scion

I have been a big fan of Subaru vehicles for a substantial part of my life, and I have lots of experience with WRXs, but the BRZ (and FR-S) is still very new to me. Not too long ago, one of our engineers had his 2013 Subaru BRZ out in the parking lot, and I asked him to pop the hood so that I might check out the power plant. Have you ever seen an old episode of Scooby-Doo when Shaggy opens a door and jumps about a mile in the air, screaming, having revealed the spooky ghost residing therein? Well, you can call me Shaggy, and here is the ghost:

BRZ Parts (or FR-S Parts)

Like, zoinks! Look at all that hideous white plastic - nobody wants a haunted Toyobaru, but how on earth would one solve this problem? Who ya gonna call?

Mishimoto!

Overflow Tank Functionality

Our ghostbusters engineers are already chugging right along in the development of an awesome new overflow tank for the 2013+ FR-S/BRZ. An overflow tank is an important part of a car's cooling system; it serves to receive and store

Interested in purchasing our BRZ/FR-S Fan Shroud Kit? Check out more details at the link below!

Mishimoto Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 Plug-N-Play Aluminum Fan Shroud Kit!

We're back for some more fan shroud fabrication! The last portion of this series highlighted the beginning stages of initial shroud design. The BRZ/FR-S uses a fairly unique overflow tank that mounts directly to the factory fan shroud. This is our first target for part two of product design.

Overflow Tank Mount Fabrication

This tank has two upper mounting points which use a bolt which passes through the tank material and into threads on the shroud. We utilized round stock aluminum which was cut to the proper length, drilled, and tapped for the appropriate factory bolt. These were then welded to the shroud in a position that would place the tank in the exact location as when on the stock shroud.

Welding overflow tank mounting points

The lower mounting point for the tank accepts a peg which is located on the base

Interested in purchasing our BRZ/FR-S Fan Shroud Kit? Check out more details at the link below!

Mishimoto Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 Plug-N-Play Aluminum Fan Shroud Kit!

Taking a look at our lineup of products for the BRZ/FR-S reveals a solid offering in both cooling performance and power-adding upgrades. Our engineering team has evaluated numerous vehicle systems and provided upgrade components where solutions were needed. Our intake components provide improved induction noise and nice increases in power. Our oil cooler system provides a solution for high oil temperatures on the track. And, our performance aluminum radiator is ideal for track vehicle owners looking for some additional peace of mind during long-duration lapping. These are just a few of the components we currently offer, and we've managed to find yet another opportunity to provide an awesome component that will enhance your vehicle: a direct-fit fan BRZ/FR-S fan shroud kit.

Our fan shroud kits have become more

Interested in purchasing our new BRZ/FR-S intake system? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Performance Air Intake

After solidifying our product design we needed to capture data to verify the design and determine if any changes were necessary. We strapped our test vehicle to the dyno and began making pulls! Check out a compilation video from the dyno testing. The audible difference in intake tone and volume is quite noticeable when comparing the stock setup with the Mishimoto prototype.

Testing Results

On to the important part, results from our tests. Intake upgrades generally are subject to a decent amount of speculation, because of the outrageous claims often made by component manufacturers.

Here at Mishimoto, we perform extensive, repeatable testing to ensure that our results are 100% accurate and are not skewed in any way. Below are some of the constraints and details for the testing of this vehicle!

• Testing day ambient temperature: 60°F

Interested in purchasing our new BRZ/FR-S intake system? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Performance Air Intake

We left off last time with an explanation of our intentions with this intake system and some initial design work to create an induction route to our planned airbox. Now it was time to finish designing this intake system so that testing could be conducted.

Airbox Fabrication

We started developing our airbox with simple metal fabrication. The plan was to put our idea into a physical object and then transfer this to a 3D model. Once in Solidworks, we could solidify the final design and features and use our 3D printer to construct a final prototype for test fitting.

Fabrication begins! A simple box was drawn up and templates printed for our bends and mounting point locations.

Airbox frame template

Bends were made, holes were drilled, and here is what we ended up with.

