I've tuned 51 BRZ/FRS's locally. I use the openflash tunes and a Tactrix cable. Considering what you guys are doing, I think an openflash tablet would be right up your alley. The difference between the stock tune and the stage 2 uel header tune is unbelievable. Stage 2 brz will keep up with a 2015 wrx until 120 mph. But most of what I do for people is make their cars better for free. Besides the free tunes, the best mod for this car is the clutch mod. Remove the helper spring from the pedal and lower the pedal height. I'll get how to links for you. Make a video about it, everyone who owns these cars needs to do this
Exhausts hardly ever make a big difference in terms of power. But they are still one of the easiest cheapest mods you can do to get a quick bump of 5-10 horse and it looks and sounds fantastic! Excellent car! Great video!
You are correct with PEAK HP, its the cheapest easy mod for 5-10 HP. But if you look at the Dyno, specifically between 3900-4000 RPM, we see an increase from 110 to 129 Ftbs of Torque and in crease of HP from 81 to 98 or so HP. This is HUGE!!! I have a BRZ that is my daily driver. I commute 130 miles a day in it and most of it is at 75-80 MPH. With my 4.30 ring and pinion, my car is turning about 3700 RPM at an indicated 80MPH. For me, wanting to increase my top gear roll on @80, this pipe and header combo would be perfect. Unfortunately, FTSpeed is sold out of their V1 exhaust, so I may look at this header with a Perrin 2.5 or Tanabe Grand Touring and hopefully get similar gains.
Please don't go straight to Forced Induction..... Get a high flow sports CAT, good intake and get the ECU mapped at the same time...... There is still a lot more to come from that engine in NA form and that is where the character of the car is.... It's about handling, balance and engine response... Not ultimate power.. It needs a bit more, not a massive amount more!
small bumps in power feel significant in this car because it only weighs 2700 lbs. don't be discouraged if you see smaller gains. having said that, the most significant "car feel" I experienced happened when I got light weight wheels and sticky compound tires. night and day driver feel, acceleration and of course, handling.
The car is slow. My auto brz ran low to mid 16s. I added exhaust header and lightweight pullies and hardly anything better throttle response might run high 15s now
intake exhaust tuned shorai battery forged wheels stock options Brembo with braided steel lines ps4 Michelin recaro pole position both side cf hood and trunk bilstein b12 with eibach pro springs and sway bars cusco front rear and chassis struts 200 whp all motor 35hp up from stock 50 kilo down on weight glorious machine to drive
Nice video. If you decide to go forced induction, I recommend the Jackson Racing Supercharger kit from a pure performance perspective. I reviewed an FR-S with this setup on my channel and loved it. Still feels naturally aspirated but well over 50% more powerful when equipped with E85. Personally I'd leave it with 91/93 octane pump gas and dial in the suspension/tires/brakes. Then you'd have an incredibly balanced and quick car.
If I'm not mistaken,they are testing at a higher altitude,which always makes you lose hp. So wheel hp,and dyno at higher elevation is going to make hp decrease significantly.
What I'm curious to know is--how does the FRS stack up now with the S2000 from your 3 way comparo a while back? Has the UEL and catback bridged the gap enough performance wise and emotionally to make up for the previous 40hp deficit? I'm also a Hot Lava owner, too ;) Keep up the great work. Love watching your videos.
I have watched lots of videos on the GT86 and I am thinking very seriously about buying one. Your channel is by far and away the best. Lovely clean shots of the details, not too much talking, face time, or BS. I will be following your FRS series closely. I think the GT86 is my biggest candidate to buy because all of its close competitors are soft tops and I don't want to get a convertible or a turbo charged car. My ideal dream car would be a the Jaguar F-Type but I am not that rich :)
I just bought one, slightly lowered on wide summers with this exhaust. On the test drive I noticed feeling like I didn't have to ring it out like all the previous ones I've driven (used to sell cars). My reason for buying is the sweet spot of reliability, fun without cuffs, tasteful looks and price. These are very affordable now for a 5-6 yr old car with under 100k miles. Mine is under 40k miles. It's going to be my year round daily.
