FR-S Upgrades, weigh in on prioritization

"B_dol" (bdolan40) 01/08/2014 at 17:48 • Filed to: FR-S

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Well, its almost that time of year again. As a birthday present to myself (and my car), I purchase a few upgrades and enjoy them over the next year until its time for even MOAR.

To mark the 1st year of ownership, the FR-S received a TRD Intake and TRD Catback Exhaust. I have enjoyed the two quite thoroughly over the past year, yet the mod bug bit hard and I've been creating a little shopping list.

On the list thus far is 18x8.5 RFP1's all the way around wrapped in Michelin Super Sports or Hankook R-S3. In addition, I'd like to install either the Eibach Pro or Racecomp lowering springs to erase that rallycar wheel gap.

On the business end of things, I'm looking at a ft86speedfactory Unequal Length Catted Header and Raceseng lightweight pulley set.

What should go first? The rational me says headers, pulleys, springs and wait until the stock tires disintegrate. However, I do like the look of some new shoes.

KB Garage > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 17:56

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Would you rather your car be set apart from the rest by looks or by moar power?

Textured Soy Protein > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 17:57

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The stock tires are shite. I would ditch those things ASAP. Whether you go for bigger wheels or just better tires on the stock wheels is up to you.

Next up I would fiddle with the brakes, good pads, stainless lines to firm up the pedal, the stock rotors are probably fine for now if you have them turned before switching pads.

From there if you're messing with the suspension, I might look at shocks to go with your springs, and camber kits. You can get a lot of handling improvement out of a good alignment. I'm sure folks on the forums have already figured out some good alignment specs.

THEN worry about the motor. I doubt with that motor you're going to see huge gains from bolt-ons so might as well do other stuff first.

Stef Schrader > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 18:02

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Tires, suspension, then after you're used to that setup, more power.

Driver mods > power mods. Go hoon it 'til you're used to it, then play with more power.

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 18:02

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The way Im planning on building my BRZ is handling and breaking before increasing power. I'm looking at getting some Bilstien coil-overs for the suspension not sure what I'm going to go with for breaks ill probably keep the same diameter discs, probably go with ones with directional venting for better cooling, as well as better pads. I'm looking at picking up some BBs wheels but will probably stick with 17s maybe a bit wider with better tires. Along with that I should be picking up a nice CF strut brace in the coming months. eventually I'd like to add forced induction but haven't decided which way to go yet for that. Towards the end of my build i plan on picking up the STi front spoiler and side skirts.

Dusty Ventures > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 18:06

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I agree with Stef with one exception. Nameless is going to be rolling out some new suspension goodies based on what they've learned from the rally car and the less-known autocross car. Wait for that to come out, then BUY ALL THE NAMELESS!

B_dol > Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ 01/08/2014 at 18:09

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Sounds like a promising build! I don't intend to mess with the suspension a whole lot, however I will upgrade the brakes/discs etc once I get into more recreational driving.

B_dol > Stef Schrader 01/08/2014 at 18:10

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Makes a lot of sense, especially when the CA emissions will make headers an issue.

B_dol > KB Garage 01/08/2014 at 18:11

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I know i'm keeping the car NA, but a few more horsies would be nice. As far as looks go, I want to keep the car cleaner, a sleeper if you will. This is my DD, weekender, etc.

B_dol > Dusty Ventures 01/08/2014 at 18:14

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I haven't read up on Nameless much but I know the forum fanboys love them. I figure Eibach is a trusted name, much like H&R.

KB Garage > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 18:17

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Well my two cents is to go with power upgrades first, then cosmetics. That's how we approached my buddy's focus and he was happy with it. But it's your money and your car so do what makes you happy. Glue a cat to the roof. I don't care.

/pleasedonotgluecattoroof

Dusty Ventures > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 18:28

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I knew very little about them as well up until they invited me to their shop to do a story on the rally car late last year. Having seen how the sausage is made, so to speak, I'd say you would be hard pressed to find better quality anywhere, even from Eibach. They're anal about getting the very best possible performance out of every part. For example it took a full year and seven generations of header design before they felt satisfied to put it on the market. Also, despite being a small, four year old company with about a half dozen full time employees (well, more after SEMA), they got a phone call in October from Cosworth (THE Cosworth), with Cosworth saying they want to partner with Nameless and sell the Nameless GT86 products in Europe with both companies' names on it, as well as become the global distributor for the full Nameless line.
Here's the story I did on them, it also includes a link to the following live session with the company owners. They answered some questions from customers and potential customers in the session so its a good read. Also you can call them up and talk to them about anything regarding your car and the direction you want to go with it and they won't rush you or anything, they'll talk it out. Average call length for them is between 20-30 minutes because they want to be thorough and answer all questions. http://dustyventures.kinja.com/why-wait-for-t…

Doge_Supreme drives a BRZ > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 18:36

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Both of my car will be used for motor sports when I finish the builds on them. I'm young enough where I don't mid a harsher ride in my cars so I usually do suspension stuff before I get into power.

