The BRZ/GR86, jointly developed by Subaru and Toyota, is one of the few front-drive sports cars in the world and attracts the attention of many car enthusiasts. This time, Akihiko Nakatani will test drive subaru's new BRZ on a closed ice and snow road, a rare opportunity, let's hurry up and see what Mr. Nakatani has to say.
The site of our test drive is specifically at the Gunma Motor Vehicle Sports Center (gunma) in Mizumi-cho, Gunma Prefecture, which is sometimes used as a special track for rally races, and Subaru is also famous as a rally car. Gunma was originally born as a closed track for motor vehicles, but now it is also known as a closed winding road section.
We test-drove a BRZ Model S, available in both 6-speed manual and automatic transmissions. Of course, I opted for a 6-speed manual.
First of all, on the first lap as a familiar route as well as a hot car, all-Japan rally driver Hiroki Arai sat in my co-driver and showed me the unique precautions of the Gunma Circuit. Hiroki Arai competed primarily in all-Japan rally races as a Subaru contract driver, while his father, Myshihiro Arai, was also a Subaru rally driver and still plays.
Arai is all too familiar with the route of this group of horse tracks and can give accurate advice even on snowy roads. For example, in sunny places, asphalt will be exposed outside, there will be ice in the deep ruts on the north slope that needs to be steered, bumpy sections need to pay attention to grip, and so on. He gave me a lot of useful tips as I didn't know anything about the Gunma circuit.
After a few familiar laps, I started running at my own pace. While the starting power is not comparable to that of a four-wheel drive vehicle, even with a two-wheel drive FR, the BRZ has shown decent acceleration performance.
On the one hand, the "Ice Guard IG70" equipped with Yokohama tires provides good traction performance, and more importantly, the standard LSD Tolson differential distributes the driving force evenly on the drive wheels on the left and right sides. When moving the center of gravity, a solid traction is ensured. Once the speed comes up, you can enjoy free handling like fr from there.
If the brakes are too hard when decelerating, the ABS will actively intervene in the front brakes, at which point the steering will not work. Therefore you need to control the direction of your front of the car with a lot of engine braking. Once the vehicle appears push head, the tail will also slide with it. If there is a motorized sliding control system, it may be improved.
Fortunately, the new 2.4-liter engine on the BRZ has strong low torque performance, excellent throttle response, rapid power output, and the body can be easily controlled. In addition, because Towson directly controls the power without losing the drive force of the left and right wheels, it is easier to restore control even during the skidding process.
For example, after starting to skid, it is necessary to quickly apply the reverse steering force, and the reverse amount is properly controlled by the driver according to the amount of slippage. Of course, the premise is that traction control must be turned off completely to take full advantage of these driving techniques.
On the BRZ, Subaru equipped it with a sport mode called "Track" mode that allows sliding to some extent, but on the pistes it is necessary to turn off the traction control completely, as sliding control is required in areas other than this. You can turn off the VSC and traction control completely by pressing and holding down the traction control switch on the left front of the gear lever.
The BRZ differs from the GR86 in that the stabilizer of the rear suspension is mounted directly on the body and is made of aluminum alloy. In places where the ruts are deeply icy and the road surface is hard, the front wheels are occupied by the ruts, creating a large driving resistance, but even in this case, you can still easily control the steering wheel steering, and the road conditions are easy to grasp. It can be considered that these properties are related to the flexibility of aluminum alloys. In track driving, it is worth affirming that it is possible to maintain this state even on snow roads with a lot of changes in the road surface. It has proven to have excellent characteristics on both the road and off-road.
The BRZ is very smooth on such snowy roads, even at high speeds, with high contact between the two rear wheels and the ground, and the power control is easy. In addition, the suspension adjustment is also in place, which can absorb the bumpy vibrations of the road surface very well, and I did not feel a violent shaking situation during driving.
Because it is a sports car, the BRZ has a ground clearance (minimum ground clearance) of only 130mm. As a result, it is easy to rub the chassis in places with deep ruts, and it is also easy to hit the front bumper and chassis where there are bumps and bumps on the road.
However, the chassis guard plate of the BRZ is very reliable, even in this kind of snow track fierce driving, the chassis itself will not damage the car, firmly play the role of the guard plate. According to Arai, there was no such trouble as a chassis base during a few days of driving tests, and the BRZ's chassis gave me confidence in terms of durability and reliability.
Because Subaru knows all kinds of problems on rough roads, including pistes, it allows me to test drive on this Gunma pistes with confidence... Such a subaru is really wonderful.
If you also own an FR front-drive sports car, enjoying drifting with a powered sliding car is a great driving pleasure. It is impossible to do on ordinary roads, and drivers can only enjoy themselves on the track and sports field, but on dry paved roads, the damage to tires and bodywork is very large, and the damage to the road surface is also very large.
However, on snow roads, there is no need to worry about uneven wear and tear of the tires, and the damage to the body will be minimal. If the Gunma Circuit is open to the public, it is expected to attract a very large crowd. If there are more such places in the country, it is definitely a happy thing for fans who like FR sports drift.
Improving pistes driving skills is also very useful when driving on ordinary roads, and the driving characteristics of pistes (such as excessive thrust when braking, which can lead to understeering, easy to jump to the opposite lane, easy to lose drive and spin, etc.), can be vigilant that drivers need to always keep driving within a safe speed range. I hope that car companies can create such opportunities to let more people enjoy driving on such snow roads. Also, if this becomes possible, we encourage users to give it a try. However, keep in mind that driving on ordinary roads or crowded places is strictly prohibited.