Recommended cheaper power gains mods
 

Hey all,

I'm loving my 86, but as many know the power kinda sucks, I want to feel a bit more scared in the car, I know it's not fast in a straight line too. So where I live I can't turbo/supercharge the 86 or else I may run into cop trouble (because young drivers in Australia have restrictions until 21). My 86 is stock as hell and I'm generally a minimalist, but my mates are picking up some cars with serious competition and we may go to a track day soon, some of them driving the new Golf R Mark 7. Now I've been a Japanese fan since I've been little and I thoroughly believe my 86 baby can catch up with some mods.

Currently I'm considering doing these mods for performance gains (I heard they even help shed a 0-60mph/0-100kmph from 7 sec to 5.5)

- Tires (Bridgestone Potenzas)
- Wheels, possibly something nice and light
- ECU
- Full exhaust
- Coils

Any recommendations of mods or brands would be helpful, or any other tips on increasing power

Also if I do go ahead with the ECU I'm seriously considering e85 but I want it to be practical so I don't have to carry a Jerry can with me

I wouldn't get too hung up about the lack of power as a car is only as fast as its driver. However a bad driver can drive quicker in FWD as they are easier to drive at max than a RWD in the same hands.

None of those upgrade with give you more actual power,but to free up more power,so to speak,the first thing that should be upgraded is intake and exhaust.

Suspension,lighter wheels and wider tires definitely won't give you more power,but they will make you quicker,that is if you know how to drive.

I don't know what your definition of "cheap" is,but all of these upgrades together can get pretty pricey.The only "real" way to actually increase power is to either drop a new motor in it,or go turbo/supercharger.

If you have never been to a track I think your "stock as hell" 86 would surprise you.

You should focus on how to improve your skills as a driver, not trying to catch up to your friend's more expensive car.

Should have bought a 2nd hand WRX for the same cash. :)

BRZ isn't a 0-100km monster, it's a take corners without braking monster. I've chewed up and spat out a modified XR6 turbo in my stock BRZ on a twisty road. It will be great on the track too.

*edit* don't change anything on the cheap - get quality components.

Before you do anything to the car, go on the track first. You'll be surprised of the car's abilities, given you're an experienced driver that is capable of driving this car hard (practice makes perfect, no better place to practice than a track).

If it still isn't enough on the track, then you can look into some mods.

Sorry but there's no way you're going to keep up with a Golf R without spending serious cash on FI.

Maybe not in a straight line, but on the track driver mod is king. :thumbsup:

Save your money and buy quality upgrades don't try and cheap out and think you have made "improvements".
Do it right. Do it once.


Loads of info here:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96158

If you wanted to be scared should bought a stang or camaro, or turn the nanny controls off and attack some twisty road. That's as Scarry as my GT was it was all you and you better know how to control it
Same with your car. But this car isn't made for passing vettes on the freeway

Smash out your cats and remove your air filter for free power gains.

gears and a carbon driveshaft... on the track that'll do wonders... @emishor86

4.55 FD with sticky tires.

Learn to drive the car fast on the track in stock form first. Then after some practice/experience, decide for yourself what mods need to be done to make the car faster for you.

For tracks, stickier tires are always the best and first upgrade. Bolt-ons might add tenths of a second for the meager power increase. Sticky tires will drop seconds, if you know how to drive the car at its new grip limit.

The only answer to your question is boost. You'd spend money fixing things on the 86 that don't need "fixing" yet, you don't have the power to necessitate them.

Boost, then tires. Then go from there. Anything else is just your excuse to tell people you have these "awesome" mods. In reality, NA stuff may change the power delivery up to a whole 10% (wowza!) meanwhile, dropping a SC in the car can get you 40-100% more power easy.

Seriously, with rims, tires, coils, and a full exhaust - your taking a platform that is already great for the twisties and backroads, and - not doing much with it. Are you going to get to work faster? Or maybe pass 2 extra cars? Put some much needed HP/TQ in that motor, and roll out on those mustangs and camaros on the highway or dragstrip.

I mean, unless this is a racecar (doubtful) then you'll want to ditch your interior, switch panels with CF, change battery, remove seats and audio, etc.

But for the money of "mods" you posted, if you don't get boosted, IMHO your wasting your money. Worried about the lighter rims? ALL that "heavy" unspring wheel weight? ADD POWER. F' the wheel weight.

What he said is definitely true^

I spent almost $2,000 on full exhaust+ecutek tune. While I gained 35whp, it just made the power more smooth. I'm now on the hunt for FI

Not that the $2k was a waste, but for only a little bit more, I could've bought a FI kit.

I will say that buying a used headers+tune will maybe give you a great value. It'll be less than $1,000, and get rid of the torque dip

Max out on Ebay exhaust parts, then buy a unichip or piggyback system. Cheap!

