Deciding on a modification strategy
 

Picked up my FRS in march this year. It is a leased vehicle, but since it is severely over miled, I have decided to buy it off at the end of lease term. So all the mods that I wanted to do but couldn't becomes a realistic option. I have done a little bit of research and have some ideas on what I want the car to be, but I thought it would be a nice to bounce some idea here. Any suggestions are welcome :)

I'm not after huge power gains and I love the throttle response of the NA engine, so Turbos are out.
I love the tail happy handling characteristics and I want to retain them even after wheel/tire upgrades.
Lightness is good, looking to drop at least 100lb if possible.

In the end, I wanted to make some modest power gains (~50hp), get rid of the TQ dip. Gain better grip without losing tail-happiness, drop as much weight as possible without compromising daily usability.

For power, do you think getting intake, full exhaust and an ECU tune will get the power gain I'm looking for? Would forged internals and fuel pump be necessary upgrades as well? I want to keep the options open for a supercharger in the future as well, so what other mods should I be looking at in preparation?

As for the added grip levels, would stock suspension cope well with stickier rubber? (nothing huge, possibly 225-235mm sections on 17in wheels) Do you notice changes in handling characteristics with a modest drop? (1/2in or so). Should I keep suspension stock, use lowering springs or full coil-overs? (what is the best use of money?)

Where can I drop the weights? lost the spare wheel already (of course) and shaved 2.6lb on each wheel with after market setup. Where else do you think? I don't want to go with aftermarket crash beams as the car will still be my daily, don't want to lose the rear seat either (still works for some shorter ladies I need to carry around). Smaller battery pack perhaps? Maybe 2pc brake rotors, but that seem like an expensive way to go about weight reduction.

Thanks guys :)

Edit: using the car mostly for daily, weekend canyon carving, AX and track 5-6 times a year

-header and oft tune (roughly 1000 if you shop around or buy used) will solve your torque dip problems.
-get lightweight battery for a quick lb drop. and there are definitely some light weight wheels out there to shed some pounds at the corners.

or run 10 miles a day without ever eating again and you'll drop that 100 lbs you are looking for quickly.

haha, thanks, being a 70lb man has always been my dream :P

Other than unbolting, or drilling holes, weight reduction is about the most expensive performance gain.

you want a 40% power increase that is modest and without a turbo and you want more grip without compromising the cars lack of grip? its probably best to stop seeking arbitrary goals and drive the car until you can identify the deficiency. its not about what you want the car to be. focus on what you want it to do and the mods you need will become abundantly clear.

50hp gain while staying NA is a tall order. Here are some of my random thoughts:

Don't bother with an intake. You can get 90% of the gains for 20% of the cost if you just get a drop-in panel filter from K&N or apex'i or cosworth or something. Also, if you get a SC down the line, it'll probably have its own intake anyway.

A catless header and full exhaust with a tune is a good idea. Performance gains decrease the further you get from the engine. That is, a catback is worth almost no power, while a catless header + OP will give you the bulk of the gains.

If you get a full exhaust, try to keep one cat and at least one resonator in there somewhere. Otherwise you'll sound really brappy. (Unless that's what you want)

Forged internals not needed unless you're boosting a lot.

For NA, you should expect around 205whp with a full exhaust, tune, and E85.

Headers, full exhaust, intake and OFT with tune and maybe e85 and you might gain 40whp...
With that setup you can also run a jackson racing supercharger for possible 300whp if that's what you're looking for.

Grip;
Suspension. Find your favorite. I've heard Tein Flex Z's are good. KW's are also very popular. Combine it with some sway bars, suspension struts and any other misc suspension parts.
Wider wheels with some good tires. Do some research with what kind of tires you are looking for. Michelin Pilot super sports are a popular option.

Weight;
for daily driving I DO NOT recomend to take out your jack/spare etc... Maybe if you dont want any passengers you can take out the seat... Or get lighterweight seats.
Look for exhaust systems that are lightweight single exits. A Lightweight battery is a good option.
Lightweight wheels are a must.

~50hp = $1000 for OFT and header combo, running e85 will definitely get rid of the dip and push you into 200rwhp.
See this thread for a good comparison of multiple ways to increase ~50hp:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...t=93180&page=4

Weight: Know the difference between sprung weight and unsprung weight as unsprung weight can greatly affect handling. If you're not picky on how the car looks, Enkei RPF1's wheels will be your best bang for buck. Don't forget weight of tires and light weight lugs.

Grip: Stickier tires may compromise tail-happy conditions. I'd recommend fully adjustable coils and a corner balance. Add lower control arms if you want to lower the car. It is recommended to drop the car ~1", hence TRD spring drop(there's a reason TRD is at that specific drop). All the misc. struts/braces seems overkill for daily driving. Find a reputable alignment shop and they will work wonders on fully adjustable suspension.

