Any Proper Reviews of 22' against comp on back roads/outside the track?

[Echosect]

Hey all, So as we know.. this is not built as a straight line car. Yes, You can modify it to your hearts content and turn it into a supercharged bagged straight line snow plow with rainbow LED's complete with it's own instagram and social media accounts if you wanted, But..

What about the buyers who may not be going that route? What about those who are going to be modifying and building to improve on it as a back road mountain/canyon/hill climb car? The reviews and informational videos seem focus on stance, Aesthetic, sacrificing practicality and purpose for gains and straight line rolls.. Yes there are track videos and builds but that's still not going to show me how the car holds up on the tight and twisty back roads against competition. Imo a lot of the " 22 vs [insert car here] " reviews are just unfair and placing the car in situations EVERYONE knows the car was not designed for.

Anyone out there have the time and resources to show the car competing against others on twisty back mountain/canyon roads? Like a proper reviews of the car in it's element outside the track?

[C R]

Have you watched Matt Farah from The Smoking Tire's review? The fact is that very few of us got access to proper twisty roads. I'm in the middle of Texas and it's super flat around here, some decent corners down at the Three Twisted Sisters, but the pavement is crap. This is why I make a yearly trip to the Tail of the Dragon in NC/TN and sometimes California.

I actually bought the BRZ because I was scheduled to go to Germany and I was going to be just two hours away from the Nurburgring, but it didn't work out at the end. Even though the 'ring is a world-famous track, it's basically a toll road that most days you can pay ~$30 and go drive it.

[Spuds]

Go check out gen1 comparisons and any time someone mentions power or torque put your fingers in your ears.

[MMoore4545]

Originally Posted by Echosect

Hey all, So as we know.. this is not built as a straight line car. Yes, You can modify it to your hearts content and turn it into a supercharged bagged straight line snow plow with rainbow LED's complete with it's own instagram and social media accounts if you wanted, But..

What about the buyers who may not be going that route? What about those who are going to be modifying and building to improve on it as a back road mountain/canyon/hill climb car? The reviews and informational videos seem focus on stance, Aesthetic, sacrificing practicality and purpose for gains and straight line rolls.. Yes there are track videos and builds but that's still not going to show me how the car holds up on the tight and twisty back roads against competition. Imo a lot of the " 22 vs [insert car here] " reviews are just unfair and placing the car in situations EVERYONE knows the car was not designed for.

Anyone out there have the time and resources to show the car competing against others on twisty back mountain/canyon roads? Like a proper reviews of the car in it's element outside the track?

Hello from the Western North Carolina/Tennessee/etc Mountains. About an hour from Deals Gap/Tail of dragon and lots of other rad roads.

Unfortunately the roads here are too cold for good tires and too dirty from rain and snow run off.

I had a 2016 that I had as a daily, only real performance mod was a set of toyo proxies r1r in stock sizing. (Also had a kartboy short shifter and mishimoto thermostatic oil cooler).

I have a 2022 BRZ Manual Limited. Currently on 215/40r18 Continental DWS 06 Plus. I've got a set of 17's in the garage with 245/40 yoko a053 for when it warms up and autocross season starts.


What competitors are you curious about?

[Midnightsky]

Really hoping a few people do rally builds right away on the 22+ twins. The 1st gens made amazing rally cars from what I've heard. I will definitely be doing some autocross this summer and will report back with initial impressions.

[Echosect]

Originally Posted by Midnightsky

Really hoping a few people do rally builds right away on the 22+ twins. The 1st gens made amazing rally cars from what I've heard. I will definitely be doing some autocross this summer and will report back with initial impressions.

I live in NE PA. No flat/straight lenghty roads here, All rollings hills and tight twisty back mountain roads. Even the cities are all hills, save for two or three avenues along the rivers. Highways are all hills and turns as well. Aside from the seasons it's a ideal environment for drivers/mountain cars.

slamming, lowering for stance etc is not really practiced around here it's not common. Just not practical as you'll just destroy it, if you do it's mostly just for show and you trailer it to a meet.

The car culture around here is mostly rally, hill climb/mountain track and motorsports, A reflection of the areas environment... the street car culture exists but it's a little different from the meets with stanced and lowered car's you expect from other areas. Here you'll find modded cars you would usually see stanced out running near stock height fitted for the hills, Rally miatas/rally sports, RWD swapped grand ams (seriously), and ratrods etc. Lot of backyard mechanic stuff.

Thats why im asking for any information regarding building and improving on the cars purpose as a mountain car, mods that do not sacrifice practicality for that type of environment. The majority of the information coming out is focused on stance, aesthetic and while there are track builds that still involves lowering and and modifications that may not be the best in the using in the wild open roads.

Here is the local STPR rally track, I'd like to point out that most of the roads here.. while paved, Are no different than the rally tracks. It's just how the roads are built through the rolling hills and mountains. So even as a daily, Your car is handling these conditions usually with a speed limit of 45-55.

Start the video at 13:25

[Echosect]

Originally Posted by MMoore4545

What competitors are you curious about?

Just about anything really, I'd want see how well it's near stock form holds up on the back mountain roads against the Civic Si's and other cars people are putting them against on the straight/rolls... only to follow up with" it's slooowww "

I'd love to see them take on the twins on a twisty mountain road and get some honest comparisons, reviews and footage of how the car performs and against the cars they are putting it up against on the straight, except in the environments the cars design was focused on.

