My first full week of owning a BRZ

[msmont]

About two weeks ago my wife had her Toyota Corolla totaled. After owning sports cars (Celicas, Supra Turbo) my last car was a Hyundai Sonata. I decided to give my Sonata to her and buy a new car myself. To be honest I had never heard of the FRS/BRZ and don't think I've ever seen them around (I live in Birmingham Al). My friend knew about them and sent me a link to a used one. Drove that day and decided to buy.

Here are some comments after owning one for a week. Overall I really like it, although it's taken me a minute to get used to driving stick again.

1) The car needs just a little bit more power. I previously had a 1995 Supra Turbo, it probably had too much. With the supra there was a list of basic upgrades you could do for less than 1000 dollars to get it up to 400hp. Just about every supra owner did them. It doesn't seem like the FRS/BRZ has the same thing. Saw some people do intakes or exhaust but it didn't sound like dramatic results.
2) I'd like to find who designed the interior and ask them why no center console/armrest. I guess they really needed the cup holders? It seems like every owner now has to go drill their own.
3) Man is this car small. When pulling into the garage I have two feet in front and back.
4) The car always seems to have a rattle coming from the trunk in the morning. Once it's warm in the afternoon I don't hear it anymore. Don't know what this is going to be like in the winter.
5) The radio is better than what I had in my Sonata. The bluetooth always connects at least. The firmware seems way out of date and I would love to get rid of the aha radio button. It seems like the unit is a harman kardon? I have some inside connections at Harman and am going to see if I can get a different firmware. I think over Christmas I'm going to replace the radio with a Pioneer that does google auto, put a rear camera in and maybe a small sub.

[8R6]

Originally Posted by msmont

Drove that day and decided to buy.

the story shared by many of us here. LOL


as for the basic bolt-on parts not creating the same power improvements as your supra turbo, that's just a general case that applies to most turbo cars vs. n/a cars. turbos tend to respond a lot more with basic bolt-ons, where n/a engines (especially strung out 4 bangers) dont respond "as well".

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by msmont

About two weeks ago my wife had her Toyota Corolla totaled. After owning sports cars (Celicas, Supra Turbo) my last car was a Hyundai Sonata. I decided to give my Sonata to her and buy a new car myself. To be honest I had never heard of the FRS/BRZ and don't think I've ever seen them around (I live in Birmingham Al). My friend knew about them and sent me a link to a used one. Drove that day and decided to buy.

Here are some comments after owning one for a week. Overall I really like it, although it's taken me a minute to get used to driving stick again.

1) The car needs just a little bit more power. I previously had a 1995 Supra Turbo, it probably had too much. With the supra there was a list of basic upgrades you could do for less than 1000 dollars to get it up to 400hp. Just about every supra owner did them. It doesn't seem like the FRS/BRZ has the same thing. Saw some people do intakes or exhaust but it didn't sound like dramatic results.
2) I'd like to find who designed the interior and ask them why no center console/armrest. I guess they really needed the cup holders? It seems like every owner now has to go drill their own.
3) Man is this car small. When pulling into the garage I have two feet in front and back.
4) The car always seems to have a rattle coming from the trunk in the morning. Once it's warm in the afternoon I don't hear it anymore. Don't know what this is going to be like in the winter.
5) The radio is better than what I had in my Sonata. The bluetooth always connects at least. The firmware seems way out of date and I would love to get rid of the aha radio button. It seems like the unit is a harman kardon? I have some inside connections at Harman and am going to see if I can get a different firmware. I think over Christmas I'm going to replace the radio with a Pioneer that does google auto, put a rear camera in and maybe a small sub.

1 )You are not going to get no 400HP for $2K as this is not a Supra.
2) Arm rests are available from$40 to $300 and easy to put in. Loads of corners cut to save a few ounces and wasn't really intended as a commuter car anyway.
3) Yep. Small. Watch out for people that don't see you.
4) There is a thread on how to get rid of the rattle on here someplace but get used noises as there is so little soundproofing you will hear everything.
5) If you can get firmware that improves things you will become a BRZ god.

[msmont]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

1 )You are not going to get no 400HP for $2K as this is not a Supra.
2) Arm rests are available from$40 to $300 and easy to put in. Loads of corners cut to save a few ounces and wasn't really intended as a commuter car anyway.
3) Yep. Small. Watch out for people that don't see you.
4) There is a thread on how to get rid of the rattle on here someplace but get used noises as there is so little soundproofing you will hear everything.
5) If you can get firmware that improves things you will become a BRZ god.

