savagegeese on ditching the modded FR-S

"yitznewton" (yitznewton)
03/30/2016 at 10:04 • Filed to: to mod or not to mod

I queued up the video to the part where they took their supercharged FR-S to the track with a stock S2000, and had to bow out because of oil pressure issues. His experience was that the car was a perpetual to-do list, aside from the large amounts of money spent. This is a lot of the reason why I also tried hard to find a car that would meet my needs in stock form, and specifically why the GT86 fell short for me.

DISCUSSION (10)

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 10:25

That’s why even as a huge Yota fan, the 86 isn’t even on my list of cars I’m looking at. I want something that for the most part won’t have me going “There has to be a solution to this."

Aaron M - MasoFiST > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 10:34

I looked at a whole bunch of cars when shopping, and thought about modding, well, all of them. But the 128i was the one that, after driving, I said “nope, don’t need to do anything.”

WiscoProud > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 10:45

I’ve thought a lot about the 86 and have come to realize that people who are trying to make it a 400hp car don’t get it. Think of the car as a more powerful coupe Miata. Its not supposed to out drag race other cars, its supposed to be light and handle well. If you want a huge hp vehicle, get a 350/370z or something. Enjoy it for what it is, a good handling small car.

RoadsterRevolution(wants a Range Rover Classic) > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 10:51

Could I be ungreyed?

yitznewton > WiscoProud
03/30/2016 at 10:57

I would have been happy with a ~250bhp 86 with a clearer voice. It weighs just about the same as the S2000, similar torque, 40 fewer HP

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 10:59

To go forced induction on a factory NA car without upgrading the cooling system seems a bit silly to me.

The car didn’t need all of those upgrades they added. If they felt forced induction was necessary, then I’d argue they started with the wrong platform from the beginning. The car is plenty fast around a track with 200hp in the hands of a good driver.

It’s an excellent platform to start tracking with. It provides a lot of feedback and is very controllable/responsive. That being said, I can see where someone who has done a lot of tracking, particularly in faster cars, might find it lacking in some areas.

The part about it being loud seems like sort of a misplaced complaint. Yes, the cars are very loud with a header back exhaust, but it’s also a high compression NA motor, which are known for being loud in any car. Hell, S2000s are the loudest cars I’ve heard at track days. Buying the right parts can keep the sound down to a very tolerable level. Most of the super loud FR-Ss/BRZs that you hear are kids running crappy/ricey exhaust (see the Invidia N1 that apparently every hard parker installs on these things).

Which leads into his final point about the FR-S/BRZ community. This is probably my biggest gripe with the car. The “scene” is full of hard parkers and #stancenation kidz, which is a real shame. This platform is an outstanding driver’s car at a very affordable price (based on new car prices that is) and the used market is looking pretty good right now too. Unfortunately, the majority of drivers don’t use the car the way it was intended.

Justin Hughes > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 11:10

As much as I preach that the 86 has a good amount of power and people complaining that it doesn’t have enough are missing the point, I do think there should be a TRD/STi version with a significant horsepower bump. So many people are screaming for it. The cars aren’t exactly selling like hot cakes these days. They could sell a whole lot more of them if they just give the people what they want. As you said in a comment, 250hp would go a long way in this car.

But I’m quite happy with my almost stock BRZ. All it needed was a better sounding (but not too loud) exhaust and some Michelin PSS instead of the stock Prius tires.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 11:31

But it’s also much more practical and costs significantly less, when you look at the class the S2000 was in when brand new. When comparing the specs of the two you have to do so with the original price point of each in mind, because this will be a better indicator of what was spent on development and performance.

A brand new ‘00 S2000 in 1999 had an MSRP of $32k. If you adjust for inflation, which I know isn’t a directly proportional factor but it’s a decent enough one, the same car would cost over $44,700 in 2013. Even an ‘09 S2000 had an MSRP of ~$35k, which would be ~$38k adjusted to 2013 rates.

$10k from the factory is a TON more money, and means a lot more invested into development and greater performance. Of course an S2000 is going to be a better car, it cost a lot more because of more in depth development to produce a better performing car. Basically, they aren’t in the same class.

I understand comparing the two, because really we’re limited on “low cost” sports cars that we can compare against each other, but it’s not as cut and dry as saying you get more out of a used S2000.

When the FR-S/BRZ are as old as current used S2Ks you can bet you’ll be picking them up for much cheaper. Hell, used Toyobarus are already at comparable prices to a lot of used S2000s with high mileage. This offers a better comparison, but then we’re talking about used sports cars and a bunch of other players enter the ring; E46 M3s, Boxsters, C5 Corvettes, etc.

Chasaboo > Justin Hughes
03/30/2016 at 11:43

I had a stock BRZ and it was awesome. Girls love the thing. It was so easy to get dates with it. Unfortunately some hillbilly in a pickup truck vaporized it. Now I have a Honda Fit. Dating a lot less these days.

WiscoProud > yitznewton
03/30/2016 at 12:38

I'm not familiar with the youtube channel, so I can't comment on what level of performance they were trying to squeeze out of it, but based on his comments, I have to imagine it was more than 50hp. Personally I think 250hp out of a lightly tuned FI 86 would be great.