Lord, why isn't the GT86 equipped this way stock??? Really mind-boggling...that sounds so great, and I had a friend in WA who did the same thing to his BRZ with a tune and he loved the results, claiming the torque dip eradicated and peak power up by nearly 40 HP. It would address the power complaints about the car at least somewhat, and helps eradicate that torque dip. Can it really be that much harder to have pass emissions or to get fuel economy numbers? The GT86 already gets amazing real world fuel economy! Sadly for Californians like myself, as long as this is aftermarket, it seems like it's still going to be awhile before such headers are available CARB legal...if ever.
Great informative truthful review of this setup by the Everyday Driver guys. Considering one of the guys purchased the car and is doing these mods on his own personal vehicle, it really sinks in that this is a great platform to play with. Looking forward to open tablet! 👍🏼👍🏼
I totally agree with you. Keep it NA and see what +hp +torque (both at same time) increases can be made. a +20 on either would be great. The 2017 has 5/5, and better gear ratio. I imagine a +20 on top of that would make the car kinda fast. I really dont want to go +$8000 dollar setups etc. Anyone could do that to a 1985 toyota tercel or pinto.
+Dorian Gray OK, i know this is just opinions and thats cool, but look at it this way. If I get a Domino's pizza home delivered and I like extra cheese, then i'll add more cheese. Its ok if you like the FRS/86 as is, its an awesome car stock. I drove mine for 2 years before i slapped on a Harrop supercharger and i now wish i'd driven it straight from the dealer to Harrop. "Anyone could do that to a 1985 toyota tercel or pinto" I dont know about you but i fell in love with the look of this car and its handling, the only thing missing was the "cheese"! ;)
haha. I understand. I can relate. I probably will want to boost it one day somehow, after I get mine this winter. I probably will only do it via exhaust, tune, maybe a cold air/ram air intake. I wonder about the direct injectors and how hard it is to make them gulp more gas. Reading up on it for a while. Interesting engine. N/A to me is always the challenge. How much weight does the super charger mod add to the car?
the downside to this car is the lack of torque.. yeah okay 200 hp in a small light car advertises well.. but hp doesn't mean anything. torque is what moves the car. at 151 lbs it's just not enough. my 2008 mazda 3 has just as much torque and has most of it between 2500-4500 rpm, not 5000+ like this car. i don't want a car i have to run the guts out f just to get moving. low-end torque is key to a long lasting engine doesn't matter how good of an engine.
Wheels and tires are next. Because, let's face it, not a big fan of the stock rims. The JDM spec 16 inch alloys looked much better[yes, they came with smaller wheels in Japan, the 17's were an option]. Though forced induction is cliche, everyone's done it, it is your car. A small turbo should give you something satisfactory. For me, I would have gone exhaust/header, intake, wheels and tires, brake pads and fluid, maybe poly bushings, and maybe shocks. Why no forced induction? Because I like the reliability, and the car never came with it, and was never engineered for it. Still, it is your car. So if you want FI, that's what you're eventually going to get.
+SHiFT Di3S3L (Patch) - If you watch our earlier Long Terms, (Like our "Tracking and Drifting" film) you'll see the upgraded wheels and tires. These are Todd's winter set. And though Paul is a big proponent of going FI, Todd isn't sure he wants to. We shall see. Thanks for watching!
Oh yeah that's right, I forgot you already had wheels and tires. Yeah do your research on FI, specially ask about maintenance and custom modifications[cutting/grinding/routing], from people who have the FI mods, and how long they've had it that way. From what I have read and watched, nobody has anything good to say about long term FI mods to this platform. It all eventually became a pain to maintain, and they dumped the platform for a more reliable daily. I do enjoy watching your vids, specially your fast blasts.
So I've got a BRZ and have seen countless builds in person. You really really need to tune for a header, typically more than 50% of the gains you see from a header are from the ECU tuning that should accompany the install. I'm about to install a catless UEL in a few weeks on my own personal car, I've just got to get it back from the shop currently applying a 2000*F thermal coating. You'll see far larger bumps in power from a catless header… but that comes with the downside of not having a primary cat anymore… Either way your technically not allowed to tamper with or remove OEM cat(s) anyway, unless they're proven to be ineffective: so why not make more power, right? If you're looking for a crisper shifting feel then grab a set of MTEC shift springs for like $30 and install them next time you change the transmission fluid. They're the best bang for your buck mod out there: makes shifting so much crisper, and quicker too. Pretty sure ft86speedfactory sells them, since you appear to have picked up a bit of sponsorship from them.