BTW I am not expecting to get 400 hp. Just a little bump in power is all the car needs. Also the gears seem odd to me. After driving around some and getting used to driving stick again I am skipping gears intentionally. Going right from 2nd to 4th or 3rd to 5th. When on the interstate and going 75 MPH the RPMS in 6th gear are between 3500-4000. It seems to me like they should be spaced more and extended out in 6th?

Thanks for the tip on the rattling. I'll go look for that thread.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by msmont

BTW I am not expecting to get 400 hp. Just a little bump in power is all the car needs. Also the gears seem odd to me. After driving around some and getting used to driving stick again I am skipping gears intentionally. Going right from 2nd to 4th or 3rd to 5th. When on the interstate and going 75 MPH the RPMS in 6th gear are between 3500-4000. It seems to me like they should be spaced more and extended out in 6th?

Thanks for the tip on the rattling. I'll go look for that thread.

You may be falling into the trap a lot of guys used to FI do and expect power from the engine and not the tranny. As much of a pain as it can be it really pays to use all the gears in this car since skipping can drop your revs into the torque dip and instead of blowing through it in a fraction of a second you are holding right at it. Try driving about 1000rpm over what you think you should be at and you will probably see a big difference. Don't worry it will not kill your mileage these things love them some revs.

[DAEMANO]

Originally Posted by msmont

About two weeks ago my wife had her Toyota Corolla totaled. After owning sports cars (Celicas, Supra Turbo) my last car was a Hyundai Sonata. I decided to give my Sonata to her and buy a new car myself. To be honest I had never heard of the FRS/BRZ and don't think I've ever seen them around (I live in Birmingham Al). My friend knew about them and sent me a link to a used one. Drove that day and decided to buy.

Here are some comments after owning one for a week. Overall I really like it, although it's taken me a minute to get used to driving stick again.

Welcome and congratulations. Let's see if we can get you off on the right foot.

1) The car needs just a little bit more power. I previously had a 1995 Supra Turbo, it probably had too much. With the supra there was a list of basic upgrades you could do for less than 1000 dollars to get it up to 400hp. Just about every supra owner did them. It doesn't seem like the FRS/BRZ has the same thing. Saw some people do intakes or exhaust but it didn't sound like dramatic results.

As far as naturally aspirated power mods go, this is all you need.

1. Drop-In Filter (any brand $50)
2. Tune (OpenFlashTablet (OFT) $500 / ECUtek $800)
3. Header ($450 - $1150 catless or high-flow cat - UEL slightly more mid-range torque / EL w/ long tubes = slightly more top end hp)
4. e85 (Free with OFT or with $400 w/EcuTek to add flex-fuel kit)

~ 205WHP/170WTQ and no more torque dip btwn 3300-3800 RPM. For as little as $1000.00 or as much as $2300 ish.

After that, all other intake/exhaust mods are mostly cosmetic. If you want more power than that it's time to start looking into forced induction options (there are plenty).

2) I'd like to find who designed the interior and ask them why no center console/armrest. I guess they really needed the cup holders? It seems like every owner now has to go drill their own.

You can drill if you want to, but it's not absolutely necessary to get an armrest. Look here http://www.fteightysix.com/search.ph..._query=armrest

3) Man is this car small. When pulling into the garage I have two feet in front and back.

Hell yes! No fat cars allowed round here... feelsgoodman.jpg right?!

4) The car always seems to have a rattle coming from the trunk in the morning. Once it's warm in the afternoon I don't hear it anymore. Don't know what this is going to be like in the winter.

Check that you don't have a screw loose near the rear heat shield (above the muffler). This can rattle and so can the rear deck (there was a TSB for the rear decklid some time ago). Also try sound deadening the interior doors. Lots of DIYs on how to do that on the board or checkout http://sounddeadenershowdown.com

5) The radio is better than what I had in my Sonata. The bluetooth always connects at least. The firmware seems way out of date and I would love to get rid of the aha radio button. It seems like the unit is a harman kardon? I have some inside connections at Harman and am going to see if I can get a different firmware. I think over Christmas I'm going to replace the radio with a Pioneer that does google auto, put a rear camera in and maybe a small sub.

Alternatively you can wait for FR-S/BRZ/86 version of this...
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=91716



IKR?

[msmont]

Good info. Thanks.

That radio is crazy looking. In my mind no stock radio is every going to beat google maps. Right now the Pioneer stereo is about 500 dollars. I'm thinking when Kenwood and Alpine come out with similar radios the price will go down.

I tried driving with RPMs around 3k this morning. I was always taught growing up that you should shift around then. I guess the car is really made to be high like that.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by msmont

Good info. Thanks.

I tried driving with RPMs around 3k this morning. I was always taught growing up that you should shift around then. I guess the car is really made to be high like that.

