MR2 died, replacement?

[serialk11r]

Well, seems like I have quite a bit of buyers lined up for the MR2 shell so I think I'm gonna get rid of it for now.

Life in the near term plans still uncertain but gonna test drive a BRZ sometime and if I like it I'll probably just get one for now. I have a feeling that being newer and a tad bit more refined I may like it a lot. I probably would also really enjoy not struggling to open the frunk when grocery shopping lol.

I'll keep the rust comments in mind if I end up in Chicago.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Would be pretty wasteful unless I was making a six figure income at which point I would just sell everything and get myself a gen2 Dodge Viper GTS.

Which would rust if you drove it in the winter!
Cars in Ontario rust, fact of life.

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Which would rust if you drove it in the winter!
Cars in Ontario rust, fact of life.

Oh I had my share of rust buckets. In fact, that's all I drove (besides my MR2) since high school. The FRS is my first non-rusted DD ahaha. You'd be crazy to think I would drive a Viper through winter Canada lol.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Oh I had my share of rust buckets. In fact, that's all I drove (besides my MR2) since high school. The FRS is my first non-rusted DD ahaha. You'd be crazy to think I would drive a Viper through winter Canada lol.

Coward!



Actually I am very impressed at how little rust I have developed so far. Remains to be seen if that remains after it warms up and the true ravages of winter show up.

[serialk11r]

Okay I think my biggest reservation about the twins is now gone. Today I saw an FRS in gray with aftermarket tail lights (I think the Toms?) and the Toyota 86 LED fronts, and wow it looks really good! The basic shape of the tail lamps is still hideous but when the parking lights are turned on you don't notice it anymore. Not having the crappy yellow halogen lights at the front also helps a lot, but that's something that can be avoided by getting a BRZ or swapping LEDs in.

Now the last problem is that the engine noises are quite crappy but if I buy something irresponsible with a cool engine sound like an (used, as much as I want to drive a new M4) M3 I'd have to deal with BMW maintenance and refilling the fuel tank way too often, which sucks.

Definitely looking forward to test driving one when I have some time. I'm probably going to be let down a little coming from an MR2, but I was already a little let down by a Porsche Cayman (not that it's not fun!), so I'll just have to wait until I can keep two cars around to have a true road-going go-kart.

It bothers me a little that the twins are a lot more expensive to upgrade than the MR2 but I guess that's a fair price to pay for a much newer car.

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Okay I think my biggest reservation about the twins is now gone. Today I saw an FRS in gray with aftermarket tail lights (I think the Toms?) and the Toyota 86 LED fronts, and wow it looks really good! The basic shape of the tail lamps is still hideous but when the parking lights are turned on you don't notice it anymore. Not having the crappy yellow halogen lights at the front also helps a lot, but that's something that can be avoided by getting a BRZ or swapping LEDs in.

Now the last problem is that the engine noises are quite crappy but if I buy something irresponsible with a cool engine sound like an (used, as much as I want to drive a new M4) M3 I'd have to deal with BMW maintenance and refilling the fuel tank way too often, which sucks.

Definitely looking forward to test driving one when I have some time. I'm probably going to be let down a little coming from an MR2, but I was already a little let down by a Porsche Cayman (not that it's not fun!), so I'll just have to wait until I can keep two cars around to have a true road-going go-kart.

It bothers me a little that the twins are a lot more expensive to upgrade than the MR2 but I guess that's a fair price to pay for a much newer car.

More expensive than an engine swap?

You could go through some exhaust vids here to see if anything sounds more to your liking.

Remember too that you have reasonably well sorted boost options both turbo and SC if the need for power bites.

More importantly is the suspension options and knowledge from guys like CSG Mike and RaceComp. Might need to sort out the handling if it's too far from what you're used to with the Spyder.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Dimman

More expensive than an engine swap?

You could go through some exhaust vids here to see if anything sounds more to your liking.

Remember too that you have reasonably well sorted boost options both turbo and SC if the need for power bites.

More importantly is the suspension options and knowledge from guys like CSG Mike and RaceComp. Might need to sort out the handling if it's too far from what you're used to with the Spyder.

