My theory on why people think the GT86 is slow

[KANSEI DORIFTO]

Hi all,

I bought a 2017 GT86 in 2018 and have been driving the heck out of it ever since. I consider it to be the perfect car in every respect, including speed.

Many people complain about the FRS/BRZ/GT86 as being slow and use strap on snails and screaming toaster ovens trying to make them faster. To me, they have missed a crucial day of drivers ed; the the day when they teach you how to downshift.

OR maybe they just don't teach people how to drive stick at all anymore in drivers ed and for most people, the ft86 is their first manual transmission car because there really aren't that many available any more.

So my theory is this: most buy an ft86 and think, I'm gonna learn how to drive stick shift in this thing, are cruising on the highway in 6th gear and are like "lets see how fast thing is" so they floor it and don't realize they should be downshifting into third then flooring it from there. Hence the "ft86's are too slow" reputation these cars have.

Ive had my GT86 for 4 years now and the only modification I am thinking of getting is wider wheels with grippier tires. Because I lose traction consistently with this bad bitch. My advice for anyone who thinks this car is slow is to get behind the wheel of one with an automatic transmission and floor it, the car can downshift better than you probably can and it is not slow, trust me, I have gotten numerous speeding tickets in this car and if I get one more I will have my license suspended.

Hope this thread makes you more grateful for your NA ft86, its a mean whip. Don't let consumer reviews dictate your driving experience.

[FRS13_]

Originally Posted by KANSEI DORIFTO

Hi all,

I bought a 2017 GT86 in 2018 and have been driving the heck out of it ever since. I consider it to be the perfect car in every respect, including speed.

Many people complain about the FRS/BRZ/GT86 as being slow and use strap on snails and screaming toaster ovens trying to make them faster. To me, they have missed a crucial day of drivers ed; the the day when they teach you how to downshift.

OR maybe they just don't teach people how to drive stick at all anymore in drivers ed and for most people, the ft86 is their first manual transmission car because there really aren't that many available any more.

So my theory is this: most buy an ft86 and think, I'm gonna learn how to drive stick shift in this thing, are cruising on the highway in 6th gear and are like "lets see how fast thing is" so they floor it and don't realize they should be downshifting into third then flooring it from there. Hence the "ft86's are too slow" reputation these cars have.

Ive had my GT86 for 4 years now and the only modification I am thinking of getting is wider wheels with grippier tires. Because I lose traction consistently with this bad bitch. My advice for anyone who thinks this car is slow is to get behind the wheel of one with an automatic transmission and floor it, the car can downshift better than you probably can and it is not slow, trust me, I have gotten numerous speeding tickets in this car and if I get one more I will have my license suspended.

Hope this thread makes you more grateful for your NA ft86, its a mean whip. Don't let consumer reviews dictate your driving experience.

Agree


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[dragoontwo]

Do YoU eVeN ToRqUe DiP, bRo?

[TommyW]

Slow is relative. If someone wants a stoplight racer they should just get a Mustang.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

The FA20's power band doesn't lend itself to people used to large displacement or turbocharged engines and/or automatic transmissions (that downshift on throttle application). If you're willing to downshift a gear or two and keep revs up you shouldn't lack for power.

[ACT86]

Agreed. I grew up with high revving NA cars, so being in the right gear has always been the key. My wife (who drives a ridiculously fast turbo hot hatch) is used to the car just launching when she plants her foot in any gear at any RPM range - it’s quite an adjustment for her to jump into the 86.

[The Red One]

Originally Posted by KANSEI DORIFTO

Hi all,

I bought a 2017 GT86 in 2018 and have been driving the heck out of it ever since. I consider it to be the perfect car in every respect, including speed.

I have gotten numerous speeding tickets in this car and if I get one more I will have my license suspended.

Don't let consumer reviews dictate your driving experience.

Hi welcome to FT86.

You joined back in 2019 and now decided it was time for an intro, what took you so long?

Been driving ONLY stick since 45 yrs no secret there; keep the revs up when you want to get serious.
The twins are not the fastest on the road as I am reminded everyday, but the balance between the power
available & nimble handling is what shines in these cars.

I have yet to get any ticket with my BRZ, but got many in my other city car which is really slow!
I just depends how responsible you want to be.

[HKz]

I agree, the twins have enough power but for many americans they've been spoiled by displacement and torque. if you notice most of the complaints have come from NA versus asia or EU.. there's no amount of power they could've given the twins and still keep the low price and it would still be slower & more expensive per hp versus a mustang..

i got pulled over a few times in the twins, nearly all were warnings, one resulted in a ticket

[Tcoat]

This is thread 4,896.2 on this topic and not really a startling revelation to those that understand.
Those that don't agree will still say it should do all that and BE fast!
It took me 45 minutes to merge on the way home since there just wasn't enough power to get up to speed on the on ramp. All the old Cavaliers and Sunfires had to go around me while I waited for a big enough opening.

[Grady]

Originally Posted by TommyW

Slow is relative. If someone wants a stoplight racer they should just get a Mustang.

Nope the Tesla owns that group now.

[Kittykate]

Originally Posted by Grady

Nope the Tesla owns that group now.

And for IC the current power per dollar champ is Camaros of various performance heavy but feature light trims.

[dragoontwo]

Originally Posted by HKz

I agree, the twins have enough power but for many americans they've been spoiled by displacement and torque.

LOL. I came from a Nissan Frontier with the 2.4L 4 cylinder.

Not counting my Ducati Hypermotard 1100 and 821.

Never felt the power lacking in the 2020 or the 2022 now.

[KANSEI DORIFTO]

It also comes to mind another reason that adds to this phenomena: the car doesn't sound smooth when it is in high rpm's. The higher rpm range is where this car really shines and whenever you drive it in the higher rpm's (at least with stock exhaust) the boxer sounds angry, like you are hurting it or something... it sounds smooth and growly in the lower to mid range rpm's and then once you get into its happy place, the engine pretends like its unhappy, which probably tricks a lot of people into driving it at low rpm's only. If it sounded as smooth in the high rpm range people might drive it more like its meant to be driven.

[brandonblt2]

The car is actually slow tho. Camrys and Accords are faster. Stock powerband and torque dip make it feel even slower. I love my brz but let's not pretend in stock form it's not slow or that people don't know how to downshift.