Boost, N/A or trade her in ?
 

I've been getting kinda bored with my FRS lately and have been contemplating why I even have the car. Don't get me wrong, I really like it. Only problem is that when I drive another car I don't really feel like getting back into it.

That said, I've put the money together and really don't know what to do with the car. I like the idea of going turbo and making 450whp but I'm yet to see any fast turbo FA20 FRS'. Going all out with the FA20 is relatively cheap, but the car could be much faster spending the 15k on a Honda/Toyota motor.

Trading the car in is a bit sticky because I feel like the 30-40k range of cars is horrible. Within the range the STI is my favorite, but that thing is a ticking time bomb.

So I'm pretty much here trying to find out what you turbo guys feel about your cars. You guys think it's worth it to spend 15-20k over the span of a year trying to make my FRS something I'm looking for, or should I just give up boost dreams ans build an N/A time attack car?


Thanks

get a ride in a boosted one and see if it floats your boat I'd say

personally I feel these things should have had 250bhp from the factory

Supercharge it?

I've been heavily researching the FI side of our platform and have landed on the SBD kit. For the money, it seems like you're getting a lot and they are even throwing in a pre-tapped oil pan until Christmas so that is making my decision easier. Seems like you're looking for a little more power though and since the SBD has a smaller, quick spool turbo, you may want to look into FBM. Then you have to worry about tranny's and such. Lot of decisions to go into it but with headers, exhaust and tune I feel that it made the car a lot more enjoyable than stock. I'm ridiculously excited for spring to turbo it as I feel 280~whp is more than enough for what I'm looking for.

You are all over the place. You don't even know what you want.

450hp isn't easy. And if you think a STI is a ticking time bomb, turbo not for you.

What cars have you driven that makes you not want to get back into the frs? You should just buy one of those. You don't seem like you "like" it.

15k-20k wont get you where you want to be. 8-10k++ on turbo kit and things to support it. 4k+ on big brake kit. 2-3k+ on good wheels and tires. Suspension another 2-3k++ You are already near or past 20k.

450hp is not easy. Buy a V8. Buy a Vette.

^^ What they said. If you think an STI is a ticking bomb, the FRS with a turbo and not properly built can be too. TBH, I'd suggest finding something else.

Everything this thread contains in the OP is stupid and terrible

Get a new Camaro SS

If you are worried about a ticking time bomb, get something else. New Camaro or Mustang V8s seem like great alternatives; too bad they weigh 1000lbs more!

Reliable 450whp and cheap are not words that can be used in the same post.
FBM Stg 2 turbo kit. $7000 (you might be able to do it on the Stg 1 kit)
FBM Stg 2 heads. $3000 (you might be able to get away with out these)
FBM Built short block. $3000
FBM Connecting rods. $1500
Clutch. $500
That's just the motor. Then there's supporting mods and misc (Install/Tune/Cooling/Exhaust/Tires/Brakes)

Now you have invested close to 15k (or more) into a 25k car. A few of my friends have (or had) <500whp FA20's and I think their builds came to around 20k-25k CAD, and that was when our dollar was about par. To me that doesn't seem worth it. If your goal was say 250-300whp you could probably cut that cost in half.

Although, this is pretty bad ass lol
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcUsV7fE4Bs"]Full Blown Motorsports FRS Stage 2 573HP @25psi Spinning on the dyno - YouTube[/ame]

I vote for used 5.0mg. Bolt on tune 420whp ?

Every time I drive the S2k or Isf I basically forget that I have a FRS. Both cars are completely different, but make me feel the same in regards to the FRS.

I say the STI is a time bomb because they have ringland failures all the time.

You really think 450whp is that difficult to attain? I'm expecting it to be relatively simple with the proper turbo and fuel setup.

A turbo really makes this car come alive in a way I have not seen in other low powered sports cars. It really makes the car better in all aspects which is rare.

Anything can be done with the right amount of money.

I dont own a boosted car, though I thoroughly enjoy my car (aside from the minor mechanicals *issues* with this 1st year model). If you dont even enjoy sitting in it anymore, sell it to someone who will. Get a car that you do enjoy, simple.

