2016 Scion FR-S Release Series 2.0 (RS2) Updated 11/2015

Coated in a modern fashion, soft-gray gloss, sans the passe pearl or the glitter of cheesy metallic, the FR-S Release Series 2.0 (aka RS 2.0) is a second in the limited RS series FR-S from Scion. The production volume will be limited to 1000 units.

The exterior is the counterpart to the Release Series 1.0 of yellows and race-car extensions. The RS 2.0 is a concept that reminds us of pastels and grays of post-War classic cars of the 40's and 50's from Europe perhaps. Sophistication really, is the new game here, and if we imagine what sort of fashion fits this, I can honestly say with a single word, nostalgia. Gentlemen in brown wool jackets, with oval elbow patches, and ladies with big felt ribbon hats, and long burgundy skirts... I mean, seriously, if you like this treatment, then you'd definitely need to replace your current wardrobe to something from the 1940's. And that is, really cool.

The interior will be covered in the saddle-polished leather that seems to be much thicker than standard issue Toyota palettes. The color combination is very classy, bordering on the term "traditional" if it wasn't for the time-slip gray exterior. Like the Monogram, RS 1.0, and Scion 10 editions, the RS 2.0 does have Smart-Key, and HID/LED headlight assembly as well as covered padded center console, along with automatic dual-zone climate control that everyone seems to opt for these days. The dash panel is covered in faux-suede reaching for the bigger wallet tastes too.

Exterior extensions are also all-new, but so subtle that it just flows and blends into the complex curves of the FR-S. There is a ABS front lip that extends just enough to keep the FR-S shape relevant. The trunk spoiler is color keyed to the lid but smaller and more gently raked than any previous spoiler on this car. The wheels too, are in the current trend of black-chrome. For many fanatics, this looks a lot like the BRZ tS/STI wheels blended with Enkei RS05's bent spoke cues, but they are not piano-black and are 17 inch stamped with FORGED markings... The last bit hinting at the TRD USA origin of where the wheels are sourced.

All in all, for most people who witnessed it for the first time, it is an unexpected departure in focus from the racy show-car toy trends the FR-S is often built toward.
It's a bit confusing to most who've followed this car since 2012, and even more so for people who associate Scion as an economy brand. However, if you can re-frame your mind to think that Scion is where Toyota does weird experiments which has been really what it is about since the start, then it makes much more sense.

I sort of like the RS 2.0 package, and it's probably going to create a lot of noise, controversy, and debates online among Social Media netizens soon. And guess what? That's exactly what a niche car should do, and create a non-universal fan-base of exactly 1000 units.

Like the much more decadently appointed and sky-high priced Japanese edition called the Style Cb that appeared on the market there earlier this year, this one is reaching for a whole new demographic obviously. But we'll wait till the marketing campaign begins to see where and who Scion has in mind exactly, for the Western Hemisphere.  Regardless, I find it tasteful.

(UPDATE 11/22/2015)  According to Scion Officials, the Release Series 2.0 will go on sale in January 2016.  The estimated pricetag will be $30,000 for the manual transmission and $31,000 for semi-automatic paddle shift transmission.  USA Scion dealers will be taking orders as early as start of December 2015.

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Clazzio Seat Cover and LED Interior lighting

Available now, from Clazzio (A Japanese leather seat semi-permanent cover goes over the stock seats and is held on tightly with clever straps and hooks, is an economical way of giving you the leather seats you've wanted (if you did). The memory foam padding actually gives a more supple hold than stock seats, and feels very snug at lateral and longitudinal g-forces too, unlike popular belief. This product costs about half the price of full leather re-upholstering, and is for all four seats in the FR-S/BRZ.

As we know some car seat covers are designed to fit specific models of cars, while others are designed to fit all cars. If you are looking for a car seat cover that will fit your car perfectly, you will need to purchase a model-specific cover. However, if you are looking for a more affordable option, you can purchase an all-cars car seat cover. All-cars car seat covers are made to fit a variety of different cars, so they may not fit your car as perfectly as a model-specific cover. Seat Covers Unlimited has a wide selection of all-cars car seat covers to choose from, so you can find one that perfectly matches your car and your needs.

However, seat covers alone won’t prevent buildup of dust, odors, or embedded debris over time—especially in high-use vehicles or those exposed to the elements. That's why incorporating regular interior cleaning into your maintenance routine is essential. Even the best seat covers benefit from a clean foundation, and regular detailing ensures that your vehicle remains as comfortable and fresh as it looks.

That’s where a professional touch can make a difference. North Phoenix Detail offers a range of services that go far beyond a basic wash. Their interior detailing packages include deep cleaning of upholstery, carpets, dashboard surfaces, and vents—removing stains and allergens that typical at-home cleaning might miss. For those with all-cars seat covers, this level of care helps ensure that both your covers and the original seats underneath remain in top condition.

Clazzio seat covers are all fully custom made to order with choice of colors, materials, and combinations of them in center and side supports as well as stitch type and color.

Also, I took the same weekend to add some LED lighting to the floor and door courtesy area. The foot well is lit by a two stage LED array, with orange bright at door open, and dark red dim at headlight on and driving, and single red LED beams a broad dim light on the center console to help see the area without having a blinding light source at night.

