Subaru Testing a BRZ with STI Badging and a Big Wing

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by Vides990

They didn't have any real info yet just like the rest of us but know they should get 2-3, I'm basically just first on the reserve list and have dibs. Their guess was Sept-Nov for ordering time.

Ok, that makes sense. Not a real reservation but a call list. Cool! Hope it goes well.

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Unless they change to high cost materials it will never get lighter than when first released.

You telling me steel and aluminum alloy technologies are indefinitely stagnated and that the raw materials ain't from China?

No wonder new Fords are so fucking expensive that they have to offer voluntary severance packages to 15000 positions.

[navanodd]

Originally Posted by krayzie

You telling me steel and aluminum alloy technologies are indefinitely stagnated and that the raw materials ain't from China?

No wonder new Fords are so fucking expensive that they have to offer voluntary severance packages to 15000 positions.

This car already has a fairly advanced high strength steel structure. Aside from a few panels that aren't stressed as part of the unibody structure, there aren't a lot of opportunities for weight savings without major added cost.

Honestly though, not much materials development is going on for typical steel or aluminum. Fluctuating economics would have more impact than new engineering development.

Jump up to the Supra price point, and you have some better weight savings options. For the BRZ platform, the best I could realistically see happening is a stripped out version without backseats and a bunch of removed amenities.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by krayzie

You telling me steel and aluminum alloy technologies are indefinitely stagnated and that the raw materials ain't from China?

No wonder new Fords are so fucking expensive that they have to offer voluntary severance packages to 15000 positions.

I am not sure how much they could gain in this area. I also believe that exotic materials would be needed and again it would not be optimal or the weight gains minimal.

I was considering in the past to buy a certain high quality single pipe titanium exhaust. I could gain maybe thirty pounds, but then I would afraid to get dirty in real roads and scratch or break completely the exhaust. With single pipe exhausts there is less road clearance.

The same if I was changing the seats with very expensive Carbon Fiber seats. They would look nice, but I would lose the side airbags and have less safety on side collisions. Besides, even if I would have a very light seat, the seat rails and console would still be very stiff and heavy to withheld a collision.

I also bet that the Carbon Fiber roof of the STI type RA car gives minimal gains. Maybe ten pounds? The ordinary roof is already light, because the stiffness comes from the roof rails and not from the roof itself. So, basically the carbon roof is more for the looks.

[DSOmegaX]

[Quentin]

I'm a sucker for cherry blossom red.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[why?]

Originally Posted by nikitopo

I am not sure how much they could gain in this area. I also believe that exotic materials would be needed and again it would not be optimal or the weight gains minimal.

I was considering in the past to buy a certain high quality single pipe titanium exhaust. I could gain maybe thirty pounds, but then I would afraid to get dirty in real roads and scratch or break completely the exhaust. With single pipe exhausts there is less road clearance.

The same if I was changing the seats with very expensive Carbon Fiber seats. They would look nice, but I would lose the side airbags and have less safety on side collisions. Besides, even if I would have a very light seat, the seat rails and console would still be very stiff and heavy to withheld a collision.

I also bet that the Carbon Fiber roof of the STI type RA car gives minimal gains. Maybe ten pounds? The ordinary roof is already light, because the stiffness comes from the roof rails and not from the roof itself. So, basically the carbon roof is more for the looks.

That's where I disagree. Every ten pounds add up. Lighter weight is always optimal, no matter how it is lightened. You remove 10 pounds enough times you are going to get a good chunk of weight loss. The Griffon concept proved that.

[DSOmegaX]

Originally Posted by why?

That's where I disagree. Every ten pounds add up. Lighter weight is always optimal, no matter how it is lightened. You remove 10 pounds enough times you are going to get a good chunk of weight loss. The Griffon concept proved that.

^this. This is also Mazda' philosophy with the Miata. Obsessive to the point of being able to shave a few grams from the rear view mirror, but saving just a tiny amount weight here and there allows the ND to be 150lbs less than the last gen car and essentially equal to the weight of the first gen.

[nikitopo]

Originally Posted by why?

That's where I disagree. Every ten pounds add up. Lighter weight is always optimal, no matter how it is lightened. You remove 10 pounds enough times you are going to get a good chunk of weight loss. The Griffon concept proved that.

I have already a 130 lbs. lighter car with a few cost effective solutions and small sacrifices. It is just that after some point you hit a wall. I guess it is also related with how much you are willing to pay and how far you want to go. Personally, I wouldn't give for example $5,000 to remove just 40 lbs. and have a less safe car. This was the cost for the carbon fiber seats.

Similar if I was starting stripping out internal panels, rear seats etc. It would not be an option for me, or in general for a road focused car.

Originally Posted by why?

^this. This is also Mazda' philosophy with the Miata. Obsessive to the point of being able to shave a few grams from the rear view mirror, but saving just a tiny amount weight here and there allows the ND to be 150lbs less than the last gen car and essentially equal to the weight of the first gen.

I think that Toyota/Subaru made this exercise already. Maybe they could gain a bit more, but I wouldn't expect something massive.

[Side]

Originally Posted by DSOmegaX

Awesome! Do you have any pictures of the interior?

[fourdegrees]

Please! More pictures!

[nikitopo]

Very nice car and already lower. Nice!

[norcalpb]

Red seats it looks like? Also that worries me how tilted the headrest is. Looks like our stock seats compared to the Recaro Sportser CS seats.

[jbsali]

Originally Posted by Side

Awesome! Do you have any pictures of the interior?

Originally Posted by norcalpb

Red seats it looks like? Also that worries me how tilted the headrest is. Looks like our stock seats compared to the Recaro Sportser CS seats.

I'm almost 100% positive that the Stock Seats will be used for this model. Seat colour looks like an off red/burgandy similar to the interior colour used in the WRX STI. I couldn't imagine them using the Recaros because they went through the efforts of embroidering "tS" onto the seats for the 2018 BRZ tS (According to Subaru NA). Based on the 2016+ models, the have "BRZ" embroidered on the seats now too. I can't see them using the Recaros and embroidering "tS" onto them; too costly IMO.