Well, 5k to get the drivetrain sorted out is not that much since the rest of the car is more or less good to go. The twins need brake upgrade to have similar stopping ability, exhaust is way more money, wheels and tires are more, the flywheel has to be changed out separately whereas it doesn't add much money to an engine swap, all engine parts are more expensive. The one plus I can think of is that the FA20 is way cheaper and easier to tune.

[daiheadjai]

An intake changes the sound dramatically, even if there's no real performance gain. Likewise, a different panel filter will change the sound a bit as well.

[serialk11r]

Well I finally test drove the BRZ and WRX today. The salesperson at the dealer seemed like he totally hated his job and didn't want to sell a car at all lol, complained that I was shifting the gears too much. "If you drive like that we won't have a transmission in a week." Says the guy slipping the clutch at 3000rpm to reverse the car into a parking spot and redlining a cold, brand new engine.

Anyhow...I really miss my MR2. The BRZ is light-years ahead in refinement, the engine response is way better but it's just not nearly as fun. I can't hear the engine at all (which I guess can be fixed pretty easily) and the car just feels bigger and less nimble. Hell, the rear seats are even barely usable, unlike the 911.

I was pleasantly surprised by the engine, which revs very freely and is pretty smooth. The gear shifter was so-so, a little rubbery for my taste (I prefer shifters that "click") making some gears a little hard to find. I didn't like the brake pedal at all. Steering seemed pretty good. The interior is a hundred times better than my MR2 so no complaints at all. Clutch is super weird, need to get used to it to shift smoothly.

The WRX had a very nice gear shift and a very nice clutch pedal, but the high seating position and high windows kind ruin the sporty feel. I had never driven a turbo car before, but now I know what turbo lag is, it's definitely there even if they claim 90% of torque is available at blah rpm. I was surprised by how slow the car was, I was expecting a lot more knowing the numbers, and I was surprised by how heavy the flywheel was. They mapped the throttle so that the rpms jump very fast off idle but the revs fall very slowly so you either take all your upshifts very slowly or get a nasty jerk from the fat flywheel. Another problem is that seeing the low 6000s rev limit on the tach feels kind of limiting lol.

All said and done, I'm not totally happy with the BRZ but I am probably going to get one since it's a nice balance of utility and fun. Someday I'll get back into a more hardcore car again when it's more convenient to keep 2 cars around.

[Teseo]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Well I finally test drove the BRZ and WRX today. The salesperson at the dealer seemed like he totally hated his job and didn't want to sell a car at all lol, complained that I was shifting the gears too much. "If you drive like that we won't have a transmission in a week." Says the guy slipping the clutch at 3000rpm to reverse the car into a parking spot and redlining a cold, brand new engine.

Anyhow...I really miss my MR2. The BRZ is light-years ahead in refinement, the engine response is way better but it's just not nearly as fun. I can't hear the engine at all (which I guess can be fixed pretty easily) and the car just feels bigger and less nimble. Hell, the rear seats are even barely usable, unlike the 911.

I was pleasantly surprised by the engine, which revs very freely and is pretty smooth. The gear shifter was so-so, a little rubbery for my taste (I prefer shifters that "click") making some gears a little hard to find. I didn't like the brake pedal at all. Steering seemed pretty good. The interior is a hundred times better than my MR2 so no complaints at all. Clutch is super weird, need to get used to it to shift smoothly.

The WRX had a very nice gear shift and a very nice clutch pedal, but the high seating position and high windows kind ruin the sporty feel. I had never driven a turbo car before, but now I know what turbo lag is, it's definitely there even if they claim 90% of torque is available at blah rpm. I was surprised by how slow the car was, I was expecting a lot more knowing the numbers, and I was surprised by how heavy the flywheel was. They mapped the throttle so that the rpms jump very fast off idle but the revs fall very slowly so you either take all your upshifts very slowly or get a nasty jerk from the fat flywheel. Another problem is that seeing the low 6000s rev limit on the tach feels kind of limiting lol.

All said and done, I'm not totally happy with the BRZ but I am probably going to get one since it's a nice balance of utility and fun. Someday I'll get back into a more hardcore car again when it's more convenient to keep 2 cars around.