Airbox fabrication

Airbox fabrication

Airbox fabrication

We then

Interested in purchasing our new BRZ/FR-S intake system? Check out more details on our product page linked below!

Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Performance Air Intake

Another Intake?

Wait " Mishimoto already has an intake for the BRZ/FR-S. Why design a second one? As this question crosses your mind, we can provide a simple explanation.

We have had great success with our existing cold-air intake system for this chassis, and the feedback from our customer base has been fantastic.

After listening to our customers both directly and through web forums, we concluded that a second intake design was necessary for a completely different set of customers. Here are a few plans for our new design.

• Engine-bay mounted, stock-appearing airbox setup
• Easy installation and filter servicing
• Fits with Mishimoto direct-fit oil cooler kit
• Provide power gains over stock intake system

Our current intake system locates the filter behind the bumper. This requires bumper removal for both installation and filter servicing.

Interested in picking up this awesome catch can system? Check out more details on our product page!

Mishimoto Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Baffled Oil Catch Can

Ready for some interesting test results? After around 2,000 miles on a BRZ, this kit was ready to be inspected to see what kind of byproduct had accumulated in each can. The plan was to evaluate both systems to determine whether a single- or dual-can setup was necessary. If one of the lines did not collect any fluid, the need for a catch can would not be justified. So, we popped the hood and inspected the system to see if road abuse had a negative impact on the mounting brackets or lines.

Mishimoto prototype BRZ catch can kit installed

All our components held up just fine, as expected. All mounting brackets were still securely positioned, and the lines appeared to be in great shape (no rubbing). First, we popped off the can spliced into the PCV line of the BRZ. These images also show that we have provided plenty of room below the can

Interested in picking up this awesome catch can system? Check out more details on our product page!

Mishimoto Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Baffled Oil Catch Can

Second Prototype Bracket Fabrication

Now that we had our catch can ready to go, it was time to select mounting locations, and fabricate the mounting brackets. First, we will start with the PCV line we initially targeted with the large catch can we had. Check out some initial mock-up shots!

Prototype PCV Catch Can mounted

Prototype PCV Catch Can mounted

Compared to the previous mounting point, we have moved this catch can to a more centralized position. We are no longer using the battery tie-down as a mounting point. This provides a cleaner install, and it also provides space for the brake booster/master on RHD vehicles. The lines shown in the image are purely for mockup and routing purposes.

We will likely offer these lines in our standard three colors; black, blue and red. We also use silicone lines for all of our direct fit kits. Silicone

Interested in picking up this awesome catch can system? Check out more details on our product page!

Mishimoto Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Baffled Oil Catch Can

Welcome back to the build of our BRZ/FR-S catch can system! After laying out the guidelines from the last post, we were ready to get some hands on the vehicle and start piecing together some can brackets. Before jumping into product design, we will quickly cover the unique injection system featured on the BRZ/FR-S FA20 engine.

FA20 Fuel Injection

As many of you are aware, the FA20 is not what you could consider a traditional direct-injection engine. This specific system is identified as D-4S on the top of your intake manifold. The system utilizes four direct injectors and four port injectors for appropriate fueling. Yes, your 4-cylinder has eight injectors! The direct injection portion of the system is key for an efficient combustion process, and it allows for a high compression ratio without exaggerating the fear of detonation. Adding

Interested in picking up this awesome catch can system? Check out more details on our product page!

Mishimoto Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S Baffled Oil Catch Can

Why a Catch Can?

Catch cans are used only for turbocharged vehicles, right? This is a question we hear all the time. Yes, a turbocharged vehicle is more likely to produce greater blow-by, resulting in a more prominent collection of debris in the intake manifold and tract. That being said, any engine is certainly susceptible to oil and fuel collection due to the use of PCV and CCV systems, which improve engine efficiency and provide cleaner emissions. Mishimoto has been working on developing several direct-fit oil catch-can systems for a variety of vehicles. So far we have completed kits for the Subaru WRX/STI for 2008-2015. We have also experimented with a kit for the BMW E90, a vehicle that suffers from intake valve buildups that require frequent servicing. With the arrival of our 2015 Ford Mustang EcoBoost test vehicle, we also began