Sneak Peek: The APM Racing Scion FR-S

[TDotRacer]

Sneak Peek: The APM Racing Scion FR-S
By Justin Banner
We get so accustomed to it, that wild looking Daytona Prototype, the insane Project Nemo from WTAC, Chris Rado's F-Wing tC from GTA, these cars are insane looking race cars. We start to think, we need loads of aero, super-trick suspensions, one-off, $400,000 turbocharged engines, and electronics that do everything from steer the car better to making the driver feel better. The reality is, race cars don't have to be that complicated. They don't even have to be restricted to a spec-class to be affordable.
When I first looked at the APM Racing Scion FR-S, I thought "really, this damn thing is nearly bone stock! Where's the story?" However, as I continued to take pictures and the guys that built and raced the car reflected the events in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill it occurred to me. My definition of a race car had been so twisted by the magical cars that compete in Time Attack that I forgot what a race car really is. Simplicity is beauty and this FR-S has it.

First, let's start off with some of the things that don't make it a race car. For example, the body; if you took all of the decals off and fixed some of the damage, you'd still have a FR-S. Seriously, there is no body kit on this car except what came stock from Scion.

There is no widebody kit. There are no sideskirts with bargeboards. No tunnels, no holes to let drag inducing air to escape. Not even a diffuser!

You don't see a splitter or even a simple air dam. Hell, they didn't even put on the "Home Depot Lip" on it. It doesn't have a carbon fiber hood with holes to suck the air out of the engine bay for better cooling and more down force. It does have some Aero Latches, though.

This FR-S is nearly as delivered from Scion. I mean, there are street driven FR-S' that have more "body cred" than this race car. Maybe there's something to that, though. Instead of focusing on what angle to set the splitter and wing to, you worry more about the suspension. Instead of figuring out how long to make a diffuser, you worry about how to keep the car planted with tire compound and air pressure. Maybe making a complicated race car is for the foolhardy with deeper pockets than brains?

Here's the trunk, the OEM trunk. Yep, that is the sheet metal trunk. It hasn't even been gutted other than to remove the electronic switch to open it. The ring you see there is what you pull down to open it. Simplicity and a little to make it easier for the corner workers should the worst happen and it needs to be opened. Oh, and that plate isn't there for show, the car is in fact registered and it technically is still street legal. Technically.

For some, the power number the stock engine makes are just not enough and are quick to add a turbo or supercharger to the mix. Well, there is one slight problem with that. With more boost sometimes comes less reliability and while racing for 25 hours, you don't want even the slightest chance of unreliability. The only major modification? Removing a duct that actually sends some engine noise to the cabin. Seriously, that black tape is covering a duct that sends intake noises to the cabin to make it more racy. More and more, OEMs are doing tricks like this to make their engines sound better without actually making it sound better. Why?!

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While the engine is bone stock and even retains the OEM ECU, there were some minor changes under hood for safety and further reliability. For safety, a full HALON fire system is installed that shoots out fire retardant on all critical places like the fuel tank, engine, and driver's compartment.

An oil cooler system was also added, but in order for it to work the filter drain had to be modified. While it's great that Toyota/Subaru put the oil filter here for easier access and give you a better way to drain the filter, it does lead to inconvenience for the would be racer who wants an oil cooler. Nothing a good old Dremel tool can't take care of. Three well placed cuts and you're done! The APM Racing FR-S also uses an off the shelf Koyo Radiator to keep the car cool. It may have been too much as they never saw temperatures above 170 F! It's also using the OEM Air Filter and Oil Filter.

An NR-G Oil Catch Can was also added to replace the OEM PCV system and address any chances of oil blowby or too much crankcase pressure.

To address the need for better lighting during the night sessions, APM retrofitted an HID lighting system to the FR-S. Unfortunately during the race contact was made at the front end which cut into the wires for the ballast. It only affected the one side.

