Dadhawk's FR-S (6AT Firestorm)

[russv]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Well, now that I'm more comfortable with the dimensions of the FR-S we found a place for it in the garage after all. Still don't let anyone get in the Mustang while its in the garage though!

Until I took this picture I didn't realize how much lower the FR-S is compared to the Mustang.

Also, next plan, put a floor in the garage, and repaint! Thinking of using something like RackDeck or TechFloor rather than paint. I'd be interested if anyone has any experience with either.

Tight fit!

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by russv

Tight fit!

Yea if I hadn't recently lost 80 lbs I would have to get out of the car then push it into garage!

[Dadhawk]

While we're on the "how small is it" thought, here's a shot from today with the FR-S parked next to a Kia Optima Turbo at the office. In the right colors, I like the Optima from a pure "looks" prospective. One of my favorite 4 door sedan cars.

Cloudly/rainy day here in the ATL.

[Bristecom]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

While we're on the "how small is it" thought, here's a shot from today with the FR-S parked next to a Kia Optima Turbo at the office. In the right colors, I like the Optima from a pure "looks" prospective. One of my favorite 4 door sedan cars.

Cloudly/rainy day here in the ATL.

My parents have a black Optima SX Turbo. It does look nice for the price.

[Dadhawk]

Hard to believe I've had my FR-S for a month on 6/11!

First, I have absolutely no regrets about purchasing the car. It has met all the expectations I had for it, and exceeded some.

The fuel economy has been the biggest surprise. It has been better than I expected from the EPA numbers. I was figuring I'd be getting mid-20s but I'm averaging almost 32 MPG (31.99MPG to be exact).Numbers updated in OP.

In honor of 1 month/2019 miles here's some interesting tidbits. If I take my current rate of driving the car:

...I'm averaging 62 miles per day. That included 5 days of not driving any as I was in Daytona Beach for my son's wedding.
...fuel savings is paying for half my car payment.
...it will pay for itself in 15 years in fuel savings.
...the standard warranty will end on 10/01/2013
...the drivetrain warranty will end on 12/21/2014.
...that's also when I'll have to pull the engine to change the plugs.
...I'll reach 100,000 miles on 09/23/2016
...I'll reach 200,000 miles on 10/16/2022
...I'll reach 238,857 miles on 04/11/2023 (distance to the Moon)
...I'll reach 289,000 miles on 12/26/2024 (approx. mileage on my last DD when it died)

[phillip]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

...I'll reach 289,000 miles on 12/26/2024 (approx. mileage on my last DD when it died)

Sounds like somebody is going to have a good Christmas present.

[Dadhawk]

(Mileage updated in OP)

We all get asked this question, and there is even a thread here on this. I did respond on that thread, but thought it was worth repeating here.

One thing I noticed after settling into "normal" life with Olivia (my FR-S) is that my commute seemed to not take as long. It wasn't just a "its more enjoyable" thing, but a clock thing. So, I started paying closer attention. What I found was, it really was taking me less time to get to work.

Here's what I (updated version) of what I posted in the other thread:

"Fast" is a relative term, so I always answer "Yes", because I think it is. There are cars that are faster, there are a lot more cars (including performance cars) that are "slower". If they want more information we discuss my answer and they can agree or disagree, just like folks do on here.

What I've found though is that while I don't drive the FR-S at any higher speed on my daily commute than I did my last DD it takes me less time to get to work. My commute is over 40 miles of lights, on-ramps, off-ramps, curvy roads, and highways. Overall the commute time has changed (reduced) by about 5 to 10 minutes on average.

Why? Because I don't slow down as much, my average speed I believe is higher. That is because of the handling of the car, not the HP.

So, in my daily life it is fast because it gets me where I want to go faster as long as there are not slower cars (even with more HP) in front of me.

That's my story, and I'm sticking with it...

[RYU]

We think alike me and you. It's all about the average speed. You may also attribute this car to being smaller and more agile. It can squeeze into tight spaces relatively drama/stress free. I don't know your traffic conditions or driving style but here in LA I commute up to 45 miles per day. After 3 years of the same route I know that certain lanes in certain sections are faster than others so with a smaller car it should yield more seamless lane transitions merging onto those lanes.

