2013 Scion FR-S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited September 2014 in Scion

image2013 Scion FR-S Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds conducts a Long-Term Test of the 2013 Scion FR-S and installs an Innovate Motorsports supercharger kit.

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  • gtiguy3gtiguy3 Member Posts: 12
    Fantastic!

    Now, don't do anything I wouldn't do.
  • lmbvettelmbvette Member Posts: 93
    Wow, that is a very nice kit. How much did it set you back? What sort of power do you expect it to make? What sort of power on the inter-cooled version?
    Don't worry about what other people think. Drive what makes you happy.
  • cotakcotak Member Posts: 89
    Question: does this kit now violate pedestrian crash standards? It looks like it's using up the room under the hood. Which is there to meet improved crash standards...
  • stovt001_stovt001_ Member Posts: 799
    Since Jeremy Clarkson doesn't frequent this site, I'll say it for him: "POWAAAAAAAAAR!"
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    So $3,700 for the kit, plus call it $400 to install and reflash. So by my count the car is up to around $36,500. I thought you would be going with a turbo kit - around $6k plus tuning, so this is much cheaper, but I also thought you would be putting an intercooled FA setup on the car. I see this kit took their development car from 167 whp to almost 212, and torque from 140+ to 178+ on a Dynojet. Those are nice gains, but not on the level of factory turbo 2.0L (intercooled) engines, especially in terms of torque. This is a "low-hanging fruit" approach, which does not aim for huge power gains, but observes the handicaps of a factory 12:1 compression ratio, 91-octane CA gas and no intercooler. Those are large obstacles to forced induction and it will be interesting to see how well the car tolerates it.
  • banhughbanhugh Member Posts: 315
    This latest update about the supercharger officially opens the floor to the next whining subject: Clutch disk upgrade...

    Seriously though, good job on the supercharger. I like your balanced approach on power gains. This is how I would go.
  • quadricyclequadricycle Member Posts: 827
    Tentatively excited, but still waiting for some numbers and impressions. I also think that you should look at some more ancillary engine work since you're going to run into some limitations if you want to add even more power. Oil cooler as was mentioned is a good start. I looked at IM's website and the "Off-road only" line cracks me up. I see it all the time sure, but for a specifically road-going vehicle is seemed funny. I assume "Non-compliant" just doesn't have the same ring to it. Anyway like I said, excited about the boost but I really want to hear how the car's character evolves.
  • mfennellmfennell Member Posts: 91
    The mainfold is completely custom? I'm shocked they can get it cast and machined, combine it with the SC and ancillaries, sell it for $3200 and still make a profit. I wonder what kind of initial buy in THAT took?
  • jederinojederino Member Posts: 0
    So pleased this is installed!
  • subytrojan_2subytrojan_2 Member Posts: 79
    Cool! Hope the CARB certification is granted, too!
  • hooninaroundhooninaround Member Posts: 40
    Awesome! When I first clicked on the long term road test link and saw "supercharger kit installed" I made an audible "Yes!" in my office. Ha! So glad this finally happened been looking forward to reading about this. Can't wait to see how it performs on track and on the road. The only other thing I am more excited to hear about is the installation of the turbo'd long-rod VVT BP engine that's in the works for the Mighty MX-5. Good job guys!
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    That looks like a surprisingly high quality kit, at least from the pictures. The drivebelt layout isn't 100% ideal, but whatever. It looks absurdly easy to install and it seems like everything is included. Best bet- buy a Toyobaru used in a few years and add this??
  • bankerdannybankerdanny Member Posts: 1,021
    Nice, and about time, although I know it's not IL's fault that the aftermarket has taken so long to provide a good forced induction product. I seem to recall reading that this car was coming to the end of its 12 months soon. I really hope you hold on to it for a while longer to see if the charger creates any long term reliability issues. Plus I really want to see it take on the Miata whenever the dwarves finish the engine.
  • cjasiscjasis Member Posts: 274
    Looks great. Can't wait to see the dyno and other feedback. Also, really glad to see them moving forward with CARB testing as that impacts such a huge portion of the car crazy population (BTW - NY has adopted CARB so that nonsense is spreading).
  • bedabibedabobedabibedabo Member Posts: 8
    Thank you, great post!
  • noburgersnoburgers Member Posts: 500
    very nice looking kit. @fordson notes that now that your cost has crept up over $36K. Would it make more sense to buy a (idk, Mustang GT or WRX?) different car rather than do all the upgrades? Not sure if you are just trying to create the best handling go fast car or what as part of the build. I guess the original intent was to see what incremental changes make to this car. So maybe mission accomplished. I hope we get a summary at the end to see if you feel that the cost justified the final result.
  • mike475mike475 Member Posts: 1
    So Innovate Motorsports does not even make in claims on HP/Torque? or is just a fix for "torque dip" and more power comes in stage 2?
  • duck87duck87 Member Posts: 649
    @noburgers: The problem is that Edmunds invested in a lot of stuff that just doesn't seem necessary. Skip the wheels and exhaust; go for the suspension pieces (debatable depending on how much DD usage you're thinking of, there's other ways to add smaller
  • jederinojederino Member Posts: 0
    I also appreciate Edmunds trying out a bunch of upgrades, even if they aren't all worth it to the majority of drivers. It's good info!
  • fordson1fordson1 Unconfirmed Posts: 1,512
    Well, it's been five days now. If this were the CX-5 or the Passat, there would have been three other posts since then. You blow it up or something?
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