Looking to the exhaust, once again there's nothing too exotic. However, while the OEM front catalytic converter was retained...

The rear was removed using this Mid-Pipe by DC Sports. DC is going to be making a header for the FR-S/BRZ this year, possibly in January or February.

DC Sports also fabricated the rest of the exhaust system for the FR-S. That's the OEM Torsen differential too!

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The rear suspension is using DME adjustable rear arms for traction, camber, and toe. It is also using off the shelf KW Variant 3 Coilovers provided by Minds Corporation. You can also see the stock fuel tank, keeping with simplicity and time frame, it was decided that the OEM tank was best.

While you can't see them, the rear subframe is using prototype delrin frame bushings from Battle Version. For our road racing viewers who may not be familiar, Battle Version is a shop in Pomona, California run by legendary drifter Alex Pfeiffer.

Air jacks were also added to the car, but they could not be used during the 25 Hours of Thunderhill in the hot pits. In fact, you can change only one tire while in the hot pits and all four behind the wall. Who came up with that stupid rule?

Up front, it's nearly all OEM save for the KW Variant 3s...

... and prototype solid aluminum steering rack spacers by Battle Version. The control arms, steering rack, inner and outer tie rods, and front subframe are all OEM Toyota/Subaru.

The front and rear brakes are made by Stop Tech and are their Trophy Brake Kit with 355mm, 2 piece rotors. The calipers are 6 piston up front and 2 piston in the rear.

They are also using the Pagid brake pads with Stop Tech ST660 Brake Fluid. Even after 25 hours, there was still 25% brake pad life left. The ARP extended wheel studs with rounded heads ensure that the lug nuts have good contact before being zipped on to secure the wheels. Nothing needed to make them fit, just remove the OEM studs and replace them with these, the same as any other Subaru. Or, well, Subaru'd Toyota.

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Due to time constraints, the APM Racing team couldn't get a full set of light weight forged wheels. They were, however, able to mount a set of cast aluminum Sparco RTT524 wheels in 18x8 with a +48 offset in the OEM 5x100 bolt pattern. Those of you in the Impreza world may be familiar with this fitment on your own cars. These wheels weigh in at a "healthy" 22.5 lbs each.

The chosen rubber for the road are the Toyo Proxes R888 in 245/40/ZR18. These tires really did very well with only 8 sets used for the entire race. According to the drivers APM Racing had to pilot the FR-S, the tires stayed consistent and never once had a failure.

Coming into the interior of the car, the first thing done was to remove the carpet, sound deadening, and panels that weren't required to make the car function. On the driver's side floorboard, grip tape was added to keep the drivers' feet still and a little gas pedal extension was used to facilitate heel-and-toe down shifting.

The OEM seats were removed and a Sparco Circuit seat was used to keep the driver planted firmly during cornering. Note the addition of seat foam to make positioning easier for shorter drivers.

Now, you're probably asking yourself, "Wait, Sparco makes a seat rail for their racing seats, why would they need foam?" Good question, here's a really good answer. Their primary driver, Richie Ho, was racing in China with a car that utilized a locking seat rail setup. I wasn't told if it was Sparco or not, but Richie got into a crash and the seat separated at the slider and he ended up in the passenger side of the car. From there on, all of APM's seat rails are welded in place for their race cars after finding the position that suits the majority of the drivers best.

Staying with a safety theme, APM Racing also made sure their drivers were as safe as possible. This meant using a Battle Version designed and built cage. This includes a very well designed door bar setup. Those of you who have read my previous "Sneak Peeks" know that I have a problem with lackluster door bars in roll cages. This is the cage style I prefer.

Battle Version left the OEM door bars in place while gutting the rest of the door. These guys put driver safety first!

