Sciaru BRZFRS (BreezeFrees)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Azuremen
  • 5,613 comments
  • 451,358 views
Found a pic. It's not stalking if you're a mod.

I2vv1.jpg
 
Stalking, eh?
Sorry, now that I have the car I visit this section a lot less...

Here's another one with some subaru wheels I had laying around.
0ET9o.jpg
 
So yesterday on my way home I noticed a beautiful FR-S at the scion dealership. Got out there this morning as soon as they opened. Happily it was a manual and even better, they let me drive her.

Apparently someone ordered one but had to back out.

The roads I had to work with were pretty poor. Nothing better than 50mph limit and no decent corners.

Cornering felt nice and flat at the fairly low speeds I was going. Ride is firm but it did soak up the bumps better than I expected. Kind of like a Mazda3 but a little smoother.

Acceleration is brisk. Definitely enough to make it fun. You are going to need to keep the revs up though, it's a little sluggish below 2500 rpm then all of a sudden it takes off. 55mph comes up plenty quickly. On a quick shift to 2nd gear the rear wheels spun a little (TCS and VSC were off).

Steering is nice and firm and had good feedback. The pedals were also firm. Clutch is medium weight with small travel. My only negative would be the gear shifter. It seemed a little clunky but I did just drive the buttery smooth Mazda skyactiv so I may be being overly critical here.

Visibility to the front is very nice. Sides not so much. Rear isn't great either but most new cars have poor rear vis these days. If anyone is under any illusions of having passengers in the back, forget it. I'm 6ft tall and my seat was maybe an inch away from the rear seat. Zero leg room back there.

I had a huge grin on my face start to finish and it was difficult not to just buy the thing there and then. I'm going to be doing some math and see if I can justify a purchase!
 
Yrkshrpudding
My only negative would be the gear shifter. It seemed a little clunky but I did just drive the buttery smooth Mazda skyactiv so I may be being overly critical here.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind that front drive cars these days have ridiculous cable-actuated shift linkage which always feels "buttery smooth", i.e. terrible. Most rear drive cars have a shifter that either goes straight into the transmission or has a short, solid linkage into the transmission. A good shifter should feel direct and mechanical, as if you're operating a machine, not rowing a boat.
 
Keef
Keep in mind that front drive cars these days have ridiculous cable-actuated shift linkage which always feels "buttery smooth", i.e. terrible. Most rear drive cars have a shifter that either goes straight into the transmission or has a short, solid linkage into the transmission. A good shifter should feel direct and mechanical, as if you're operating a machine, not rowing a boat.
Click to expand...

None of the FWD Mazdas (that I've driven at least) have a disconnected feel. My 2's feels like it's plugged straight into the gearbox.
 
Eunos_Cosmo
None of the FWD Mazdas (that I've driven at least) have a disconnected feel. My 2's feels like it's plugged straight into the gearbox.
Click to expand...

With the dash-mounted shifter in the 2, it may well be a rod-actuated gear change. My old Fiat was similarly mechanical-feeling. But as Keef says, a lot of modern cars feel quite remote. Sometimes it's okay if you just want to waft from one place to another, but for quick driving gimme a short throw and mechanical feel any day.
 
dsgerbc, congrats on the car. It looks fantastic.

I think I might have to wait for the next model year if the interior heat problems are true. Need a really good AC unit too-- I don't care if it's a few more pounds. Can't have a car venting hot air and the cockpit warming up down here in south florida. I can't sweat in my car so much-- might start a grease fire.
 
New cars tend to appear warmer then normal during early days of operation. That might be all there is to the reports of warm air from vents on scions. That said, I got really warm in my car on the first or the second day and not once since. The issue in my case was the tight leather bolstering around shoulders that doesn't let warm air escape if your car is really warm when you get into it.
 
Keef
Keep in mind that front drive cars these days have ridiculous cable-actuated shift linkage which always feels "buttery smooth", i.e. terrible. Most rear drive cars have a shifter that either goes straight into the transmission or has a short, solid linkage into the transmission. A good shifter should feel direct and mechanical, as if you're operating a machine, not rowing a boat.
Click to expand...

Throw a kartboy short throw and bushings in there and it'll feel great. No pounds worth of grease type feeling and but it has that mechanical smoothness type feeling where you can feel your input. Plus it gets rid of the massive Stock shifter that feels like you're shifting a semi.

RocZX


That guy is having way to much fun driving the FR-S
Click to expand...


This should be the cars' advertisement. It had me sold on it within the first :30 seconds.

A few clips from Perrin that popped up yesterday.




Nameless Performance built an axleback for it. You really cannot beat these guys when it comes to bang for your buck. Amazing quality at a very small price.



HKS


And my favorite because I just love single tips
 
Last edited:
I like this car a lot. I think it does a lot of stuff right, and I think it's great that it can't be directly compared to something because it isn't similar to anything else. It's cool. It's a car guy car. There aren't enough of those in the world.

Those clips made me cringe. They sounded really really bad.
 
Nameless sounds pretty good. The rest sound like fart pipes on a '94 Accord. Probably because they replaced the midpipe like that guy was saying.
 
squirlybmx
Throw a kartboy short throw and bushings in there and it'll feel great. No pounds worth of grease type feeling and but it has that mechanical smoothness type feeling where you can feel your input. Plus it gets rid of the massive Stock shifter that feels like you're shifting a semi.
Click to expand...

