To boost or not to boost...
 

I picked up a 2018 BRZ with the performance package a few months ago.

I am wanting more power, but to stay safe on the car since it is so new.

I want to boost, but I hear a lot of negative opinions from people on this page.


Ideally; I would like to get her up to 250-275whp to make her more fun to drive as my daily.


What are your opinions?
What setup would you recommend?

making sure I'm getting a good seat for this one

How did you arrive at 250-275whp?

Edlebrock Supercharger + Delicious Tune + JR Dual Radiator Oil Cooler = Done.

Talking to various shops and people. Most have told me to stay under 300whp and avoid problems and/or beefing up internals... Im still trying to learn about the car.

I live in Florida, and many 86's are boosted here simply because everything is flat and straight. The only thing they can do on the street is go fast in a straight line because that's the only thing FL offers (outside of tracking, autoX, etc.).

If you have fun mountain roads where you live or at least something remotely interesting the car has enough power NA.

That said, do whatever you want.

Boost it stay around 250 on E85 along with an oil cooler and you’ll be fine



You’ll also end up possibly getting greedy turning up the boost and boom then the real fun starts

Just one perspective - people initially always worry about catastrophic failure. Add a turbo or supercharger and kaboom. In reality, while that is a risk, much more common headaches occur. Boost leaks, bad tunes, snapped pulleys, failed supercharger units, failed BOV's etc. etc. "Small" headaches. If you're not prepared to deal with that, then don't add boost of any kind. Or if you do, make sure a very competent installer and tuner do the work on your car to minimize potential headaches.

There is E85 in Eugene which is like 45 minutes away from Corvallis, so that isn’t an option unless I’m mistaken. Being that is the case, a basic kit like JRSC or Edelbrock, and if smog isn’t an issue, or a decent small turbo kit would all work. If you did E85 then you would need injectors and a pump too.

i would never suggest boosting stock engine. i boosted my brz and ran fuel flex + e85 on 9psi and i blew it in a week at 5K rpm. i was probably above 300whp but either way there is no reliability.
on the other side of things, now that im 20K into a full build i drive all day long with a smile.
so....
risk/reward

To boost. Just don't get to greedy with it. I prefer the TVS-based kits due to the OEM applications of the blower.

I have been driving with JRSC (CARB tune) close to two years, ~20K miles, all year snow, rain, or shine. It is very reliable, efficient, and fun. I installed it and I do the maintenance and fixing of my car. There is additional maintenance and quirks to take care but it is worth it. I chose JRSC since it had the best track record when I was deciding, very simple kit, least intrusive FI modification, no drilling/cutting, minimal rerouting. It just clicks in the engine bay. Low rpm torque is low that helps with engine reliability and high rpm power is up there with all other options at stock level; linear and smooth power delivery. Plus, my MPG with normal driving is the same if not improved vs stock engine. So I can recommend it. This engine is designed to rev up. If you respect its capabilities and design, it will deliver. Keep the torque/boost low especially at low rpm, improve cooling, make sure the tune is conservative. Tune is *very* important and the tune for the most power is not the best one.

The only real way to get "decent" horsepower out of these vehicles is to boost. If you want to take that chance on a new car, understand the potential risks and the benefits associated with your chosen method of boost.

I don't think this has been mentioned, but also be aware that with any FI modification you throw your warranty out the window. A big consideration.


That being said, I love my JRSC boosted FR-S. Another reason I went with JR is that it looks like it belongs, like the car could have came from the factory with it. My advice would be to have professionals with experience with the kit install it, and do not run an off the shelf tune, find an actual master tuner and get a safe tune.


I did have my C30 unit fail (bearing failure) about a year in, and was replaced by JR/Rotrex under warranty. The car was down for about 5 weeks waiting for the new unit. That was 13 months ago.

I agree. One needs to always be paying attention to your car. With that being said it was the best thing I ever did to my BRZ!

Didn't see it stated, but with Edelbrock if you have it installed by a certified installer then they assume the powertrain warranty for the 3y/36k miles.

Any base/stock/carb kit would likely not change the life of the motor. Add E85 and you have the protection, but you also have the extra power. I'm guessing you were turbo, so you were probably pushing decent torque, and if you were hitting that peak boost early in the rpms and holding it to redline then that was definitely a recipe for a disaster.

I'm running e85 with a Harrop kit with a peak boost of 13 psi. No issues so far. I hoon around all the time too.

