brz and the fun factor - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

perryair · 07-10-2015, 01:05 PM

so i've been back and forth quite a bit over the last few years about what to get for my next ride. the time is likely coming over the next month or two so have been re-testing the cars i'm interested in again and i came to a conclusion that while it has a ton of shortcomings, the brz is hands down one of the funnest times that you can have behind a steering wheel.

a few weeks back my local subie dealer let me take a brz up into the hills behind the dealership and wring it out - you know that you're not going super fast, but between the size, noises and rev happy nature of the car it 'felt' like you are just flying along and everything is extremely immediate, from throttle response to steering, it does exactly what you want to do exactly when you want it to be done. torque dip be damned cause all of the driving that i did when i wasn't just cruising between stop lights was above 4k anyways.

i tested an ecoboost premium performance pack mustang manual yesterday after driving an ecoboost standard automatic a month ago and i'll say this - i almost preferred the auto because the mustang's hp curve dies after 5k and driving a stick i tend to keep the rpms high when hooning (or semi-hooning) around. the loss of hp up high directly made that car feel less fun and almost made it 'feel' slower than the brz even though its carrying about 2x the torque and a hundred more hp (and 700 lb of weight).

i had the exact same experience a few months back in a 228i where while you know there's tons of power, it hits you so low that 1 second later when you're at 5k rpms you can feel it starting to run out of breath. not fun!

so maybe at the end of the day, the ability to fit more than 2 adults and a gym bag may make the decision or other little practical considerations like having a shirt holder or seat coolers or seats that lock when you slide them forward or the ability for a person to put their feet underneath the passenger seat without it getting locked under the seat but if fun has anything to do with it, i'll have a brz in my parking lot soon.

Tcoat · 07-10-2015, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perryair

so maybe at the end of the day, the ability to fit more than 2 adults and a gym bag may make the decision or other little practical considerations like having a shirt holder or seat coolers or seats that lock when you slide them forward or the ability for a person to put their feet underneath the passenger seat without it getting locked under the seat but if fun has anything to do with it, i'll have a brz in my parking lot soon.

From a guy that came from cars with all the goodies to spending 14 hours a week in the FRS you can rest assured you quickly forget all those nicey nices exist. The only thing from a practical aspect is to be prepared to only take one person with you on long drives.

JS + BRZ · 07-10-2015, 02:09 PM

BRZ/228i/Mustang are all fun cars to drive in a different ways.

Just get the one you like the most!

perryair · 07-10-2015, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcoat

From a guy that came from cars with all the goodies to spending 14 hours a week in the FRS you can rest assured you quickly forget all those nicey nices exist. The only thing from a practical aspect is to be prepared to only take one person with you on long drives.

hey didn't you trade in your frs for a charger though? i'd imagine for some of the niceties like SPACE.

Tcoat · 07-10-2015, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perryair

hey didn't you trade in your frs for a charger though? i'd imagine for some of the niceties like SPACE.

Ahhhh you needed to read further I was trolling (as a joke). My car got hit by some debris on the highway and was in for repairs. The Charger was a rental and sucked big time. I was so glad to get back in my FRS I teared up a little. I use mine as a single person commuter and my passengers seats are almost virgins so I don't need space and there is nothing I would rather be driving.

perryair · 07-10-2015, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Ahhhh you needed to read further I was trolling (as a joke). My car got hit by some debris on the highway and was in for repairs. The Charger was a rental and sucked big time. I was so glad to get back in my FRS I teared up a little. I use mine as a single person commuter and my passengers seats are almost virgins so I don't need space and there is nothing I would rather be driving.

ahhh. i dont venture on the frs side of the board often enough i suppose!

FatFree · 07-10-2015, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcoat

From a guy that came from cars with all the goodies to spending 14 hours a week in the FRS you can rest assured you quickly forget all those nicey nices exist. The only thing from a practical aspect is to be prepared to only take one person with you on long drives.

I agree with this. You really forget about all the little creature comforts that this car doesn't have. While they would be nice, it's all about the drive.

raven1231 · 07-10-2015, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Ahhhh you needed to read further I was trolling (as a joke). My car got hit by some debris on the highway and was in for repairs. The Charger was a rental and sucked big time. I was so glad to get back in my FRS I teared up a little. I use mine as a single person commuter and my passengers seats are almost virgins so I don't need space and there is nothing I would rather be driving.

How long is this going to go on lol.....Seems to keep popping back up lol

Tcoat · 07-10-2015, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by raven1231

How long is this going to go on lol.....Seems to keep popping back up lol

Could be weeks! Some just read the first post and reply.

Stang70Fastback · 07-10-2015, 05:34 PM

You have pointed out an annoying flaw, though, lol. I swear whomever decided not to allow the passenger seat to LOCK forward is a numbskull. Such a silly thing for me to be annoyed over, but BOY does it drive me nuts. Not only on the very rare occasions that I have someone getting in the back, but also on the much more common occasions where I need to put/remove things back there, or clean the windows, or vacuum, or whatever. Y U NO STAY WHERE I PUT U, SEAT?!

