2015 Engine differences
 

It looks that the FA20 engine was revised lately. I found the following differences in the 2015 model (manufacture year after July 2014):

valve-intake
valve-exhaust
camshaft sprocket
camshaft complete-intake (left, right)
camshaft complete-exhaust (left, right)
head and valve set-cylinder

Actually, they have different part numbers. Even the entire engine assembly has a different part number.

Any ideas why they made these changes? Any known issue?

To allow for more boost. They switched to forged internals

Could be as simple as a supplier change or as advanced as a correction for a known issue or anything in between. Unfortunately we will not likely ever get a true answer to that question (there will be loads of speculation that people think is true though)
At work we can have a different part number on a part because the coating thickness spec changed by 2 microns.

I was thinking that it might be a supplier change. However, I find it very unlikely to change the supplier only for some specific parts. It sounds quite risky. Besides, don't they manufacture the engine by themselves?

Did you make some kind of comparison between old and new parts?

Suppliers change all the time in the auto industry. Come in with a part that is 1/2 a cent cheaper or can be supplied in a more timely manner then the current one and the business is yours. No risk really as the parts still have to meet all the specs and it doesn't matter if XXX or YYY actually makes them.
"Manufacture" is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to engines (or any assembled module for that matter) as they really just take the parts from many, many suppliers and assemble them. I don't know for sure but seriously doubt that the actually "make" many of the parts in the engine them selves.

http://www.memegen.com/m/jexx28.jpg

I don't get this "sarcasm" picture. If someone could compare the two parts (old vs. new) maybe we could tell what is the difference. It is not rocket science. It has been done before by comparing for example FA20 and FA20DIT parts. Maybe you don't care, but there are others who are interested to know.

The guy was being sarcastic.

The FA20 is not being boosted from the factory. Most likely new part numbers were necessitated due to a change in supplier status (either new factory, or redesign, or simply internal paperwork change).

This happens A LOT. Don't read into it too much.

-alex

The old parts were prone to catastrophic failure.

Basically if you bought a 2012-2014 GT86 you are ****ed.

THAT'S how you do it. :-)

^^ Ya this! The sarcasm pic wasn't directed at you but was intended to clue you in on what Raven said. Sorry if it confused you.

Parts you describe maybe are fitting to new regulations both in Europe and for US for emissions.
Here in Europe regulations set to Euro6 from mid2014. California rules are more restrictive starting up 2016.
head and valve set-cylinder let me think near emissions rather than adding performance.
Maybe useful to see if MY2015 US emissions are the same or not of previous production

I'm pretty curious how these new internals will preform compared to the old internals. It would be great it the newer internals will handle and perform better than pervious. With all the engine issues from the first release an engine overhaul is due. No one likes a blown or ceased engine lol! ;D

not trying to be a word nazi or anything...
 

But I think the word you were looking for was seized, not ceased...

Jaden

Maybe deceased? Since a seized engine would technically be dead.

-alex

A "seized" engine could also be taken away from you!
No wonder people have a hard time learning English!

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news...ed%20Items.JPG

He actually could have meant ceased, as in ceased firing, thus not turning the crank and such. Yes, i know thats stretching it BUT IT STILL WORKS, :lol:

I don't know what manufacturer you work for but that's not true in my case.

As far as part number changes go, don't read much into that. Part numbers change all the time. The vast majority of them are for supplier changes. The part number for the engine changing could be a tiny revision or maybe they added production at a different powertrain plant and the new number represents that plants production.

Ya my last employer that made parts for heavy trucks almost had a monopoly and the part numbers were all about 40 years old!

And you somehow missed that his parts "preform" and are "pervious"?

I've just checked it and it is under Euro5. The same holds for the emissions. Nothing changed.

By the way, one more change is the part number of the muffler. A coincidence?

Is this a part number change for Toyota or Subaru? I know if Toyota changes the part number there is a reason (and they'll have a supersede note for the old part number).


Where's Jeff Lange when I need him...

I did the check for Subaru. However, the part numbers also changed for Toyota. Following are some examples:

Valve, Intake
old SU003-00196
new SU003-04745

Valve, Exhaust
old SU003-00197
new SU003-04746

Camshaft, Intake, RH
old SU003-00180
new SU003-04741

Camshaft, Exhaust, RH
old SU003-00181
new SU003-04742

Head & Valve Set, Cylinder, RH
old SU003-00103
new SU003-04958

Very interesting...

Muffler could be a new part number because the 2015 MY now has the bigger round exhaust tips instead of the small ovalish ones of the years prior

This is Pre-2015
http://image.motortrend.com/f/featur...d-rear-end.jpg

Whereas these are the 2015 MY
http://newcar-review.com/wp-content/...ue-edition.jpg

Very interesting. I wonder what if means

I understand what you say, but this doesn't justify to change the entire muffler. You need to change only the exhaust tips. In fact the tips are a separate part:


http://i59.tinypic.com/2wp7yw5.jpg

If it wasn't the muffler, I could say that it is just a supplier change. But now we have too many coincidences. It is like they are trying to improve the performance of the engine ...


Maybe a preparation for the next release?

Why only one side of the motor though? Or is there Part # changes for the LH Head too?

Nah only half the motor is getting a turbo. The other half stays NA. :lol:

This is normal quality and reliability improvements. Not every change is for performance. You are reading too much into this. Changes like these are normal in all kinds of manufacturing.

They changed both sides. I provided an example.

Nikitopo is like your style.

How are you getting these parts lists and comparing them? Are you grepping them in a script or doing it manually?

Hello mole hill, let's make a mountain of you!!!!!

Using a script :)

Most likely come as an assembly to the plant. Every part has a number, but every assembly also has a number. Change a part you have to change the assembly part number as well.

You guys are really making too much of this. I've worked in power train manufacturing for many years. Part number changes are common without modification of the part.

Sorry guys, but we are not making too much of this.

If the old part number is not available anymore then we can say with more confidence that it was just a number change or it was just a supplier change or it was a minor modification. However, if both part numbers (old and new) are still available then it is a different story. Car factories also improve their products. If they promote these changes by marketing it is another story. It is not irrelevant that you have to use your VIN number to order parts.

For the engine changes, both old and new parts are available :thumbsup:

This version has never even been sold in Europe.

It's always been like this:
I've screwed them off anyway, since I'm not a big fan of unnecessary weight.

The part number will be available for as long as they have them. The new part will be substituted once the old one isn't available any longer. You keep on believing.
I've seen multiple part number changes put in place over the last few weeks. Nothing has changed about the parts.

Some parts have been substituted already, others are not. Do you think that all of them will be substituted? This is not the case for older car models where different changes appeared in their lifecycle. I'll wait for someone who has some facts and not general speculations. Thank you.