"Underpowered"... compared to...?

[Slartibartfast]

Originally Posted by Asterisked Accolade

I don't think the GT86 is underpowered. I feel it is a bit under-torqued. But all you need is a few aftermarket bolt-ons to liven the car up a bit. And someone like myself would rip out the back seat and stock battery, ect.

Under torqued is probably more correct than under powered (horsepower). Of course one is a function of the other.

As for the OP question: When I have said the car is under powered, I have not been comparing it to anything but itself. I don't care how much power other cars have. I only car about mine.

In many corners, on my drive to work, I find myself at about 5000rpm with my foot to the floor, begging for just a little more power. This car can handle it for sure, without upsetting the balance of the car. 20-30 more horses, and getting rid of the torque dip would be perfect.

[Superhatch]

Originally Posted by whtchocla7e

We pay for the chassis and rwd, they pay for a turbo unit.

You can't have both for $25k.

x1,000,000

There was a thread on another car forum I'm on which asked the eternal question "Would you rather drive a slow car fast, or a fast car slow?" The poll overwhelmingly pointed to people wanting to drive a slower car at it's limits rather than owning a "fast" car but never being able to drive it to it's limits.

I think the twins have plenty of power for the street, and I've had a blast in my BRZ during my few track excursions so far. Would it be fun to impress people in a straight line, sure...but having owned a few of those cars, that gets boring quickly (imo) and the shortfalls of the chassis which have to be made to have a "fast" 25K car end up being harder to overcome than making power.

[7thgear]

most people fail to realize where this car shines

is the car slow compared to other cars 0-100? yes. But, the car can go into a corner and exit a corner much faster (assuming your balls can handle the speed), so when you exit a corner 10-15kph faster than the other guy, that's 10-15kph you don't need to accelerate for because you're already doing it.

furthermore, high horsepower would mean that coming out of corners you wouldn't be able to hammer down and be forced to feather the throttle.

but you only get to do this on the track, because even with the shitty Michelin tires the car has so much grip on the street you'll never test it's limits.

so the true story is that the merits this car has to offer is lost on 99.9999^x12 of the population.

[brichard0625]

Honestly i dont think the car is "UNDERPOWERED" but could a use a little more juice? of course who wouldnt want a little more power. Like ft86speedfactory said toyota and subie know we are going to modd this car, thats why they made everything so accessible. Like toyota and subie said "Sports cars require high performance in all aspects. There are a number of ways of increasing performance, with engine power output probably the most recognisable. Tyres with a high level of grip are also essential. These items can all be modified by customers after they have purchased a car. Yet designing a low centre of gravity body from scratch can only be achieved by the car's manufacturer. And that is what we have done."
Despite all the cars in its class with higher horsepower its still ahead of the competition. So with that being said 200/151 seems to be getting the job done , and theres more power to be achieved if you feel u need it

[ABQautoxer]

Having had some decently fast cars and some cars that had way more handling than power, I personally found its easier to exploit the power in my commute than that handling. That's why for me, a guy that favors handling over power by a large margin, was still tempted to pick something with a bit more power. I've had faster than average cars solidly for years and it was hard to go back on that a bit. Handling doesn't help you merge on the goof intersection of the interstate you have to do everyday that's uphill at 5200ft above sea level and its hard to enjoy the off ramp behind the minivan going under the rated speed for that turn.

[CBR600RR]

Honestly... i think the car 'feels' pretty quick

the car I switched from was a 1997 honda civic DX, Sooo...

But years ago I used to have a CRX with a B18 lifted from an integra GSR, it felt pretty quick too.

Also note: I ride a Honda CBR600RR that I have run 1/4 times as low as 10.8, which is very fast!


in summary - I think the FR-S feels pretty quick

[CBR600RR]

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

20-30 more horses, and getting rid of the torque dip would be perfect.

I agree 100%

and this should be solved for the most part with an intake, catback exhaust and a good tune.

this car is very capable!!! I love it!!!

[empower-auto]

All of us first-year buyers are going to get kicked in the teeth when far better versions are released in the coming year or 2. My fears, sadly, are all but confirmed.

[86'd]

This may sound weird but I think for the street 200hp is overkill.

On the track (especially bigger ones) 200hp is nothing.

So I think it's a matter of perspective.

In an NA Miata I can floor it all day on the streets and have a blast and stay under speed limits, in an 86 I can definitely see getting into more trouble.

Yes, I can see the irony; I do drive a WRX, but really it's a different kind of fun. It may not be "telepathic" but it isn't a slouch and puts up about the same numbers handling-wise as the 86, it just goes about it differently.

[fatoni]

Originally Posted by whtchocla7e

We pay for the chassis and rwd, they pay for a turbo unit.

You can't have both for $25k.

what about the mustang gt?

Originally Posted by Snozzberries

Compare this car to any other in the corners or with the back end out and tell me what it does not beat. The car can hang with Porches on down hills. Lets be real, this car is amazingly engineered and no one cares about how fast you can do the quarter when you are throwing third gear sweepers. No disrespect to you, but I think this whole under powered statement is a cop out. For 25k can you show me another car that can handle and drive like this car?

the cobalt was under that price and will outperform the frs

Originally Posted by 7thgear

most people fail to realize where this car shines

is the car slow compared to other cars 0-100? yes. But, the car can go into a corner and exit a corner much faster (assuming your balls can handle the speed), so when you exit a corner 10-15kph faster than the other guy, that's 10-15kph you don't need to accelerate for because you're already doing it.

furthermore, high horsepower would mean that coming out of corners you wouldn't be able to hammer down and be forced to feather the throttle.

but you only get to do this on the track, because even with the shitty Michelin tires the car has so much grip on the street you'll never test it's limits.

so the true story is that the merits this car has to offer is lost on 99.9999^x12 of the population.

again, i doubt this thing will have the exit speeds that much faster than the cobalt or many other performance cars.

not being able to smash the throttle isnt really a good thing if you think about it.

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by fatoni

again, i doubt this thing will have the exit speeds that much faster than the cobalt or many other performance cars.

do you know about this thing called physics?


the biggest issue with measuring exit speeds is that skill requirements go up exponentially for every additional kilometer

it doesn't take much to look at any form of SPEC racing and realize the huge gap of skill and ability that exists in such a small sample of drivers.

but since no one is ever going to admit that they are a bad driver, they will simply blame their car or praise the car of their competitor

[Shizuma]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

most people fail to realize where this car shines

is the car slow compared to other cars 0-100? yes. But, the car can go into a corner and exit a corner much faster (assuming your balls can handle the speed), so when you exit a corner 10-15kph faster than the other guy, that's 10-15kph you don't need to accelerate for because you're already doing it.

furthermore, high horsepower would mean that coming out of corners you wouldn't be able to hammer down and be forced to feather the throttle.

I think people vastly overestimate the handing of this car compared with other cars, sure it handles great for a small little cheap sports car, but in reality a 4200+ pound Dodge Challenger R/T is just as fast around the curves and a figure 8 as the 86, and with almost double the horsepower and almost triple the torque for not that much more money.

[7thgear]

Originally Posted by Shizuma

I think people vastly overestimate the handing of this car compared with other cars, sure it handles great for a small like cheap sports car, but in reality a 4200+ pound Dodge Challenger is just as fast around the curves and a figure 8 as the 86, and with almost double the horsepower and almost triple the torque.

haha okay.

so in your reality dodge challengers should be winning all the autocross competitions across the nation.

what's your track history?

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by whtchocla7e

We pay for the chassis and rwd, they pay for a turbo unit.

You can't have both for $25k.

Originally Posted by fatoni

what about the mustang gt?

No turbo.