Thank you for the episode. As a long time fan of the FR-S, GT86, BRZ, etc., it's nice to go straight to a video that points out the right mods for increased performance and proper noise.
I've got a Borla UEL header and a 2.5" Perrin CAT back (non resonated) with an Open Flash Tablet 93 octane stage 2 tune. It's amazing, I absolutely love it. It's how the BRZ should have been all along.
When I was young, I had a 75 280z that made 170hp and had a top speed of 125 mph. I ran straight exhaust with a glass tip. My car still made 170 hp and still had a top speed of 125 mph. The only difference was it made a lot more noise.
I recently got got an FR-S and I'm wondering if you had the idle issue as well. Does yours idle at about 600-800? If so, did you resolve it or not find it harmful on an NA boxer?
Hey guys ,Great job as usual. we seem to be going similar routes with our FRS's I have a DC sports catback and just yesterday I added the open flash Un-Equal length header and the open flash tablet. I do recommend the tablet. I'm new to this tuning stuff but it was super easy and open flash has awesome support . The car just seems to run smoother and breathe better like it just woke up! I wasn't sure if I was going to like the rumble but so far I love it . Very deep race car like sound. not at all like a Honda with a fart can! Also thinking about forced induction next probably super charger so I don't have to change the header . Leaning towards the Edelbrock looks like the best choice for an every day driver. But I will probably wait until the warranty is almost up.
Hey guys, love your videos. So well done. Thanks for keeping us in the loop on Todd's 86! I have a BRZ and went the header / catback / OpenFlash Tablet route as well (along with a Sprintex supercharger that needs some TLC before install but not there yet). Are you implying in the video that you got these results with the hardware alone? As in, in the second half of the video, there was no aftermarket tune on the car?
+Bryan Pennartz - No tune was added here... this was just bolting the parts on. We want to isolate the steps and gains as best we can, so what you see us do in the video (switching Header and Cat-back) is all we did here for these gains. Thanks for watching, commenting, and liking what we do!
+EverydayDriver I liked seeing these steps. I would enjoy seeing more videos like this with your long term cars if you do modify them. I was wondering about the tune and if you will add the mid/over pipe. I was surprised that you did not do the mid/over pipe with the rest of the exhaust. If you go FI, I would love to see it.
+EverydayDriver Hi, I used to have the phantom supercharger but I sold it. why? because I hated it and it ruined the true nature of this car. The worst part about the product is that its triggered by a switch you attach to your gas pedal.. you can adjust the lever so it turns on when your at ~75% full throttle or greater. Ask yourself this question, how often do you full throttle or 75% the throttle in your driving? I hardly used it. Nothing is gradual about the system. its either your balls to the wall throttle down and its on or nothing at all. My next issue, when your not using it your suffering from an air restriction. yes, that turbo and housing feeding your intake is actually a restriction when the turbo is not spinning and yes,, you can absolutely, positively feel it. So, when your not full throttle the car simply feels mucky and numb which is sooo not how the car is supposed to feel. The last critical piece is how the power comes on when you mash the pedal. That tq comes on hard and really low in the rpm and no. your car does not like it. I have a creak in my car now ever since one day I smashed the pedal at lower speeds and boom. insta tq shakes the chassis.... i know have a catless header, high flow front pipe and stock cat back with OFT custom tune.. thats perfect for me
+assassin72 I would guess no based on the low HP peak gains, with a tune you'd expect to gain 15-20 WHP. But then again I'm not familiar with hub dynos.
Interested to see how the OFT does for you guys! I have a similar setup: JDL Catted UEL Header, and then Perrin 2.5" from the overpipe back. I'm considering the OFT so it will be awesome to see the results!
TJ, remember how cool it was that time we blew up Maxx Chewning's instagram picture and he joined the live stream... Damn times have changed.. Keep it up man #TJHuntArmy
i'm a v8 guy. But I did own a 2002 WRX for a while and I say I do enjoy the exhaust note from that flat 4. I was really surprised to see such a dead zone in the torque numbers pre-swap. I'm looking forward to the eventual conclusion and remedy that you hint at with the forced induction. The reason that small NA cars worked in the past was because the 4-cylinders they had in them were really, really good for the most part. It just seems to me like this boxer engine only shines when you're pumping the air into it.
