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Just a quick update on the car.. I reached 1,000 miles and as hard as it was not to rev past 4k I managed to do so. I've been reading about this car daily since it was in the early prototyping stages (a good friend of mine actually built the prototype and kept me informed along the way) and I've been
Lurking in the forums since they actually hit the street. The point of all this is the "slow" story...almost every owner complains of it being miserably slow.
To safeguard myself I started ordering performance parts the day I ordered the car. The suspension I knew I couldn't live with so that changed along with the wheels with 17 miles on the odometer on day 1 owning the car. That made her pretty and handle amazing. The first week was a little stiff but everything has settled in nicely and its s very predictable and controlled ride. I've worked with Eibach for many years on many vehicles and my source there tells me I can bolt up some full coil overs in a few months but for the majority of the time its a street car, not a track car and I'm overall happy with the ride and performance so we'll see if I choose to throw them on...
The motor performance...this "slow pig" that others complain about... I hit 1k and swapped motor oil but stuck with the Subaru synthetic the car calls for with the intentions of doing another swap at 3500 for motul and pentosin in the gearbox. I've noticed that the 1-2 "crunch" is disappearing and 2-3 "notchiness" has improved over time. The Perrin shift guide and trans mount def improved the feel as well. But back to the motor...
I was really surprised by how great it feels from 4500-7400!! It's not fast but its quick. I've owned an 02 M3 (seriously modded), a 01 CLK 55 (also modded), an infinity M35 (really modded), and now have a Panamera in the family for hauling the kids around when the X5 isn't needed.. All these cars were, and still are for the ones I own, much faster in a straight line. Some may think I'm crazy but out of the group I had the most fun with the Infiniti and the Porsche..the M3 seriously disappointed me and had a drive by wire issue that scared me to death on a few occasions. The CLK was sharp in its day but fun in straight line only. The Infiniti was a blast all the time...less power than the previous two but I helped that out and I loved the handling for a large 4 door that I could still throw the kids in and give them some car sickness on the twistys. The only 4 cylinder car I ever owned was a 02 Civic Si in electric blue. My ex wife's brother had her co sign then a year later couldn't make the payment. I did some work to it thinking I'd make it fast and fun but it never was fast OR fun...the power only came on in the VTEC range and had no torque at all down low. It sucked, plain and simple. I added header and full exhaust, intake, tuning, suspension, every little go fast part short of nitrous or FI and the car was still a POS and not fun to drive. When I got the BRZ I already had it in my head that the only way it would be fast enough for me would be supercharged. (Don't want to ruin the linear power delivery and balance of the car with a turbo altho I do love turbos)
At 850 miles I installed the pulley and front pipe and Overpipe from Perrin. They tell me a few weeks for the intake and for fresh black catbacks to be in stock ready to ship...Borla UEL header is a month out also. So I was expecting to be disappointed once I got to open her up. I did notice a little added torque down low from the few mods but my expectations were low until the rest of the parts are installed. After the oil swap I warmed her up on a nice and easy 10 mile drive. I came to a light with no one in sight and open, clear roads and decided it was time to see what she could do. I only engaged the clutch at 1500 rpm and then pedal to the floor through 4 gears straight. It really builds revs fast after 4500!! I shifted at redline to second and got an audible chirp of the rear tires (255/35/18s) and pushed back into the seat through second and third. By fourth gear I started getting high in RPMs and let off as it felt like I was moving along pretty quickly..I was barely past 100mph but felt so much faster!! I love how low to the ground you sit in this car as it gives a much greater sense of speed. I was actually impressed, not disappointed! When kept in the sweet spot this car is a blast to drive. It has way more torque than the POS Si we had a long time ago and really is fun to drive hard. The harder you drive the car, the more rewarding the car becomes. The point of all this is that I am starting to doubt I'll ever "need" the supercharger. I think that completing the exhaust with the Catback and header and bolting up the intake and getting a great dyno tune might just land me right where I want to be. Maybe a lighter flywheel and clutch and add the CF driveshaft just to help build the revs a little faster too but I don't know if a SC would be justified.
What I like the most about this car is that I can use ALL of it. My CLK was a monster and wasn't much fun because I could break every speed limit in 2nd gear and never let her stretch her legs and run. I also felt disconnected from the road after the scary M3. The Infiniti and Porsche are still favs of mine as well but for different reasons..those are my family cars that I can still have fun in. The X5...well I don't know how else to say it but its pure shit, plain and simple. I will NEVER own another BMW. I've had horrible experiences with them and they're way over rated.
So am I crazy?? Does anyone else here think that the BRZ/FR-S is so close to greatness already that it doesn't need FI? I guess I'll finish up the motor mods and see how it feels...if I'm still having this much fun then there's no way I'm adding the SC. If I get bored in a year and its starting to feel slow then I'll be most likely going the Vortech route as its the cleanest and easiest setup to date with reliable gains across the board but every day I'm leaning more towards a really well tuned NA machine..
What do you guys think? Am I a mad man? Sorry for the long post but I want you to know where I'm coming from and past cars in the stable that I'm comparing to. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season and Merry Christmas Eve to all!!
Chad
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