The Subaru BRZ Has Plenty Of Power

"RightFootDown" (rightfootdown) 06/29/2015 at 11:58 • Filed to: None

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!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that the Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ don’t come with enough horsepower from the factory. But I feel that my BRZ has just the right amount of power for all of the jobs I ask it to do. And now, in my first piece for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , I’m going to tell you why Josh is wrong.

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The BRZ, as well as its FR-S cousin, come with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! tires. These are often referred to as “Prius tires,” because some versions of the Toyota Prius come with these as well. They are a hard, low rolling resistance, low grip tire. This is great for improving gas mileage, which is the reason the Prius exists. But it’s terrible for performance, which is the reason the BRZ exists. It takes no effort at all to spin these tires under throttle. They’re great for drifting, and not for much else. They can’t even transfer the 200hp the car comes with to the ground effectively. Any additional power would only turn tires into smoke more quickly.

I only have the one car, so it does it all – daily driving, corner carving, cone dodging, and track driving. The vast majority of my driving is commuting to work and back, usually stuck behind someone driving 5-10mph below the speed limit for no reason. Even when I do get to open her up a little bit, like to squeeze through a tight gap in cross traffic, the BRZ has no problem getting out of its own way. On-ramps are fun, but it’s easy to enter the highway faster than the rest of traffic by driving the ramp well. Even on empty rural roads with reasonably high speed limits, the BRZ has plenty of power to pull out of the corners and set up for the next one.

Of course, my opinion of “plenty” is probably biased. I stumbled into my first autocross in a 1995 Mercury Tracer automatic with a whopping 88 blazing horses. My E21 BMW 320i had barely over 100, and all three of my NA Miatas were early models with the 116hp 1.6 motor. The Miatas weighed a lot less than my BRZ, but I got smoked at the drag strip by a CRX, which isn’t exactly a powerhouse itself. But pipsqueak motors aren’t the only kind I’ve owned – my ex-cop Crown Victoria had a 4.6 liter V8 boasting 239hp. But that’s only 39hp more than my BRZ, which weighs 1500lbs less than that beast. So compared to other cars I’ve owned, the BRZ is a rocket.

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But I’ve always been one to believe it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than to have to drive a fast car slow. Anyone can put their right foot down and go fast in a straight line. It takes skill to keep up with the “faster” cars in the corners, or to go faster than them and get a point-by, and I enjoy that challenge. Instructors love to see a novice HPDE driver show up with an FR-S or BRZ, because it’s a whole lot easier to control 200hp than a 435hp Mustang GT. Plus, the BRZ will still be faster in the corners despite having less than half the horsepower.

So what do I have against horsepower, anyway? Nothing. Really, I don’t. If you want a more powerful FR-S or BRZ, there are many ways to do it – so go for it! And there’s nothing wrong with choosing that Mustang GT, or enjoying some mad straight line acceleration, either. Even I added a Nameless Performance axle-back exhaust to my BRZ, though I realize I’m probably gaining more sound than horsepower. And once the warranty is up, I’d like to get a tune to cure the infamous mid-range torque dip. I just don’t feel a need for more power than that just now.

Photo credit: Allison Feldhusen

//Follow Justin on Twitter @justinhughes54

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:04

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Woah. I’m having flashbacks to two days ago when this was first posted.

WheelExchanger > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:05

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The GT86 is a surgeon’s tool! You’ve gotta be smart and have precision hands.

HiredDriver > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/29/2015 at 12:09

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Why would you be on a computer on the weekend? We all know Oppo is for regular business hours.

HiredDriver > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:10

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Once those Primacy HPs are replaced for something stickier you’ll hear a lot more complaints about the engine’s power.

B_dol > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:15

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After adding a full exhaust and OFT tune on my FR-S, I will never go back to stock. The car has hit it’s sweet spot now and that is about a 10% hp/tq increase over stock and eliminated 3-4.5K torque dip.

HammerheadFistpunch > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:23

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As I said when you posted this previously, its Torque not HP that it needs. The FA20 has less average hp than my 138 hp diesel engine, it also has a pathetic 57 hp average hp in the daily driving range (1100 rpm to 4000) compared to 98 for the TDI. You are only in 85% or better peak hp for 1200 rpms (19% of rev band) and they are all at the top. it doesn’t need more PEAK hp, it needs more power under the curve.

DoYouEvenShift > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:25

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Im not much for cars like that or Miata. So I try to stay out of those conversations. But let me ask this, if the car came offered with 100hp 100ft lbs, or hell 50hp 50ft lb more. At no additional penalty of weight, price, balance, etc. It wouldnt be welcome?

citizennick > HiredDriver 06/29/2015 at 12:30

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exactly. this.

citizennick > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 12:33

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To sum it up, some people like fast cars, so they'll always say the FR-S/BRZ is underpowered. Different strokes for different folks.

HiredDriver > DoYouEvenShift 06/29/2015 at 12:45

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There’s a huge difference between 150 and 200 torque. Especially if it came on early in the powerband like a twin screw blower.

Textured Soy Protein > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 13:29

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Sure, driving a not-particularly-powerful car with excellent handling around twisty roads is entertaining, but Clarksonian POWAAAHHH is also fun. Not to mention useful for hitting gaps in some cities’ overly congested traffic.