German cars are more work than fun to work on. The FRS is my first Japanese vehicle that wasn't a bike. I've had 3 Jettas (1 VR6), a GTi VR6 and an Audi S4 biturbo. This car is as easy to work on as my Wrangler TJ, if not easier. That says a shit-ton. It looks like a turbo is in my FR-S's future, but I need a torque fix fast. This exhaust, an intake, and Open Flash Tab should deliver the goods in the mean time.
Did the special "everyday" discount expire? I'm currently trying it to buy the same set-up as you have done and I am getting an invalid message from FT86
I love you're guys' videos!!! Especially because you drive an 86:) please do an open flash tablet next. It's my next mod and I'd love to see a review from you guys on it
Yup, very interested in the OFT review. Out of curiosity, are you reviewing OTS maps? Data logging? Dialing in the OTS tune with rom raider? either way this video helped me with my research for my BRZ. Thanks Everyday driver!
Would love to see a comparison against the automatic version. Especially how they compare on the track. I've heard the auto gearbox shifts are pretty quick in sport mode and in manual mode. Don't know if you guys can get your hands on an auto but would love to see a comparison video!!
I've been watching you guys a couple of years. In fact your cayman s review is one of the reasons that I bought mine. I've seen Miller Motorsports Park in a few videos but I never put it together you're from Salt Lake too. I've been on most of the local mountain roads around here don't recognize many of the ones your on. Anyway its cool as hell you guys are local. love the show!
I loved this! i have a FR-S and i daily drive it. i daily drive the crap out of it, as I deliver pizzas in it. so watching this series has been awesome, thank ya.
It probably "feels" like you made more power then you did just from not fixing that bad dip, but improving it a bit. That said, I think the couple thousand dollars your going to spend on an exhaust would be better spent towards a turbo or supercharger which would help power far more and god knows this car needs it.
Looks like a damn good mod. It's damn annoying that the BRZ comes gimped from the factory for emissions. Between that power dip and the tall ass gearing it feels useless to daily. I took one for a long test drive and felt it quite annoying. It felt about as powerful as the civic I used to have - which is unfortunate because the civic only had 127hp and this has a claimed 200 - but you'd never guess it.
I know this is old, but any chance you can confirm that's an 18" resonator? Looks longer than the v1 stock product shots which seem to be the 12" option. Thanks.
Found your channel while researching this car, and I love your Long Term Review. Looking forward to more videos all the time. Keep up the great work guys.
I feel like you guys payed a premium for those parts, you could of got a q300 for way less money its super quiet even with a cat delete set up, and OFH tablet with header.
That "subby sound" always seems wrong to me, would have take the equal length route. You should have redo the higway test with you 2 on board to see if you can pass anybody in 6th or 5th.
definitely sounds better Kind of odd they would allow this car to go for so long with that torque drop off.. There must be something they could do with software and air flow, without adding to the cost.
+Dee Jay It's because of the cam timing. The only way to fix it would've been with another 2-400CCs (think honda K series), use more variable cams like porsche, or just make it slower down low and give it a giant surge when the cam comes on (think 90s civic SI). It's the basic design of Japanese rev-happy motors with VVT. ...and that's why I drive older VWs, they have more stroke and less weight. 2300lbs with a 2L 16V making 170hp/155lb-ft with mild mods and under 5 grand? no brainer.
I've got to make a video about this video. This is classic. An aftermarket company create a problem with the stock part that does not exist. Then they sell a part that will fix the problem that does not exist.
? - We're wondering if you watched the dyno section of the video, as the torque dip is shown, as is the change after swapping out parts. The exhaust doesn't cause a change, but this header, and others sold, do seem to help the torque dip (which is a commonly discussed problem on these cars). Obviously, with a small displacement 4 cylinder, the changes are never going to match the big swings of turbo tuning, but there is a definite improvement in in the midrange power of our long-term car. Thanks for watching and taking the time to leave so many comments.
