Email from Key Toyota Engineer regarding FT86

[Laika]

Originally Posted by 1660

Subaru says they will have a longer wheelbase

Do you (or anyone else) have a source for this information?

[Dimman]

Originally Posted by zigzagz94

Guessing the "hot version" is the one with the giant spoiler and body kit. Didn't see an intercooler on that in any of the pics so it's probably a tuned version of the N/A FB engine.

Wasn't there a quote from one of the engineers a while back saying they could easily get 230ps out of this engine but they were tuning it for more fuel economy? The hot version is probably just tuned more for performance.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...03&postcount=2

"Subaru 2 Liter Boxer Engine's Mark Performance is 230ps, but I feel that this number is bit greedy. If we can hold the car's weight to 1200kg (2645 lbs), 180~200ps should be plenty of power"

230-250ps in a high revving NA FB would be awesome assuming the weight of 1200kg.

AFAIK they haven't completed testing of turbo FB engines and that is why the next gen STi impreza's have been delayed, right? Maybe ichitaka could provide more info on that.

I seriously don't see this happening with the FB20's 90mm stroke.

I'm still holding out that it is a different, more performance focused 2.0L motor... (Co-developed with the future WRX/STI motors.)

[cyde01]

Originally Posted by zigzagz94

Just updated my original post with a link to a post that referenced the interview with Tada-san, but I think the original thread was deleted when Axel left.

actually assuming that that sentence about the 230 hp was a quote from tada-san is quite an assumption.

i do remember reading that article now but i brushed off that 230 hp mark, because there are no quotations around that sentence. it is quite clear to me that this is more conjecture by the writer of the article that the limits of an n/a subaru boxer is 230 hp. remember too, this article was written back when the FB series wasn't announced. everyone including the automotive press was still assuming that this car would have a modified EJ motor.

so to sum it up, the above quote was by a writer (and NOT an engineer)for the car website Hobista Auto assuming that the n/a limit for an EJ20 was around 230 hp.

if they do make a hardcore n/a high power model i'd be surprised, but the cost/hp crowd probably aren't gonna be impressed.

[AIRMAX]

hmmm

Look, if the email from this Product Engineer from Toyota Japan is legit..

He's pretty much RISKED his job.




And its very un-japanese like for him to talk about a car that is not yet in production stages. Again this is confidential matters.

Knowing a bit about Automotive engineering...
- Design Engineers work on the car's parts design
- Design Chassis Engineers would be more involved with the suspension tuning during tests runs.
- Evaluation Engineers would be the ones collecting tests data and run data from the Nurbugring runs.
- A representative from the Product Development Department, the people who researched the market and proposed the vehicle to start with, would be present.
- Chief Engineer, person who commands/captains all aspects of the vehicle design/development would want to make an appearance also as its "his" legacy vehicle, to put it shortly.


And unless the email came out from a private email address, any information would be filtered by the email security system, and hearing a bit on Toyota, it would be almost suicidal to email a "consumer" about products in development through the work email system... knowing the risks of the NET.

Again, it could be "him" feeding the HYPE on the net to assists Marketing's job... but I have doubts.

[AIRMAX]

Although the information given were very very very vague...

so..
- There's a small chance its a real "engineer" from Toyota.

-marketing ploy, to create interests and hype it up more, I mean using "LFA... STI... tuning it etc" are all KEY words to increase HYPE.

or it can also be..

- Some guy from Japan who is pranking.

[Dark]

Originally Posted by AIRMAX

hmmm

Look, if the email from this Product Engineer from Toyota Japan is legit..

He's pretty much RISKED his job.




And its very un-japanese like for him to talk about a car that is not yet in production stages. Again this is confidential matters.

Knowing a bit about Automotive engineering...
- Design Engineers work on the car's parts design
- Design Chassis Engineers would be more involved with the suspension tuning during tests runs.
- Evaluation Engineers would be the ones collecting tests data and run data from the Nurbugring runs.
- A representative from the Product Development Department, the people who researched the market and proposed the vehicle to start with, would be present.
- Chief Engineer, person who commands/captains all aspects of the vehicle design/development would want to make an appearance also as its "his" legacy vehicle, to put it shortly.


And unless the email came out from a private email address, any information would be filtered by the email security system, and hearing a bit on Toyota, it would be almost suicidal to email a "consumer" about products in development through the work email system... knowing the risks of the NET.

