Considering the BRZ as a second car?

[COBlue]

@Pilot1226 I'm in a somewhat similar situation - Honda Pilot and Toyota Matrix as practical vehicles the last decade +. Eldest is getting his license so got my mid-life crisis BRZ as my fun/daily driver and loving it. A kick to drive and surprisingly practical. Haven't driven a stick in 25 years but it's like riding a bike (albeit still a pain in bumper to bumper). Clutch was pretty stiff/notchy first 500 miles but has settled in nicely, my 15yo does fine with it with only a couple practice drives. Back seats are small, but work for short drives with 12 & 15 yrs back there (they beg to take the BRZ any time we're going anywhere). (But NOT for car seats, so might not work for you.) Fold the seats down and it's a great car even for hauling stuff. Trun opening is a little small, but works for me for Sam's Club runs and even my 29er mountain bike!!

[Pilot1226]

Originally Posted by COBlue

@Pilot1226 I'm in a somewhat similar situation - Honda Pilot and Toyota Matrix as practical vehicles the last decade +. Eldest is getting his license so got my mid-life crisis BRZ as my fun/daily driver and loving it. A kick to drive and surprisingly practical. Haven't driven a stick in 25 years but it's like riding a bike (albeit still a pain in bumper to bumper). Clutch was pretty stiff/notchy first 500 miles but has settled in nicely, my 15yo does fine with it with only a couple practice drives. Back seats are small, but work for short drives with 12 & 15 yrs back there (they beg to take the BRZ any time we're going anywhere). (But NOT for car seats, so might not work for you.) Fold the seats down and it's a great car even for hauling stuff. Trun opening is a little small, but works for me for Sam's Club runs and even my 29er mountain bike!!

That’s cool. Thanks. I love the real world comparisons.

I wonder if all four tires would fit in the trunk after a swap or if I’d have to make multiple trips to the tire shop...

Again if anyone knows a way to clone tpms sensors that would be appreciated.

[ermax]

Originally Posted by Pilot1226

That’s cool. Thanks. I love the real world comparisons.

I wonder if all four tires would fit in the trunk after a swap or if I’d have to make multiple trips to the tire shop...

Again if anyone knows a way to clone tpms sensors that would be appreciated.

If you fold down the seats 4 tires fit nicely on top. Well two in the tunk, two on top.

Found a pic:



Hahaha, found this image of 8 tires in the FRS:

[HimBRZ]

Trunk was designed to accommodate set of wheel/tire's for track days. I've done it for new tire installs.

[StanBo]

Hello @Pilot1226 from another local.

I am in the same boat but with older kids. Mine are teenagers.

When our kids were in your age group my wife and I got WRXs. This opened the door for either of us to get the kids in a pinch if we needed.

If you have a four seater then you should be fine. As a parent it sounds like you truly have to figure out where is the furthest the kids will be from home where they might have to be in the back of the BRZ.

Right now my kids are pretty close to home.

I daily a 2010 tacoma crew cab. My wife has a civic sedan.

So I could take the miata or brz to work and rush home to get the kids if needed.

If you could live with the fast dip home and get to the kids then the car could be made to work. It is all about the discomfort vs fun (and oh it is fun).

There must be BRZ/86 meets in NJ that you could head out to, to see what is going on with the cars.

If you want to check out mine give me a PM.

I will tell you that after a 10min drive we were sold on the car. Dealerships let you test drive without a salesman so you can put the car thru a slight pace. I bought the car we test drove as it was still in plastic wrap and had 8 miles on the clock.

Also food for thought. I walked into my local subaru dealer and got a price for a car on their lot 4 years ago. Adulting kept me from purchasing one for all that time. I am glad I waited.

[StanBo]

Originally Posted by Pilot1226

That’s cool. Thanks. I love the real world comparisons.

I wonder if all four tires would fit in the trunk after a swap or if I’d have to make multiple trips to the tire shop...

Again if anyone knows a way to clone tpms sensors that would be appreciated.

When I swapped my OEM wheels out of the tacoma I considered running a tool like this:

https://www.tirerack.com/tpms/detail...&cat=TPMS+Tool

I would then have a set of TPMS in a summer wheel and another in a set of winter wheels.

I am a member of tacomaworld and found another solution there. I run old school valves on my wheels and monitor my tire pressure manually. My programmed TPMS sensors live in a pvc enclosure that is pressurized to satisfy the computer in the bed of my truck. I re pressurize it twice a year?

If and when I do run two sets of wheels on this car I will do it correct with a tool that can reprogram my ecu to the current sensor and wheel combo.

[Xxyion]

Hey @Pilot1226

I know a lot of people have put in their opinions but i figured i'd add mine as well. My BRZ is my second car. It's not my daily. In the past 6 months i've only put on maybe 500 miles in it. It's my weekend fun/project car. My DD is a Focus ST. While i do not have kids, i am in a band so the need for trunk space was there.

I've driven MT all my life, i've only ever owned one car (and only for 6 months) that was an AT. I found the BRZ to be one of the easier MT's to have driven on. The clutch while grabs high, is very forgiving and you can give it a good amount of play and slip in really low speed situations that you are always under control. The shifter can be a bit notchy (i prefer it) however its nothing that some shifter bushings cant fix and thats a 20$ part.

The BRZ is surprisingly a lot more practical than i thought when i first got the car. It can easily fit 4 wheels with tires mounted on them with the seats down. I'm able to actually put most of my music gear in the back (exception the amps and cabs) and the gas mileage is fantastic. I wouldnt worry about "not driving it enough". I say this because this car is one of those that you really learn to appreciate when you dont get to drive it. Because it is my weekend car, the few times a week i get to take it out i fall in love over and over again. And ive had the car almost two years now.

