Stock BRZ

[OrbitalEllipses]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

P.S.: don't care about "unique", I'm not a teen/tween any more, and not having a mid-life crisis either (yet?).

As someone who lands squarely in between...I am most certainly having a quarter-life crisis and require "unique."

[garby]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

I'm not trying to bust anyone's balls, but let's not get a superiority complex over either wanting to keep the car stock or modifying it. I'm actually jealous that someone has the strength to keep this car stock. I mean, you can honestly look at the speaker surrounds and center console knee resting area and say that you wouldn't prefer to have matching leather with red stitching as the car was INTENDED to have? It's more comfortable AND the interior looks way more complete. And you really don't think the Toyota armrest would be a welcomed addition?

I say "who cares?" Some of us have more important things to think about than whether the area your knee rests on matches the seats.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Not to be offensive, but generally when I see someone purchase a performance car and do NOTHING to it and they're not an older person (60+ years old), then I tend to think that they have zero imagination, aspirations or personality. Or, more likely, they're too cheap to spend money on anything "extra".

This will be offensive to about 99% of the population. A lot of creative people drive super-boring cars because it's just an appliance to them. Some of them will a nicer appliance (BRZ/FRS), but they will still think that people like you probably have too much money, so that you don't know what else to do with it other than throw it at their car
This is an example of what's wrong in generalizing your own view.

I like the car as is, with OEM rubber. It's a nimble playful coupe with enough grip for regular driving and enough slip when I want it to slip.
This car is not a 'blank canvas' to most buyers. It's an attractive package of features not present in anything else at the price. I'm sure it's a 'blank canvas' to some, but somehow I think that to those some every car is a canvas. I don't expect to see a lot of support for this view here, mostly because the forums are a concentration of people who are looking for information to modify their cars.

The majority of BRZ/FR-S owners I've chatted with in parking lots/gas stations etc are not on the forums.

Wheel gap, non-flush wheels etc - it's a taste preference of a small fraction of population. A small fraction that is vocal on automotive forums. I have nothing against this preference, I mildly like it, but I'm not prepared to lose suspension travel or overload the wheel bearings just for a marginal improvement.

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

This will be offensive to about 99% of the population. A lot of creative people drive super-boring cars because it's just an appliance to them. Some of them will a nicer appliance (BRZ/FRS), but they will still think that people like you probably have too much money, so that you don't know what else to do with it other than throw it at their car
This is an example of what's wrong in generalizing your own view.

I like the car as is, with OEM rubber. It's a nimble playful coupe with enough grip for regular driving and enough slip when I want it to slip.
This car is not a 'blank canvas' to most buyers. It's an attractive package of features not present in anything else at the price. I'm sure it's a 'blank canvas' to some, but somehow I think that to those some every car is a canvas. I don't expect to see a lot of support for this view here, mostly because the forums are a concentration of people who are looking for information to modify their cars.

The majority of BRZ/FR-S owners I've chatted with in parking lots/gas stations etc are not on the forums.

Wheel gap, non-flush wheels etc - it's a taste preference of a small fraction of population. A small fraction that is vocal on automotive forums. I have nothing against this preference, I mildly like it, but I'm not prepared to lose suspension travel or overload the wheel bearings just for a marginal improvement.

Ah. Good points! I guess you're right. I do look at every car and think, "What can be improved upon?" hahaha

I got a broken silverware piece caught in my rear tire weeks ago and replaced them both with all-seasons with a wider width. I really miss the stock tires. I was getting so used to turning with them. The new ones screech like crazy. So, in that regard, I definitely agree with you about the tires. I actually prefer more play, which is why I seriously considered the FR-S. But, I wanted my little amenities, too.

Okay, so let's be REALLY honest here... You're actually okay with the stock sound system and NAV?

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by garby

I say "who cares?" Some of us have more important things to think about than whether the area your knee rests on matches the seats.

Except that area is harder than the JDM knee pads, so it rubs and hurts after long periods of driving. I drive a lot.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by qoncept

I started autoxing 10 years ago and slowly I started to notice that the old guys were pretty much all running in stock class. Not old guys that just started going it. Guys that were probably me 20 years ago. They spent a ton of money prepping cars, making them less comfortable and shaking parts loose with stiff springs and poly bushings, and realized you really don't get all that much out of it.

