In many cars, you can turn the nannies off, but it's not always a great idea. I know with my stability control off, my RWD G35 is a handful even just playing around in the snow on fairly safe local roads. It's very spin happy and tough to control once it gets too far sideways. So, I almost always leave the stability control on which makes it safe but kinda boring in the snow.Driving in the snow was a great way to learn vehicle dynamics at relatively safe speeds, but with all the electronic nannies on new cars, I don't think that kind of learning is possible anymore.
It sounds like the BRZ/86 has a sport setting for the stability control that allows getting a bit more sideways but will still save your tush. I wonder how much more fun that actually is? Does anybody have experience driving a car with similar?