Ya, it took me a while to get used to the idea at first as well but once I did it made a huge difference. At the higher revs the car is far faster on throttle response and almost all hesitation is gone. I still average 32MPG but don't do a pile of stop and go driving so that can be deceiving.

[msmont]

Per my source at Haman this radio is not a Harman radio, but the Aha app is a Harman product. I wouldn't hate it if we could move the bluetooth icon where the Aha icon is since I mostly just use bluetooth streaming from my phone or the FM radio and the two icons are on different pages.

[Fishbed77]

4) The car always seems to have a rattle coming from the trunk in the morning. Once it's warm in the afternoon I don't hear it anymore

I'd like to learn what this is too. I hear the rattle as the car is warming up, but it goes away after a few miles. No idea what it is, but it's loud.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Fishbed77

I'd like to learn what this is too. I hear the rattle as the car is warming up, but it goes away after a few miles. No idea what it is, but it's loud.

Here are a couple of the threads:

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...JIjATbN70Aq7nA

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&...cWHZNxGehAIUCg

[MokSpeed]

You need to rev the sh*t out of this car AKA drive it like a Honda.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by msmont

1) The car needs just a little bit more power. I previously had a 1995 Supra Turbo, it probably had too much.

This car is not about straight line power. It's not a drag racer for taking out on Roebuck Parkway and challenging teenagers from Pinson from red light to red light. It's about balance. If you were to go back to a Supra after driving this car, the Supra would feel fast in a straight line and sluggish every time you turned the wheel.

Originally Posted by msmont

2) I'd like to find who designed the interior and ask them why no center console/armrest. I guess they really needed the cup holders? It seems like every owner now has to go drill their own.

It was originally left off for cost savings to force the car under the retail price targets for the US market. Some non-US versions of the car have an armrest. There were a few things that were left off the US version for similar reasons, like the full-size spare you can get in Australia. These things seem like they should be offered as options, but doing so would have made a "fully loaded" FR-S miss their price targets, which the automotive writers would have pounced on. Some of those options that were not initially available when the car first came out have been added to the options catalog.

There are two "factory" armrests you can buy, both of which are in the $200 range new, depending on where you buy them:

In the US, Scion offers a dealer-installed option on the FR-S for a sliding armrest that allows the use of the cup holders, which you can also buy and install yourself. It's made to sit higher than the non-US armrest for taller US drivers. Although it looks like it came from the same factory as the car, it doesn't look as good as the non-US armrest.



Outside of the US, there's a flip-up factory armrest available that renders the cup holders pretty much useless. It doesn't sit as high as the US armrest, which can be a problem for taller US drivers. However, it does look better than the Scion armrest (when it's closed).



I drive long distances and need my coffee to stay out of a ditch, so the cup holder had to be accessible. Therefore, I went with the sliding Scion armrest for my BRZ for function over looks, and it's almost perfect for my driving position. When I need my coffee, I slide it back. When I'm done with my drink, I slide it forward and rest my elbow on it. It's a decent compromise. I did drill my own holes, but the kit comes with templates to help with that. It took me a little more than an hour to install, taking my time to make sure I got everything straight.

You can also take your Subaru to a Toyota dealer and have them install either of those armrests. If you go with the sliding Scion armrest, they can order it for you and charge you accordingly. If you go with the flip up armrest (or just want to pay a reasonable price for the sliding armrest), you'll probably have to order it yourself, but you can still get the dealer to install it. Some Subaru dealers may also be willing to install them, but the Scion/Toyota dealerships will be more likely to have done it before. Personally, I think if you're handy at all with a center punch and drill and have the patience for it, there's no reason to pay a dealer to install it.

There are some other removable armrests that people on here get excited about. To me, those never look right. Especially the stitching. Just using red thread doesn't make it match if the stitch isn't exactly the same.

Originally Posted by msmont

In my mind no stock radio is every going to beat google maps.

Until you're in the middle of rural Missouri with no cell service, and Google Maps suddenly goes blank. You will never need reliable navigation more than when you're in the middle of rural Missouri.

When I'm out on the highway, I run both Google Maps on my phone and the shitty nav on the head unit in the car. When they disagree, I usually go with Google Maps.

[WNDSRFR]

Originally Posted by msmont

BTW I am not expecting to get 400 hp. Just a little bump in power is all the car needs. Also the gears seem odd to me. After driving around some and getting used to driving stick again I am skipping gears intentionally. Going right from 2nd to 4th or 3rd to 5th. When on the interstate and going 75 MPH the RPMS in 6th gear are between 3500-4000. It seems to me like they should be spaced more and extended out in 6th?

Thanks for the tip on the rattling. I'll go look for that thread.

Check this out. It's just what the doctor ordered for that "bump in power".
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39719