Itzed · 07-10-2015, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

You have pointed out an annoying flaw, though, lol. I swear whomever decided not to allow the passenger seat to LOCK forward is a numbskull. Such a silly thing for me to be annoyed over, but BOY does it drive me nuts. Not only on the very rare occasions that I have someone getting in the back, but also on the much more common occasions where I need to put/remove things back there, or clean the windows, or vacuum, or whatever. Y U NO STAY WHERE I PUT U, SEAT?!

You shouldn't be hauling things in the BRZ, it messes up the looks. Set the passenger seat to the same exact distance and back angle as your driver seat, and never, ever touch it!

Champster · 07-11-2015, 05:26 PM

now I'm driving my BRZ 80% of the time. :P

Enjoy the engine noise with ipod music.

Chad11491 · 07-12-2015, 08:28 AM

I love my Brz. I don't know what amenities you'd be missing aside from steering wheel controls. My limited has all the nice things most cars have. The only thing I'd like is a targa top, lol. Torque dip is fixed with a header and tune. It makes a very big difference in drive ability, and sounds fantastic.

Njnickd · 07-12-2015, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itzed

You shouldn't be hauling things in the BRZ, it messes up the looks. Set the passenger seat to the same exact distance and back angle as your driver seat, and never, ever touch it!

I keep doing this and the spouse keeps moving it on me! It looks so right when they match perfectly.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

07-10-2015, 01:05 PM	#1
perryair junior mafia Join Date: Dec 2014 Drives: ‘20 sti limited Location: music city, tn Posts: 243 Thanks: 94 Thanked 221 Times in 91 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	brz and the fun factor so i've been back and forth quite a bit over the last few years about what to get for my next ride. the time is likely coming over the next month or two so have been re-testing the cars i'm interested in again and i came to a conclusion that while it has a ton of shortcomings, the brz is hands down one of the funnest times that you can have behind a steering wheel. a few weeks back my local subie dealer let me take a brz up into the hills behind the dealership and wring it out - you know that you're not going super fast, but between the size, noises and rev happy nature of the car it 'felt' like you are just flying along and everything is extremely immediate, from throttle response to steering, it does exactly what you want to do exactly when you want it to be done. torque dip be damned cause all of the driving that i did when i wasn't just cruising between stop lights was above 4k anyways. i tested an ecoboost premium performance pack mustang manual yesterday after driving an ecoboost standard automatic a month ago and i'll say this - i almost preferred the auto because the mustang's hp curve dies after 5k and driving a stick i tend to keep the rpms high when hooning (or semi-hooning) around. the loss of hp up high directly made that car feel less fun and almost made it 'feel' slower than the brz even though its carrying about 2x the torque and a hundred more hp (and 700 lb of weight). i had the exact same experience a few months back in a 228i where while you know there's tons of power, it hits you so low that 1 second later when you're at 5k rpms you can feel it starting to run out of breath. not fun! so maybe at the end of the day, the ability to fit more than 2 adults and a gym bag may make the decision or other little practical considerations like having a shirt holder or seat coolers or seats that lock when you slide them forward or the ability for a person to put their feet underneath the passenger seat without it getting locked under the seat but if fun has anything to do with it, i'll have a brz in my parking lot soon. __________________ 20 sti limited \| 17 bmw m240i \| 16 scion im \|15 brz limited {prokit, 17x8 +35 rpf1, bfg comp 2 a/s, stg 2, jdl uel, voodoo knob} \| 05 honda civic \| 06 scion tc \| 95 mustang gt \| 89 chevy s-10 cameo

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07-10-2015, 02:09 PM	#3
JS + BRZ Banned Join Date: Dec 2013 Drives: 2010 MS3 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 1,820 Thanks: 1,180 Thanked 1,161 Times in 597 Posts Mentioned: 18 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	BRZ/228i/Mustang are all fun cars to drive in a different ways. Just get the one you like the most!

07-10-2015, 05:34 PM	#10
Stang70Fastback A.K.A. Starlord Join Date: Oct 2013 Drives: 2015 Series.Blue Location: Illinois Posts: 1,842 Thanks: 845 Thanked 2,100 Times in 834 Posts Mentioned: 30 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	You have pointed out an annoying flaw, though, lol. I swear whomever decided not to allow the passenger seat to LOCK forward is a numbskull. Such a silly thing for me to be annoyed over, but BOY does it drive me nuts. Not only on the very rare occasions that I have someone getting in the back, but also on the much more common occasions where I need to put/remove things back there, or clean the windows, or vacuum, or whatever. Y U NO STAY WHERE I PUT U, SEAT?!

07-11-2015, 05:26 PM	#12
Champster Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: Subaru BRZ 15, 997 Turbo 08, BMW 5 Location: Bangkok, Thailand Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	now I'm driving my BRZ 80% of the time. :P Enjoy the engine noise with ipod music.

07-12-2015, 08:28 AM	#13
Chad11491 Senior Member Join Date: May 2013 Drives: 85.5 Porsche 944, '15 mustang GT PP Location: Duluth, Georgia Posts: 295 Thanks: 116 Thanked 155 Times in 85 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I love my Brz. I don't know what amenities you'd be missing aside from steering wheel controls. My limited has all the nice things most cars have. The only thing I'd like is a targa top, lol. Torque dip is fixed with a header and tune. It makes a very big difference in drive ability, and sounds fantastic.

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