Thinking about trading in my '13 Mini for a Subaru BRZ Limited (Evo is staying forever ). Would love to hear from experience from former owners/current evo owners. I realize the power differential is vast compared to an evo but I'll also be coming from a 120hp Mini. Primarily used for SCCA autocross, in DS. Something reliable to campaign with.

Any issues with the first model years? How much of a PITA is it to do the spark plugs, and other general maintenance?

Kyoo

 

I don't own one, but I've been working on my good friend's 2017 BRZ as well as a few of his buddies' BRZ/86's. Haven't had to do plugs yet, but it will be the easiest and perhaps cleanest oil change you'll ever have to do. Generally pretty easy to work on. Fun to drive. They're low on power as you and everybody else knows. But they do drive nice. Not something I would ever own, but decent to work on and enjoy when he throws me the keys and asks me to go for a rip. Haven't heard any of them complain about reliability issues or any other issues.

 

Imo, get a low mileage AP2 S2000 instead.

 

driven an FRS at autocross and really enjoyed it. i've heard these are pushier which isn't necessarily bad. plannign to leave stock.

really not a convertible guy.

 

There are plenty of hardtop options for the S2K, from OEM to carbon fiber. Go test drive both cars on the same day. The BRZ will feel sloooooow.

 

s2000 is also not competitive in any of the classes it's in for solo, which will be the primary use

 

Which class are you wanting to run in? https://dk1xgl0d43mu1.cloudfront.net...pdf?1504464875

 

DS - or SSC

 

Since you plan to leave it stock, the FT86 is a great option.


My only real caveat with them is the engine requires significant modification (to the oiling system for proper pressure) to live with forced induction. But you won't be shooting for any kind of mods like that, so its not a concern for you.


A clean one will be much easier to find than an AP2 S2k. And it will be for a more reasonable price. The FT86 will be a huge upgrade in fun over the mini.

 

thanks for the input. yep, no FI plans here. Looking around maybe $15k for a limited with the bells and whistles, and maybe a little higher mileage. i think my only real concern (besides just wasting money lol) is dealing with stuff like head gaskets and spark plugs

 

can you do header and tune in those? cause thats the only way to get any mid range torque out of them. otherwise they have absolutely ZERO mid range power. that torque dip might look small on a dyno sheet, but when driving its most of the powerband.

a buddy of mine has one (bone stock power wise) and we switched cars for a session at a track day. Mid range just feels completely dead compared to my NC Miata. the BRZ's powerband is ~5700-7000. basically like a VTEC honda but without the power. My Miata may not be all that fast (still faster than a BRZ) but at least it has a decent powerband. There's only one corner on the track where I need to go to second gear in my car, but in the BRZ there are 4 corners that I'm forced into second, otherwise I'm losing a ton of time.

with autocross typically being a shift into second and stay there affair, I have no idea how these do any good. I can only picture being in the dead part of the powerband for most of the run... unless you're comfortable shifting into 1st gear... personally I almost never go to first while autocrossing in any car I drive

 

nah. and i'll probably leave it in DS. I have nothing against miatas, I just want a hardtop car. These are competitive in DS and are RWD, and roughly 15k for a solid condition Limited model. I think that sounds pretty good to me if I'm honest. I drove an FRS (not well) around this time last year and had an absolute blast.

I felt the dip - hard - it feels like the moment an automatic downshifts and you briefly have zero power before picking back up again. It bothered me, but not a lot. Probably because I drive a base Mini most of the time lol.

 

If you are looking an autox car, I would totally go for it. If just a daily, the FRS/BRZ twins suck all the things.

This is why I picked the Fiesta ST over the FRS/BRZ twins, twice. If had plans to track the car I would have probably gone with the FRS/BRZ.

They are only fun if you are ringing their necks out till they bleed.

 

for the record I wasn't suggesting you get a Miata... If you were looking at an NC I'd tell you to do yourself a favor and get an S2K. NC Miata is basically S2K light, same basic deal but a little worse everywhere except brakes.

I was just sharing my thoughts on the powerband of the BRZ, which completely killed the car for me. But if it works for you thats all that matters.

and right after I say I wasn't suggesting the Miata, I'm gonna suggest the Miata... depending on your reasons for wanting a hardtop. The NC is available with a power hardtop, and iirc they're actually cheaper than the soft tops cause most people want the lighter weight (although its still lighter than a BRZ). So if a power hardtop would work for you, you should check it out, its better than a BRZ dynamically in every way. There's not a single thing the BRZ does better as far as fun and hooning is concerned. Although its a better daily, seats are amazing for oem, right up there with lots of oem Recaro's, and aftermarket is massive and therefore cheap... but if a power hardtop doesn't work either then ignore this paragraph

 

very familiar with the prht. i wasn't considering anything at all, just focusing on the mini, but for some reason the brz popped into my mind. fwiw the nc prht is the only convertible i'd consider at this point. i've owned the NA & the NB, and while i liked the nb (hated the na) i'm just not crazy about it. it would be nice to have this slow-ish rwd coupe to continue honing my driving for a few years