Sorry mate you will regret it, buy a FRS instead

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by Teseo

Sorry mate you will regret it, buy a FRS instead

Lol, how? I don't care about the extra few hundred, it's worth the Subaru badge and marginally better interior. I'm even considering a limited. The drivetrains are the same and thus will need modifications to suit my taste.

[ayau]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Well I finally test drove the BRZ and WRX today. The salesperson at the dealer seemed like he totally hated his job and didn't want to sell a car at all lol, complained that I was shifting the gears too much. "If you drive like that we won't have a transmission in a week." Says the guy slipping the clutch at 3000rpm to reverse the car into a parking spot and redlining a cold, brand new engine.

Anyhow...I really miss my MR2. The BRZ is light-years ahead in refinement, the engine response is way better but it's just not nearly as fun. I can't hear the engine at all (which I guess can be fixed pretty easily) and the car just feels bigger and less nimble. Hell, the rear seats are even barely usable, unlike the 911.

I was pleasantly surprised by the engine, which revs very freely and is pretty smooth. The gear shifter was so-so, a little rubbery for my taste (I prefer shifters that "click") making some gears a little hard to find. I didn't like the brake pedal at all. Steering seemed pretty good. The interior is a hundred times better than my MR2 so no complaints at all. Clutch is super weird, need to get used to it to shift smoothly.

The WRX had a very nice gear shift and a very nice clutch pedal, but the high seating position and high windows kind ruin the sporty feel. I had never driven a turbo car before, but now I know what turbo lag is, it's definitely there even if they claim 90% of torque is available at blah rpm. I was surprised by how slow the car was, I was expecting a lot more knowing the numbers, and I was surprised by how heavy the flywheel was. They mapped the throttle so that the rpms jump very fast off idle but the revs fall very slowly so you either take all your upshifts very slowly or get a nasty jerk from the fat flywheel. Another problem is that seeing the low 6000s rev limit on the tach feels kind of limiting lol.

All said and done, I'm not totally happy with the BRZ but I am probably going to get one since it's a nice balance of utility and fun. Someday I'll get back into a more hardcore car again when it's more convenient to keep 2 cars around.

The MY15 WRX shifter is way too rubbery compared to the BRZ IMO. Also, heel toe rev matching is more difficult on the WRX compared to drive by cable. There seems to be a half second lag between blipping the throttle and the RPM actually going up. The RPMs respond almost immediately on my ITR when I blip the throttle, lol. With that said, I still prefer the WRX as my daily driver compared to the BRZ and ITR. Crash safety standards alone is enough for me to not daily a 90s Japanese car.

[serialk11r]

Originally Posted by ayau

The MY15 WRX shifter is way too rubbery compared to the BRZ IMO. Also, heel toe rev matching is more difficult on the WRX compared to drive by cable. There seems to be a half second lag between blipping the throttle and the RPM actually going up. The RPMs respond almost immediately on my ITR when I blip the throttle, lol. With that said, I still prefer the WRX as my daily driver compared to the BRZ and ITR. Crash safety standards alone is enough for me to not daily a 90s Japanese car.

Really? I thought the WRX shifter had a much better click than the BRZ. Throttle response is actually pretty sharp, I don't like cable throttles because you can feel the VVT lagging behind on most engines. The WRX engine definitely has a response problem, just not off idle immediately.

[bfrank1972]

Originally Posted by serialk11r

Really? I thought the WRX shifter had a much better click than the BRZ. Throttle response is actually pretty sharp, I don't like cable throttles because you can feel the VVT lagging behind on most engines. The WRX engine definitely has a response problem, just not off idle immediately.

I'm surprised you say the brz shifter is rubbery, mine has a nice mechanical feel to it. Similar to the s2000, but not quite as nice (but close enough). Was the brz new or broken in? Mine transmission took several thousand miles to break in, once it did it felt much much better. Clutch does take some getting used to. Get the brz engine tuned and it will be even more responsive. Get some stick tires and performance alignment and you'll be surprised how the thing goes around corners.


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