3-Year Review: Turbo FR-S (Turbo 86) Turbo BRZ

The late-model Hachiroku… called by many names among the community: the Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, Toyota 86, GT86 or FT86, and sometimes jokingly as the Toyobaru… Whatever the name, they are basically the exact same vehicle, rolling off the assembly line together at the Subaru Gunma Manufacturing Division, located in the Gunma Prefecture in Japan. Home to over four-thousand employees, this facility produces an estimated 30,000 Hachiroku each year. Launched for the twenty-twelve model year, the Hachiroku came with a Subaru FA20 2.0L boxer engine, sporting a 12.5:1 compression ratio, with direct and port injection, pumping out nearly 200 crank horsepower. It’s front-engine, rear wheel drive, weighs only 2800 pounds, and comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission. However, this snappy little 2-door coupe has been missing something since day one… something that owners, enthusiasts, journalists and youtubers have been complaining about since the concept was first revealed… the last piece of the puzzle to creating a truly great sports car… and that, is a turbocharger… So today, we aren’t reviewing a base model, nor even the Monogram edition, nor the pointless new tS upgrade… nor any other factory option, for that matter… Today,… we will be reviewing the Speed Freak Garage, Turbocharged Scion FR-S, track racing edition, sponsored by PowerSports on YouTube.

Starting with a Speed By Design Stage 2 turbocharger kit, running 10psi on 93-octane ethanol-free pump gas, followed by a Motive 3″ overpipe and test pipe, trailed by the limited-edition GReddy EVOlution GT 3″ catback exhaust system, this Turbo Hachiroku puts down 280 rear-wheel horsepower. She is nicknamed, “Koneko”, meaning “kitten” in Japanese, because although she looks small, cute and helpless, if you get too close, she’ll attack with a ferocious speed you’d never expect. Topping out at over 150 miles per hour, this kitten is equipped with numerous handling and aero upgrades. She sits on Racecomp Engineering Tarmac2 Clubsport coilovers, Advanti 17×9 wheels, Pirelli P-Zero tires, AEM strut bars, Mooresport camber plates, custom lower control arms with Buddy Club P1 Racing ball joints, and Eibach tubular adjustable sway bars… All of that… being complimented by a Varis carbon hood, carbon trunk and an aerodynamically-correct full-carbon GT wing…

This car, is perfect. Even a gentle touch of the steering wheel results in a highly responsive reaction from the tires. The suspension is setup for oversteer, but balanced well enough that you’d have to try pretty hard to make a mistake. As long as you keep the RPMs over three-thousand, the engine is responsive and pulls hard. It is, put simply, fun to drive. There aren’t any modifications unrelated to performance, in fact, there is arguably no wasted money at, and she was definitely worth the busted knuckles. Aside from blowing out an ACT performance clutch and having serious over-boosting problems, there hasn’t been any major issues over the last 3 years and 40,000 turbocharged miles.

The conclusion? Every single one of these… should have come from the factory with a turbocharger. Period.

(Scion FR-S) (Subaru BRZ) (Toyota 86)

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