I think you should boost it NA so you can trade it in.

I say trade it in. Get into a BMW with a track pack or the 235i. If you are handy with tools then you can do the maintenance yourself. Or go full Merica and get a Mustang or Ford Focus RS.

You should sell it. The FR-S is meant to be a fun car. The moment you don't feel like driving it anymore, it's not worth keeping. IMO it's only worth dropping all that money to make 450 whp if you love everything else about it. But doesn't sound like that's the case here, so probably better to cut your losses and start with a car you really like.

I see what you did there

Burn it

Thanks for the opinions and info guys. Ive decided to keep it NA and try to have fun with the car at the track. I already have KW coils so I'll be ordering the wheels and tires tonight. Hopefully I can choose the other suspension parts quickly.
@strat61caster

Special thanks for your post. I've got a few other cars that make 650whp+ so I'm thinking my decision to search for cornering Gs should leave me a happy camper.

Thanks again everyone.

This is going to come off wrong, but you need to hear it.

You're all over the damn place man. 450WHP or even CRANK HP is going to be a nightmare and way too expensive to even FATHOM. 12.5:1 compression with boost can be achievable, but it's going to be expensive, and in most cases unreliable. These cars are great N/A cars. High compression is great for natural aspiration, low compression is great to boost. If you want to boost, either purchase a FA20T and swap it or just do as you said and purchase another vehicle. You'd be a lot less in the hole financially.

But as I said.... Figure out what you exactly want to do and then start choosing financially.

Glad it helped before I deleted it, I realized that I kind of went off and was ranting and not from experience, there's enough internet benchracing out there.

I still think you should take the time and go on a few test drives of alternative cars, it'd be much easier to get a Corvette to do what you want than an 86. And at the very least help you gain some perspective on what actually makes you happiest.

I haven't seen an 86 blow up on a conservative FI kit, namely the CARB legal ones. FA20 seems to take to <10 psi like a fish to water on stock internals and ~240 whp (est ~300 crank hp) in a 2,800 lb car is no slouch.

:burnrubber:

Don't forget AutoX. It's a lot of fun and the twins are well suited for it.

Honestly I came away a bit confused about your objective. I can say that if I merge the 2 posts together then the best advice would be to call up the guys at Element Tuning and see if they might want to sell their time attack car.

As of now thats the plan.
Objective is to make the car "fun" again. I've been getting bored with it and wanted to know the community's opinion on whether it makes sense to turbo the car in attempt to make good power. General vibe that I came away with is that its not the best idea to try an make a FA20 a highway performer. I came to my senses and agreed when multiple people reminded me that spending 20k to make 600whp is pointless when my ISF makes more power and is faster for a fraction of the price.

So.... I decided that full suspension mods accompanied by full bolt-ons is going to be the best route to take.

Drive your Prius for a few days between hopping in the 86 ;)

Lol, honest truth- I used to own an e36 m3 and a gen 1 rx7 (carbed 12a). If I got bored of the bmw, I'd thrash around in the Mazda (fun in its own way) for a few days. After that the bmw felt like a rocket :)


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I was meh on the car after two years, if it got totaled I would have bought something else. My primary complaint was the understeer.

Then I bought camber plates this past summer. All of a sudden the front end gripped and the car was actually balanced and I fell in love. Imo I would be pretty happy with the car for a long time with camber modifications (both camber plates and camber bolts, it really likes over -3 degrees on stick suspension) and good Brake pads and alignment and nothing else.

Just my experience.
:cheers:

I can't imagine the ej sti motor being a time bomb. I feel like those stories occur when people modify that engine.

Don't turbo the car unless your ready to really taks on a forever project. You'll never be happy and shit brakes.

The frs is an interesting ride to say the least. When I get out of my 15 wrx and back into the frs I remember all over again why I bought it. It certainly is an involved ride and not as relaxed or comfortable. Ringing out that engine to squeeze every bit of power is just a good time. Certainly more dramatic than hammering the throttle of a higher powered car.

I'll tell you right now you will be hard pressed to find a car that feels as connected as the frs other than a miata or porshe maybe.