I’ve driven an FR-S, and while it’s not necessarily slow, “not slow” is not the same thing as fast.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > HammerheadFistpunch 06/29/2015 at 13:31

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And that is what happened when journalists and customers alike complained the same about the ap1 s2k. Ap2 got a lower redline in exchange for 20lb.ft of torque showing up 500rpms earlier. Anybody who has driven the ap1 and ap2 will notice the difference and how much smoother and refined the ap2 feels when cruising.

wiffleballtony > RightFootDown 06/29/2015 at 13:41

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My opinion on the BRZ having not enough power comes largely by comparison to other performance cars in the same price bracket. While I understand that horsepower numbers isn’t what this car is about, it is what’s on the spec sheet. And that’s what people see.

Justin Hughes > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/29/2015 at 17:43

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Miscommunication. I shared this myself over the weekend, then RFD shared it today without knowing I already had. I’m new at RFD - we’re still working out the bugs.

Justin Hughes > HiredDriver 06/29/2015 at 17:45

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I’m on Pilot Super Sports now, and I’m still not wishing for more power. Sure, I’ll be giving a lot of point-bys at the track tomorrow, but that’s OK - it’s not a race.

Justin Hughes > DoYouEvenShift 06/29/2015 at 17:49

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Of course it would be welcome! I don’t think I ever said that more power was a bad thing.

Justin Hughes > HiredDriver 06/29/2015 at 17:51

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And this is why the FiST, with 3hp less, smokes the BRZ in a straight line. The turbo kicks in mid-range, which is exactly where the BRZ falls flat on its face.

DoYouEvenShift > Justin Hughes 06/29/2015 at 17:58

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Reason I ask is, that’s always the argument. Someone will say it needs more power, then the other side will say, no its does not, its perfect.

Justin Hughes > DoYouEvenShift 06/29/2015 at 18:00

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I hear you. I may believe the car doesn’t NEED more power, but it can certainly take it, and it would be fun. I dream of a V8 Miata...

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 12:34

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Then do what I did and up the Torque from low RPM’s on up. The car is a monster, relatively speaking, now. It’s amazing.

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 12:35

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The how: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthr…

HammerheadFistpunch > Tim 07/02/2015 at 12:37

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What, you added 60 ft-lbs of midrange torque? turbotime?

HammerheadFistpunch > Tim 07/02/2015 at 12:38

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An e-supercharger? Very cool. I want to hear about your experiences with this going forward, I’ve always been fascinated by this idea.

HammerheadFistpunch > Tim 07/02/2015 at 12:41

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So, question. Is it not possible to intercept the throttle signal and create a variable speed controller that maps to the throttle position? There has to be linear digital voltage controllers that can handle this kind of amperage on the market already, seems like that would be the next logical step.

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 12:48

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Google the Procede controller. From Shiv Vishnu. He just came out with exactly that. I like the idea, but for now the additional cost doesn’t seem worth it because right now I cam drive it normally and even aggressively without kicking the “supercharger” on. I sorta like that ability. When you want to go, you just GO. It’s a 2 stage trigger. Merging power comes on at about 75% throttle and then full boost comes on at 90% or so. I am learning the position so if I want to keep it mellow I can.
Still, the linear delivery makes so much more sense on a track or when exiting a corner on the edge!

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 12:49

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If you find yourself in AZ for any reason. You gotta take a ride. I was driving a loop with it shut off and then on. Back to back. It’s staggering. 3,000 RPM on feels amazing. Opposed to 5 or 6,000 and up only did before.

HammerheadFistpunch > Tim 07/02/2015 at 12:54

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I only wish this scaled up, I’ve been fantasizing about a variable boost solution for the 80. Something I can run regular fuel in and commute 90% of the time, but then if im towing or heavy laden I can fill up with premium and turn on for that extra ooomf. Like a low pressure turbo with full bypass

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 12:58

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It can be used without a “tune”. The MAF freaks out a bit, but I don’t think it would hurt anything. They have used them in parallel on an Audi R8. Single like my setup on MX-5. A couple guys even took one and put it on their Camry and then tuned it themselves.
It needs the tune to take full advantage, but the engine computer can adapt to a point and figure out what Air/Fuel mix it needs.

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 13:00

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On a side note. 1st gear is scary when it hits, 2nd gear at 4,000 RPM it will chirp the tires nicely (even with the much better and a bit wider Michelin Pilot Super Sports I have now). 3rd throws you into the seat and from there on up it just provides some great passing power, but it feels more like power “builds”, but doesn’t hit.

HammerheadFistpunch > Tim 07/02/2015 at 13:02

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but what kinds of pressure could I expect on something like the 1fz, I can’t imagine the volume of that unit is near enough to build meaningful pressure. At my elevation, it could probably only hit ambient or maybe 1 psi.

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 13:10

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Check out that thread. It get’s to about 5PSI. I don’t see why it couldn’t build enough for the 1fz. Rob, the engineer who created these in his free time, has other units for other applications. The unit on the MX-5 and the BRZ is made to spool fast so there is very little lag.
I figure, if it can build meaningful boost on an R8 V10 then I have to belive it can build enough pressure for a straight 6, even if it is fairly large displacement.

HammerheadFistpunch > Tim 07/02/2015 at 13:15

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I found on their site a GM 4.3 kit, but it looks like it only gets max 3 PSI. At my elevation, that’s about about where I was thinking. We had a supercharger on the suburban that was centrifugal and it had a huge compressor but it could only kick out about 5 psi in the valley and little less on passes, and it was geared for 7 psi. Granted that was 7.4 liters, but still.

Tim > HammerheadFistpunch 07/02/2015 at 13:17

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Some of the info on his site is older. Not sure about that one. He is constantly revising the kit. It’s gone through 4 compressors just for the BRZ. Mine is the latest, but last night he posted up testing shots of a new one.
I wont bother on the cruiser because I just drive it like a schoolbus, but I do think there is potential in the near future.