my HyperBlue comes with all the limited BRZ options w/ blue stitching. Which makes it great for DD, HID headlights as well. If you do end up getting it, I'd drive it stock for a little and track it and see what it needs yourself. Most people get better tires first and then comes suspension and brakes. Later on if you still want FI for that extra push, there's plenty of info on the forums about different kits for the car, Supercharger or Turbo. I personally won't FI mine until the future as I've had the car for a month but I will be upgrading exhaust and headers next. From there I'll see. I wish you the best in your decision!

I sat in a Hyperblue and the trim inside is fantastic! It's very tempting :). I wish I could get the blue interior on other colored cars. I like the hyperblue, but feel it's going to age poorly. A great showroom color.

I have a very narrow driveway with a big ass tree on one side and a rock wall on the other. It's scary getting out and I've done it hundreds of times so reversing camera, if it works, would be a godsend.

As for FI, I have a place down the road that can chuck in a sprintex SC and a heap of hks goodies. It's around $12k AUD with labor and will give around 265kw (355bhp). The place is Horsepower Factory. 2 of my mates have had exhaust and ECU upgrades on their 2007 stis with fantastic results.

BRZ build quality
 

All I can offer on that is the opinion of the body shop manager who worked on my 2014 Limited to the tune of $7500 for a smashed up front end: The chassis/frame is very strong and remained perfectly aligned with no mechanical damage at all.

I think Subaru/Toyota are quite proud of the build quality on this one year after year -- I have not heard anything inconsistent with that.

What about a used Cayman S?

If not (need backseats or something), I'd go for a used BRZ and use the extra $$$ to build it the way you want it.

Uh, I think you'll be disappointed.
"These are not the droids you're looking for."

I did mention FI right :)

I have fit 3 girls in the back, needless to say my knees hurt but id rather have the option then no back seat at all(all cousins so no need for praise) but if i would suggest anything it would have to be a supercharger as i feel the platform could use more torque all the time.The turbo lag in my miata was annoying when drifting but that could have just been the turbo :iono:

A used Cayman here... 9 years old is close to $60k. My suburb is not classy enough :)

So while I've been waiting for my finance to come through I've been speccing up all the bits I want.

Talk about money sink!! Why does the Varis widebody look so amazing!! :(

Guess I'll be looking at $80k plus to have this as a proper track monster. I think baby steps for parts purchase is the right move. Build up a dream vehicle over a few years.

First step done - 2016 BRZ - STI struts/bars, black wheels, lip/spoiler, leather seats.

http://i.imgur.com/qjcbUqI.jpg

Next step - suspension, brakes and wheels. Open to suggestions - there are so many threads and just TOO MUCH BLOODY INFORMATION.

My heart strings were a big part of my purchase too.
Your driving history gives the impression you really like driving... so do most 86/brz owners I reckon!

If I waited for those SC/TC STi rumours I wouldn't have had a car for 3 years already :) Having bought mine new, I can say from experience I'd rather have saved the $$ and bought a low-mileage second hand one and then spent the difference on mods. I was one of the first to get delivery here though, so ended up paying full retail :slap:

In terms of the Toybaru deal... would be interesting to sit in their board meetings - but I do know (at least in South Africa) Subaru is limited to 1/9th of the sales i.e. they can produce and sell 1 BRZ for every 9 86's sold. They did this to try and preserve "exclusivity", but I can't see why I'd need to pay more for the same car with a different badge as specs here are identical.

As for the RWD option... it was a huge factor in my decision and the next sporty RWD car available here was a good 40-50% more expensive. No brainer for me!

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100082

Plus it's a 2014 so has upgraded valve train and low K's

Already got the BRZ mate :)