Header
Intake
stickier wheels
Short shifter
Rear seat delete
Exhaust
Useful diffuser <---- making them turns at 45mph you start noticing drivability jump. You forgetg about HP and enjoy it more.
Splitter <----if you drive in windy areas like me this is amazing and looks cool
Run 93 Octane
TRD springs, oh yeah you feel difference.

Increased HP (recovered) by least 15-20.

Estimating cost $1000 on good hook ups to $3000.

More?

ECU tweak/tune
E85 tune
Lighter flywheel
Lighter pulleys
A/C delete
Delete/remove extra weight
Oil cooler

Guessing cost would be about $2k-$3k?

Increased HP by 25-50+ On a soft tune. If you go all out, my guess is you can hit those 50 extra hp but for DD I see no need for it.

My personal plans are just sticking with TRD bolt ons for least 2yrs, pay off my student debt, then either go S/C or get new car (looking at S2K... or 2018 Supra?). I just want about 25 more torque.


If all else fails, get a few Ford stickers and Honda and apply to your car. Guaranteed 5hp per sticker applied.



HAHA or just buy cheap Chinese pos replicas of parts. Every 500miles you need to replace them but car will be lighter haha

well, 50hp isn't exactly 40% power increase (though I may be wrong, don't have a PhD in math:), but it may be too much to expect from a NA setup, but I don't think aiming for 200whp while getting rid of torque dip is unrealistic. Also, I don't think increasing grip levels and retaining tail-happy handling characteristics are mutually exclusive especially considering the power gains I'm expecting.

intake, header, front pipe, overpipe, cat-back exhaust
ECU tune
lighter driveshaft
lighter flywheel
really light wheels around 17x7 stock fitment size
decent tires in 215/45/17 size
functional rear diffuser
functional front splitter
mild drop with lowering springs - wide variety of legitimate tested ones to choose from
lighter weight bucket seats that sit low

that should keep you busy for a long time. lol

I'm in a mood to pontificate and I haven't personally done this stuff, I'm armchair quarterbacking it based on what I perceive your needs to be.

NA Power, imo wouldn't bother with anything over header + tune, e85 will get you close and you will drop hundreds if not thousands to get the extra 10-20hp you're looking for on intake/catback/power blocks and on and on for no good reason imo. Numbers are worthless, seat of your pants is all you want, most people can't tell the difference between a +35 hp or +45 hp.

Header + Tune into supercharger, don't overcomplicate it. Agree with OFT solution above, direct and proven, easy to sell to get into supercharger in the near future.

Stock suspension is great with sticky street tires imo, you'll get more g's and pull more body roll but imo as long as you stay with near OEM sizes and street tires it'll be fine, personally I would stick with OEM size or whatever fits on your current wheel if it's wider. Lots of tire info but it sounds like you would love the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, they get tons of love everywhere from here to Corvette/Porsche guys.

Dropping ride height is not a significant handling benefit, yes it is a benefit but extremely minor compared to the other things you can do. Changes in handling characteristics will come from the springs/dampers you use to achieve a ride height drop (which is why "I dropped the car, handles amazing!" sends you this direction, it was the spring change that did it). Since you seem to be going for the seat of the pants improvement lowering springs (from a reputable company) will probably leave you happy.

Weight reduction, see these threads:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42284
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7881
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53482

Seems like battery, exhaust, and seats would be the DD-able big tickets after removing the stuff that isn't bolted down followed by drivetrain stuff like flywheel and driveshaft.

You'll need to hit the track or autox to really see gains and it doesn't sound like you're interested in that so the only reason to go overboard is for street cred, stick with the seat of the pants, bang for your buck improvements for now.

Personally my biggest improvement to the car was a 4 wheel alignment adding front camber and brake pads. Still working on the skill to actually make use of the car, benchmarking myself at the local autocross, you can outlap a lot of cars that the magazines say are 'faster' with not much money.

I'll go against the grain here a bit. If you really want a 50 hp gain, I'd just jump straight to a supercharger and not even think twice.

It's going to be very difficult to get 50 hp NA, even with E85 fuel and a header. With a supercharger, you'll maintain the responsiveness of NA and get 80-90 hp out of the box on 91 octane, with plenty of headroom to add more (smaller pulley, exhaust and fuel mods, etc.)

245 width EP tires on 17x9 wheels will help you put the power down. Lots of tires in this category - Rival S, RE71R, Z2SS, etc.

I think weight loss has been covered already. There's a ton of information and experience on this forum, just need to search a bit.

@guanqi89, in case you missed this ...... ;)


humfrz