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Thread: FRS is here!

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Posts: 141-150 of 446
2012-08-22 19:06:07
#141
difference between FRS and BRZ
taken from the subaru brz forums... difference between FRS and BRZ

Originally Posted by import_nation
NOTE: I did not photography or write this comparison. This is a great comparison for those who are cross shopping between the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S. This comparison was put together by Jeff @ PERRIN Performance
PERRIN Performance — — High Performance Parts Manufacturer

You can follow their blog here for a bunch of updates on their quality products for the Subaru BRZ
PERRIN Performance Official Blog

If Jeff is on here and wants to post up the comparison instead I can delete this thread.


But for the mean time - CHECK IT OUT!!

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



We have been asked the question “What is the difference between the FR-S and BRZ?”, quite a bit lately. Until now we were mainly guessing from pictures we saw. Since we have both cars as shop cars for R&D and marketing, I put together a post showing the visual differences in the BRZ and FR-S. We know there is some suspension differences in spring rates and dampening, but other than that, the actual suspension, engine, drivetrain, intake and exhaust are the same between the two cars. That even goes for the entire engine bay, as BRZ and FR-S share the same Subaru body panels, Subaru/Toyota plastic engine cover, Subaru branded engine, and so on. So I will not be going over those things.



With that out of the way, the first thing that sticks out is the price. This whole comparison is based around an FR-S and a BRZ Premium model. The FR-S window sticker shows$24,200 versus the BRZ at $25,495. The question for some is, “What does that $1300 more get me?”. For some it doesn’t matter as the styling of the FR-S is what wins them over. For others, its pirce, or name brand that drives them to the car. This comparison, isn’t to make one car look better than the other, but rather to show the actual differences.

Working from the outside in, the most obvious difference is the bumper and headlight difference.



Some say the FR-S front end is more agressive, and some say the BRZ looks more refined. Personally I like the FR-S bumper a little more. Instead of the BRZ smile, it has more of a straight “face”.



In this picture you can see how the opening and the lower portion of the bumper is more agressive. The Scion has a better way of covering up the crash beam behind the bumper, were Subaru leaves it sticking out a bit.



The FR-S has a more aggressive looking fog light hole area. The Subaru is shown with the optional fog lights installed, where the Scion doesn’t. Both cars do have a “daytime running light” in the upper portion of the fog light hole. The FR-S has a simple halogen bulb and reflector, where the BRZ has a super bright LED strip. This LED strip really makes the BRZ look mean driving down the road compared to the yellow-ish FR-S lights. I tried to take a picture of the two lit up, but the pics didn’t show the difference very well.



The next big difference in the FR-S and BRZ are the headlights. The BRZ comes standard with HID dual projector beam lights. The FR-S again has halogen bulbs mounted in a projector type housing. The above pic shows the difference while turned on, but again, its hard to capture the real difference. There has been talk of FR-S guys buying the Subaru part and installing them. This isn’t going to happen without lots of work. The headlight shapes are actually different, or are they…………



In this picture you can see how much wider the FR-S headlight appears compared to the BRZ. The BRZ light is missing that “sharp” corner where the headlight meets the bumper, or is it….. In the picture below, you can see with the bumper removed that there is a plastic piece covering up this corner. Removing this small piece makes both the FR-S and BRZ headlight the exact same shape! This also means, customers can do some swapping out of headlights!



In this picture you can also see the BRZ and the really cool “Halo” ring around the headlight. The halo is only enabled as part of the parking light system and part of the main headlight system. I am sure over time, someone will modify this so the halo comes on when the day time running lights. That would really add to more aggressive look while coming at you on the street if you could have both the lower LED strip and halo on. Remember, the BRZ is more expensive and this is one of the reasons why.



These are the side scuddles shown side by side. The Scion has the cool “Boxer” Engine logo, but a tiny fake vent. It looks a little plain as you have a huge area of the same color. Subaru has a bit more fake venting which helps break up that plain surface. The example above has the optional Subaru chrome trim piece, but normal cars have a color matched strip here. Combined the two together and you would have a winner in my opinion.



The wheels are exactly the same, except the emblem of course.



The antenna bases are also different. The Scion without NAV, has the small base that is just a radio receiver. The BRZ with NAV has the base that contains both the satellite antenna and radio receiver in one. With some of the aftermarket covers being offered, I assume that not all of them are going to work between the two different styles. Both are dying for one of our antenna’s!



The trunks are also different. The Scion being the less expensive car, doesn’t include the trunk dress up piece. This is an item that Scion owners can buy and install on their cars to make it look a little nicer. The thing is, neither trunk has a real handle to close it from the inside. The trunk latch works ok to grab onto, but a real handle would be nice.



When you first open the door, you are greeted by the handles. The BRZ premium edition has the all black handle, where the FR-S has a nice silver trimmed handle. This is the same handle as found on the BRZ limited. I do like the looks of the FR-S part much better, as this is also carried through out the radio trim pieces.



Next up are the floor mats. The BRZ mats are just like other Subaru’s with the embroidered emblem. The FR-S material is nicer and they have a really cool badge.



These next few pics are hard to see the actual material differences. On the FR-S, the seat material that you sit on is all a high quality felt like material. The sides of the seat are a vinyl as well as the backs. The BRZ seats (in the Premium) use the high quality felt material on the side, but have a much nicer, more durable feeling center material. For those who have sat in a newer WRX, you will find this material very familiar. Its a meshy cloth that has a slightly slicker feel to it. You can really notice this when entering the the BRZ compared to the FR-S as your pants don’t want to grab onto the seat as you swing your legs around. It makes the BRZ seats feel like they will wear longer. Both seats are shaped perfectly for high speed cornering with awesome support. Even with the slicker material in the BRZ (not noticeable when driving hard) the BRZ seats are an upgrade in my opinion.
2012-08-22 20:39:51
#142
Originally Posted by LIUSPEED
Originally Posted by Isfahan
FYI: FRS Drive event throughout the West. Scion FR-S First Drive Team on Eventbrite

Also, check out this FRS on Volks from Edmunds Inside Line:
2013 Scion FR-S: New Shoes


FRS First Drive pictures by yihshyue - Photobucket

this is my pix of the event.


Awesome, thank you for posting pics! Now I'm even more excited about it.
2012-08-22 21:23:05
#143
Originally Posted by unijabnx2000
Would the HID's fit on the FRS?


BRZ headlights swap right over!

The FRS headlamps are cheap. no LED, no HID, chrome housing... they just don't look that good.
2012-08-22 21:26:28
#144
Originally Posted by Isfahan
FYI: FRS Drive event throughout the West. Scion FR-S First Drive Team on Eventbrite

Also, check out this FRS on Volks from Edmunds Inside Line:
2013 Scion FR-S: New Shoes


Those Volk are the wrong offset, and thus look gross. lol.
2012-08-22 21:35:51
#145
This front comparison shows why i like the BRZ more. I like the subtle lines!





2012-08-22 21:47:47
#146
prefer scion... teehee
2012-08-22 21:55:01
#147
I'm sure the Scion is cheaper as well, lol.
2012-08-23 13:16:54
#148
Originally Posted by NissanGuy
I'm sure the Scion is cheaper as well, lol.


it is definately without a doubt confirmed cheaper
2012-08-23 13:49:29
#149
wait brz is 1,300 more and comes with hid's and leds and nav... if so it's worth it
2012-08-23 19:13:07
#150
Frs looks mean compared to the brz.
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