- When it comes down to things in the automotive industry,
you can just have blind brand loyalty,
because sometimes there are things
that are just so painfully similar,
that to argue about their differences
would almost just make you look silly.
Except, it's kind of a lot of fun.
It's like, what's the difference between you know,
Carl's Jr. Versus Hardee's?
Well, there's not a difference, except when there is.
I'm Alex, Alex.FI on Instagram.
On today's episode of opposite lanes,
we're gonna be comparing a Subaru FRS versus a Scion B...
A Subaru BRZ versus a Scion FRS, let's go.
(upbeat music)
So now that we spent 10 minutes
getting this five point harness on.
(car beeping) (car engine roar)
There's a lot of differences between the Scion FRS and BRZ
and we're gonna talk about them.
This is Salem's.
He's got a BRZ on Victory Function fenders,
some KWV3 Clubs Boy coil-overs,
and they're actually pretty good.
And, he's got some nameless long tube headers,
mid pipe, cat back, strut bar,
got some Recaro seats, GeForce five point harness,
welded-in half cage, he decided to take the backseat.
So, and there's no cup holders.
Right, F1R wheels, and let's go.
Alright, so this is Salem's Subaru BRZ.
(car engine roar)
It's a 2013.
I already mentioned all the stuff that it's got.
And you might be wondering,
"Alex, why would I choose a Subaru BRZ over a Scion FRS?"
Now, there is a few key fundamental differences
between the two, that people will argue about
for the rest of time, okay?
Number one, it's got a different front facials,
slightly different from Facia.
Essentially, what they did, is you have the Scion FRS
that goes this way and then with the BRZ,
they just flipped it.
Pretty much it, the BRZ has a mustache,
if you didn't know that, which is pretty cool.
And the Scion does not.
A couple other things to mention is just different
trim levels that you could get in between them,
They had this piece that came in aluminum
versus fake carbon fiber.
They had push to start options between the two.
There's a couple key things,
but they came within the trim options.
So really, at the end of the day...
(car engine roar)
They're very, very similar.
All right, really the reason that you'd pick one up
over the other, I think for the number one reason
is either brand loyalty or price.
Now, when the cars first initially came out,
there was a difference in price variation
in terms from the dealers and the used market.
In fact, there was one that was insanely
like thousands dollars less on the used market
than the other.
The Scion was cheaper than the Subaru when it came out.
And then on the used market, it was still cheaper
than the Subaru, because the Subaru had the Subaru badge.
A lot of Subaru fans love the Subarus.
(car engine roar)
Now this particular Subaru is World Rally blue.
Got a little bit of a loud exhaust coming from the rear,
and that has a lot to do with the fact
that I think there's not a whole lot...
(car engine roar)
There's a little rattle rattle, you know what I'm saying?
Subaru BRZ and FRSs
are very popular because they're a really affordable,
really fun or can be a really fun, cool sports car.
But because there's so many of them,
people try to do as much as they can
to make their BRZ or FRS unique,
(car engine roar)
which sometimes can result in,
I don't know people preferring one or the other
because they see most FRSs are built this way,
Most BRZs are built this way.
Now, this one particularly,
is a little bit of a unique character.
It ain't got no more backseats,
its got a welded-in half cage.
It's got pushed to start very nice.
You know, the BRZ
has so many differences.
They almost can't even tell how many differences they have.
That's all I got to tell you.
What makes this car honestly different,
is the fact that really...
(car engine roar)
We are going 58 miles an hour, just now.
Don't worry the speed limit was 55.
There's really not a whole lot to explain as Salem says
that really the biggest thing about picking a Subaru
over the Scion was the fact that it was a Subaru.
That was pretty much it, that there was,
It came in the World Rally blue,
it was a Subaru, it was more wildly accepted
on initial release,
and that's pretty much it.
Now, if you look at the modifications of each car,
the modifications are very different between the two.
This is definitely more rough and tumble
in your face race car status.
which always leaves me a bit questionable.
In my opinion, I think that if you ever daily drive a car,
the last thing that you would wanna have in that car,
are racing harnesses, racing harnesses suck.
They are and supposed to be specifically for racing.
And even then, on normal 2.3 point seatbelt.
It's gonna do you just fine.
(car engine roar)
Here's a couple of things that I don't like.
Or that would probably be some cons to the Subaru BRZ.
And maybe my opinion is twisted
because I'm driving one that's modified,
but one thing I will say is,
the cars definitely need to have,
I think a little bit more...
Maybe power or forced induction
or something like that to help just give it
a little bit more umf.
Now this is probably go for both cars,
but if you're looking to actually pick one up,
It is important to remember that,
that you can make them as loud as you want,
you can make them as angry as you want,
but at the end of the day,
it's still 200 horsepower, naturally aspirated engine.
So, they aren't inherently quick off the gate,
and they don't really get much quicker without,
well, a turbo or supercharger,
or something that can just kick it a nickel
in terms of the old displacement department.
