Quote:
Originally Posted by AsianStyle
Just to ask a straight question. You believe the FA20 is the best engine for this car? You have 0 complaints about this car at all and it is perfect? If so great for you.
I for one think they could have done better and if not I would have gladly paid more for them to give me better.
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First off I'll apologize for rehashing points you already made, I have skimmed some of the essays here. Second, I respect the things you want out of a car. To your question:
YES, absolutely, it is the best choice of engine for this car available today. It would have been my second choice of engine.
The go to complaint for many people is that they want a Toyota I4 for durability and aftermarket. Go back and read the articles with engineers about the development of this car, low c.g. was a huge priority, a car that out of the box handles excellently and rides flat with a suspension that is not expensive or harsh was the goal and that leads to two engine choices: wankel or boxer. An I4 would take away from the out of the box handling by raising the c.g. look at the cutaways from the recent road and track article, it's dramatic how low the powertrain sits in this car compared to the Mustang and BMW, or even the new Miata. They were really proud that the c.g. was less than a Cayman and most Ferrari's and I think it is a not insignificant contributor to how good this car
feels as it gets put through it's paces.
http://blog.toyota.co.uk/tada-how-to...eated-the-gt86
http://h.dropcanvas.com/nq8iq/DSC_0660.JPG
http://blog.caranddriver.com/wp-cont...ta-cutaway.jpg
So with that in mind tossing out Inline and V configurations, I am totally onboard with either a boxer or wankel. Personally I would have loved a wankel, a hypothetical partnership with Mazda is very exciting to me on paper. Screaming rotary + a Miata derived chassis I think would have had a very unique personality. Of course the economics of that don't bear out, (no need to discuss further here) so we're left with a boxer.
Barring a ground up engine which would have added a lot of money to the pricetag, two manufacturers build boxers with authority: Porsche and Subaru. With VW going head to head with Toyota in sales figures specifically targeting their market position that collaboration is unlikely to happen. So Subaru, their flat six is large and unimpressive at ~260 hp/ft-lbs and the only flat four they produce over 200 hp is turbocharged (EJ, with the associated lag called out as antithetical to the goal of this car in the article linked above and an aging design) and rather thirsty. Note that there is an imposed requirement of 2.0L and emissions in order to keep the car affordable worldwide and not get slammed by certain regional tariffs.
And we get to the FA20. If you haven't read the Toyota UK blog above it's a really good insight to the thought process of the design of the car along with the history and realities of the project. Some claim it's biased but I don't think the influences and realities are misrepresented, they seem logical to me.
Humans are fickle, no car is perfect. I wish this car had more character, I wish it fought me a little bit, that there would be a struggle to getting my laptimes down, and I wouldn't say no to a more aggressive design with less creature comforts or increased durability (oil temps, axles breaking under high loads, coil pack failures) or a transaxle. That in no way diminishes the car as presented, I am very impressed with what Toyobaru put out and I find most harsh criticisms come from either personal bias (some people just don't care for handling capabilities) or a lack of perspective about what's on offer. I really can't think of an engine on offer that would deliver as the FA20 does without serious detriments elsewhere in the car.
Difference of opinion is a good thing, keeps the wheels of the mind turning.
Edit: I gave up on the reflash, we'll see if the DI seals melt on my 12/12 built car, Toyota will replace them if they do before 60k and I have no problem replacing them myself later or if warranty is denied. Sucks but live and learn, I'll probably never buy a new car for myself again (the S.O. deserves one if she wants) unless Mazda makes a new RX. Dealership experience has been my #1 disappointment and that's not a mark on Toyota but rather the U.S. auto industry that Toyota is forced to sell within.