You need to ask yourself what type of power curve you want. Without E85 your power goals are right in line with I would consider safeish on pump gas.(upper limits) SCs are going to be safer but if your looking for that shove of a turbo charger, SC might feel boring. If your state laws are not carb style like CA here is what I would do.

1) find a shop you can trust with proven track record. Talk to them to see what kits they have experience with and what they prefer.

2) get a good tuner! Besides proper install, sub par or bad tunes are the other major factor that will cause your motor to pop.

3) don't skip on cheap parts. Factor buget for supporting mods.. cooling, brakes, tires, etc..

4) prepare for worse. If you can't afford to drop another engine when it pops I would not do it. Stick to a header and tune and call it a day.

This is just my 2 cents.. take it with a grain a salt. Personally I would not boost it. 30k ish for PP and another 7-8k for boosted setup puts you into used Porche terrority...

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

All this ^
ANY changes to the engine elevate risk of failure. The bigger the changes the greater the risk. By doing things right (as above) you can mitigate that risk to some extent but it still remains elevated. There is nothing saying you ever will have a problem and contrary to popular belief there is no hard and fast cut off point that is "safe" to modify to so the whole thing just comes down to managing the risk at a level that each individual is comfortable with.

I feel like running boost without proper mods or a spare engine is kinda like Health Insurance or basic physical fitness. Sure you don't need either, but it's better to have them then not need them. Because when something bad does happen, you're cursing the world.

And mad when you get denied warranty.

I live in south town with an Edelbrock, Delicious-tuned 2014 BRZ. I am completely useless when it comes to mechanical stuff...so when I had the same question, after much research, I went with the Edelbrock and traveled to see Neal at The Racer's Line in Concord, CA. It's debatable, but I think Neal has installed more superchargers than anyone else and is incredibly detailed in his work. I have had the supercharger for 3 years now, daily drive the car and have had very little in the way of issues and none of them mechanical. So, my advice is if you do decide to do it, get it installed by someone you trust and expect niggling issues, but nothing that you cannot easily remedy and enjoy it.

Trade it in for the new Poopra.

I better start looking for a spare motor.

Meh. You have like 26 spare cars so if you have to wait a while it is fine.

THIS ^

Id say Edelbrock or Jackson Racing for reliability. My preference would be JRSC simply due it looking a lot less intrusive in the engine bay.

Neal's got a used kit right now and could install and tune...just saying...[emoji16]

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Well even though I said I would not boost my used 13 twin, I could not resist. Got a good deal on a second hand sprintex 210 with intercooler. Will be going with Moto East along with their flex fuel kit for e85 on the 72.5mm pulley. I am hoping with my headers and custom tune I will be near 300whp and 250wtq which should be perfect amount for the chassis and my current mods. A good friend who I trust to do any work to my car will be doing the install. So solid tune and solid install and e85... Let's hope everything goes well. Should have have everything done by the end of February. It's gonna be a painful wait.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5010 using Tapatalk

There's only one correct answer. If you boost it and you throw a rod (happened to a friend if mine on only 8psi) can you afford around $11,000 to replace the engine? When I hydrolocked mine, the insurance company paid $11k for a new OEM engine. You won't have warranty coverage on that boosted engine.

If you can afford it, go for it.

lol 11k for an engine.




I don't even know how to respond to that. Celek was selling his brand spanking new 2.3L for less than that.

Ive been turboed for a few years now. I believe if you run thicker oil, dyno tuned and reliable tuner, supporting mods, proper maintenance, monitor boost gauge and temps, give your car time to cool after pulls, or just take care of your car in general. Dont beat on it like it owes you money lol.

A lot of people say get a good tune, but its important that it is dyno tuned. Getting E-tunes where its flashed is not a full reliable tune. E-tunes are meant for your car to be driven for your dyno tune. Unless its been logged plenty of times for different situations.

Proper maintenance is key. My setup was around 300whp stock internals, injectors, no oil cooler. full exhaust, 5w-30 oil, thicker radiator and fans, catch can.
I definitely have pushed my car as well. Current setup is built motor and lots more goodies for more power, tune is coming this spring!

Total price, installed. New heads and block. Insurance was paying, so I didn't shop around and a dealership did the work.

I got mine for 600 eur used with 40k km on it in mint condition. My original engine is being rebuild so the total cost for a newly rebuilt engine will be about 5k eur. 11k for a new engine is just absurd.

I personally would boost it. I drove a supercharged GT86 and man it was so fun compared to my stock one. If you got the time and money for it and it won't cause any legal problems with inspection I would go ahead and do it. I would love to do it to my own car however i don't want to deal with having my car declined at inspection.