On top of that,
if you're really thinking about picking one up,
it's really important to understand
what you're buying, this thing is a Lego.
You can do so much to this stuff,
you probably acquainted to like an SRT four of the time,
or maybe a Civic of the time,
because so many people have bought these cars,
that you can do pretty much anything you want.
It really doesn't feel bad, but I think a lot of that
has to do with the KW coil-overs if you've ever had them,
they are straight fire.
(car engine roar)
That's a cop.
Smile.
So, we drove the BRZ first, specifically first,
because of just
how loud and obnoxious Salem's car actually is.
And now, what we're gonna to do
is we're going to get into the FRS,
and we're gonna see if there really
are that many differences, or the differences hide
pretty much only in the modifications.
But I'll tell you what, the BRZ does get negative one point,
because for some reason,
they allow you to take out your coffee cup holders,
and I couldn't bring my coffee with.
Let's go check out the FRS.
(upbeat music)
Let's get in.
Oh, wow, am I even in the same car?
Ready for this?
Push, there's no push button.
That's okay, I won't judge.
You wanna know why?
Cos I can just put a seatbelt on normally.
And we're ready to go.
(car engine roar)
Ah, this is Gel's dot Ephi, Alex Giuliana,
Gel's dot Ephi's Scion, alright?
Ain't no BRZ, this is an FRS, okay?
I'm just gonna shoot through the whole list here real quick
on what he's got going on.
So, he's got to actually tame flex these,
video to video on that.
I know he's got the NT,
NT-O threes, yep.
the NT-O three M's, and then middle NT-555.
So, he's got awesome Wheel Tear suspension setup, IMO,
and then, told me unequal length Catless headers,
he's got some exhaust stuff Flash tune, some carbon bits,
carbon trunk, new headlights front Splitter,
side skirts, all that sort of good stuff.
But then on the inside, it's looking pretty stock.
So, the good news is, we can actually compare stock interior
first not stock interior,
but, we're gonna get to hear,
I think a little bit of a different tone.
Oh my gosh.
(car engine roar)
Oh my goodness.
You hear that?
Do you hear the difference?
Wow.
Now, this is not forced induction.
There's nothing anything different with that.
It's literally just a different exhaust setup,
different interior setup and just different mods.
I'm not even out of the parking lot yet.
And I'm already in love.
The first thing that I actually noticed
about the actual differences between the BRZ and the FRS,
at least just kind of jumping into it,
is that really, it's just all about where they put different
trim pieces, different color pieces and things like that.
So, I know that these have like,
this little two tone seat thing going on,
I know they try to match it to the stitching on the side.
But for the most part,
it's all at its core, literally the same.
The difference here
between the two cars is 100% modification.
And absolutely zero percent, factory differences.
Now, that might get a couple people upset saying,
"Well there is a difference between the FRS and the BRZ,"
so here's the differences between it,
and it's like, yeah,
I'm sure that there's minute differences.
They claim that the FRS or the BRZ have softer springs
and that causes more understeer at high speeds,
that that can happen
or that sometimes the viscosity
in the damper fluid could be different.
Honestly, in all honesty,
you will not notice the difference
when you're driving the two.
What you notice in the difference is actually
what the mods are, because when I look at this,
I mean sure it doesn't have a push to start,
it doesn't have the same things that the Subaru had.
But besides a different paint color choice,
besides the fact that this was probably
a couple thousand less because it had a Scion badge,
and not a Subaru badge.
There's not a whole lot to compare to,
opposite lanes, is like it's like comparing
a toaster strudel versus a toaster scrambler,
I mean, yeah, there's some differences.
At least the insides are different,
but I mean, they're both delicious.
I will say that Gels did a fantastic job
with modifying this FRS.
I think it's very, very tasteful.
I would say the most aggressive thing
that's probably outside of like,
normal mods would probably be the front splitter.
The Battle Aero front splitter,
cause that thing's massive.
But, besides that, everything on this car
is tastefully done.
Like even the exhaust mod,
no rattling, no ting noises, nothing.
That sounds out of place,
something that sounds like it's falling apart
or breaking apart.
Because, we still have seats in the back.
We still have a normal interior,
that seems to be doing a pretty good job
at keeping the noise out of the cabin.
You could actually daily drive this,
and it's got normal damn seat belts.
I don't know what it is
with people and racing harnesses,
but its gotta stop.
Yeah, stop, okay?
Now the same thing
for the FRS and the BRZ,
they're not gonna be inherently the fastest thing
in the world, but what I will say,
and what I enjoy about the FRS over the BRZ,
at least one more comparing Gels's to Salem's,
is I really enjoy the tone
and how it climbs very calmly.
(car engine roar)
And it doesn't seem to freak itself out.
Like it doesn't seem to get more and more,
or closer and closer to the verge of death.
