BRZ and the WRX everyday driver video

[Davey]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

What car is fun to drive stuck in traffic, am I missing something here .

A monster truck? That would be a blast, at least until the cops showed up.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Frost

Given that the FA20 in the WRX is almost the same as the BRZ's heart, doesn't this mean you can do a WRX FA20 transplant into a BRZ? This only means good things for BRZ owners.

I know the WRX FA20 has Subaru's DI system whereas the the BRZ FA20 has the D4S DI system from Toyota.

Anyone heard of crickets in the WRX?

No crickets

The swap is not that easy. I believe this was discussed with the Forester XT (which is the same engine that is in the 15 WRX) and the issue would be the low mount turbo being too low for the BRZ. They would most likely need to modify the FA20 to get the turbo to fit properly.

Clearly it can be done. I am 100% loving the FA20 engine in the 15 WRX. The twin scroll turbo really gives the car a ton of power down low and lag is much less noticeable than in previous years. Gas mileage is great too. I am averaging only 2mpg less so far than my BRZ for the same commute and driving style.

[mokinbird87]

Originally Posted by thill

No crickets

Gas mileage is great too. I am averaging only 2mpg less so far than my BRZ for the same commute and driving style.

this. I cant believe how good the bugeye was on gas when I used to own one... especially compared with the BRZ. the BRZ is only marginally better for having way less power.

[blackhawkdown]

Why do people look down on the the 2009-2014 WRX like it is yesterdays news? The "old" WRX still hold their own. Anyways, soon I would will have both!

[radroach]

The exhaust note from the BRZ was sounded surprisingly good on the follow cam.

Then again the WRX engine sounded pretty wicked.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by thill

Gas mileage is great too. I am averaging only 2mpg less so far than my BRZ for the same commute and driving style.

That's impressive. Back when I used to own an STI, I got 6-7 mpg less on the same route than my FR-S.

[thill]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

That's impressive. Back when I used to own an STI, I got 6-7 mpg less on the same route than my FR-S.

I think it helps that I am staying lower in the powerband with the turbo FA20, whereas before I was living above the 5K band a lot more in the BRZ.

[thill]

I am glad they mentioned the riding height in the 2015 WRX. The seats are too tall IMHO. I wish they were lower like the BRZ. Overall, I find the BRZ seats to be a better seat (better bolstering, more comfortable, not as tall, etc).

Both cars have the same ground clearance, and although visibility is really good in the WRX, you feel like you are sitting up too high...

I also think the comment in the video that without the BRZ they doubt the 2015 WRX would be as good as it is. I agree. Clearly Subaru took some lessons learned from the BRZ and applied them to the WRX. Kudos for that.

I also think the previous gen WRX hatchback is a better looking car than the new one (external)... They really should have done more with the exterior styling..

[italy7]

I enjoyed the video. How did they get ahold of your car?

I'm uncertain about something though, I'm under the impression from twins owners that the brz/frs is a great dd even if you live in flats and straights UNLESS you have to win from stoplight to stoplight (or need tons of cargo space). correct me if I'm wrong.

[blackhawkdown]

i never paid attention to the tach when i was test driving a brz. when the avcs kicks in, does it kick in like the vtec system? does the rpms race to the redline like the vtec?

[dalli]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

i never paid attention to the tach when i was test driving a brz. when the avcs kicks in, does it kick in like the vtec system? does the rpms race to the redline like the vtec?

Seems like this new WRX has less of a kick and more of a linear power curve..(boost comes early like 2k~2.5k rpms)

Looks like a slight drop off towards the end of the rev range.

Maybe someone can chime in more info

[Jegan_V]

Originally Posted by dalli

Seems like this new WRX has less of a kick and more of a linear power curve..(boost comes early like 2k~2.5k rpms)

Looks like a slight drop off towards the end of the rev range.

Maybe someone can chime in more info

Road and Track dyno tested the WRX and the STi and it appears to support that statement with regards to the WRX.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/car-revi...aru-wrx-vs-sti

The WRX has always been the more daily driver focused of the two while the STi has always been the more hardcore version. Getting the boost early and having it fall in the high end certainly makes a lot more sense for the daily driver version of this car. Those who really cared about the high end power would've skipped the WRX anyways and went straight to STi.

[unsurety]

Originally Posted by blackhawkdown

i never paid attention to the tach when i was test driving a brz. when the avcs kicks in, does it kick in like the vtec system? does the rpms race to the redline like the vtec?

It's not really a kick. It's sorta similar to the S2000, you hear it more than you feel it.

E85 tune really woke the car up for me. You really hear it now. There's still no kick per se, but it feels like a surge all the way to redline.

[mokinbird87]

Originally Posted by italy7

I enjoyed the video. How did they get ahold of your car?

I'm good friends with Paul and apparently Subaru does not lend any journalists more than one car at a time so he reached out to me for the review.