Take a beating....
 

How much has everyone noticed the reliability been long term here? I haven't had my car very long and as I don't regularly floor the car I do like to do some spirited driving and am planning on doing some autocross in the summer (possibly). Can these cars/engines take the abuse or is there a limit to the madness?

Whatever you do, stay away from 4500RPM. There are a few posters here over 100K and many who race. No more issues than any other car. Consumer reports listed the FR-S as junk in 15(?) based on reading this forums (my opinion) complaints about crickets and no cup holder. Later rated as very reliable.

Race prep the car, go racing. Otherwise, drive it like you stole it.

https://www.consumerreports.org/car-...reliable-cars/

The 86 platform was rated as #2 most reliable car last year. Compared to most modern cars the twins are quite simple..no FI, RWD, no DCT, etc

What specifically goes into a race prep? I would rate my overall car knowledge as above average so a lot of things and terminology are not foreign however I have never had anything like this, almost like learning a new language. This car has opened me up to a whole new world when it comes to cars. Appreciate the help.

Hello trev616,

Generally, this car has shown to be quite reliable, if properly maintained.

As far as "race prep", I reckon that depends upon what kind of racing.

You mentioned "doing some autocross in the summer (possibly)".

Now, I'm no racer, however, from what I gather, if your just interested in light auto crossing, maybe just changing the tires would suit your needs. If you get more serious, maybe an upgraded suspension.

I figure what ol @PetrolioBenzina was talking about, when he said to stay away from 4500 rpm, he was referring to another thread and discussion ..... not to worry about 4500 rpm.

Enjoy your new machine.


humfrz

Like any engines all depend on various factors.
From your general use of it I would say it would live a long live well past 200k.
Then who knows you might have bad luck and have the one with a manufacturer defect and blow a rod.

All you can do is keep an eye/ear out for any funny noises keep up to date with maintenance schedules.

Allow me to modify that sentence for you and inject the word "unusual" between any and funny .......;)

This engine makes more "funny" noises than a steam powered hay binder .....:eyebulge:


humfrz

Good thing @4500. I've been way past that quite a few times. I figured these boxers wouldn't mind though.

Well, yes, the engine will cut itself off if it gets to spinning too fast for its own good.

I have found that it's not really necessary to crank it up past 6,500 rpms to get the most out of it.

ALWAYS make sure the engine is good-n-warm before you wind it up too much ...... but, you knew that.


humfrz

As long as you have MY14+ the car can stand up to a fair amount of abuse.

And there is the thread a bit down from yours about cars with 100k+

TrueDelta gathers owner-generated data and stats on vehicle reliability. The FRS and BRZ both have very good reliability stats on that site.

https://www.truedelta.com/Scion-FR-S/reliability-1096

I drive mine like I stole it and no problems. My car has 84k now but I didn’t get it until 80k. Who knows how the previous owner drove it. I also autox mine and will eventually track it. Doubt I will track it regularly but maybe a handful of times each year as I have with past cars. If you don’t plan on tracking it then there is nothing you need to do to prep it with regards to reliability. If you’re tracking it then oil cooler would be advisable. 60 secs at an autox isn’t going to cause major oil temps.

I did replace the TOB, that’s not a big deal though.

It is funny how consumer reports when from, oh this car is crap to putting it on the top 10 list. Early 2013 cars had DI seal issues due to knock on large transients but that was fixed with software mid 2014 (which is backward compatible with the 2013) and improved some more on the 2017. From reading around there is talk about early years being improperly assembled where they used too much RTV on the timing cover which would break loose and block oil galleries. They also changed the coil packs in 2015 I think it was. People tracking a lot would overheat the coils. As far as I know the new coil pack also dies with heat. Surprised no one has developed a kit to put LS coils on our car. There are kits like this on a bunch of cars because those coils are cheap and the truck version has built in heat sinks.

Long story short it seems the bugs are all worked out past 2015. I wouldn’t worry about driving it hard.

4500rpm is just fine. It's 4000rpm you have to watch out for.

:slap: ....... stop it!


:D


humfrz

^This. My car has been through everything from harsh winters to road trips to summer track days. It's my daily driver and I rev the shit out of it any chance I get. It's been just as reliable as I would expect from any other Toyota.

But I do keep up with regular oil changes and make sure the engine is warmed up before I rip it. I also use the recommend 93 octane fuel.

As for race prep, I just did really basic things: Wider wheels with sticky tires. Brake pads and fluid. Lowered it slightly. Better flowing air filter and exhaust. But you don't really need any of that for autocross. They only allow one car on track at a time. So even if you're slow as shit, you won't be holding up traffic. It's just faster and to me, a lot more fun, with a few basic mods.

Five years, 44000 miles, a half dozen or more AutoXes per year plus a couple track days, nary an issue. Heck, I'm still on the original brake pads (I changed the pads and fluid for the track - not AutoX though - changed them back to the OEMs after).

If you abuse it you will break things often. They can be fixed.
If you take care of it you will break things less often. They can still be fixed.
It is a car and will stand up as well as any other all depending on how well you maintain it.
It is not made of glass nor sugar.