The ford focus rs is supposed to have a base model for about 35k. I'd also like to add that the 2015 wrx is pretty mean. So much power. The new chassis really stiffens the ride.

Yeah, I've been lucky enough to drive or ride in 2 diff FI cars... As the media/journalists kept saying when they launched the car - the chassis can really handle much more than stock power. Awesome job by toybaru.

Just get a Ferrari. Or a new mx5, and then a Cayman for track days.
Lol.

If you don't like the fa20, then a bit of boost won't solve the problem. You'll be bored of it again... Unless of course you do spend tons of cash and time on quality stuff, tuning, etc.

Do you want a project or do you want speed? Doesn't sound like the cash is the issue.

I think you will be pleased. As a track car it has a split personality, great trainer in stock form for beginners and really wakes up with basic mods. In my opinion the three things to change first are
Front camber -3
Rear toe 0
E85 plus header for 200+rwhp


Assuming you have decent grip tires, the car will be much quicker around the track and much easier to drive fast as well. I would also recommended cooling upgrades as well considering where you live.

Since this is the Forced Induction section, boost is the answer.

You're doing it wrong, OP.

Find a really good road, AutoX, track day or drift event and drive the nuts off your car. TheN come back and post again.

If you're just into big lazy power then this is the wrong car for you. Sure. Lost would make it more fun but at heart this car is built to turn and be driven hard, plain and simple.

This is the lest powerful car I've ever owned but it's by far the best driver's car. It's light and balanced - with minor upgrades to the rubber, brakes and alignment you can thrash it at the track all day long without being too hard on the brakes or tires. The harder you drive the better it gets. It teaches you things in the process too.

Many other great street cars, by contrast, tend to fall flat on their faces when driven hard, without very extensive mods. They rub the shoulders off the front tires, fry pads and rotors to an insane degree and tend to not be able to go half as long before they fall on their faces.

Change up the way you drive it and see before you change cars, IMO. :)

word of advice
 

just barely went from stock to some recent upgrades

you can easily get rid of the bored factor with a good tiny budget.

upgrade your stock header and you get rid of a big part of that annoying torque dip which brings some big fun back into the car with some noticeable gains and some extra growl.

after the header go to stage 2 with an OFT off the shelf tune and get some much improved throttle response with a soft rev limiter and if you stay on the tiny stock primacy tires you'll have lots of sliding fun with the new torque.

after that get your name on the list for a phantom supercharger for the extra major bump on the hp and torque.

if you still don't think its enough after those budget mods compared to the full turbo set up you'll have a lineup of people trying to buy that thing off you while switch to the new camaro v6 that sounds amazing or go straight to a vette or maybe a nismo GTR.

anyways lots of opinions out there but in the rare chance this helps...

:burnrubber:

good luck

For me, I'd chuck an Edelbrock SC on there, leave it in the 280whp range and go chase Porsche 911's at the track.

Sounds like you want a street car with a shit ton of power. The C6Z06 is probably the best thing you can get in the $40k range or less.

Im waiting on BRZedit to work with 64bit windows 10 so I can put the NA goodies on the FRS. Once I can tune my car with new bolt-ons I think its going to be hella fun. :burnrubber:

... Was very close to getting a GTR but got really lucky finding a specific spec 09 997.1 turbo. Although I picked it up on tuesday and its only been a couple of days, im in love

http://imgur.com/zguTtyD

Man some people are still comparing new car crank hp to boosted rwhp. A boosted +/- 300 rwhp brz is a blast. It's nearly double the hp from factory and just a little faster than a 5.0 mustang or SS Camaro.

If you buying a base model frs and slap a real FI kit on your car you'll be still cheaper and faster than a v8. You'll also be different and turn heads. Rear ends on the big v8's are also geared differently, longer gears, heavier and everyone has one.

My buds brand spanking new mustang 5.0 pulled 345wrhp on the dyno and I can out pull him, over and over again. Don't let the sticker with CRANK hp fool you.

Boost your car but if you don't know how to work on it find someone that can and knows how.

Mustang gt without all the goodies is 34k out the door. *fart*