Heavy City Drivers, please opine...
 

Hi FRS/86/BRZ owners,


For those who have been driving your FRS/86/BRZ mainly in the heavy-traffic cities, I would like to have your comments/experience sharing how well/tolerable you can live with your car?


I raised this topic because I am making my mind about buying a BRZ (Manual Trans) but I am living in a city that has super heavy traffic.


I used to have 04 WRX M/T that I had driven for 7 years mainly in the city with heavy traffic before changing to IS250 A/T. I don't have much trouble driving M/T in the traffic because I am physically fit (I am a regular runner and weight train regulary).


I just want a lightweight, fun-to-drive, rear wheel drive sport car that can turn the boring daily commute into a sprightly one. I am just not sure if my choice is right.


Thank you in advance for your kind comment and valuable experience sharing.

Bah, marshmallows are stiffer than the stock clutch. It's a wonderful city car. Try it!

If you were fine with the WRX I can't imagine the 86 is significantly different.

Regularly commute in California SF/LA traffic, no regrets.

I regularly try not to punch a hole thru the firewall with my left foot in heavy city traffic @ about 5km/h on the highway.

BTW I'm a fat ass and not considered physically fit (but actually am quite fit once I cross the southern border).

In the Philippines we called that "pesonality."

I've found my FR-S MT an easy car to drive in traffic.

If you "like" to shift ...... I suggest you get the MT, if not ..... get the AT .....;)


humfrz

The stock clutch was way softer then my STi, so that shouldnt be an issue. But just test drive one. I personally dont like the feel and high catch point (can be fixed with adjustment and maybe removing the clutch assist spring). Did my 5 hour/150 mile round trip commute in MT for years til I got the AT FRS. Dont regret it one bit even now that my commute is much shorter.

But I'm also super picky of driving position and feel type stuff so ymmv

Thank you all for your kind comments.

One thing that hesitates me is the driving around with the widely criticized "Torque Dip" in the heavy traffic. Is it tiresome to constantly work the engine and gearshift to get around that torupe dip in order to to cut/swerve through the traffic?

As for the clutch peddle effort, I don't have any problem after my estended test drives in BRZ many times. In contrast, I quite enjoyed my left foot that it had some involement in the driving.

What about NVH in the long run?

Please see above. Sorry for any confusion...

Odds are even if you never rev past 3.5k rpm you will have more power and maneuverability than 90% of the other vehicles on the road.

The extra bit up top is just for fun.

I drive my BRZ in Chicago all the time. No problems at all. Easiest car to park too. You can fit it anywhere.

My Jeep is an automatic, while my BRZ is a manual. I actually prefer to drive the BRZ in heavy traffic except uphill. My right ankle starts to cramp in the Jeep because the automatic transmission won't let me coast at a very low speed, so I have to ride the brake.

The only time I don't like driving the BRZ is in stop and go traffic up a long slope. Trying to get across the I-10 bridge over the Mississippi at Baton Rouge was always irritating because it would move too slowly to ever let the clutch all the way out in gear, but I couldn't coast out of gear because I was going uphill. On flat ground or shorter slopes it's not a problem at all.

The "torque dip" is about 98% fiction based upon some numbers on a piece of paper (or screen I guess). Makes a difference if you are trying to knock a hundredth of a second off your 1/4 mile and that is about it. Even if accelerating through the brief range it supposedly exists in it lasts about a 10th of a second.

You'll never get into the dip driving around in town unless you're being adorably frisky (i.e. an ass).

I sold my alfa due to the heavy clutch driving around town. It was very tiring.
The 86 clutch is almost perfect for me.