What i'm curious about is, for your typical daily drive, what are your average RPM characteristics like? I'm not saying you're a stop light racer but I'd love to know if you generally stay in the lower rpms (below 4k) or do you find yourself needing to get it up higher more often just to keep up with traffic per say. (My previous S2000 was this way even though we all know that car was fast)

As an example, I currently commute in a TRD supercharged pickup. I hardly ever need to ring it out anymore because there's more torque under the power band. The FRS-BRZ has a slight dip in the powerband around 4k. I'm wondering how noticeable that is in real world commuting situations especially in an AT.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by RYU

We think alike me and you. It's all about the average speed. .

Thanks. I would think this is true whether in a commute or on the race track, something folks seems to not consider as often as they should.

Originally Posted by RYU

You may also attribute this car to being smaller and more agile. It can squeeze into tight spaces relatively drama/stress free. I don't know your traffic conditions or driving style but here in LA I commute up to 45 miles per day. After 3 years of the same route I know that certain lanes in certain sections are faster than others so with a smaller car it should yield more seamless lane transitions merging onto those lanes.

All good points, and yes, I think we all know which lanes to be in when. Most of that hasn't changed for me though, although admittedly its easier to hit my "target changes" in a smaller, more agile car.

Originally Posted by RYU

What i'm curious about is, for your typical daily drive, what are your average RPM characteristics like? I'm not saying you're a stop light racer but I'd love to know if you generally stay in the lower rpms (below 4k) or do you find yourself needing to get it up higher more often just to keep up with traffic per say. (My previous S2000 was this way even though we all know that car was fast)

As an example, I currently commute in a TRD supercharged pickup. I hardly ever need to ring it out anymore because there's more torque under the power band. The FRS-BRZ has a slight dip in the powerband around 4k. I'm wondering how noticeable that is in real world commuting situations especially in an AT.

Most of my commute is well under 4K, and really under 3K 80% of the time. If I go over 4K, its by choice and I usually have to hit the "-" paddle to get there, or drive in Sport/Manual mode.

The AT does a great job of giving you a spirited, but efficient, commute in my opinion.

[ChrisOkc8]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Approaching the end of my first two weeks, I have to say my FR-S is meeting the (relatively realistic) expectations I had for it as a daily commuter.

The gas mileage as recorded in the OP continues to impress at 30.22MPG over 616 miles of mostly Atlanta commuting. That means there is some time at highway speeds, sometimes at city speeds and sometimes at a dead stop. Just to set a benchmark, I did some measurements this morning. It took me 50 minutes to get to work. Of that 50 minutes, a little of over 20 minutes was sitting at a dead stop at lights, behind traffic, etc. This morning was a little unusual as I would say its normally under 15 minutes of dead stop time. Still pretty doggone good.

In two weeks, the FR-S has "saved" me $42.34 in my commute over my previous DD, and that includes allowing for the difference in purchasing Premium vs. Regular fuel. If the FR-S used regular, the price savings would be $56.29.

The only thing I do not miss about Atlanta! The traffic out there is insane.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by ChrisOkc8

The only thing I do not miss about Atlanta! The traffic out there is insane.

Yea, and for some reason I think its a law that no matter where you work, you have to live on the exact diagonal opposite side of the metro area.

[Dadhawk]

Installed the Beat Sonic antenna today. Definitely an improvement, although its a bit larger than I would have wanted it be, out of necessity I realize. Simple install, no issues. Radio sounds just as good, although my commute will tell the tale over the week as I listen to some stations for traffic.

Some before/after photos:

[Dadhawk]

Got a lead on some decent black Exhaust Tips from FoolCyclist and decided I had to have them.

They come from Pep Boys, DC Sports Stealth Series EX-1017B. $30 each. I went with the oval/flattened ones similar to the shape of the US stock tips but they also have full round, and stainless rather than black. See FoolCyclist's thread linked above for links to them.

I took all variations of them (stainless/black and round/oval) and liked the looks of the oval better, but they all look better than the stock ones!

Easy install. You need a 10MM wrench or socket (plenty of room for a short handled socket). One bolt on the bottom of the stock tips. Three bolts on the new tips. Hardest part was centering the new ones "just right". Took less than 10 minutes. Honestly the photos below do not really show how much better they look then the old ones.

Here are some shots of the tips side by side, a shot before, a shot of both stock and new tip on the car, and then a shot of both on the car.

[RYU]

Nice work! Can you share a side profile shot so we can see how much more they stuck out?