As we stated, the exhaust itself didn't cause any improvement. As you said, the Exhaust itself (midpipe-back) only changed the sound. BUT - the new header did cause the change shown. All we did was document the results and share them here. You actually think the dyno is fixed to show improvement? What on earth would be the point of us doing that on a car we drive daily and keep long term... Especially since we weren't paid a dime to do this video? We can promise you this is just a record of what we saw in doing this change.
***** If there is a torque dip. It's still there because what they change want help. But because you don't know how an engine make hp. You fell for the bs.
I would have just done the unequal, but I like a more stealthy setup. I'll echo the others, you essentially should OpenFlash or custom tune this setup, as the dip can also be helped via software.
OfficialVanDyce I was under the impression that ringland issues, like in cylinder 4, are more of a EJ25 Turbo problem. Can you share source for the FA engine issue?
stephane matis i don't know exactly but suburu is notorious for their rumbling 4 cylinder because of the unequal length headers but the ring land fails a lot, unequal length headers are for engines that are position from side to side, and equal length headers are for engines that sit straight.. other than that i havent heard many engine issues from the FA, some people get blown motors and some havent.. i feel the ones that havent just dont report it haha
OfficialVanDyce I hear you. I personally know a few STI with issues, but so far, I have not heard of a non-blown FA, Turbo or Supercharger, having issues. Time will tell. Being a Subaru guy, I do like the rumble and extra torque.
stephane matis eh the unequal will probably run 1 - 2 more horsepower than the equal so not really that much of a difference, id rather have equal because of ring land failures on the unequals
I knew it had some sort of LSD but was not sure what type. In recent years with Toyota going for electronic over mechanical systems I was not sure. Usually a 25HP boost via cat back exhaust is peaky at best and seldom do you really see that much. This car needs the power slightly off idle through mid range not near the readline. Lets face it this is not the best engine Subaru has!! Look at the fantastic things forced induction did for Lotus in the Evora with the Toyota V6. To be honest I have yet to be impressed with any cat back system on small normally aspirated I4's. I know of a 2AZFE engine in a Camry that has SS headers, SS mid pipe and a dynomax series 40 muffler. The car has no cat's at all. The improvement in HP and Tq. from just off idle to redline is HUGE! The fuel economy is improved as well. Because the power is across the entire power band not just top end it is really noticeable. It feels very similar to what a 50HP-75HP NO2 shot feels like in a small I4! If I had to guess I would say it is about 40HP increase and it just feels like more because the VVT-i does such a good job flattening out the power band. The snarl is rather throaty with a bit of crackle and pop on let off. The air filter on the 2AZFE is almost as big as the airfilter used ont he 4.7L V8 on the Tundra's so I think playing with cone type reusable filter like but not limited to K&N are a waste of time in this case. I have not checked the size of the airfilter on the Scion FRS. That said before I would put a K&N or the like on I would get a larger air box from a Toyota V8 truck from the salvage yard and adapt it to the car and run a nice big paper filter.
Great video! I have two questions, though. Firstly, now that you've flattened the torque curve and made power more linear are you noticing any difference in gas mileage? I have a BRZ, do a lot of highway driving, and because of the "torque dip" I find myself downshifting from 6th to 4th or even 3rd to pass slow traffic, but I still find my mileage indicator reporting that I'm getting over 30 mpg. Have the UEL header and V1 exhaust affected mileage in any way, positive or negative? I had theorized that because the "torque dip" is smack in the middle of the rpm range used in "normal" driving that it had something to do with why these cars get such great mileage, but lately I seem to have been getting better mileage when I run the rpm around 4000-4500 rpm where the power lives. So much about this small high revving engine seems to be counter intuitive. Secondly, do our friends at FT86SpeedFactory think that just installing the header with the stock exhaust would result in about 75-80 % of the improvement you are seeing on your FRS?
+David Schreiber - Great questions. Todd found a similar reality to highway driving, with too much time in the torque dip part of the power. So far there's been a slight MPG increase since installing these parts. We attribute that to less throttle needed for the same speeds on the freeway. Still early to have a lot of numbers on it, but it seems to be the case. And yes, changing only the header should accomplish most of what we gained here. Talk to the guys at FT86 - they can offer a lot of great advice. Thanks for watching and commenting!
