UNDERPOWERED? THE REAL DEAL!!!

[FloridaFRSdriver]

Originally Posted by Rampage

You will never convince the ones that want more power that they do not need it and will seldom use it if they do pay the big bucks to get it. It will take years of experience and thousands of dollars wasted before they will come to that conclusion on their own.

^Such and true and accurate statement. That used to be me until recently.

After my last beast (SRT Challenger) I knew I needed something with different merits and character. Since I couldn't bring myself to accept FWD "sports" car or a miata or drop the money on a Porsche... The twins are awesome for what they are.

Would I love an update with significantly more power? Of course, but not at $15k more ($10k would be pushing it) and not at the expense of any of the characteristics that make this car great such as simplicity, light weight, handling, etc.

[86-tundra]

Originally Posted by civdaddy

Rx8 is 1.3l and maybe faster 0-1320 feet.

that's an uninformed statement.

while the rx8 is a 1.3, given that it has 2 rotors it is more comparable to a 2.6L

[Retro86]

Originally Posted by MokSpeed

My GS-R was a beast!

my gs-r too was a beast. there's something about hitting vtec that satisfied my driving need

[DarkSunrise]

Eh another one of these threads. This car is fast enough for me, and that's all that matters in the end Especially given the other qualities it offers.

If you're looking to beat other cars from light-to-light and especially if you're scared to downshift/redline out of fear of appearing to be "trying", then absolutely, this is the wrong car for you. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise. This is not the car for you.

It's becoming that you need to be very self-assured to own these cars in the US. Sports car culture here is myopically focused on one thing, and that is straight-line acceleration. People can't seem to conceive at all why you'd buy X car when Y car has more power and is cheaper.

It's like speaking some foreign language trying to explain that you wanted a lightweight RWD car that has sublime balance and feedback, and happens to be nearly track-ready from the manufacturer.

Ultimately you've got to buy this car because you love driving it, not because you want to be able to brag to your buddies how fast it is or beat that V6 Camry at a stoplight. If that's what you're looking for, it's the wrong car for you. A base Mustang GT for a few grand more is the car you want.

[Vracer111]

If Kei cars were legal in the US I'd be all over a Suzuki Cappuccino...if I could fit in it... Maybe Honda will make the S660 concept into something that will come to the US...

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by N1rve

I think @humfrz calculated this before.

For "back in the day" reference .....

[Guzic]

I don't think this car is slow at all and I'm half the age of most people here. It has enough power for what it's meant to do but also has room to add if you really want to mod it that way. Very few cars will give you the excitement of driving that this car will. Before this car I drove a '91 RX-7 and a 05' sedan with just over 200 bhp. The rx-7 wasn't the fastest car but it was super fun to drive and that''s what made it so popular. It's also why the Hyundai Genesis isn't considered a real "sports" car yet, because the handling is too stiff to compete with any of the more agile sports cars.

FWIW, you can always make a slow car faster, but you can't always make a stiff fast car handle better.
Smooth is fast.

[eSOLOR]

Slow? I still crap myself when I go over 4.5k rpm

[paulca]

Originally Posted by civdaddy

Rx8 is 1.3l and maybe faster 0-1320 feet.

Is that before or after your rebuild the engine for the Nth time? MPG isn't far off being measured in GPM.

S2000 isn't made anymore, no back seat, higher $$$.

If you really want to go fast, fast, fast then you are all dealing with too many wheels. You want a Yamaha R1 or hayabusa or similar crotch rocket.

I would still love to own a Caterham R500 Superlight. It looks like it fell out of a 1960s TV show and might get laughed at by many a street racer, but when it out accelerates most sports bikes, get to 60 in under 3 seconds (100mph in 7 seconds) and weighs about as much as a gnat's fart so corners like it's on rails I'd love to see their face... granted it has 2.0L 263bhp, but even the lesser models with less than 200bhp would embaress most fat heavy modern cars.

Whats the difference between a hedgehog and a Mustang? The Mustang has the pricks on the inside.

[Tromatic]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf

Since when does buying a car for yourself mean you have to impress or satisfy others...jeez, you shouldn't get your self-esteem from a car...if the car makes you happy, who the hell cares what others think???

More than half of this forum by my count!

[Harvey]

Got passed 2000 KM (breakin) yesterday, pushed the peddal in 3rd/4th/5th, went from 110KMH to 185KMH in no time... don't see what else I could want for daily driving, it was like crazy going so fast on the road (I'd never been that fast)!... and try to get this in a 370Z (you can't, I tried, TREX700EPRO heli doesn't fit, needless to comment about the familly!), there aren't that many 4 seat big trunk sport cars around these days :

[1086]

Weight:BHP ratio

The 86 platform does considerably well considering many of the turbo charged cars on the market and their results, according to this chart. Fortunately the car is lightweight off the lot, so adding more power while dropping 100+ lbs (very easy to do) will yield even greater results.

Also, keep in mind that people who are running E85 w/ a tune may be around the 220-230 bhp mark, which would put the car at ~12.4 (225 bhp / 2800)
Now if someone were to put a modest FI upgrade, like a JacksonRacing SC + oil cooler, which yields around 250 whp @ 6k rpm on a proper tune. So lets say 280 BHP. That would put the 86 at ~10

Remember, this would be on a fully stock car. Once you start upgrading tires, wheels and suspension, you will have quite a quick and superb handling car in the $30,000-$35,000 range. I am also thinking in terms of where I live which is an elevation of 85 ft.

That competes very well with many of the cars below.

[Davey]

Originally Posted by Rampage

My son's FR-S has a TRD catback, TRD drop in filter and RCE yellows on stock struts. Nice sound, even better handling and ride and maybe a couple more HP. Everything was bought slightly used and cost exactly $550 total. Dealer says there is no issue with the warranty with these parts.

Yes, that is the idea with TRD, you buy Toyota Racing Development parts for your Toyota, the factory warranty is unaffected.

I'm not clear on whether Subaru will honor the BRZ warranty with TRD parts installed, whether they will install them, etc. According to the Toyota dealer selling the TRD intake on Amazon, "Subaru and Toyota will not honor BRZ warranties on vehicles with this TRD intake."

Some kind of political BS going on there, uninformed dealer, or... I don't know.

[trogdor007]

Originally Posted by 1086

Weight:BHP ratio

The 86 platform does considerably well considering many of the turbo charged cars on the market and their results, according to this chart. Fortunately the car is lightweight off the lot, so adding more power while dropping 100+ lbs (very easy to do) will yield even greater results.

Also, keep in mind that people who are running E85 w/ a tune may be around the 220-230 bhp mark, which would put the car at ~12.4 (225 bhp / 2800)
Now if someone were to put a modest FI upgrade, like a JacksonRacing SC + oil cooler, which yields around 250 whp @ 6k rpm on a proper tune. So lets say 280 BHP. That would put the 86 at ~10

Remember, this would be on a fully stock car. Once you start upgrading tires, wheels and suspension, you will have quite a quick and superb handling car in the $30,000-$35,000 range. I am also thinking in terms of where I live which is an elevation of 85 ft.

That competes very well with many of the cars below.

You got any data for the Mustang (V6/GT)? I'm not seeing those numbers on any of the charts I've seen. I'm curious to see how they stack up given their size.