WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR BRZ TODAY?

[AnalogMan]

Because of the pandemic, I haven't driven my BRZ very much in the past year (the timing couldn't have been worse, I bought it November 2019).

So, hankering to break the self-imposed house arrest just a little, thanks to vaccinations we decided to take a little trip. Yesterday we drove the BRZ. 7 hours, for a little getaway on the Canadian border (since the Canucks won't let us in).

The first hour was exhilarating. Even just on the highway, it reminded me all over again why I bought and love this car. The second hour was almost as much pure fun.

After the third hour, it started to get a little... tiring. After 7 hours, the noise and jittery ride were a little... much (at least for this 60-something aging body).

I guess sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing. I think future drives will be limited to no more than 3 hours a day. The car is an absolute blast to drive. But it's not the best choice as a highway cruiser for long days.

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

I love long road trips. I did 9ish hours from Salem, OR to Willows, CA to drive at Thunderhill.

I also used to drive from Salem to a place a little east of Sacramento for practice about every 4-6 weeks. About 9ish hours each way too.

[The Red One]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

If the rides were not enjoyable it would get sold real quick!

Bought if in late April 2019 for my 64 th birthday and as a retirement present for myself… put 38k KM on it the first 7 months.
Did my first cross country trip and tried desperately to get lost on the way back.

Last year had knee issues come out of nowhere and could not walk but I still put another 10 Km on it when I could get to it.

Most happy just going nowhere these days and if it takes all day then my day is complete.
It usually takes me an hour to get to some hills that hide the real twisties so I pack a lunch and do a stop to regen.

Just can’t get enough…

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

I've taken numerous day trips (3 to 6 a year) of between 500 and 800 miles round trip with zero issues and 100% enjoyment.

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

Because of the pandemic, I haven't driven my BRZ very much in the past year (the timing couldn't have been worse, I bought it November 2019).

So, hankering to break the self-imposed house arrest just a little, thanks to vaccinations we decided to take a little trip. Yesterday we drove the BRZ. 7 hours, for a little getaway on the Canadian border (since the Canucks won't let us in).

The first hour was exhilarating. Even just on the highway, it reminded me all over again why I bought and love this car. The second hour was almost as much pure fun.

After the third hour, it started to get a little... tiring. After 7 hours, the noise and jittery ride were a little... much (at least for this 60-something aging body).

I guess sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing. I think future drives will be limited to no more than 3 hours a day. The car is an absolute blast to drive. But it's not the best choice as a highway cruiser for long days.

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

Several years ago my wife and I drove ours from very deep South Texas to Arlington, VA - roughly 1800 miles> The plan was to limit mileage to 500 miles a day and with one exception we kept to that. It was a wonderful experience. As far as ride quality goes, I think it's a little less harsh than my wife's Camry SE V6. Sharp edged bumps don't have the "shot to the kidneys" feel that the Camry does.

We stuck to the ' blue highways" whenever possible, went up through central Louisiana into northern MS and Alabama. We took a couple of runs up and down the Dragon and, a little carsickness aside, had a great time. At the time I was 64, I think. My wife a couple of years younger.

The only downside we noticed was road noise. That can wear you down over a longish day, but we stopped every 100 to 200 miles to sightsee or leg stretch and that kept noise fatigue from becoming too much of a problem.

Since then, I've added a substantial amount of sound damping to the rear half of the car and a few 100 - 200 mile hops suggest it's made a difference, If the pandemic allows, we're going to take it up to Seattle, if not this summer, then next. Before that, I'll probably swap the stock struts for Bilstein B6s. They're rumored to take a bit more of the edge off bumps.

[AnalogMan]

Originally Posted by Capt Spaulding

Since then, I've added a substantial amount of sound damping to the rear half of the car and a few 100 - 200 mile hops suggest it's made a difference, If the pandemic allows, we're going to take it up to Seattle, if not this summer, then next. Before that, I'll probably swap the stock struts for Bilstein B6s. They're rumored to take a bit more of the edge off bumps.

How did you add sound dampening? I appreciate that this car isn't meant as a plush highway cruiser and I don't want to turn it into one. But a little less road noise at 70+ mph would go a long way.

Thanks!

[Capt Spaulding]

There's a "how-to" in the DIY section that I used as an inspiration. Basically, I used about 15-20 sq ft. of adhesive butyl sound deadening mat rolled onto the floor of the trunk spare time well, wheel arches, and the inside of the trunk lid. I used a product called Noico. There are a number of other Dynamat clones as well as the original on Amazon. Over that I used a layer of mass loaded vinyl and close cell foam under the trim panels on the sides of the trunk and under the carpet mat covering the trunk floor. It's all easy to find on Amazon.

edit: The guy who did the DIY pulled most of the interior apart along with the doors and insulated all of it. He may have even done the roof. It's always seemed to me most of the noise is coming from the rear wheels, suspension and differential so I focused on that. I'm pretty happy with it. I still have a fair amount of the Noico mat. One of these days I may pull out the rear seats and bring the deadening material up to the rear of the doors.

