Speed Academy Adds 100 Horsepower To Their Scion FR-S

The engine in the Speed Academy Scion FR-S has been extremely reliable, having not only survived a turbocharger and nitrous injection prior to Peter and Dave’s involvement, but also having run strong at Targa Newfoundland last year where it finished 3rd in class and 6th overall.

But with another weeklong endurance race on the schedule, this year running the car in the inaugural Ontario1500 event, the Speed Academy team decided to take the precautionary measure of swapping in a low mileage FA20 engine prior to installing a Jackson Racing supercharger kit.

As Dave explained, “For Targa Newfoundland we felt the stock FA20 engine was a perfect fit, since its 200 horsepower would be more than enough for us to run competitively. For Ontario1500, however, we really wanted to boost engine output since we’d be running against some very fast track-prepped machines. After doing a lot of research on forced induction solutions for the FR-S, we settled on the Jackson Racing supercharger kit, which offers what we consider the best combination of reliability and performance.”

The JR kit looks a bit intimidating all laid out on the shop floor prior to installation, but the instructions provided are outstanding and Peter, Dave and their shopmate Ken had the supercharger up and running after about 8 hours of wrenching.

They also installed Jackson Racing’s track engine oil cooler kit, which features a large capacity Sebtrab oil cooler (left) that’s integrated beautifully on a mounting bracket that’s also used for the supercharger’s oil cooler (right). Peter and Ken tested it for leaks (above), and the Speed Academy team is happy to report that oil temps are perfectly controlled by this setup during a recent track test.

But before track testing, Sasha from OnPoint Dyno worked his magic dyno tuning the ECU for the 9 psi of boost pressure the Rotrex supercharger makes at 7,000 RPM.

The end result of the OnPoint custom tune on 94 octane was a rock solid 262 horsepower at the rear wheels. That’s almost 90 wheel horsepower more than the engine produced last year and should make this FR-S a serious contender during Ontario1500.

Engine Swap video:

Supercharger kit install video:

Dyno Tuning video:

Be sure to check out the Speed Academy YouTube video series covering the entire buildup prior to Ontario1500, including the engine swap, Jackson Racing supercharger installation and dyno tuning episodes above.

Speed Academy Gives Their FR-S a JDM Makeover

Peter and Dave from Speed Academy have been hard at work this summer preparing their Scion Racing FR-S to compete in the inaugural Ontario-1500.

Racing on 6 different road courses in Ontario for a week straight in mid September means the Speed Academy FR-S requires equal parts mechanical grip and aerodynamic grip. So although Peter and Dave loved the Zele wing they ran on the car during Targa Newfoundland last year, this year they’ve stepped up to a true GT race wing from highly regarded Japanese aero manufacturer Voltex.

Those funky looking swan neck pedestal mounts aren’t just for looks, they actually clean up airflow on the bottom side of the wing where all the downforce is made (contrary to popular belief, the curve along the bottom surface is what creates downforce on a proper airfoil shaped wing like this Voltex Type 7 GT wing).

You know it’s a serious wing when it comes with a massive carbon fiber backing plate that secures it to the underside of the trunk lid and distributes the load across a very large area.

The boys at Speed Academy did have to trim the underside of the trunk to fit this plate, but the end result is very clean and very strong.

With the wing install completed, it was time to bolt up the new wheels for 2015. Last year they ran forged Volk Race CE28RT wheels in bright red, but this year they’ve decided to change up the look of the car with this stunning set of Advan GT wheels in Titanium Blue. These are also a forged wheel manufactured by Rays Engineering in Japan, so weight has been kept at a minimum and strength at a maximum.

Plus Peter and Dave love how concave the face is on these wheels. Delish!

They’ve changed things up in the tire department, opting to run Toyo Proxes R1R extreme performance summer tires this year. As Dave put it, “We’ve had a lot of racing success on Toyo tires over the years, including 7 race wins in the Canadian Touring Car Championship, so we’re excited to run on the R1R compound for Ontario1500, which perform extremely well in both wet and dry conditions.”

There’s lots more to come from Speed Academy on their FR-S build this summer, including swapping in a low mileage FA20 engine and adding a forced induction kit to it, but in the meantime check out their JDM love-fest video covering all the parts above.

5 Things You May or May Not Have Known About the Scion iM

This fall marks an exciting time for us at Scion. Not only are we coming up on our five-year anniversary since our debut in Canada, we’re welcoming a new member of the family: the 2016 Scion iM. Here are five things you may or may not have known about the iM.

DUAL-ZONE CLIMATE CONTROL

Have you ever gone on a road trip where you and your passenger just couldn’t agree on the in-car temperature? You prefer it cool, they prefer it warm, but what’s a driver to do? The iM comes standard with dual-zone climate control. That means your passenger and you can travel comfortably with the perfect individual climate so neither of you are left in the cold.

BACKUP CAMERA

You can rely on the iM’s backup camera that allows you to see what’s behind your vehicle while backing out of a space.

LED HEADLIGHTS & TAILLIGHTS

LED daytime running lights and taillights give the iM a modern and dynamic look from the front and the back. Halogen headlamps also run automatically and power-adjustable mirrors come standard with turn-signal indicators to ensure visibility and safety.

17” ALLOY WHEELS

The iM sits on aggressively styled 17” aluminum alloy wheels giving your car the looks and the grip it needs to hit the highway or cruise the streets.

AHA RADIO

Housed in the piano black dash, Aha radio provides the in-car entertainment and connects with your smartphone to make any trip more enjoyable. Accompanied by a Pioneer audio system with 7” touchscreen display, the Aha experience allows your to access and organize your favourite content from the web into personalized stations in real-time.

You can now visit your local Scion dealer to check out our sporty new hatchback that comes ready for adventure. With space, versatility and a fun-to-drive experience powered by the 137-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, the only question left is are you ready? #iMalwaysready