TwoFortified > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 19:18

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Catback makes the outside of your car look good. Turd intake makes the bay look good (and you probably got a slight jump in the power category). A couple other people have asked, but they're right: Looks, or power?

In my very humble opinion, I don't fully see the point of upgrading your headers before upgrading either to forced induction, or upgrading internals (camshafts anyone?). Lightweight pulleys? That's the one thing on your list that I don't see much of any point in. Maybe I'm crazy, but how much power do you think that your pulleys are eating (serious question really. I haven't thought about it that much)?

If you want her to look good, IMO, ditch the wheel gap first, then grab some nice looking rims, and then tires. If you want her to go faster, I honestly (and not trying to cast stones here or anything) feel like you are looking in the wrong places.

My 10c.

B_dol > TwoFortified 01/08/2014 at 19:24

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You're right on the TRD combo, it gives about a 5% boost in torque and HP, which albeit small, is noticeable. I did these two to mainly get the Subaru boxer sound it lacks from the factory.

I intend to stay natural aspirated, which means no forced induction in the future. The FR-S/BRZ has a nasty torque dip between 3200-4500 rpm that can be corrected with headers and that is the only reason I would go that route.

I think this discussion has solidified my desire to do the suspension and wheels first. Believe me, I am not seeking speed out of this car. It'd be easier to buy a used Vette to achieve that.

TwoFortified > B_dol 01/08/2014 at 19:42

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I figured the catback was largely for sound profile. Nothing wrong with that.

A few of my buddies and I are of the opinion that the FR-S really could have used a turbo or two, but that's solely because we really like turbos.

Odd that you get a torque-dip at that point in the band (at least to me. Then again, I'm constantly learning new things about the dynamics of an engine, so a surprise today might feel like common knowledge tomorrow). Odder still that the solution lies in the header. Is the theory that the engine is choking on exhaust? I would have guessed that TRD would have tried to work what are essentially tuning kinks like that out of the engine before it left the factory. Well, clearly they didn't. Sucks that you'll end up getting stuck with a presumably pretty large bill to solve that issue (performance headers aint cheap in my experience).

B_dol > TwoFortified 01/08/2014 at 22:18

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No, headers are not cheap.

I almost feel Toyota did it on purpose, to provide two driving profiles. Below 3200 rpm the car is very smooth and provides great mpg (i.e. highway). Abouve 4700 rpm is pulls really really well and soars to the rev limiter. Between the two, well, it sucks.

The car does deserve a turbo. I'll let the warranty expire in a year before I think about that.

TwoFortified > B_dol 01/09/2014 at 14:21

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"deserve", yeah, probably. "need", nah. Car's awesome, even if it is N/A.

That said, if there's even PART of you that is LOOSELY considering a turbo, I'd highly recommend holding off on buying headers (particularly performance headers) until then, because you'll need a turbo-mani (among many other things). I mean, you MIGHT, with some serious jerry-rigging, get your intake to work with a turbo. Getting a stock exhaust mani to work with a turbo though...Let's just say that I wouldn't try.

Kits are expensive, and doing it custom yourself is a major time-sink (and still expensive), so that's a major decision. As much as my buddies and I like to talk about turbos (and occasionally how disappointed we are in ToyoBaru for not affixing them out of the factory), I doubt either of us would be too eager about stepping up to the task of doing it ourselves, particularly if it's a DD, because, if it was me, the car would be laid up for at LEAST a week. Probably closer to a month.

Still can't figure out why Toyota (of 2JZ fame) and Subaru (of STi fame) couldn't manage a turbo for their collaboration. I'm sure they have their reasons.

Jonathon Klein > Dusty Ventures 01/21/2014 at 19:48

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That's what I'm doing I already have the track pipe and am getting the intake as soon as its done

Jonathon Klein > Dusty Ventures 01/21/2014 at 19:50

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That's what I'm doing I already have the track pipe and am getting the intake as soon as its done

uofime > B_dol 01/22/2014 at 11:56

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If you do any kind of racing and want to be faster, grip is what you want to upgrade first, it is worth so much more than power when it comes to reducing laptimes. Upgrade tires first since they are the most important factor in increasing your grip. Once you have good rubber focus on using it as efficiently as possible with your suspension upgrades lowering it and increasing the spring stiffness will decrease weight transfer and maximize your contact patch at all 4 wheels, and don't forget to upgrade your ARB's, those don't seem to have made it on your list and they should be