[Echosect]

Originally Posted by Midnightsky

The 1st gens made amazing rally cars from what I've heard.

You are not wrong.

[AK2112]

Originally Posted by Echosect

Just about anything really, I'd want see how well it's near stock form holds up on the back mountain roads against the Civic Si's and other cars people are putting them against on the straight/rolls... only to follow up with" it's slooowww "

I'd love to see them take on the twins on a twisty mountain road and get some honest comparisons, reviews and footage of how the car performs and against the cars they are putting it up against on the straight, except in the environments the cars design was focused on.

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...-gti-compared/

[Desertnate]

Everyday Driver S10E2 was a 22 GR86 vs an ND2 Miata RF. The episode aired on the Motor Trend TV channel and should be on YouTube and Amazon Prime soon if you can't catch a rerun or don't have a "traditional" TV service.

Both hosts chose the GR86 over the Miata. Rarely do they unanimously agree, but they did in this case. They liked both, but enjoyed the GR86 more.

They do their reviews on mountain roads in Utah, Colorado, or California. Nothing on track, so it's helpful.

[Interceptor777]

I live in the DMV area and have plenty of access to some very fun roads which I visit quite often during morning hours.

My only point of comparison is my 1999 Miata which I specifically built for backroads and autocross. It's got Tein coilovers all around, sway bars (a lot stiffer in rear), flyin miata alignment numbers, chassis and fender braces, roll bar, Hawk HP pads all around and 15x9 Konig wheels with fat Toyo R1R 225/45r15 all around. It's also motor swapped with a VVT motor from a 2001 Miata, tuned bymyself on a standalone ECU (Speeduino) with a lightweight flywheel. Dyno'd 150whp@7500rpm ish.

My BRZ has fortune auto 500's and a stock-ish alignment with some added front camber. Everything else is stock including the Pilot sports.

The BRZ loses a little bit of that sense of agility that the Miata has, this is of course because of the added weight and wheelbase. I feel that when transitioning from a tight left into a tight right, the car takes a bit longer to get on the same page as me and start turning as a whole. It's very minor but noticeabe.

I know the tire setups are not equivalent at all so I won't address grip much here. I know the BRZ feels and is way more capable than the Miata, but the Miata has more grip because of the tires. I'm sure the BRZ will produce way more grip on an equivalent tire setup.

The BRZ feels a lot better to me on turn in. It's a lot sharper and quicker to place. This could also be because of the rather toast suspension bushings in my MIata (something which I need to address).

Once the Miata is turned in though, I've found it has an amazing balance of power to grip and I can easily rotate the rear of the car mid corner with throttle without the car stepping out on me. The BRZ also behaves this way but because of less grip and a lot more power, you need to be very very careful on the throttle if you intend on using it mid corner. I struggled with this as I have a heavy lead foot coming from a "slow" car.

I have to admit. even with all of the modification and improvements I've made to my Miata, the stock BRZ is on another level. The Miata is a scary car at the limit and while it has a lot of grip, with my setup, it bites back hard if you go over the limits. The BRZ feels a lot safer and doesn't bite back as hard when you do stupid shit.

Also on throttle response, I know the BRZ is good by modern standards, but my god does it feel like a dog against a cable throttle and lightweight flywheel. Not complaining as it's not fair but just something to note.

This was just a quick review from me, keep in mind I'm just some dude and not a professional driver or anything. Just speaking what came to my mind comparing both cars.

[soundman98]

if most of the professional reviewers call the car "lacking torque", or "slow", aren't those honest reviews?

i can't shake the feeling i get, like you're reaching for someone else to tell the class the answer you've already decided on because you're not happy with the big shot youtubers answer to the same question.

[RToyo86]

As mentioned Everyday driver and smoking tire both have great reviews on gen 1 and 2s.

Todd from everyday driver owned a gen 1 FRS for over a year and drove it all year round. Did some light modifications as well.
The tropher is good too, also owned a gen 1 BRZ for 60k miles.

Matt Farah liked both generations, but mirrors what everyone else is saying about the FA24 being a much more solid out of the box engine vs the FA20.
I think it was his track review where he mentioned liking the base trim with the primacy tires over the PS4. Mostly because the car moves around a lot more which shows off the excellent chasis tuning.

[fredzy]

Originally Posted by Echosect

Here is the local STPR rally track, I'd like to point out that most of the roads here..

Not sure if you came out for STPR 2021 and had an opinion on that. It left a big hole in my heart, considering last rally I spectated was STPR 2018 and I really needed a good weekend in the woods. Thankfully it looks like '22 will be at least partially back to normal.

https://www.northcentralpa.com/commu...2293e580b.html

I wouldn't expect to see a Gen2 running in it haha. I do expect to see a few on the road that weekend though (and maybe bring mine out)

I'm still not really sure what you're looking for in terms of comparison. I'm sure the Gen 2 will be just as exciting and hopefully a little more fun between Galeton and Cross Fork as a WRX. Though I'm afraid there won't be any stages out that way to commute to

“By selecting road-race corridors located away from forest areas that are typically used by traditional recreationists and sensitive aquatic ecosystems, DCNR is able to reduce recreation and environmental conflicts in the Susquehannock and Tioga state forests,” said Jim Hyland, district forester for Tioga State Forest.