QFT.
I've driven some STX/STU-prepped cars that were slower than stock, lol.

Originally Posted by OrbitalEllipses

As someone who lands squarely in between...I am most certainly having a quarter-life crisis and require "unique."

Why? Is your brz/frs not 'unique' enough? How many do you see every day? I'm sure some semi-rich college kid from Cali with a white FR-S can feel not unique due to seeing another white FR-S on campus parking.

[qoncept]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

This car is not a 'blank canvas' to most buyers. It's an attractive package of features not present in anything else at the price. I'm sure it's a 'blank canvas' to some, but somehow I think that to those some every car is a canvas.

I get what he's saying but where he sees "blank canvas" I see "money pit." But honestly, the work you do to a car is all for greatly diminishing returns. Almost all of the performance gain you're going to get out of a car is in the tires. Sway bars will do most of the rest. Most coilovers people on these forums buy will make it worse. Same deal visually. Wheels are what people will notice.

[thill]

Or maybe people like the car just the way it is and don't see the point in spending money to modify something they like. To be honest, many times I see people put on different wheels, spoilers, trim pieces, stickers, interior wraps, etc and for me, I think it looks worse than stock. As long as they are happy that is what counts, but it does not mean I have less imagination than them because I actually like the look of the stock wheels vs a 19" gold one.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Okay, so let's be REALLY honest here... You're actually okay with the stock sound system and NAV?

It's not a Lexus, to me there's enough engine/road noise for stock sound system (after EQ adjustment) to be good enough.
NAVs annoyed me in most cars I drove that had them. And they get outdated very quickly. So I just stopped using them in favor of NAV apps on my phone except for places w/o cellular coverage, and even there I prefer the features of standalone NAV apps on the phone, it's just the assisted GPS in phones usually sucks w/o a cell tower nearby. I wish stock NAV's screen was glass, so that the suction cup would stick to it better

[chanomatik]

I used to hate my stock Limited spoiler and wanted a clean trunk, but now I actually kinda like it. Some aftermarket kits I used to love are now kinda "meh" to me, so I can see what you're saying. I think, "If I had to put this car back to stock, how easily could I do that with this mod?"

[Chee-Hu]

Originally Posted by chanomatik

Fair enough. I guess the interesting part is that a stock car is really just a blank canvas. Not to be offensive, but generally when I see someone purchase a performance car and do NOTHING to it and they're not an older person (60+ years old), then I tend to think that they have zero imagination, aspirations or personality. Or, more likely, they're too cheap to spend money on anything "extra".

...

That has got to be the most ignorant and arrogant sh*t I've read today. The sentence before that is almost as ignorant. Why buy a brand new car to rip it apart, and build from the ground up? The only reason I would see someone doing this is if they track the car majority of the time. Wouldn't it make more sense to purchase a beaten up old car?

[thill]

If somebody could point me to a better radio/NAV unit (I have been looking) that fit the standard hole for the radio so I would not have to use crappy looking trim pieces I might actually be interested in that. I checked out a bunch of head units at Best Buy and a local specialty audio store, and nothing blew me away enough to drop the dough. Hopefully at some point there will be a better alternative in the $500-700 range.

[chanomatik]

Originally Posted by dsgerbc

It's not a Lexus, to me there's enough engine/road noise for stock sound system (after EQ adjustment) to be good enough.
NAVs annoyed me in most cars I drove that had them. And they get outdated very quickly. So I just stopped using them in favor of NAV apps on my phone except for places w/o cellular coverage, and even there I prefer the features of standalone NAV apps on the phone, it's just the assisted GPS in phones usually sucks w/o a cell tower nearby. I wish stock NAV's screen was glass, so that the suction cup would stick to it better

lol Okay fine. I guess I'm too youthful at 29, because I blast my music and no amount of setting adjustments can help the stock speakers.

I recently went on a nearly 10k mile road trip with my BRZ and the stock unit. It definitely wasn't the worst thing I've used and it got me through Canada great. There were some small things that a dealership update changed that I wasn't thrilled about, but overall, if it had usable track-change buttons, I'd be completely satisfied with it.

I appreciate your feedback and ability to have a civil discussion. I always respect differing opinions and don't mean to be offensive when expressing an opinion.

[thill]

The other problem with mods is that some people don't know when to stop. Just because you can plastidip just about everything does not mean you should....