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revlimit · 11-04-2013, 10:16 PM

Just bought a new 2014 FR-S. pearl white, no wing. Pickup in a day or 2, after they do the software upgrade to enable the navi.

I've previously owned and driven:

- you name it, prius and econobox up to modern hypercars
- several types of racecars

I race competitively and extract everything out of a car so the handling was the most important thing to me.

I was looking at

- Lotus Evora S
- 997.2 gt3
- 370z

The cheapest car won!

I decided the Lotus would be too unreliable. I hear about problems with the FR-S also but I'm more confident of issues being resolved and root causes fixed. Not so much with the Lotus.

gt3's are damn expensive and while fast, the rear engine doesn't offer the greatest dynamics. I might still get one down the road.

370z is closer to the level of finish that I really wanted. I love the interior, although the ergo is a little bit meh. The engine is clearly superior to the little FA20, at least in stock form. BUT, what killed it was the lack of back seat, and no handling to make up for it. Chris Harris said it best: up to 8/10ths it's a great car, after that it falls apart. Too bad really, I wanted it to be my next car. I imagine the nismo is better but I gave up.

The FR-S on its little Prius tires is a dream. The handling is so predictable and so much feedback. Very rewarding, even with low power.

My initial set of planned mods are:

- alcantara or leather radio/glovebox area panel. That plastic thing is awful.
- alcantara visors. The stock visors are like the dash panel, disgusting. The only problem with this mod is I will be tempted to do the gauge pod cover and the headliner. They look reasonably ok, but once I have the visors and dash pad they may look bad in comparison.
- heated seats. my car came with dealer installed custom leather upholstery -- very nice and complementary to the stock interior -- but with leather I prefer them to be heated.
- intake and full exhaust (headers to tailpipes).
- tune
- strut bar
- master cylinder brace

Anything else I should be doing off the bat? After putting a thousand miles on it to feel it out, if I'm left wanting I plan

- Cusco close ratio gears and shorter diff
- innovate supercharger
- short shifter if a reliable one is on the market
- suspension and brakes if needed.

Given that I'm already planning on the supercharger, I guess I have to go with a 3" exhaust. However I'm worried that 3" is too large for the NA motor. Comments?

11-04-2013, 10:16 PM	#1
revlimit Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2013 Drives: frs Location: norcal Posts: 9 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	new owner: first mods Just bought a new 2014 FR-S. pearl white, no wing. Pickup in a day or 2, after they do the software upgrade to enable the navi. I've previously owned and driven: - you name it, prius and econobox up to modern hypercars - several types of racecars I race competitively and extract everything out of a car so the handling was the most important thing to me. I was looking at - Lotus Evora S - 997.2 gt3 - 370z The cheapest car won! I decided the Lotus would be too unreliable. I hear about problems with the FR-S also but I'm more confident of issues being resolved and root causes fixed. Not so much with the Lotus. gt3's are damn expensive and while fast, the rear engine doesn't offer the greatest dynamics. I might still get one down the road. 370z is closer to the level of finish that I really wanted. I love the interior, although the ergo is a little bit meh. The engine is clearly superior to the little FA20, at least in stock form. BUT, what killed it was the lack of back seat, and no handling to make up for it. Chris Harris said it best: up to 8/10ths it's a great car, after that it falls apart. Too bad really, I wanted it to be my next car. I imagine the nismo is better but I gave up. The FR-S on its little Prius tires is a dream. The handling is so predictable and so much feedback. Very rewarding, even with low power. My initial set of planned mods are: - alcantara or leather radio/glovebox area panel. That plastic thing is awful. - alcantara visors. The stock visors are like the dash panel, disgusting. The only problem with this mod is I will be tempted to do the gauge pod cover and the headliner. They look reasonably ok, but once I have the visors and dash pad they may look bad in comparison. - heated seats. my car came with dealer installed custom leather upholstery -- very nice and complementary to the stock interior -- but with leather I prefer them to be heated. - intake and full exhaust (headers to tailpipes). - tune - strut bar - master cylinder brace Anything else I should be doing off the bat? After putting a thousand miles on it to feel it out, if I'm left wanting I plan - Cusco close ratio gears and shorter diff - innovate supercharger - short shifter if a reliable one is on the market - suspension and brakes if needed. Given that I'm already planning on the supercharger, I guess I have to go with a 3" exhaust. However I'm worried that 3" is too large for the NA motor. Comments?