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Old 01-14-2016, 07:28 PM   #1723
D88
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I'm on my 3rd winter with my FR-S and while I've been making it through each one, the car clearly has a number of short comings when it comes to winter driving.
  • It's too low. Even at stock height, I hit a lot of chunks of ice and snow that most other cars breeze over. I don't even want to look at the condition of the underside of my front bumper. It's also sketchy as fuck when you're in a blizzard on the highway with trucks tailgating you and speeding past you.
  • It's too light. The car is squirrely almost all the time when there is snow and ice on the road. It's also a bitch to get going from a stop especially when starting off on an incline.
  • RWD does make it more challenging to stay in control despite what others might say. This, again, could be related to the lightness of the car but sometimes I just get tired of having to be constantly aware that the rear end might swing into the lane beside me when I take a corner. I don't even have to be going very fast for this to happen.

Now would I change any of these things about the car? No, definitely not! They just make it a little more interesting each winter but I can tell you that if I had a second vehicle with AWD or 4WD, I would rather be driving that over the winter.
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Old 01-14-2016, 08:20 PM   #1724
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I drove mine out to Van, it was a blast to drive through the mountains, cornering is nuts on these cars. That was when I was on stock suspension too. Planning to get take it out again this summer.

I don't DD it in the winter though, that's what my beater is for. But I know a bunch of people that do and they don't seem to have much issue.
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Old 01-14-2016, 10:05 PM   #1725
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I drove mine out to Van, it was a blast to drive through the mountains, cornering is nuts on these cars. That was when I was on stock suspension too. Planning to get take it out again this summer.

I don't DD it in the winter though, that's what my beater is for. But I know a bunch of people that do and they don't seem to have much issue.
This x100.

Of all my cars, this is by far my favourite and I'm not one bit tired of it. This is one car I never want to get rid of!
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Old 01-14-2016, 10:43 PM   #1726
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This x100.

Of all my cars, this is by far my favourite and I'm not one bit tired of it. This is one car I never want to get rid of!
I'm tired of the power levels
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Old 01-15-2016, 09:50 AM   #1727
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I'm tired of the power levels
I totally get it - it is a little underpowered (subjective) but it's still a damn fun car to drive. I'm still content with the power right now so I'm in no hurry to boost it... Plus I still don't even have 20,000km on it yet lol.
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Old 01-15-2016, 10:43 AM   #1728
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I am hoping to find a realistic owner who can let me know if the FRS/BRZ makes a good daily driver in Calgary. I have owned a number of RWD cars in the past (S2000, Z4, M3) with a small number of winter driving issues, but since then my lifestyle, needs and wants have changed.

I am currently in a BMW and have been driving BMW's for the past 10 years, prior to BMW ownership I was a Toyota owner and loved the cars.

Trying to reduce costs in the poor Calgary market and I don't want to find a part time job to keep the BMW.
I've had my mine for about a year and a half... on my 2nd winter with it. It's my daily driver and, like you, have only had RWD cars all my life. (and only manual transmission)

Now that I've had it for a while, I can give you my 2 cents on it.
This is a driver's car. If you enjoy driving, then this is the car to get. If you're all about romping it at the lights or straights, then forget it... get yourself a Charger or something. This car is for people who appreciate balance and cornering. I love that it's so light, which reminds a lot of my old AE86 (obviously). My 2 previous cars before this was an E36 and E46 (both 3-series), and I find they are just too heavy to enjoy.
My biggest complaint about this car is its size. It's so damn small, don't expect to drive more than one person at any time. Also, because of its design, shoulder checking and rear view is very limited at times. I recently installed a backup camera to alleviate the annoyance of having to back up at night (I have tinted windows as well).
The shifter is a bit clunky for my taste. Shift linkage was a non-issue in the BMWs, as they are smooth and sure. Going to the FRS/BRZ, I'm quickly reminded of the clunkiness that is old Japanese cars from the 80s and 90s. Also, my second gear grinds A LOT.. it's a common problem with some of these models (but not all).
The pedals are nice, but the space between the brake and gas is slightly farther apart than on BMWs. As a result, toe-heel during medium speed and braking is a bit harder to do. However, fast/hard braking toe-heel is fine cuz you're much deeper on the pedal.