What i love about the BRZ, is that you get that light sportscar feel (like an S2000 or Miata) but with a bit more practicality. For me, its the perfect second car for the weekend. Hope this helps.

[OfficeWorker]

My overall feeling is that if you buy the car, you will probably love it, and you will probably find yourself driving it more than you expect because of how enjoyable the experience is.

I've only had my BRZ for about two months and 3,500 miles, so I am a newer owner in this world. I found myself in a practicality debate. The BRZ is my only car, it was not a practical choice at all for me, it's not the cheapest car to insure/feed/maintain (e.g., premium gas, higher insurance rates than econoboxes), and I do not regret it one bit. The 2017- is worth considering IMO for the revamped style and interior. If you think you ever will use CarPlay, or if you like using infotainment systems, the 2017 infotainment system is absolutely abysmal (the 2018 is revamped)...but the car, as a whole, is just spectacular. I personally feel that a new car is usually the best way to go.

Is the clutch hard to learn? Is it forgiving?
IMO, it is pretty easy to drive this car in stick - especially compared to AWD manual cars I have driven. This car seems to like shifting when colder less than other manual cars I have driven. The weight of the clutch compared to other cars I have driven seems to be somewhat in the middle of things - not insanely heavy and not insanely light. The amount of 'travel' where the clutch and flywheel initially and fully "meet" is not terribly short either (forgive my lack of correct technical terminology here.) I had not driven manual for about a decade so I went to test drive the BRZ on a day/time when there was minimal traffic on the road. I did not stall the BRZ when test driving it for the first time. I stalled the crap out of the STI.

Should I consider another brand?
I would recommend also test driving the WRX and WRX STI - especially because these two cars have the potential to be your daily drivers 100% of the time, where as with BRZ you will likely have to commit to owning two cars (e.g., you should like the BRZ enough over the WRX to make this financial/logistical commitment.) I drove both. They are neat cars. They are a crap ton faster than the BRZ in a straight line. I liked the driving experience (and the interior) of the BRZ so much more I was OK sacrificing the practicality of AWD, usable back seats, two rear doors, and a larger trunk. It may also be worth pricing up insurance between the said models of BRZ + Outback vs WRX vs WRX-STI? (also, it may be worth pricing the 86 as the BRZ vs. 86 as I learned that insurance prices between the two can differ dramatically.)

Are there any special maintenance or preventative maintenance things to watch out for?
Paint - it's delicate. If you are anal about paint, factoring in the price of one or more of several methods of paint correction and protection may be worthwhile, especially since some of these you ideally want to perform/have performed when the car is as new as possible before it incurs the normal impact damage that comes from driving. Depending on how much you do yourself, and what specifically you do, this can get lengthy and/or expensive. If you keep your 2011, and you purchase one of the BRZ's with the LED headlights, you might find it harder to drive a car with halogens at night and especially at night when raining - at least I do. If your 2011 does not have HIDs, you might find yourself buying the projectors/HID kit...

Thoughts on changing the summer performance tires to an all-season tire?
I'm arguably in the minority in that I like quality ultra-high performance all-seasons for general street usage. I changed the OEM summer touring tires to the Pilot Sport A/S 3+ after a thousand miles as I felt the OEM tires lacked in dry, and in cold + wet, I felt they bordered on hazardous. I like the A/S 3+ a lot, and they are arguably one of the better UHP AS' - they do well in minor/moderate snow, which might or might not be sufficient for your area. For days when it is bitterly cold (without snow), they still maintain good performance, and I wanted a tire that I can drive hard during the 5+ months when the winters aren't so severe that they necessitate a true winter tire, but are too cold for summer tires.) While the A/S 3+ is a tremendous improvement over the bottlenecking that all-seasons have developed a reputation for, they certainly still entail tradeoffs over well-rated summer performance tires (the OEM Primacy does not fit that criteria IMO.) A lot of people on this forum strongly prefer dedicated max/extreme performance summer tires/wheels matched with dedicated winter tires/wheels. (Note that the BRZ tS has dramatically better summer tires than the other BRZ models, which use the summer-only touring tire.)

[Willpower]

It makes a GREAT second car. Drive one and if you like the experience, get it and don’t look back. Life is too short to drive appliances only.

[g e]

Get a Honda Civic "R"

[olsonpg]

Originally Posted by g e

Get a Honda Civic "R"

[Rai-zero]

I’m contemplating to get a BRZ as a second car and to keep my Legacy wagon for more winter and bad weather driving.

I sold my S2000 and the BRZ seems to satisfy that missing fun to drive while having way more room and practicality.

[DarkSunrise]

Why not just trade the Outback for a WRX with manual? That way you'd be able to drive your "fun" car on a daily basis. Would get rid of the registration/insurance costs on a 2nd car and de-clutter your driveway/garage. Also seems the WRX would fit your requirements better. It can take the kids when necessary and is great in the snow.

Not saying the BRZ is wrong in your situation, but at least on paper the WRX seems to make more sense.

Just my 2c (from someone who used to own an STI).

[ShansBRZ]

I was in the market for a new truck and while I was looking I saw a video for the BRZ. I then decided I would keep my current truck for winter and Home Depot type runs and get a sporty car to curb my mid life crisis. Lol. I looked at a lot of 40k and below cars and kept coming back to the BRZ. I even looked at the wrx STI. I test drove the BRZ after finally finding one at a dealer and took it home the next day. It’s supposed to be my second car but I find myself driving it more than my daily driver. All of my kids are grown so it’s just me and thenwife and dogs but it works great as my “second” car. It had been over 20 years for my driving a stick on a regular bases and it was real easy to pick up on the BRZ with only 2 green light stalls since buying it a month and a half ago. I have put 1,500 miles on it and countless mods already and it makes me smile every time I drive it.