My FR-S Has Arrived

[Exhaust]

Shes gorgeous congratulations!!!

[LostTHEbeat]

Great looking color in bright sun, or the shade, btw.

[mattles]

Originally Posted by ntaphse

Gave it back? Huh?

Oh, sorry I was not specific enough Im just toooooo excited. I havent signed any papers yet and I officially take delivery friday night, there will be a small party for the delivery of the car at that time.

My thoughts on the car, now that I have had more time to collect them:

The car is too quiet, especially at idle. I can hear the belts over everything else, very toyota-ish.

The car is like a toned-down version of my modified miata, driving them back to back I can make a more direct comparison. I own a 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata, turbo model.
OK here we go:
The clutch travel is nearly double that of the miata, and its springy and soft. It will need a heavier clutch, or atleast some pedal adjustment. While shifting is incredibly precise, the sounds of shifting are much louder than my miata. To specify, I can clearly hear the flywheel chatter, and the PP/clutch/bearings move around and clap together/apart when I go for a quick downshift or upshift.

The steering is fantastic, almost as direct as my power-assisted miata with the modified rack (special equipment on the mazdaspeed model).
Acceleration is obviously lacking, especially below 4k rpms, that will take some getting used to. However, itll rev forever and if I wasnt still in the breakin period I would be really flogging it and having a great time.

Around town: its brilliant over rough patches and gutters/street junctions here in Tempe and Phoenix. Much softer than the miata in this regard, and its still 95% as agile as the Miata. I was weaving in and out of traffic no problem, hit the side streets and whizzed around back lots and it was brilliant.

I have yet to hit the freeway, but I am willing to be it far exceeds the miata on the freeway in terms of noise and comfort.

TL;DR almost as good as a modified Mazdaspeed Miata, just needs some tweaks.

[MannyO]

Congrats!

[civicdrivr]

So jealous.

[mattles]

Forgot to brag, Ive got car #500. Last 5 of VIN is 00500. :P

[terrypm]

Congrats. It looks nice.

[Lonewolf]

Congrats man!

[R_E_L]

congrats and great description of the car itself, enjoy it!

[kyolml]

since you have both MS Miata and the FR-S. If you can ignore all the hype and timing, honestly, which car will you buy if both are new and you can only take one? Just based on the driving.

[86design]

congrats!!!!

[Guff]

Nice, hope they throw you a killer party on Friday! Don't forget to take pics!

[mattles]

Originally Posted by kyolml

since you have both MS Miata and the FR-S. If you can ignore all the hype and timing, honestly, which car will you buy if both are new and you can only take one? Just based on the driving.

This is a brilliant question. If both cars were 100% brand new and I was cross shopping them I would pick the Mazdaspeed Miata everytime, mostly due to the lower weight, turbocharger, and more direct input and feedback from the steering and clutch. The reason I am begrudgingly giving up the Miata in favor of the FR-S is because the FR-S is a better daily, and its polar moment of inertia is unreal due to the low weight and low CoG.

Given a completely stock Miata, I would choose the FR-S over it. However, the addition of a stiffer suspension, heavier clutch, and turbocharger is enough to change the dynamics of the Miata. Im willing to be with the same amount of work the FR-S can be made to go faster and be more fun to drive than my turbo miata anyways.

[Xdragonxb0i]

hey let us know how much your insurance quote