As for winter... make sure you have a decent set of winter rubber on. And here's a pro-tip... put two 45lb gym weights in your trunk. I velcro mine, so they don't shift around. Doing so will be a night and day driving experience! The added traction and weight is a huge improvement to stock!

In short, yeah, this car is pretty great. But if you're all about straight line speed and impressing your guy friends on its (non-existent) power, then get something else.

Feel free to PM me, if you want me to expand on any other details of this car and its daily driving experience.
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Old 01-16-2016, 02:00 PM   #1729
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Pro tip, dump the clutch at 7k rpm.
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Old 01-17-2016, 12:41 AM   #1730
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does anyone have recommendations on where to go to get rear and quarter panel windows tinted in calgary? i don't want any of that bubbled purple crap.
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Old 01-17-2016, 01:58 AM   #1731
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Tint Master in da hood.
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Old 01-17-2016, 06:36 PM   #1732
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does anyone have recommendations on where to go to get rear and quarter panel windows tinted in calgary? i don't want any of that bubbled purple crap.
Tint Tech - Curtis has done 2 cars for me and I've been really happy with the results.
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Old 01-18-2016, 08:51 AM   #1733
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Here's my take on the BRZ:

The shifter sucks.
The general build quality sucks.
The Torsen diff sucks on slippery surfaces.
The engine is pretty bland and un-charismatic.
The handling is good but feedback is average in my opinion.
It wins auto x races in STX if you drive well.
It's quite boring to daily drive unless your daily drive involves a lot of corners.
Even with boost the car isn't extremely fast or torquey, but it does sound cool with the right exhaust setup.
Parts are generally pretty cheap for modifications.
I was never completely happy with mine, a lot of it fell down to the build quality and service I received for my very first warranty claim on my car (49km on the odometer).
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Old 01-18-2016, 12:18 PM   #1734
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Here's my take on the BRZ:

The shifter sucks.
The general build quality sucks.
The Torsen diff sucks on slippery surfaces.
The engine is pretty bland and un-charismatic.
The handling is good but feedback is average in my opinion.
It wins auto x races in STX if you drive well.
It's quite boring to daily drive unless your daily drive involves a lot of corners.
Even with boost the car isn't extremely fast or torquey, but it does sound cool with the right exhaust setup.
Parts are generally pretty cheap for modifications.
I was never completely happy with mine, a lot of it fell down to the build quality and service I received for my very first warranty claim on my car (49km on the odometer).
Out of curiosity, what does a car have to be like for you to classify it as a good/fun daily driver?
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Old 01-18-2016, 12:50 PM   #1735
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Out of curiosity, what does a car have to be like for you to classify it as a good/fun daily driver?
That is completely debatable. More torque could make daily driving more fun in the case of the twins, or making the engine more charismatic. My S2000 isn't torquey or fast and if anything less driveable in the city then the BRZ but its still more fun to drive daily due to the engine and exhaust setup. The S2000 is still a terrible daily driver but the fun factor is better then the BRZ was in my opinion. On the other end of the scale my BMW 135i I had before the BRZ was lots of fun to daily drive and was quite fast with a tune, but as soon as I hit some corners or had to put power down anywhere but a straight line it left a lot to desire and became more of a chore to drive. My ATS is an alright daily driver partially due to my situation, I spend lots of time in traffic on Crowchild in rush hour so the auto is nice, the AWD is still fun (not quite Subaru fun) in the snow and out on Ghost lake, and the turbo engine moves it along relatively fast. If my commute was say...out of town up the Norquay access road kinda deal everyday you better believe I would be driving the S2000 daily or something else like the BRZ/S2000/Miata/E46 M3/etc etc etc.

A lot of comes down to each person's situation and their main driving, if I lived on the highway and did even more mileage then I do now i'd be in a diesel VW most likely.
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Old 01-18-2016, 05:21 PM   #1736
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Tint Tech - Curtis has done 2 cars for me and I've been really happy with the results.
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