If you're going to track your car Bridgestone potenza tires are a good way to start... sticky tires are key for tracking.
As far as modifications go you should consider TOMEI or BORLA headers and go for a tune.

If you consider doing more than the above mods.... remember Air + Fuel = Power. So the more air and fuel the more power you make.
- Get a cold air intake.
- Remove the stock air snorkel and replace with aftermarket air duct (HKS air duct) while your there replace the throttle body for a better one.
(these mods are for the best air flow)

-Bigger Fuel Pump and Fuel Injectors allow more fuel into engine.

-And dont forget the tune

The above mods are the best way to improve your power... now staying N/A now forced induction is a whole different story...

I personally focusing suspension(handling) on this car... cus i like to drive on the mountain and hp wont help me on downhill =[

if u want want more hp on this car...swap a engine,,add a supercharge or turbo or stage 3.
otherwise, you bought the wrong car =[

Remember that N/A mods are only going to get you so far... get a turbo or super charger if you can afford it man. Thats the best route

None of those alone or together will cut 1.5 secs off 0-60 time. There's no cheap way of getting there.

Focus on being a better driver. You are young. That is by far the best investment to make. A fast driver in a slow car will beat a normal driver in a fast car.

I wouldn't focus on track times until you have a decent amount of track experience under your belt. I wouldn't worry about measuring any sort of lap times until you have some experience. Don't bother with tire upgrades, the oem tires are fine. New fluids and good brake pads are about all you need.

I WOULD HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU DON'T COMPARE YOUR LAP-TIMES WITH YOUR BUDDIES AT THE TRACK. This is how novice drivers always end up stuffing their cars in the wall. Can't count the number of times a bunch of high testosterone kids all do stupid shitty stuff at the track. I know among guys this is like the hardest advice to follow. I have a hard time following this advice, but it is true. Just focus on your own driving and your own skills.

Well 7 sec 0-60 is the autos time. So if you have a 6mt then you're already half way there! Hell I broke the 6 second mark bone stock on a cold day with the primacy tires still on. Sticky tires/headers/tune would probably get you to 5.5 on a good day.

If you do have the Auto, then you clearly arent concerned with 0-60 anyway.

Race your own time. Unless you are going stock car racing, there is going to be a noticeable difference in the characteristics of your cars which will probably result in many seconds difference.

Just try to go faster than you did on your previous lap. Learn to get as much from your car as you can.

Equal drivers a golf R would smash a BR-Z or FR-S

It better for $10-15k more. :D Of course $10-15k more into the twin and it would smash all but a few cars on the track. Makes you respect more what the car is for what we paid for it.

Cheapest mod and free:

...weight loss of twins.

Remove excessive weight. All seats besides drivers, carpet...etc basically gut... Take out a/c as well.


Cheap mods:

Intake/exhaust/header/tune/tires/wheels/lighter body panels

All less than $500 alone.

It's not a knock on the car. It just is what it is. The GolfR is a fantastic performance value and a great...GREAT daily driver. I am loving my FR-S (pics next week) but my 335i will out perform it in every measure...

It's what you can't measure that the FRS is so good at. Tactile sensations and feedback, the connectedness of analog driving (despite its electric steering assist)...its like driving a sports car of 25 years ago.

That's exactly what it was intended to be.

OP, if you have a track near you, get some track time with an instructor. Best money you will spend.

most people wont outdrive the stock car especially with decent tyres



Read the "Basic bolt on mods guide"


Without turbo or Supercharger gains are mild


You can get most of the naturally aspirated power gains with 3 things



In Aussie dollars


catless header about $800 with overpipe (psr uel header/overpipe or tomei)
tune less than $300 depending on location
E85 fuel (with appropriate tune)


Ecutek tunes are expensive in Australia, look for a BRZ edit or opensource tuner.
you can do map switch tunes with ecutek to do 95/98/E40/E85 switchable on the fly but your looking at about $700


PM me if your in Brisbane

Replies in bold. I hope no one took your post seriously.

I'm glad someone said it :lol:

It's hard to beat the Proceed OFT for a tuning solution.

Power mods:
Cheapest (~$500) - Tune
Spent a Bit (~$1000) - Catless Header + Tune
Spent a Lot ($5000+) - Forced Induction

E85 will gain you more power when tuning.

Anything in-between these stages is a waste imo.

A good set of tires will make the biggest difference at the track and are the best overall investment.

I think people are taking this the wrong way, but the 86/FRS/BRZ is perfectly capable of shedding 1-2 seconds off acceleration with a few easy mods, so why not do it? it sounds like a no brainer

OFT proceed? I think you just mean OFT

Yeah, oops. OFT.

"Procede" I believe is used for the phantom esc as a controller

I even spelled it wrong.

http://www.procedetuning.com/