Moto IQ Article on the FR-S Suspension

[warrencj]

I was wandering around the internet and found this article on the FR-S suspension as seen at the release party. It may answer some questions and speculations that have been going around here. Enjoy! 86 Under the Skin: Technical details on the Toyota/Subaru/Scion, 86/GT-86/FR-S/BRZ





There doesn't appear to be any camber adjustment in the MacPherson strut front suspension. The top mounts (visible in the engine shot) look suspiciously like Impreza top mounts. That's just fine, since Impreza mounts are indestructible, but there's no adjustment there.
Down here, the lower control arm is an L-arm, with the steering rack in the back and the L part of the arm pointing forward. If there was going to be camber adjustment down here, it would be on that lower control arm bushing just below the steering arm. No such luck.





The arm itself is a simple steel arm. It's a single stamping that should be lightweight, cheap, and easy to bend if you try to do traditional Subaru things with it.






The last chance for camber adjustment would be here, at the strut mount. There should be an eccentric on one of those bolts, but again, no luck.






The front calipers are two-piston sliders. These look a lot like Impreza calipers to us, which would mean there's already a huge array of performance pads available for the 86 before it ever hits the showroom. Assuming they were nice enough to carry over mounting points, there will be brake upgrades galore as well.





The multilink rear suspension does appear to be from an Impreza, as suspected. Long lower control arms look the same. Forged steel upper A-arm looks the same. Stamped steel trailing arm looks the same. The differential in an Impreza, though, is a Hitachi R160. Subaru has been using versions of this diff since the '80s, and Nissan started using it back in 1967 (when they built the first 1968 510s). This is not an R160, though.


Imprezas only put 50% of their power to the back, so a diff ready to handle 200 hp would be on a 400 hp Impreza. Sadly, Subaru doesn't make such a thing. When they make a 300-hp Impreza, though, they use an R180 (Same diff Nissan used in 1969 on the 1970 240Z). This is also not an R180...





If anyone recognizes this diff, shout it out. We've never seen it before and fear it might be new. Carryover diffs are always good, since they mean abundant selection of gear ratios and limited slips.



UPDATE: Thanks to @AKADriver for pointing us in an IS direction for the diff. This IS300 diff looks like the same one. That's all good news. Lots of ratios available, lots of different LSDs, plus word is the FR-S will come with an LSD of some sort from the factory anyway.




Finally, wheels and tires are mixed news.


The wheels appear to be 17x7.5, and the bolt pattern is, sadly, Subaru's standard 5x100. There has been rampant speculation on this subject in the last few days, but I got on my knees and measured. This bolt patern severely limits wheel selection, which is a damn shame.
The 215/45-17 tire size is actually good news. 225/45-17s will slap right on, and that's a well supported size, with lots of performance tires available. The factory tire is a Michelin Primacy HP. No idea how bad that is. Factory tires are always engineered to the manufacturer's specs, so even if you've had experience with a tire that claims to be a Primacy HP, it's unlikely to be the same tire. The 240 treadwear rating is the only hint we have.


Other than the fact that it actually looks better in person and that we all want one now, that's all the info we have on the 86. There are a few more shots being processed and uploaded, so we'll update this page as soon as we have them.


Expect the car to go on sale in March or April.

[serialk11r]

I know this isn't related to suspension sorry, but the bottom of the car is pretty flat! Good aerodynamics, neat.

[RiskyTrousers]

I find it hard to believe that there's no factory camber adjustment, but that's what this article is pointing towards. I'm sad face

[Mitch]

Originally Posted by RiskyTrousers

I find it hard to believe that there's no factory camber adjustment, but that's what this article is pointing towards. I'm sad face

Should still be able to shim it for an extra degree.

[cossey]

or if they are reusing Subaru WRX tip mounts atleast geeting aftermarket adjustables ones should be easy enough

[ft86Fan]

Thanks for the post. Good info.