Those things are sketchy AF! My BRZ is also lowered slightly, and has the stock front lip since it’s a Series.Blue, so those situations are butt-clenching for sure. The car is high enough that it USUALLY isn’t a problem, but there are some that stick up so much that it makes me legitimately wonder whether or not they…

“I’m staying on the road, and I’m staying in my lane! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!?!” -Most Motorists

Fuck, you’re right. I mean to say fatter TIRES (i.e. taller sidewalls.) Oh well!

I’m half-expecting to walk out to my car after work today and find a flat tire now that I’ve made this post, lol.

I have smaller wheels specifically for autocross, but I LOVED how these 18s looked, and couldn’t say no to them as the summer setup :P

My favorite is when they strip the top surface off a given street during a reconstruction (I remember them doing this on Western many years ago when I lived in Bucktown) and all the manholes covers are left protruding like a foot up into the air, spaced at odd intervals up and down the street. My cousin came down in…

Detroit’s a whole ‘nother animal. I’ve lived in SoCal for 16 years, and never had a low-profile 18" or 20" wheel get wrecked or blow a tire because of the roads here. Driving my ‘87 Supra in Detroit for only 8 months had me replace all 4 16" completely bent oem wheels that were practically triangular. Luckily I had a…

I’ve driven in Chicago most of my life and have bent 4 wheels and blown out at least 6-8 sidewalls in the past 5 years. (Golf R and ATS)

#MidwestLife :(

Try that in Detroit.

17" with taller sidewalls is the limit. I don’t even run the 19" that came with my car, I swapped those out ASAP for 17" with a taller sidewall.

They look better and the ride is softer on our Michigan 3rd world nation suffering a civil war style roads.

You have huge balls putting HRE’s through Chicago hell-roads.

You get a star sir!

I know that you can’t always see every pothole, or avoid every pothole in every situation. Let me state that up front. I live in Chicago. Potholes are a way of life. I’ve driven my lowered BRZ into some invisible potholes at night that had the car basically fall onto its front bumper. I’ve also hit potholes violently…

With strong internals (forged pistons, strong rods/crank) it is possible to be reliable at 100 hp per cylinder on pump gas. The Golf R and GTI are good to 400+ but the 1.8 TSI is not (different internals). The Focus RS is rated 375 hp. From what I understand they are reliably making 400. I run 400+ hp on my Subaru 4…

Another big part of it is packaging. Adding 2 cylinders could be a pain to shove into that already tight engine bay. I mean, I'm sure they could, but if the car is already meant for the 4 banger, then they're working well with what they have. 

Engine structure is the key. Block is reinforced, pistons, rods, crank, valve train,etc.....

When running a transverse engine layout where you need big crash structures to pass modern crash regs, you can’t add more cylinders. This is the only way to get the kind of performance they want in the size vehicle they have.

I’d much rather have an I6 version of this, with the displacement cranked up (from 3.0 to around 3.5, since no balance issues) and boost dialed down accordingly.  And then you can always crank it back up aftermarket.

I think the opposite. We’ve figured how to reliably use fewer parts and less weight to create powers that exceed what was possible with much larger and mechanically more complex engines.

Economical in what way? Monetary, resources?