WTF?!? The BRZ has a 20+ ft-lb dip at 4K? Do not want.

 

Yeah, not that it couldn't be fixed, but looking at the ratios, the 1->2 shift drops you to ~4400RPM, right into the dropoff....

 

The stock BRZ engine is freaking HORRIBLE in most driving situations (all but full-out driving where you stay above the torque dip, in which case the engine sounds like a rough, wheezing mess).

Fantastic car, terrible engine.

 

I wouldn't call it terrible, but for being so "high tech" its basically a tractor motor. Shitty gas mileage for a light/ low power car & shitty mid range.

I 100 % agree with the part about the car only being great when you push it. I DD mine and feel the need to beat on it so I don't hate the thing. I am very interested to compare the BRZ to a ND personally.

 

I didn't even think of this, but it makes it even more hilarious in retrospect. When the Toyobaru was announced, everyone was on board; it had 200HP, it was the return to roots for the RWD Japanese coupe, it's a return to form where there isn't the HP wars of the 90s.

Car comes out and everyone is pissed because it doesn't have enough power and all of this other garbage; you got the car that you wanted and you're pissed about it. The number is decent, like 200HP will get you going, but it's the area under the curve for the torque that tells the real story. People toss on headers and it significantly improves the car, yadda yadda.

ND media embargo is lifted and the reaction is "no way that 155HP can do that". Bring up the Skyactiv torque curve "that can't possibly explain it" while willfully ignoring the last major affordable sports car had a nasty looking torque curve. It's the selective inclusion or exclusion that kills me.

That said, I think we're on the cusp of people realizing that it's area under the curve that matters.

 

From what I've read about the ND so far, you're gonna need to drive it even harder to not hate it after you compare...

 

I would, and did, call the engine terrible. It's fun in the twisties if you're truly caning it. Otherwise, NOPE.

I think the Miata will be far, far superior for most driving situations. I was going to say except driving flat out, but hey, Motor Trend recorded a faster lap time for the ND than they did for the BRZ, too, so....

 

And it wasn't even close. Sub 1:30 on SOW is a very respectable time.

The 2->3 shift avoids the dip,but you sure as hell better not short shift it. And even then it's still a peaky powerband.

 

I owned a brand new BRZ for 5 weeks earlier this year and sold it because my test drive consisted solely of driving like a maniac (which was fun) and when I got home to my flat, turnless, desert home, the torque dip sucked all the fun out of the car. Supposedly headers and tunes fix it, but **** a stock BRZ. My NC with 115k on it felt way stronger torque wise than a brand new BRZ.

 

Wow, 5 weeks? The depreciation you must have taken on that thing in 5 weeks of ownership makes me cry.

 

I bought for 25.2 and sold for 23.5.

 

Z31maniac has a BRZ, and i believe it has a tune and might be on dat corm juice. Those cars are completely transformed with a tune and corm juice.

Just like i've hated every stock miata i've ever driven, i can't imagine any entry level sports car to be any different. I go into this cars treating them like a blank canvas, knowing that i'm going to have to do some work.

And once you're at peace with that, all is well.

 

No it doesn't. I own one.

If you take 1st to 7k or a bit more, you do not drop back down to 4400rpm.

The torque dip is fixed with a tune and/or E85 and/or a header. I don't really notice it, then again I don't expect a 2.0L 4banger to have v8 torques.

 

[tinfoil hat]Maybe they purposely tuned for that drop to push aftermarket part/tune sales [/tinfoil hat]

 

LOL!!!

I'm sure Subaru/Toyota has stake in OFT.

 

If Mazda tunes the new Miata anything like the CX5 and Mazda3, and also makes the throttle response more linear and agressive, it should be a success. I can romp around in the 3 all day long using the auto-shifter and it's fun as hell. A Miata with the similar power and more performance refined tune should be a blast to drive.

 

I would expect the Miata version, with RWD manifolds/exhaust + sportier tune to drive better than the CX5/Mazda3. Seriously, I'm envisioning this:

Mazda Sales: "So, what are the numbers for the US-spec Miata? M.net demands to know."

Mazda Engineering: "We don't know yet. We've just wrapped up the JDM/Euro SA1.5. We were able to get a nice 20+HP bump out of it compared to the FWD models. We're not finished with the US SA2.0 yet."

Mazda Sales: "I've got to tell M.net something. They're forming a lynch mob. Heck, we did the unveiling in California last September. How can we not know what the US SA2.0 will do?"

Mazda Engineering: "Geez. Fine. Tell them 155/148. We know it won't be any worse than that. I need to get back to work."

Mazda Sales: "155/148. Got it! That should please M.net immensely!"

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! BTW, the above sounds a lot like my daily ritual, so it's probably closer to the truth than we'd like to think.

 

I have this cool picture in my head of the pedals and shifter moving around on their own as you drive. Like a Mercedes SMG system but with the hydraulics arranged in such a way you can retain the manual controls.

Don't ruin the cool picture in my head :(

 

*choke*

 

plz ben no more, that post just gave me cancer