2017 BRZ things I hate.
 

Hey guys I'm new here.

After many years of owning a 240sx I finally got behind the wheel of a 2017 BRZ taking possession in September.

So I thought I would kick off my first post with rant/things to watch out for if your looking to buy this car.




1. G-Force meter only works when your at a stand still.
"Wait what?"
Well it works when driving but can only be viewed once your speed hits 0. From what i can tell in the owners manual you only have the option to reset its results and display 1G or.5G.

2.Maps are OLD.
Living in the GTA there are many subdivisions and roads that are at least 2 years old if not more and do not show up on your navigation. So if your friend new found friend lives in a new part of town. Take an old GPS to help your new GPS?

3. No Spotify controls on the entertainment system.
Given that Spotify or Apple Play are the two of most popular audio apps used today these should really be programmed into the head unit. Many aftermarket headunits already have these services as options but not in your 2017 BRZ! So if you want to listen to Spotify or other streaming services you need to start it up on your phone first and use Bluetooth.

4. Clunky second gear.
Not sure if this was an issue with the older models but I find it almost a game or just luck if I can get the car to slide into second gear with out a clunk. I have tried double clutching and hitting the right RPM it seems to be luck so far?

5. Performance package.... or lack there of.
Given the price of a Brembo big brake kit is about 4-6000 CND (give or take) an extra 1000 and a bit is a tiny price to pay for brakes,shock, and rim/tire upgrades... But you cant have it. Why you ask? Because you like to ride moose, with your pet beaver, getting drunk off maple syrup... Oh to be Canadian...

6. Options.
Go look at the US website then look at Canada and compare your extra options to add to your new slick ride. GRRrr..

7.Audio system.
Being an audiophile at heart and remembering the killer alpine sound system I had in the 240sx. The one in the BRZ is lacking. It lacks sound stage, mids are recessed, bass is pushed in some areas, dead in others, and over all the system sounds bright.

8. Illumination kit features.
OK why buy this right? go to Crappy tire, pick up some light bars for 40 bucks install and done. Then you void your warranty for the interior and possibly more because you tied into the wiring harness. Regardless the kit that gets installed from the factory is a new bulb.... yep that's it... 250 bucks is two new blue or red bulbs replacing the foot well light and they are very dim. So yeah...

9. Map addresses.
You can only input an address into maps when you are stopped. Though I believe this is an issue with all of the previous generations it is still an issue with the new BRZ. So your passenger can scream at you about how stupid your navigation system is before they use their phone.... sigh...




With all that said I love the car it has a great feel of comfort, sportiness, and predictability. I love the updates on the new BRZ vs the older gen models for almost the same amount of money.

Let me know what you guys think.

Is it possible to remove the confirmation pop-up before the map opens?

Although it's not a big deal, that shits annoying af.

4. Clunky second gear.
Not sure if this was an issue with the older models but I find it almost a game or just luck if I can get the car to slide into second gear with out a clunk. I have tried double clutching and hitting the right RPM it seems to be luck so far?

This is a issue on all models when they are cold haha.

The crunchy 2nd gear when cold isn't an issue, it's normal:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31929

For 2nd gear you can try this when cold morning... from 1st to 2nd let the shifter go back to N in thr center than put it in 2nd

Works everytime for me in cold morning

Yeah, the infotainment system is not very...current. It sucks that you have to shell out a grand for something modern, but let's be honest, most automotive infotainment systems are awful. The only OEM systems that I found tolerable are FCA's UConnect, Jaguar's new system in the XE/F-Pace and Volvo's super tablet.

On the bright side, at least ours is a double DIN so it's pretty easy to replace.

I might be the only person in the world who thinks the factory 8-speaker system is actually not bad for what it is, considering there's no sub-woofer. That being said, I pretty much exclusively listen to music through Bluetooth from my phone, so I think it's all about setting up the EQ on the head-unit, and the EQ on the phone to mesh nicely, and not having the volume up too high on the phone itself. I seem to have found the perfect balance, and I think it's really not bad over-all. I am a bass guy though, so I will be getting a sub and amp at some point to help the low-end a bit. And being a 2013 model, my factory Pioneer head-unit (despite being a piece of shit) has a sub-in already on the back.

In regards to the 2nd gear issue, I say this to everyone: GET A WEIGHTED SHIFT KNOB!! Like, a HEAVY one. Raceseng Ashiko or Slammer, Flossy Heavyweight etc.

This was one of the first mods I did, and easily one of the best. The Flossy I have in my car weighs about one pound all by itself, and putting all that weight at the top of the lever means the lever literally falls into gear with very minimal effort. Yes it might still be a bit notchy when cold, but I think it will be a hell of a lot better, as the OEM knob is feather-light.

Yeah the stock Audio system is good. It just gets rough when your on the highway since the car is so loud so if you start to go over 25 it starts to fall apart. Generally I just stay at 20-24 max on the highway.

The way I setup mine up, Trance/Uplifting/hard trance sound great. Hardstyle is decent. The style i noticed sounds the worst is Hands Up. However i believe it's due to the horrible mastering that most hands up releases have. Anyways I bet most of you know don't know what I'm saying so I'll shut up and go back to my music forum LOL.

About shift knob, agree 100%. I've driven some cars with heavier shift knobs and the difference is noticeable and much improved over the stock shiftier.

However, I love the way the stock snifter looks so it's why I don't change mine :D

I really hate the whining noise from the gearbox..

Oh wait..

It's from the 2017 owner.

I'm a house guy myself, so I understood all of that actually LOL!

Trance is not really my thing though, but I have a few buddies that are into it, and a few select trance songs in my playlist. I do like Markus Schulz but he's one of the only pure-trance guys I can stand. I really don't like HardStyle though.

For me it's tech house, bass house, chill house, hip-hop, rock, and heavy rock. I find the bass for tech house is quite good; you really only lose out on some of the very low tones that the speakers simply can't handle. Same with hip hop. A lot of current hip hop uses a lot of deep, riding beats that the speakers can't get to. This is predominantly why I want a subwoofer. I find the treble to be spectacular though.

That being said I've never tried the system on an FR-S. I know it's the same speakers, but I often wonder if there's a difference in the head-unit, as the BRZ unit might have a better built-in amp or whatever. But that's purely speculation.

The confirmation I have yet to remove. It is annoying.


I listen to all music from trance, to pop, classical. Though classical is the hardest to make sound good. Trance sounds good with a V pattern frequency response. so lots of base and treble. Pop is better with more of a check mark response. so mild bass and more on vocals and highs.
Classical its hard because it needs to be flat yet have very wide sound stage or else instruments will over power each other. So you need a system that has a flat bass response yet lots of extension, warm mids, and crisp highs. When the headphones I buy are 1200+ and require amps the audio system in the BRZ is just not in the same world. That said, first world problems.

I'll check in the spring with the shifting if it gets better when its warm.

man i can't even hear any of those little differences in songs..16,000 redline with no ear plugs will do that to ya

If you buy this car for high fidelity sound...


http://godlessmom.com/wp-content/upl...a-bad-time.png


I know that people have different priorities but if you are shopping for a cheap sport's car you need to realize that they are not sinking cost into sound systems.