I had the opportunity to go to the New York International Auto Show in April and took some videos of new models coming out. The first video below is of the 2014 Scion FRS Release Series 1.0 (RS1.0).

Here's the new Toyota FT-1 Concept from the NYIAS

Here's the playlist of the rest of the videos.  They include the 2015 Toyota Camry, 2015 Hyundai Sonata, Lexus RCF, BMW i8

Greddy Turbo Kit - 2013 Scion FRS 10 Series

Not my car, but a customer of ours that bought a 10 Series Scion FRS had a Greddy Turbo Kit installed. Moto-East did the install & tuning via Ecutek. The customer is a good friend of an employee so hopefully I can get a video of a ride along with him. Not sure who will be more excited, him or me!

Raceseng Apex R Shift Knob

My latest change has been just what the title says.  A Raceseng Apex R shift know in Gunmetal.  It was a very simple install.  You just need a 15mm wrench and a 3/8 allen wrench.  I actually didn't have a 3/8 allen wrench so I did the best I could until I get the right tool.  The allen wrench is used to thread the adapter into the shift knob itself so you can align the knob however you want it.  Mine isn't lined up perfectly, but it will suffice until I get to Lowe's to grab the right one.  On to the pics!

As you can see, I need to turn my knob to the right just a bit, which is done by tightening the adapter inside the sift knob with the allen wrench.

I also purchased a GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition!  I cannot wait to do some "spirited" runs with it mounted on my car!  For now, I have a mount on my front bumper in front of the lower grill.  I will be making another purchase from Raceseng in the very near future.  That purchase will be their TugView.  Here's a pic.

It's a tow hook and GoPro mount that mounts into the factory tow hook location.  Function & form!

You can check out all of Raceseng's products on their website at Raceseng.com

S2ki & FT86Club Meet

Here are a few pictures that I took from a meet with members from S2ki and FT86Club.  After a quick meet and greet, we proceeded on a "spirited" drive.  My group's fearless leader was none other than Godzilla!

While we were waiting for everyone to show up. a GM Employee was returning from the Corvette show in Carlisle, PA with a 2014 Corvette Stingray.  Here are some pics of that car.

Raceseng's FRS was in attendance as well showcasing some of their goodies they have available for us 86ers.

This draining ditch on the side of the road claimed an unfortunate victim.  Luckily, the damage could have been much worse.

Finally the whole group at the final stop.

Possible power boost for 2015 for the Scion FRS, Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ?

According to a recent interview with Tetsuya Tada, the chief engineer behind the 86 platform, they are working on ways to give the 86 MOAR POWA!  The possible options are a turbocharger, larger displacement engine (2.5L boxer) or a special hybrid system.  The bigger engine is probably going to be the most likely result since it will be the most cost efficient way to increase the power without adding too much complexity to the drive train.  Let alone, the large increase in weight that a hybrid system would add.  Oh, and the larger price tag.

According to Tada, they are currently testing all formats at the Toyota proving grounds.  He hopes to do at least one engine upgrade to this platform during it's life cycle.  The 2.5L would possibly boost power from the 200hp now to around 250-260hp.  That would be very nice!

Here's a link to an article with some parts of the interview.

This is one of the reasons that I decided to lease my FRS.  My lease will be maturing at the end of May in 2015.  Depending on what actually happens with the 86, will determine what I do with my car.  Right now I am just doing some easy bolt-on modifications that are easily reversible so if I return my car after the lease is over, I won't have a bunch of hard work ahead of me.  Now if this doesn't come to reality, then I think I may be buying out my lease and do some more significant upgrades.  I really like the Innovate Supercharge and that would likely be the first major mod that I do.

Only time will tell, so I guess we will have to sit back and wait and see how this develops.

2014 Scion FRS & Subaru BRZ

It looks like the 2014 Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ are going to have just some minor updates. The 2014 Scion FRS will now come standard with a touchscreen audio system standard. They are also adding the knee cushions around the door speakers and the center console area. The JDM Toyota GT86 models already had these in the 2013 models, but now we get them here in the US.

The price of the 2014 Scion FRS is now $25,455 for the 6-speed manual transmission and $26,555 for the 6-speed automatic transmission including destination fee (freight) of $755.

Here's the picture from their press release, which can be found here.

Production started on the 2014 models August 1st, 2013.  They should be available for retail some time in Septemeber.  

It looks like the BRZ is also getting the knee pad upgrades as well as a new head unit with Aha radio.  Here's the pricing on the 2014 BRZ's:

My FR-S Story

I have been interested in this vehicle since about 2009 when a co-worker told me about it.  He was big into Subarus and autocrossed an STi so he heard about it through his Subaru forums that he visited often.  I started to follow the car and tried to find every news article I could about it and with each article, the excitement increased.

I will admit that I have A.D.D when it comes to cars/trucks.  I attribute it to working at a car dealership for almost 11 years.  My first new car was a 2000 Tacoma and that is what I had when I first started and since then I have owned six new vehicles up to and including my 2013 Scion FR-S.  I also owned seven beater/commuter cars during that period as well.  Yes, they were all Toyotas since I work at a Toyota dealership.

Fast forward to May of 2012.  I heard about an event that Scion and Yokohama were putting on in different cities throughout the U.S.  The closest one to me was in Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium on May 5th of 2012.  (check out the videos link above)  When I returned to work the following Monday, I had my inventory manager get his hands on a Hot Lava, 6-speed manual transmission equipped model.  I was sold after the first few turns on the course...it didn't take much.

Here's a video of the arrival of my car to my dealership.

I'll keep this blog updated with my modifications that I do and also upload the footage from the autocrosses that I attend.  Bookmark my site or subscribe to my blog for the updates!