5 Reasons You Shouldn't Care About Horsepower (As Much)

[86MLR]

Originally Posted by humfrz

I got the picture - nice mods - especially the sun visor -




humfrz

Nice FC, the HR/HD ute next to it is another old Aussie classic.

Speaking of which, where were you in 62?

I've always wanted a clean EK (Unicorn), good candidate for a LS.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by 86MLR

Nice FC, the HR/HD ute next to it is another old Aussie classic.

Speaking of which, where were you in 62?

I've always wanted a clean EK (Unicorn), good candidate for a LS.

Oh, 1962, let's see, oh yes, I was attending The Ohio State University, attempting to keep my grades above a "C" and scrambling to scrape up enough money to pay for the next quarters tuition.




humfrz

[JesseG]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

There is a huge difference between "want" and "need". My point AGAIN is that the car works perfectly fine as is, contrary to many that "can't" get around in traffic. If people want more power to indulge in their boiracer fast and furious street racing fantasy that is a whole different matter and they have ways to get there without raising the sticker price of the car for the majority that don't have that wish.



The majority of these cars sold new are not to "enthusiasts" unless you consider anybody that likes an inexpensive, 2+2 as one. For every heavily modded car out there you will find hundreds of bone stock daily driver driven by a wide range of demographics. For every car that will actually ever see a track or even auto x there are thousands that will hardly see red line much less be driven even close to the limits. This whole "enthusiast" as some elite group concept is a product of forums and car meets. There are car enthusiasts for minivans and Prius' so saying only "enthusiasts " buy these cars is way off base.



Sure the car could come with more power and a whole pile of handling upgrades. At a price which would not be "a little more". That price would probably kill it in a heartbeat though. Even if it did come equipped as you want half of your "enthusiasts" would still say it is under powered and rip out half the factory suspension to "upgrade" it. How many bone stock STis do you see driving around? Are they too slow as well?



It was planned, designed and built to be what it is and many, many, many people are more than happy with it that way but I guess we are just not big enough enthusiasts since we are satisfied and can actually drive the bloody things with no whining.

I get your points, and I don’t want to sound like I’m just complaining or whining about my FR-S or the twins in general. I don’t have data to show this car is usually purchased by enthusiasts, but it’s a small and sporty car. That immediately rules out people who don’t want to deal with the compromises of a small, low, sports car. How could you not think it’s usually purchased by a “driving enthusiast”? Anybody else will look for something bigger, or an SUV or whatever. Again I don’t have any hard data to show that, to me it’s just common sense. Sure there are people who buy it because it looks cool or cute, and the early model year cars are priced low enough for more types of drivers to pick one up.

Not everyone will modify them, of course. But the aftermarket support for the twins is substantial. That only happens for cars with a loyal following or fan base. My point is this car is typically driven by someone who really cares about the driving experience. Is that the number 1 concern for people shopping the Camry, Accord, *insert any SUV* ? No of course not.

So that leads me back to why the twins should be faster. Most of the people (not you of course) that buy a 86/BRZ want it to be faster. I’m not saying in any way that you aren’t a true enthusiast, you’ve put more miles on your FR-S than most people on here. You’ve driven it in all conditions and make it work as a daily driver. They are a hell of a lot of fun the way it comes from Toyota, I love mine. But a car in this category, in my opinion, should have more performance to back up the looks and handling. I’m waiting for the 2nd gen to be revealed before I make my decision on what I want to do next. If it’s more powerful and riding on a lighter and stiffer chassis I will get one. If it’s a “major refresh” I will just keep my FR-S. I think there are a LOT of 86/BRZ owners who are considering the same thing.


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[JesseG]

Originally Posted by Spuds

In addition to Tcoat's point (which matches my observations completely), not all enthusiasts have $35k to put into a sports car. There is a large difference between $25 and $35k. You'd see a lot less Mustangs and Camaros driving around if they only came with a V8 and the respective track packages.

Oh for sure, if the price climbs too much it will put the car out of reach for some people. And having it as a fun second car would be harder to justify. But it would be AWESOME if there were performance versions of the twins, similar to what Honda does with their Type R cars. Like actual faster versions of the car.


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