After three months with the UEL header, have you any more comments to make? I am just about to place an order for the UEL header (saving my pennies!) and plan to run the OEM exhaust with it. Any pros or cons? Do you still find the exhaust note pleasing or is it becoming annoying? Also, my friend with an S2000 and I have both noticed that our small, high revving engines really, really like being run over 4000 rpm and that running a gear or two lower than conventional wisdom dictates doesn't hurt gas mileage, In fact, I think my mileage is actually improving by avoiding up-shifting too early.
I hope you ceramic coated that header. Otherwise you should wrap it with a high heat wrap. Your oil temps will be high with that just radiating heat like that. Especially when your oil pan and crank case is right there above it. Watch your oil temperature in summer .
You guys are hazardous to my bank account. :) Not only was this video informative, it's also the best demonstration of what the UEL sounds like that I've found on RU-vid. Thanks! My BRZ has a Nameless axle-back and an Open Flash stock tune. With that alone the torque dip is almost gone. Even with the stock header the motor has more growl. I'll bet you lose the dip completely once you tune your FR-S. Thanks for posting this! I think my World Rally Blue BRZ needs a UEL so it sounds like a classic Subaru rally car. :)
Cool video, how did you choose the best headers and catback to handle the torque dip? what were you looking for at them? I'm asking bcz I'm in Europe and I'm sure I cant get you you have :D
That would explain the faux vtec i felt when my frs hit 4500 the other day... like it was going good, hit 3000 held back for a second and right around 4500 there was a subtle kick in the torque
But those numbers don't really matter because they are at 4,500 feet of elevation, I live in oregon and am at 450 feet of elevation and probly will have close to 170 wheel torque... not 130
It does sound cool now though; not a beautiful noise like an Alfa or something, but it sounds fun. Thanks to your video I experienced a strange disconnect between what I was seeing and the sound of the car. That sound does not fit that car, which is pretty cool in a way. On your FR-S track day video I commented something about how I wasn't such a fan of the trademark Subaru exhaust warble. The drive instructor in the video replied and schooled me on equal-length headers for the Subaru engine. The difference in sound is remarkable, and I prefer the change that the equal-length headers offer. According to the internet that reflash is the logical next step, looking forward to your test once that's done.
All these mods would be great if you were 20. At your age consider a TT RS and keep it bone stock. Then invest in a pro driving instructor, which is all that is needed. (Great videos!)
I got a frs with a stage 2 e85 tune and catless header with a catback exhaust even at the high rpm theres no power in 5th and 6th you move 1 mile per every 5 seconds and I live by the coast so air conditions are sea level until someone comes up with something to fix 5th and 6th the car will always be slow
Wow, having to down shift a 4 cylinder to pass on a hwy. Guys it's been this way sense the 1st overdrive transmission was put in a 4 cylinder. Changing the exhaust want help this problem because it's not the exhaust that's causing the dip in torque.
***** It did not minimized the problem. They said it did and show a stage dyno chart and you and a lot of people who don't know any better fell for it.
Ive got an emissions rage package from ftspeed - i confidently say it is possible to overtake a similarly modded na rx8, more confidently if you get the stage 2 tune
What is ftspeeds header doing that other headers aren't? How come dyno results look a so much better with this header in the torque dip (even without a tune).
+Matthew I understand. I take back the "old woman" line..now we need you guys to review 16 ACR, 16 GT350, 17 SS 1LE, 17 BMW M4 GTS, 16 NSX, 17 911 R, just to name a few..no pressure though :)
+H Mack short of people letting them use their own cars for a shoot (I was happy to let them use mine for one of their reviews they did) they are at the mercy of what ever is available in the press fleets. The bigger the outlet IE motor trend smoking tire the more pull and seniority they get when grabbing up the new cars. If you know anyone with an ACR GT350(R) or any of them let them get in touch with Todd or Paul and I'm sure they would jump at the opportunity.
+H Mack lol take it easy - lots of folks want to have fun driving without pissing off the neighbors every time they leave the neighborhood. Plus I wouldn't wanna be that loud unless i had the grunt to back it up Give me a little extra growl when i want it, quieter when i don't.
I've got the Phantom ESC, and it took me around a year to get it secondhand from a friend. Reaching out to Rob will take forever, so you may hear back eventually! I'd suggest the OFT as it'll let you tune for E85, and whatever FI you end up going for down the line. Very useful for data logging too!
