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.

Speed Academy Begins Prepping the Targa FR-S for the Ontario-1500

Peter and Dave from Speed Academy are back in action, preparing the Scion FR-S they ran so successfully at Targa Newfoundland last year for a new event this year called the Ontario-1500.

We’re talking seven straight days of Time Attack, Autocross, and Drag racing at seven different tracks across Ontario in what they describe as the Canadian version of One Lap of America.

Rather than punishing themselves by cutting out a roll cage like they started things off with last year, Peter and Dave decided to ease their way into the project this year by installing front and rear Raceseng shock top mounts along with Raceseng’s A/C Delete Kit.

The Raceseng front top mounts were chosen for the extra camber adjustability they’ll allow when setting up the alignment for maximum grip at the race track, and these mounts are also caster adjustable. Plus, as you can see, the quality of the billet aluminum machine work is truly top notch, as is the quality of the bearings and hardware used, so Peter and Dave are confident they’ll stand up well to seven straight days of racing in the Ontario-1500 come mid-September.

The rear top mounts use a clever offset design that allows the rear dampers to have an extra 2-inches of travel compared to the standard mounts. On a lowered car with single adjustable ride height dampers like the KW Clubsports on this FR-S, the extra rear shock travel will really help Peter and Dave put the power down coming out of any bumpy corners.

The Raceseng A/C Delete Kit means the Speed Academy FR-S is now completely free of the factory air conditioning system, allowing them to save 31 lbs on a car that’s already very lightweight. With Ontario-1500 being in mid-September, Peter and Dave are confident they won’t miss the A/C, but they’re going to pack extra deodorant just in case.

And as you’ll see in the first of their video series covering the Ontario-1500 build, we also get a sneak peek at the new wheels and tires the car will be running this year, a stunning set of Racing Titanium Blue finished Advan Racing GT wheels wrapped in super sticky Toyo Proxes R1R tires.

As you can see, Peter’s a bit of a fan of these tires!

Up next the Speed Academy crew has a very special aerodynamic upgrade for the FR-S, but in the meantime be sure to check out Episode 1 in the series.

Lots more videos and blog updates coming at you from Speed Academy over the next few months, so jump on YouTube and subscribe to their channel to keep up-to-date on everything these two go-fast junkies are up to.

Targa Newfoundland Scion FR-S Gets Headers and a Dyno Tune

Peter and Dave from Speed Academy make one last stop before shipping their Scion Racing FR-S to Newfoundland for the Targa rally. Visiting Total Motor Werkes, where Sasha from OnPoint Dyno set up his Dynapack dyno. Sasha fine-tuned the factory engine management system using Ecutek software, dialing in the tune for the intake and exhaust modifications made and for the 91-octane fuel the team would be running during the race. But before that, Peter and Dave needed to install one last set of modifications, a sexy long-tube equal length exhaust manifold from JDL Auto Design, along with a JDL over-pipe and catted front-pipe. As you’ll hear in Episode 9 of Speed Academy’s YouTube build series, the JDL goodies really bring the car’s exhaust note alive, making it sound like a proper racecar.

Sasha’s tuning worked wonders too, bringing the Targa FR-S’s output up to an impressive 181 horsepower at the rear hubs, which converts to about 225 horsepower at the crank, or about 25-hp more than stock. Not too shabby! That wraps up their build series on the FR-S, but there’s still a documentary-style video to come, covering their entire Targa Newfoundland adventure and the dramatic way the week of competition wrapped up for them.

Targa Newfoundland Scion FR-S Gets Drivetrain & Cooling Upgrades

Prior to shipping their Scion Racing FR-S to Newfoundland for an epic week-long race around the island, Peter and Dave from Speed Academy made a quick stop at Cyrious Garageworks, where Scion Racing pro drifter Pat Cyr and his crew helped with the installation of a new clutch-type limited slip differential from Tomei and a Stage 3 clutch kit and lightweight aluminum flywheel from SPEC Clutch.

Peter and Dave also made themselves useful in Episode 8 of their YouTube series by installing a Koyo direct-fit radiator and Perrin oil cooler setup, supplied by Motovicity, one of the biggest aftermarket performance parts wholesalers in the world. Plus you’ll notice Dave tackled the “difficult” job of installing Godspeed Project tow hooks in record time. That boy has skills! Oh, and although it’s not covered in the video, they also traced the traction control and ABS issues to a faulty steering angle sensor, likely damaged when they removed the steering wheel when prepping the car for roll cage fabrication. The sensor was replaced by team tech Andrew “Moose” DeLaCour and calibrated by team engineer Vinh Pham and both systems were back in perfect working order. Phew!