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Now, here's something interesting about the APM Racing FR-S. When installing the quick release portion of the steering wheel, they welded it on for a safer alternative to the bolt in versions that exist. Welding the quick release portion allowed them to retain the OEM FR-S steering column. You're probably thinking that it's either not a big deal or a waste of time. That's where you'd be wrong. See that white piece on the column itself where the welded portion of the quick release is? That's the steering wheel sensor for the Active Yaw Control. In testing prior to the 25 Hours, APM had their drivers test the car with the AYC functioning or disabled. Without the sensor in, the steering felt normal if not a little dead. With it in, however, as the car began to slide its rear tires, the steering wheel would begin to tell the drivers that the car was at the edge of control by changing the steering feel. The steering feel can change like this because the FR-S has electric motor assisted steering and does not use a hydraulic pump.

Next up on things you'd only see in the 25 Hours; this switch. What does it do? Does it increase horsepower? Disable some sort of traction control? Help the car cheat?!

Nope, it just turns on the interior lights. Several sets of LED lights are turned on for better sight during driver changes and vehicle inspections. The lights even made taking interior shots a little easier!

The Fuel Door latch was even moved from the left side of the car to the right to make it easier to fuel the car in the 25 Hours. When a car pits, the pit crew is at driver's right, so putting as many things on the right hand side of the car that the crew needs helps make pit stops easier and faster.

At the back of the car, we see more of Alex Pfeiffer's beautiful cage work and also see that all of the panels are gone. You don't need that stuff on a race car!

The center console was also mostly left in because it did give a spot to install the radio for crew to driver transmissions. It's just a modified cup holder that housed MP3 players and phones.

The dash is left kind of intact. The glove box, radio, and HVAC controls are all removed for weight savings. In place of the glove box is the fire retardant bottle.

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Some other interesting additions to the car to make it easier on the crew were the auxiliary lights on the outside of the car. This little orange side marker was used to identify the car as it comes down the pit road at night.

Also to help it be seen on the track for the crew and the officials were these license plate lights re-purposed to illuminate the door numbers. Both of these lights are the same ones you can buy at your local auto parts store which is exactly what they did!

All of these little things helped the car make a successful debut at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The car's OEM reliability and crew assisting features helped APM finish in the Top 10 of their class. However, the team did feel like the car was over-classed in E1 and felt it would be a better fit in E2. Keep in mind that in E1 you see NASA Boxster Spec, Camaro Mustang Challenge 2, SCCA GP (with DOT tires), and SCCA GT4 and GT5 (again, both on DOT tires). E2, for comparison, contains Camaro/Mustang Challenge, Mini Challenge-CS, GTS-1, Honda Challenge 3, Improved Touring S, BMW CCA J- and K-Sport, BMW CCA L- and M-Prepared, and Inex Thunder Roadster.

No matter the result, the APM Racing FR-S looked amazing racing in the 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

Even with the scars, it still looks good and will look far better now that the team knows where they want the car to end up and that the MotoIQ Pacific Car Championships may be a possibility in its future.

The drivers of the 25 Hours of Thunderhill were Richie Ho, Dale Laakso,...

Steven Ruiz, Jr., and Dino Crescentini.

The APM Racing crew and drivers would also like to thank the following sponsors:


Scion Racing
Stop Tech
Toyo Tires



DC Sports
Battle Version
Qstars
Be The Match
DME Suspension/NRG Innovations
Koyo Radiators

[Atticus888]

For all of us "turners" out there, this article is a must read. It's comprehensive, objective and can save money for all of us looking to change the FR-S into something that doesn't need changing to an extreme. Simply put... The FR-S is a great car without modifications.

I still think, however, that adding a cold air intake with performance exhaust, sticky tires and a good air/oil separator is the way to go; but headers, re-mapping the ecu, oil coolers, 19 inch wheels, etc. etc. etc., is not necessary to enjoy this great "as-is" car.

[Sean-SRM]

Congrats to your team on the accomplishment . The car looks great, and your results are something to be proud of!

[rhythmnsmoke]

Nice article. Could do without the condemning it seems, of the really fast race cars out there.