Quote:
Originally Posted by strat61caster
Chuck the RS into a corner and it lifts the inside rear like any other FWD econo-box, except it's carrying 3,400 lbs. It's a nifty package for sure, but not some miracle of engineering.
This is supposedly with the stock tires... add grip and well, I can tell you first hand you can see it on three wheels from 50 feet away.
I'd be surprised if the Golf was any different (with more intrusive traction control that's next to impossible to disable), and every Subaru I've seen at autox understeers like a pig unless it's been modified significantly or handled very delicately in the corners (yes even 86's). If I had $40k for a fun car I'd be waiting for the markups to come off the Civic Type R's and get in the driver's seat of one of those, better power:weight than the STI/Golf R and no pretensions about what the chassis is like the FoRS.
Even with some mythical BRZ STI I'd be very surprised if it came with anything worthwhile as I've already sunk a few thousand into modifying a base car to my liking, I'd rather start over with a used '13 FR-S for <1/2 the money. |
IMO if you've got $40k to spend and don't want a BRZ because it's not powerful enough, you'd be nuts not to just go out and find yourself a nice 997.2, put a Sharkwerks exhaust on it, and go enjoy life.
OK, maybe your dream isn't a 911, but in general: why buy a tuned econobox when you could buy a heavily-depreciated car that was designed to drive properly from the beginning? Older stuff is just better-- nice NA engines, proper steering, fewer (or none!) overly-complex and intrusive electronic systems, etc. Older things have all the minimalism and driver-focused bits we like about the BRZ but with more power, and one of the few decent cases against owning one is cost. If you've got the money, though... there are just so many cool older things you could buy!
Alternatively, spend $40k on a BRZ! I've got to be in the low 30's on mine. I could easily take another $8k and add a supercharger w/ trimmings and a few aero bits and have a total monster of a car. This thing is already stupid fun with some coils, some Whiteline bits, 225-section Super Sports and a totally stock powerplant. With another ~100hp and 50ft/lbs it would be fairly unhinged. You could be sideways in a cloud of smoke literally all of the time.