It sure doesn't.

Kartboy sts and bushings are good for shortening the shifts, nothing else. You pick one or the other if you want a good feeling shifter.

The feel with both isn't more direct or mechanical feeling. It just feels like you replaced some soft rubber parts with hard plastic parts. If you don't start with a great, mechanical feeling shifter, and STS won't magically make it feel like one, in my opinion and experience.

If you're talking about AWD subarus, the throws in the stock stock shifter are actually nice since they matche how slowly the engine spins down during shifts. Either use the stock shifter with kartboy bushings or use the kartboy STS with stock bushings.

Either way, KB doesn't make BRZ sts so sorry for this wall of poo.
 
For me the BRZ shifter is short enough. Definitely shorter than in my previous Subies with popular 'short-throw' linkages/shifters. There is some perceived slop, but it's not in the shifter. Through the shifter you can feel the whole tranny moving back and forth under braking/acceleration. So I'd start with those bushings first.
 
I don't know about any of those exhausts. They all sound like they're breathing through two cats. :sly:
 
A can agree that the throw looks short enough. I'm not super concerned about throw length, more about the feel of it. I took the stock weighted knob off my RX7 just for that reason. I can feel all the notches while shifting gears and you can just subconsciously tell when it works and when it doesn't.
 
R1600Turbo
Miata's are the same way. IMO they don't need one either, the stock throw is short enough.
Click to expand...

Half the joy in the Miata was the little metallic click between some gears. One step down from the clack of a Ferrari's open gate shifter. NC MX-5 doesn't quite feel the same but it's still a cracking shift action. Those cars are to blame for why I'm quite happy with autos in many cars, as most shifters are pretty average after the Miata...
 
Keef
A can agree that the throw looks short enough. I'm not super concerned about throw length, more about the feel of it. I took the stock weighted knob off my RX7 just for that reason. I can feel all the notches while shifting gears and you can just subconsciously tell when it works and when it doesn't.
Click to expand...

This is the exact reason I've been trying different shift knobs. While so many people want heavy shift knobs, I have grown to prefer the lighter weights between 100g and 300g (though 300g is a bit too much). Doing something like a Blox 490 is crazy, there's no feel in the shifting once you get too much weight in the knob.

Currently using a duracon knob from the RA-R, its nice and lightweight but I don't really like the feel of the material. I would love to have the one pictured below at about 150g (used it for a while but it's too heavy).

Weight unknown... (heavier than stock 200g but less than 500g)
( 👍 Almost Perfect / 👎 Muted Shift Feel )
e140696-lg_img.jpg


Edit:
100g Duracon knob ( 👍 Shift Feel / 👎 Knob Texture )

img0006nb7.jpg
 
Last edited:
I'm using one like this:

$(KGrHqZ,!nQE8YsZeeeiBPRqMg,Sog~~60_58.JPG


Mine was in a 1989 Honda EF hatch until I stole it from a junkyard. I didn't even know they made 4-speed EFs, but I digress. It's in better shape than the one pictured but it's still over 20 years old so the texture isn't as smooth as it was, though it is grippy. It weighs almost nothing and has a better shape than my stock one which looks like a dildo and weighs two pounds. My shifts are slightly higher effort but I love being able to count the clicks into gear.
 
eSZee
It sure doesn't.

Kartboy sts and bushings are good for shortening the shifts, nothing else. You pick one or the other if you want a good feeling shifter.

The feel with both isn't more direct or mechanical feeling. It just feels like you replaced some soft rubber parts with hard plastic parts. If you don't start with a great, mechanical feeling shifter, and STS won't magically make it feel like one, in my opinion and experience.

If you're talking about AWD subarus, the throws in the stock stock shifter are actually nice since they matche how slowly the engine spins down during shifts. Either use the stock shifter with kartboy bushings or use the kartboy STS with stock bushings.

Either way, KB doesn't make BRZ sts so sorry for this wall of poo.
Click to expand...

Granted opinions are opinions. I drove my friend's wrx before and after we installed the sts and bushings and I preferred the kartboy setup over the stock shifter/bushings.

For that nameless exhaust, I must say the best thing about them is that they offer the axleback with 4" mufflers, 5" mufflers, or no mufflers at all to let it really scream when you put your foot down. My favorite thing overall about Nameless axlebacks is the fact that they tend to stay at stock sound levels when you drive normal like they said. Once you get on it the sound really opens up so you never have to worry about hoping that the cop you pass isn't in a particularly bad mood that day.
 
Last edited:
Axlebacks are silly to spend money on. In most cases its a couple bends and a muffler. A little more complex since this goes to dual exits, but still, you're gaining nothing but sound.
 
I sat in one today and I really liked it! That's all I can say. Oh besides there being zero legroom for the passenger behind me, maybe 1 inch... :lol:
 
Eric.
Axlebacks are silly to spend money on. In most cases its a couple bends and a muffler. A little more complex since this goes to dual exits, but still, you're gaining nothing but sound.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure nameless caimed 7whp on their axleback which I find crazy. I'll have to look that up to see if I'm confusing it with something else. And there's very few people who buy axlebacks or catbacks for performance. If you're interested in an axeback, you clearly are only interested in gaining sound. Plus if you go any further than a catback, that's another couple of hundred dollars to have the car tuned.
 

Latest Posts

Back