Comparison 2013, 2014 Light Mods, 2015
 

DISCLAIMER - This is a non technical comparison of 3 different cars. I am not a professional driver, master tech, salesperson, tuner or claim to be any other form of expert. Just a normal guy that had a chance to drive 3 different cars and wanted to give his OPINION in a straight forward and hopefully entertaining manner. If the forum "Technical Debate Team" (as I call them) wish to argue the whys of the difference please do it elsewhere (and if you don't, I know a bunch of guys that can and will flame you to tears)!


Set Up:
After participating in a discussion on the difference suspension set up for the 2015 I contacted a nearby dealership (they asked to remain nameless) that I have many conversations with to see if I could lend me one to try out. I explained I would not beat it up but just wanted to see the differences. They agreed and pointed out that my suspension is already modded and although it is not radical it certainly would make a difference so they said I could use a recently traded 2013 as a control unit. We took the 2 dealers cars and my car out to a new subdivision that is being built. Some really nice winding roads but no houses yet and being late on a Friday afternoon all the construction guys were gone.


The Cars:
2013 Stock FRS. 32000 kms This car had been recently traded and was BEAT TO HELL! Curb rash on the cheap knock off rims so bad I didn't think they would hold air, pretty sure somebody had jumped on the roof and the front bumper had met more then a few solid objects.But... she ran great and had some pretty good original tires on it. Not going to go into detail on how it handled because there are about a million reviews that can tell you that. Suffice it to say it had the normal "lively" rear end swing, fairly obvious over steer and nice recovery that I had read about so many times. I said "I had read about" because since mine was not stock when I bought it I had never really experienced the same handling I had read about before. It took me a bit to get used to the difference but once I did she would do what ever I wanted but not punish me for minor errors.


2014 FRS 6800 kms All parts TRD (don't laugh I didn't pay for most of them) Drop in filter, exhaust, sway bars, lowering springs (Edit: I discovered after writing this that the springs identified as TRD on my bill of sale are actually RSR Superdowns) . Stock rims and tires. OK I was surprised at the difference really. The over steer is not nearly as noticeable and have to blip the gas and flick the wheel a little more to get the rear end out. I noticed a quite a reduction in body roll but is still fairly obvious. Don't know if it is the intake/exhaust combo but the throttle response and 4000 rev dip is not nearly as noticeable as it was on full stock. Overall felt much more stable and was easier to pull out and straighten up after a turn.


2015 FRS bone stock 120 kms Pretty much the same as mine with the TRD parts. The biggest difference I noticed was the reduction in body roll as it was even less then mine. I would say that it actually had a bit of understeer and it was not as eager to kick around and I had to push it a little more then even mine to get it to do what I wanted. It did however level out after a hard turn much quicker. Sort of reminded me of the BRZ I took out when still shopping.


Verdict:
Somewhere on this forum I read a discussion where a very insightful person said something like "I expect they will eventual turn down this car's handling to better suit the general driving public". This was an amazingly accurate prediction! There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way it is now but it is indeed a marked difference from the 2013. Mind you mine is actually closer to the feel of the 2015 then the 2013 because of my mods and I suspect BRZ drivers would also not see much difference.


Having said all that if I had never driven one before I would have zero issues with it the way it is now.

Please quantify/guestimate by tail happiness or plow.

A better handling car that's easier to control or better balanced at speed is not a bad thing. I'd also wonder if they retuned the brakes with the suspension.

Ultimately, I want the best handling without having the wear a kidney belt. A sway bar is a good way to do that. Damping is just stiffer or softer. Probably a little stiffer to take more load to balance it. The tech guys will post it all in good time.

The "tail happy " phrase is a quote from many pro reviewers. It is very accurate for the stock 13 I drove. It was just easier too kick the rear end out. People can like or not like that depending on how they use the car. I am more in the don't like it as much crowd but tried to keep my preferences out of the review. I do prefer the handling of mine with the sway bars as I feel that much more in control. The 15 was even better for control but did have the noticeable under steer which some just won't like as much. I did not notice any change in braking at all. As I tried to make clear in the first place I was attempting to stay away from the tech stuff on purpose because not everybody likes to read through massive debates if the flux capacitor should be 1 or .89 gigawatts!

Is this new tuning only for the FRS or does the 2015 BRZ share it as well?

Were there any changes made for the 2015 BRZ?

As far as I know nothing changed on the BRZ suspension. The FRS is now closer to what the BRZ started as.

You're both wrong...it's 1.21 gigawatts.

@Tcoat, thanks for the comparison. If I spent any time paring down lap times on a track, I may like the new set-up. As it is, I like my tail happy daily driver '13 FR-S. It sure is lively in the snow though.

Been waiting weeks for somebody to give the correct answer!

Since 1979 my response to almost every person that has said to me "I have a question" has been a resounding "42". I believe that 99.9998% of them have looked at me like I lost my mind!!!!!!

There are people that have driven the older and the newer BRZ and mentioned that the differences are noticeable. In general, the new BRZ is more planted on the road and the damping is improved.

I had not heard that nor have I driven both so have no thoughts on the subject.
Any BRZ owners that have driven both that wish to comment?

In other words .... a stock 13 FRS is more lively (read: FUN) than a modified 14 or stock 15.

Just by a tiny, tiny bit from what I experienced. The difference isn't as huge as some make it out to be. There were certainly pluses and minuses to each different set up.

Everyone knows that the flux capacitor has a wattage dip in the 4000 rpm range thus the drop off to .89 gigawatts. Thought this issue was settled long ago. Search is your friend Tcoat.