Again, it could be "him" feeding the HYPE on the net to assists Marketing's job... but I have doubts.

It's marketing buzz. Isn't it weird to test the car on a stuck freeway in SoCal? They just need to gain more attention after many year absent in making real affordable sport car.

[PAImportTuner]

Originally Posted by cyde01

if they do make a hardcore n/a high power model i'd be surprised, but the cost/hp crowd probably aren't gonna be impressed.

If car weighs ~2700 and I can make 210-220rwhp with a simple i/h/e/hf cat/custom tune and has a nice responsive mill I'd be down for n/a model.

[WingsofWar]

Originally Posted by PAImportTuner

If car weighs ~2700 and I can make 210-220rwhp with a simple i/h/e/hf cat/custom tune and has a nice responsive mill I'd be down for n/a model.

i wish i knew more about the live characteristics of the FB20. I made 103awhp in my unmodded 03 legacy wagon with EJ251 PhaseII. Some have claimed as high as 170awhp with CAI/EL-H/Ex/Cams and 190awhp with additional 2.2 DOHC head+STI H/G to bump compression up to 11.2 and SAFC. Given that the cars drivetrain loss is roughly 20% the car is making 228hp with all those mods.

Some key elements that helped the EJ251 gain power for some tuners was, higher compression, thermal efficiency, unobstructed airflow.

If the FB20 does make 200hp (170rwhp), i just wonder how much more power could you pull out if they have already fixed some of those key elements.

[Praetendere]

Personally I'm hoping for more of an oversquare engine than a 90mm stroke suggests.

[OldSkoolToys]

Originally Posted by MatadorRacing_F1

Got this bit of info from a member on club lexus;

Hahaha, that's Moto, creator/webmaster of club4ag! The same person the thread creator was quoting.

If that bit of info came from Moto then its no lie. He's basically the only person around the interwebs I would consider to actually have feasible contact with Toyota engineers on this project without actually working for Toyota or Subaru.

His bit of information is very good to hear!

"Nevertheless, he says, that he is trying his best to develop a car that we 'enthusiasts' will not be disappointed. And went as far as telling me that he shrugged off, pissed off, and told off, all of the marketing and sales people that pushed to have more things added to the car, or tried to include things unnecessary to the performance as his team saw fit for this car."

I liked that part the best, especially the bolded. F off bean counters, we're trying to make an AUTO-MO-BILE here, not a kitchen appliance!

[Abflug]

Thank you both!

[PAImportTuner]

Originally Posted by WingsofWar

If the FB20 does make 200hp (170rwhp), i just wonder how much more power could you pull out if they have already fixed some of those key elements.

My thoughts exactly, but I wouldn't want to change cams until warranty is up in 3 years.

Planned mods
Lightweight enkei f17x8r17x9 rpf1s
Falken Azenis 225-45~17 615k ,
Adj. hollow hotchkis sways
Fidanza LW flywheel.
Fujita, WeaponR or Aem cai
Invidia 4-2-1 header with hf cat
Quieter Invidia q300 catback hopefull with 08sti quad tips
Cobb AP or Aem Fc.. Pro Tuned

With that I'd hope to shed 120lbs, stick on road like flies on shit, add freer revs and put down atleast 210rwhp on a mustang dyno not a dynojet/dynapack ALL without sacrificing daily driveability,

[Kids Heart]

Originally Posted by OldSkoolToys

I liked that part the best, especially the bolded. F off bean counters, we're trying to make an AUTO-MO-BILE here, not a kitchen appliance!

Probably sounded so cool in Japanese.

[Random_Art]

Originally Posted by PAImportTuner

My thoughts exactly, but I wouldn't want to change cams until warranty is up in 3 years.

Planned mods
Lightweight enkei f17x8r17x9 rpf1s
Falken Azenis 225-45~17 615k ,
Adj. hollow hotchkis sways
Fidanza LW flywheel.
Fujita, WeaponR or Aem cai
Invidia 4-2-1 header with hf cat
Quieter Invidia q300 catback hopefull with 08sti quad tips
Cobb AP or Aem Fc.. Pro Tuned

With that I'd hope to shed 120lbs, stick on road like flies on shit, add freer revs and put down atleast 210rwhp on a mustang dyno not a dynojet/dynapack ALL without sacrificing daily driveability,

Out of curiosity, why get picky over the type of dyno?