bye bye, sweet brz.
 

i had a great 2 and a half year run with my '15 brz. sadly had to sell it to make numbers work for a new house. we have a good community here (with a few overzealous folks, but hey, thats life) and has been a great resource on how to do things. i will probably check up every so often especially if subaru ever sees fit to release a brz with a touch more power stock!

some post-mortem thoughts:

- i brought it back to stock before i sold it and boy, its eye opening how much a header+oft made a difference. the dyno's dont really show much in peak power gain, but man doesn't the area under the curve get bigger. i'm not even sure that i could have driven it happily stock anymore if i had to have.
- ive never ever driven a car that felt as connected into the road as this one. ever. you really can get in the 'driving zone' with it and damn isn't it fun on a backroad or a track.
- even with the header+oft (which by the way i have put up for sale in that forum), the engine really just does feel kinda hoarse - its not silky like a bmw or hell, even a mustang.
- the steering always felt a tiny bit flighty to me, good weight but never got comfortable 100% with that.
- the traction control at least on these years sucks. even sport kicks in way too early which makes you turn off tc so that you can chirp a gear without bogging the traction control.
- depreciation is a bitch.
- i'll miss her a lot tho.

Do enjoy driving a junker/beater whilst making those mortgage payments.


It's a different experience than driving a sports car, yet you'll look back on it someday as having been fun.
There's a lot to be said for driving a vehicle you can park just anywhere and not worry.

What made you keep the im over the brz?

Still think this car would be absolutely perfect with a mid-size Boxster / Cayman flat six in it :)

Probably just a heavier less balanced cayman though imo.

Less-balanced maybe, but with four seats and a trunk :) The lack of seating/cargo space is the reason I bought a BRZ instead of a 987 in 2013.

Also I suspect the weight would be almost identical to the Cayman... the Cayman is 2,9xx lbs.

The power / torque would be right were people like it (how many people have reviewed supercharged / turbo 86's that hit about 280hp and said, "this is how the car should've come from the factory") and it would give the car a decent soundtrack. It would make for a very happy vehicle IMO.

in about a year or two when the finances return me to having a fun car ability, im planning on getting a 981 cayman.

Well at least you had fun with your BRZ, and got to experience it.

You shouldn't have difficulty finding a clean Cayman, or Cayman S , for less then 1/2 new MSRP. As you know, you'll be limited on space with that vehicle. They don't hold value as well as 911 Carrera (any model Carrera) , for a few reasons that I know of.

the im is the kid's car seat in the back and is the everyday driver, brz was the weekend warrior that had a higher payment and as such was (sadly) expendable.

The realities of life sometimes get in the way of the dreams. I had to do 20 years before I could get back into fun cars. If I could do it all again I would not change anything.
It is refreshing to see a responsible and reasonable action taken on here for a change.

Makes good sense to me. Like Tcoat said, glad to see you making a wise decision. I often wonder how some people can afford these cars when it seems they are just starting out on their own and new in their careers. Different priorities than I had I guess.

yeah to each their own i suppose. but the wife is super supportive of when things clear up a little in the next year or two hopefully and it'll be fun car time again, at least a little bit cause i was so supportive of doing whatever needed to make sure the house works out.

Congratulations for the new house. Focus on the happiness of a new house, cars are easier to replace. You will get another one.

Same. When we purchased this car we already new that if things went south, for any reason, it was the first thing to go. That still stands.

Good luck with the house!