Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community - FT86CLUB - View Single Post

ajay · 09-09-2012, 06:15 PM

FT86CLUB Homepage Featured Story

Should I read on?...
In this thread I share my experience of tracking an FRS and a BRZ. Both bone stock, both MT.

Preamble
I know this is not the first thread like this, but I thought it still might be useful to share. The other post did compare an AT BRZ with an MT FRS. It's a great post and I share many of the same views. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16134

Anyway, earlier this week, the organizer of the Driver's Edge www.thedriveredge.net e-mailed me and said he was short of instructors for this weekend at Motor Sport Ranch Houston. I'm getting ready to drive up to Hallett Raceway this week, so was going to pass, but didn't have much to do, so I decided that I would go and take the BRZ rather than my Spec Miata.

MSR Houston is a 2.3 mile track with 17 turns. http://msrhouston.com/pdfs/RoadCourse-corners.pdf
It's has technical sections, high speed corners and some long straights. We ran Clockwise.

I've already driven the BRZ on a different track (Texas World Speedway), but haven't driven at MSRH. The car was extremely impressive at this track.

Also at the event was a Red FRS, owned by Sonny ("Texas FRS"). We talked for a while and mused the differences of the cars. Sonny was kind enough to let me drive his car with him as a passenger, then I took him for a ride in my BRZ. We're both still grinning.

FRS vs BRZ
The cars are definately different. Both are bone stock, and both were manual. Sonny's seemed a bit cleaner than mine :-)

I'm not going to surprise anyone by saying that the FRS does have an oversteer tendency and the BRZ understeer - we all know that. For most drivers, you are really going to only notice this on the limit. The BRZ has a more planted feel, particularly in the higher speed corners such as T2 the carousel. I could comfortably nail the throttle to the floor and the car hunkered down and gave me great confidence. The FRS was a little more twitchy in the same corner.

On some of the slower off camber corners T17-T16, the FRS was delightful to drive. The slight step-out of the rear was easy to control and fun to feel. In the same corner, the BRZ was better behaved and able to keep a tidier line, but not quite as smile inducing.

The BRZs understeer was really noticable is turns 11 and 9, where the FRS was much more flickable.

Both cars had good poise and balance in braking and excellent transition into corners. Both car are brilliant to drive and extremely fun.

Power is usable everywhere, except for one corner - the exit of the slow Diamonds Edge or T4. Too fast for 2nd, too slow for 3rd. Everywhere else, power was good. I was able to hold race prepped cars with R-Comps through the technical parts of the track. I laughed to myself about the crappy tires on the car, yet how much grip there is.

But which one is the best?
If you are a novice to track, the BRZ is the better car, because is is very subtly more sure-footed than the FRS, but I loved the FRS. I am very comfortable with a car that has a little oversteer - that's how I setup my race car. And let's be clear here. The FRS is not a tail happy car. It's incredibly planted and has fantastic balance. I bought the BRZ over the FRS, due to the brand being a little more mature (I'm 44) and I love the Limited interior (budget wasn't my highest priority). I prefer the FRS front end over the BRZ. I prefer the relative rarity of the BRZ compared to FRS. I'm NOT a BRZ fanboy.

Who's the winner?
Well everyone. Both of these cars are so good. They are great cars to take to HPDEs and you will enjoy every lap. I fully agree with the everydaydriver review. It really does come down to your driving preference, but the reality is that my suspension won't stay stock for long, so the thing that is being discussed in this thread will have a short life anyway. That's most likely the case for most trackjunkies.

If you have an FRS or BRZ. Do yourself a favor, take it to the track at least once. Thank you Sonny.:happy0180:

09-09-2012, 06:15 PM	#1
ajay Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Drives: BRZ Location: Richmond, TX Posts: 44 Thanks: 16 Thanked 74 Times in 6 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s)	Tracked Comparison: FRS and BRZ *FT86CLUB Homepage Featured Story* Should I read on?... In this thread I share my experience of tracking an FRS and a BRZ. Both bone stock, both MT. Preamble I know this is not the first thread like this, but I thought it still might be useful to share. The other post did compare an AT BRZ with an MT FRS. It's a great post and I share many of the same views. http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16134 Anyway, earlier this week, the organizer of the Driver's Edge www.thedriveredge.net e-mailed me and said he was short of instructors for this weekend at Motor Sport Ranch Houston. I'm getting ready to drive up to Hallett Raceway this week, so was going to pass, but didn't have much to do, so I decided that I would go and take the BRZ rather than my Spec Miata. MSR Houston is a 2.3 mile track with 17 turns. http://msrhouston.com/pdfs/RoadCourse-corners.pdf It's has technical sections, high speed corners and some long straights. We ran Clockwise. I've already driven the BRZ on a different track (Texas World Speedway), but haven't driven at MSRH. The car was extremely impressive at this track. Also at the event was a Red FRS, owned by Sonny ("Texas FRS"). We talked for a while and mused the differences of the cars. Sonny was kind enough to let me drive his car with him as a passenger, then I took him for a ride in my BRZ. We're both still grinning. FRS vs BRZ The cars are definately different. Both are bone stock, and both were manual. Sonny's seemed a bit cleaner than mine :-) I'm not going to surprise anyone by saying that the FRS does have an oversteer tendency and the BRZ understeer - we all know that. For most drivers, you are really going to only notice this on the limit. The BRZ has a more planted feel, particularly in the higher speed corners such as T2 the carousel. I could comfortably nail the throttle to the floor and the car hunkered down and gave me great confidence. The FRS was a little more twitchy in the same corner. On some of the slower off camber corners T17-T16, the FRS was delightful to drive. The slight step-out of the rear was easy to control and fun to feel. In the same corner, the BRZ was better behaved and able to keep a tidier line, but not quite as smile inducing. The BRZs understeer was really noticable is turns 11 and 9, where the FRS was much more flickable. Both cars had good poise and balance in braking and excellent transition into corners. Both car are brilliant to drive and extremely fun. Power is usable everywhere, except for one corner - the exit of the slow Diamonds Edge or T4. Too fast for 2nd, too slow for 3rd. Everywhere else, power was good. I was able to hold race prepped cars with R-Comps through the technical parts of the track. I laughed to myself about the crappy tires on the car, yet how much grip there is. But which one is the best? If you are a novice to track, the BRZ is the better car, because is is very subtly more sure-footed than the FRS, but I loved the FRS. I am very comfortable with a car that has a little oversteer - that's how I setup my race car. And let's be clear here. The FRS is not a tail happy car. It's incredibly planted and has fantastic balance. I bought the BRZ over the FRS, due to the brand being a little more mature (I'm 44) and I love the Limited interior (budget wasn't my highest priority). I prefer the FRS front end over the BRZ. I prefer the relative rarity of the BRZ compared to FRS. I'm NOT a BRZ fanboy. Who's the winner? Well everyone. Both of these cars are so good. They are great cars to take to HPDEs and you will enjoy every lap. I fully agree with the everydaydriver review. It really does come down to your driving preference, but the reality is that my suspension won't stay stock for long, so the thing that is being discussed in this thread will have a short life anyway. That's most likely the case for most trackjunkies. If you have an FRS or BRZ. Do yourself a favor, take it to the track at least once. Thank you Sonny.:happy0180: