The Scion FRS, Subaru BRZ, and the Toyota GT86 are some of the best handling cars on the market today. This is achieved manly due to their already light weight from the factory. Depending on the trim and transmission choice the frs weighs around 2700lbs total with fluids, making it one of the lightest cars you can currently buy. The low weight combines with the boxer engines inherently low center of gravity comes together to produce an excellent handling car. Focusing on frs weight reduction is a great idea!
While its no rocket ship on the straights reducing weight can help increase acceleration of the brz. While many cars of this nature have been sold in the past now this and the Miata stand out as the last two high production low horsepower sports cars. The gt86 has a back seat but in the words of Jeremy Clarkson “it is only good for punishing your children.”
Note, because the gt86, brz, and frs are all essentially the same car minus branding I will use the names interchangeably when referencing them throughout the rest of the article.
Why FRS Weight Reduction
As mentioned above one of if not the greatest reason for the brz’s handling characteristics is its low weight. Weight is essential when it comes to going fast. The less weight you have to stop means cooler brakes, and less wear on tires. That also means that you can go a lot faster when you have less weight trying to through you off your line mid corner. The less the car weighs the faster it accelerates as well.
A great example of this is the c6 z06 corvette vs a hellcat challenger in a drag race. The Corvette will win even though it only makes 500hp while the hellcat makes over 700. This is because the corvette weighs nearly 1100lbs less! While that is a big difference even just a few pounds in an already light car like the gt86 can have a big affect.
Different Categories of BRZ Weight Reduction
There are multiple different approaches you can take to lightening your gt86 but in this article I will be splitting it into three accessible categories. Number 1 is remove parts and still daily drive your scion frs. This categories is as the name implies, includes parts that you can remove for free and still drive the car everyday. While this category won’t make your car perform like an f1 car it will have a noticeable affect on its handling and acceleration.
The second category is parts that add lightness. In this category I will be going over parts that you can replace with lightweight versions. This category can become spendy but even on a budget you can still reduce a noticeable amount of weight. Third is race car or no car. In this category I go over some of the more extreme weight reduction methods that while making the car less commute friendly can and will make it handle much better.
A Note on GT86 Weight Reduction
Before you start to enthusiastically rip components out make sure that you do not have any random bits in the car first. What’s the point of removing the your windshield washer bottle when your gym bag is in the trunk full time and weighs double that!
Remove Parts but Retain Comfort on your GT86
The parts I will list below are all things that you can do in an afternoon and will cost you nothing, including driveability!
- Spare tire and foam
The spare tire and foam insert are probably the firs thing to go in any car when you are looking to reduce weight. In the frs it will save you approximately 26 lbs
- Jack and tools.
The obvious next step after spare tire is the jack and tools used to install it. Removing these will save you about 6lbs.
- Rear seats.
The rear seats in the brz are useless anyways so removing them is an easy choice. Their removal will reduce about 22 lbs from your brz
- Owners Manual
This might seem a little pointless but why not, there is a good chance you already have it on your phone and every little bit counts. Removing the manual will save 3 lbs
- Windsheild Washer fluid bottle
Unless you live in a cold or extremely dusty climate chances are that you do not need to use your windshield fluid, making this an easy way to save 7 lbs.
And just like that without sacrificing anything that you have already removed around 65lbs from your car! While it doesn’t sound like much remember that removing weight from an already light car means that 65lbs makes a much bigger difference than if the car weighed 4000 lbs.
Add Lightness to your FRS Weight Reduction
The parts below are all lightweight replacements of parts that are easy to replace.
- Battery
The battery is one of the easiest parts to replace. By using a new lithium ion lightweight battery you can save up to 25 lbs. One of the best for the job is the Shorai BS12 – You can find it on amazon here https://amzn.to/3OP49He
- Driver and passenger seats
Changing out your seats is a great weight to save weight and increase your enjoyment in driving the car. The seat is the one thing that you are touching at all times in your car and is what transfers all the sensations to you making a good seat very important. A good bucket seat will also save a lot of weight. Changing out your driver and passenger seats to something like an average set of sparcos can save you up to 50 lbs
- Exhaust
A new header back system from agency or tomei can save you up to 25 lbs on your brz.
- Big Brake Kit
While it may seem anti intuitive these kits are meant to stop and be light. A kit from Essex racing will save you up to 20 lbs.
Many of the parts listed above can be replaced with cheaper parts and you can do these upgrades in stages making it a non expensive process. Overall these upgrades can help you reduce nearly 120lbs from your gt86.
Full Racecar BRZ Weight Reduction
The gt86 offers a lot of weight to lose if you decide to go this way and gut everything. I won’t make a list for this one as there are so many different things you will be removing so instead I will sum it up. At this point you are basically removing everything that can be removed in the interior, passenger seat, head unit and speakers, door panels, sound deading. If you can find a way to remove it then do so. Don’t forget you can buy a ac delete kit for relatively cheap and loose a decent amount of weight. All in gutting your interior should save approximately 220 lbs. on top of the other stages. This means that all in you can expect to remove nearly 400lbs from your frs.
Conclusion
In the end reducing the weight of you brz is worth it for sure. Reducing the weight of your car by up to 20% is bound to have an impressive impact on your performance meaning that it is 100% worth it to reduce the weight of your frs, brz, or gt86. We also can you help you learn more about lm7 oil pressure.