[soundman98]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

i'm at 50k miles for a car i only drive occasionally on the weekends. in a similar time span, i put about 20k mi on my daily driver...

200-400 miles is no big deal with this car. 1200 starts to get a little tiring

[gen3v8]

I drove mine a 3rd of the way up the east coast of Australia. I took 2 days and it was an effort.

[AnalogMan]

Originally Posted by Capt Spaulding

There's a "how-to" in the DIY section that I used as an inspiration. Basically, I used about 15-20 sq ft. of adhesive butyl sound deadening mat rolled onto the floor of the trunk spare time well, wheel arches, and the inside of the trunk lid. I used a product called Noico. There are a number of other Dynamat clones as well as the original on Amazon. Over that I used a layer of mass loaded vinyl and close cell foam under the trim panels on the sides of the trunk and under the carpet mat covering the trunk floor. It's all easy to find on Amazon.

Thank you! The process you described sounds like it should have a noticeable improvement in noise levels. But all the layers also seem like it could meaningfully reduce trunk space!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

Because of the pandemic, I haven't driven my BRZ very much in the past year (the timing couldn't have been worse, I bought it November 2019).

So, hankering to break the self-imposed house arrest just a little, thanks to vaccinations we decided to take a little trip. Yesterday we drove the BRZ. 7 hours, for a little getaway on the Canadian border (since the Canucks won't let us in).

The first hour was exhilarating. Even just on the highway, it reminded me all over again why I bought and love this car. The second hour was almost as much pure fun.

After the third hour, it started to get a little... tiring. After 7 hours, the noise and jittery ride were a little... much (at least for this 60-something aging body).

I guess sometimes, there can be too much of a good thing. I think future drives will be limited to no more than 3 hours a day. The car is an absolute blast to drive. But it's not the best choice as a highway cruiser for long days.

How about anyone else? What's the longest ride you've taken your car on? And what's the longest ride for which it was honestly enjoyable?

For the first 4 years with the FRS (on lowering springs and TRD exhaust) I spent between 15 and 20 hours a week on the highway. Now I am down to about 6 or 7 with the 86.
Not once was I ever bothered by noise, jarring, seat comfort, etc.
I will add the disclaimer though that for many years I drove very loud military vehicles, straight piped big block V8s, old (50s) cars with all steel interiors or rotted out shit boxes with soup can holding the exhaust together or worn out and outright broken suspensions so the FRS and 86 are like whisper quite, riding on a cloud luxury machines in comparison.
Anybody that thinks these things are noisy or bouncy inside never spent to in a jacked up 67 Dart!

[Capt Spaulding]

Originally Posted by AnalogMan

Thank you! The process you described sounds like it should have a noticeable improvement in noise levels. But all the layers also seem like it could meaningfully reduce trunk space!

I know, right? But the beauty of it is the materials are very thin and overwhelming majority of the volume they take up is in the voids behind the existing trim panels. I used an adhesive backed close cell foam product and attached it to the mass loaded vinyl. The resulting composite is 1/4 inch thick. It fits pretty easily behind the trim. The only measurable loss of trunk volume is the 1/4 inch MLV/CCF panel under the trunk carpet. The 1/4 inch, while measurable is, to me not noticeable.

It does add a bit of weight. I'd guess about 20 pounds in my case. I'm easily 30 pounds over weight - so maybe I'll use this as a reason to lose some weight. Or not.

edit: I didn't want to plug specific products so I didn't put any links (other than the name of the butyl mat) in the post. I you like, I'll be happy to give you those in a PM.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Not once was I ever bothered by noise, jarring, seat comfort, etc.
I will add the disclaimer though that for many years I drove very loud military vehicles, straight piped big block V8s, old (50s) cars with all steel interiors or rotted out shit boxes with soup can holding the exhaust together or worn out and outright broken suspensions so the FRS and 86 are like whisper quite, riding on a cloud luxury machines in comparison.
Anybody that thinks these things are noisy or bouncy inside never spent to in a jacked up 67 Dart!

Yea, the FRS is the quietest car I've ever daily driven.

[Sasquachulator]

Can anyone compare the loudness to a subcompact like a Yaris or compact like a Corolla?

The last time i test drove one of these i think iI was going 80-100km or something around there, and i didnt find it all that much louder than my other car (Honda fit?) at the time. When i get a chance i'll test drive the 2020 86 GT nearby and see for myself.

I never understood the sound complaints, interior quality complaints or the power complaints. IT was all on par with a compact car to me....
does that mean my expectations were too low, just right for this particular car, or i should have expected more because RACECAR!!!?