[cmiovino]

I had the chance to ride along and drive in a 2022 BRZ at our first test and tune (yes, in February in PA... it was cold, but dry. Warmed up to about 45-50 degrees).

It packs a good punch. The power puts you back in your seat a bit, especially in the mid-range. I couldn't help but have this grin on my face because it was that much quicker. It's noticeably quicker than "headers and a tune" STX setups. I'd rank it right in between the kick of a Civic Type R and BRZ.

Handling wise, it's virtually the same thing as the older models - at least when comparing it to my refreshed 2017. However, I think the power helps the balance and rear rotation in stock form. The car was on the stock tires.

Brakes were cooked and smelling. Definitely would need new pads for even autocross business.

I had Alex Piehl (STH national champ) run my car with A052's and he got a 24.6 on our test course (with me only getting a 25.3 are ten runs...) and the new BRZ on stock tires I saw him run a 25.0, possibly faster on additional runs.

Bottom line, the 2022 is quick. Very quick. On 200TW, I'd expect it to be 0.5 sec quicker on a 30 second course or likely a second quicker on a 60 second course.

One thing I did not like was the tach in performance mode. You can't see anything under 4k RPM, so launching you need to do purely by sound. Not ideal for autocross.