The higher you get up in the RPMs,
which is good, you know,
I actually really liked this car,
plus it's really easy to drive.
Jumping into this thing.
If you jump into a heavily modified anything,
it's kind of tough to drive,
but like jumping into a BRZ, and jumping into this FRS,
have both been very easy to drive, the clutch is super easy.
The shifting super easy, everything about the car
is a very easy car to drive.
And I think that's why people like them so much.
I think that's why people buy so many of them,
is because they just do a good job
at giving you the base fundamentals
of what you'd want out of a car.
I will say that this setup does feel...
Tighter, but it's not as firm.
So, in Salem's car with the KWs,
it was definitely a very firm feeling.
It definitely didn't want to give anything at all.
Whereas this, because of the wheels,
because of the tires, because of the suspension,
it just feels like it's a little bit more on its toes,
I would say that this still actually feels
a little bit better, cos I'm not a huge fan
of overly firm coil-overs,
especially in a car that you're trying to daily drive.
Now one of the cons of the FRS to remember,
is just like I said before,
they are for some reason,
they came out a little bit cheaper,
they came out a little bit more accessible.
People didn't trust them as much
as they trusted the Subaru BRZ.
And as a result, there are a lot of FRSs out there.
And when people pick up an FRS,
they can sometimes be changed.
And when they're changed,
they don't take care of you.
And that's the biggest consumer, BRZ generally speaking,
because there is less of them purchased
cos they're more expensive.
The odds of you getting burned by one
are a little bit lower.
Scion FRSs, on the other hand,
can be just beat to absolute piece then sold.
And the next thing you know, you've got a car
with a ton of issues.
These cars aren't notorious for a lot of issues,
but they don't always handle forced induction very well.
They don't always handle tunes very well.
They don't always handle a lot of internal pressures.
And so, you have to be okay with that,
if you're trying to get more power out of a car like this
that you are gonna be spending some time
working through all of that,
because these cars were never really meant to do it.
Now, whether you're on the fence on,
if you want a Subaru BRZ or a Scion FRS,
you really should be looking at,
how do you plan on driving it,
how do you plan on modifying it,
and then how much money do you have to spend.
Because, at its core the cars,
they're pretty much the same.
They come in different colors.
Do you want me to talk about the colors?
The differences in colors?
Do you really like World Rally blue?
You're gonna want to go get the Subaru.
Because, ain't no Scion gonna have a World Rally blue,
but they've got that lava orange.
Lava orange, which is what we're in right now.
Max, which one do you like more?
Max likes this one more.
Max, why do you like this one more?
- [Max] It's more comfortable.
- It's more comfortable.
Max, what's the biggest difference between the two cars?
- [Max] The other one is racey.
- The other one is racey.
Oof, you've heard it from Max first voice.
I will say that it's still loud,
but it's still definitely sounds like a Subaru.
Bonus two points,
cause I can do this.
If you wanted to watch this video in five seconds,
the answer is that they're the same.
But, I like the Scion FRS a little bit more
mostly because of the modifications.
But also, because the interior is still in one piece.
Salem's is not.
And it's got racing harnesses,
so I can hear every single time a squirrel humps a tree.
So, in terms of which one to go with stock for stock,
personal preference, based on color options
and things like that,
but, in my limited knowledge of comparing one modified one
to another modified one,
FRS is looking a little strong in that department.
Exhaust mod, perfect interior,
very nice comfortable to drive.
It's not perfect.
It's not real carbon fiber.
There's not real parts everywhere,
there's lots of plastic and things like that,
to keep costs down.
But you're not buying one of these
to have the best quality in the world.
You're buying one of these
because you want to have a Lego car.
And when it comes down to it, both of them will do it
very, very well, whether they come out good or not.
That is entirely up to you.
So it really comes down to it,
one has a mustache and one does not.
One is slightly angrier, and one is not.
One has side skirt inserts that are fake and well,
the other one does too.
Really what it comes down to,
is which one is your personal preference.
This one was just built by Gels,
and this one was just built by Salem.
And they have completely different driving experiences,
because, they decided to do that.
The cars are identical.
What really is the only differences
are the minor changes in paint color.
And whether or not you wanna Scion,
or whether you own a Subaru.
Well it really just comes down to,
if you modify it well, it'll still be a good car,
and if you don't, well, you're gonna pay the price.
Let us know what you want us to compare next.
And of course, if you're looking for aftermarket wheels,
tires, or suspension, be sure to check us out over
at "fitmentindustries.com"
where we literally have everything,
and of course drop a comment to let us know
what you want us to compare next.
But it would be ideal if we could compare some items
that are maybe slightly sort of different.
Because I feel like I'm comparing
my left shoe to my right shoe,
and trying to see which one has more or less
grass stains on it.
Either way, enjoy the videos, enjoy the cars.
We'll see you guys later, peace.