Updated 6/20/2015

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The Pro/Celebrity Race which happen every year is a charity race sub-content of the 36 year history of Long Beach Grand Prix.  That's every April when the City of Long Beach becomes a huge raceway for automobile enthusiasts of Southern California to host a bunch of big-time racing that climax with the INDYCAR series, and formerly CART, IRL, and even Formula One at one point in history.
The cars specified for the one-make, 10 lap race between American Celebrities versus the Professionals will be the brand new TRD USA-built Scion FRS this year.
We had a chance to preview these cars in it completed specifications, and sample them all on the very technical venue of Streets of Willow Springs Raceway on March 4th, and all I can say is it was both educational and entertaining. Here is short write-up of what I’ve encountered, and we thank all of the staff from Toyota Motorsports Division, and Scion Public Relations team for the kind invitation.

Before we get into the grit of performance and the usual driving impressions, let me inform you on the purpose of the Pro/Celebrity FRS and what it is meant to do as a specialty venue race car.

The race is all about having a group of enthusiastic celebrities from all walks of entertainment industry, trained for a full month by Fast Lane driving School, to compete in a one-make race with handicapped start and a chase by professional drivers from USA’s Professional motorsports industry. It is a short 10 lap race but surrounded by concrete walled and very grueling and unforgiving raceway that is shared with INDYCARS and other pro races that happen on the same week.

Needless to say, these are very special circumstances, and require a very dedicated type of cars which are both forgiving enough for the non-professional driving celebrities, but tactile enough for any professional drivers to be comfortable at full speed. Also, since this is a DRIVER challenge for evenly matched and specified cars, the cars need to be pretty exact in performance and free from variances and character differences so that the drivers can truly compare the skills. Also unique to these cars is the lack of modifications that are typical in a full on race cars for absolute quest for speed. The cars are rather more tuned to be easy to drive, and safe for all of the enthusiasts that get behind a wheel in such unforgiving raceway.

So having said this here are some major modifications done from a stock showroom car:

In the area of absolute safety, a regulations specific roll cage is fitted to each car. However unlike a typical race car, these cars are void of bracing and cages fore and aft of the passenger cabin so as to retain the excellent crumple zone built into the FRS by design in a production car. This makes absolute sense since these cars are evenly built, so there is no point in pursuing the super-strong chassis like those of a race car to permit another 2mph average speed, at the expense of 2 more broken bones in a crash right?
Each of the Pro/Celebrity Race cars are also equipped with a on-board total fire extinguishing system, a 5 point safety harness by Simpson, as well as traditional window nets like on a NASCAR style closed body American racing series. The excellent driver’s seat from the stock FRS is retained here, as well as most of the interior panels. There are specifically made driver knee-pads to the left and right of the driver’s foot wells, keep the drivers comfortable during high-G maneuvers. And, needless to say, the folks at Toyota Motorsports USA, who hand-assembled these cars, did a superb job on making every custom detail look Toyota-quality, right down to the plastic panels and fabricated headliners that cover the upper half of the roll-cage. A level of care that makes any fabricator and custom car folks drool, and makes the cars look that much more inviting to sit and spend time inside.

As for the performance side, reliability is the top priority, while handling improvements as a race car is something really catered to the series of being very even, and relatively docile while not sacrificing the excitement and speed, as well as driver tactility, and feel.

Performance modifications:

The engine is a stock FA20 as installed in every production FRS. There may be some cleaning and assembly process to assure each engine behaves close to each other, as well as for double-checking the parts to be used, but no internal modifications were introduced to the engine itself. The power rating, according to the catalog spec of these race cars are published as 210hp @7000 rpm, with Redline Oil in 0W-20 grade, and TRD USA custom fitted intake chamber, filter, and what seems like a TRD Japan exhaust system with emissions equipment removed for additional cooling and reliability.

Centerforce custom spec clutch disk system was installed to keep the 10 laps consistent among varying drivers, and Bridgestone RE11 225/40-18 was specified for the one make spec.
Toyota Motorsports and TRD USA collaborated with Eibach suspension systems in creating a specific custom spring and shock set, which look really expensive…combined with the TRD-specified anti-roll bar (sway bars).
On the end links for each of the stabilizers were very nicely made high-grade end links from Hotchkis Suspension.   And Stop-Tech was called in to create the TRD specific FRS calibrated front brake calipers as well as floating disk rotor. It is still unknown which if any of these parts will be available to the general public and I shall find out later in the year, but the next section will describe how these components all came together to pin-point focus all of these cars to this specific task, and how it all felt to the driver.

Driving Impression:

I need to warn you that this was a sampling day and not a race day, which I had the opportunity to drive. These are precious cars Scion and Toyota Motorsports need in a very important role in just 30 days time, so I really didn’t opt to flog them to the maximum risk conditions or speed. However, because the venue at Streets of Willow Springs is very technical raceway, with lots of connecting corners and decent straights, I think I got enough of the exercises done to report on how these cars behave with my humble skills, and with every single body sensors tuned to take in the experience, assisted by two cans of RED BULL prior to getting in the cars.

The exhaust note is crisp, and crackles with vibrant high notes which is amazing when one considers the origin of the engine to be a Subaru flat four 2 liter. Like the production counterpart, the engine revs smoothly up to redline at 7400 and stays fairly even on torque in the upper half of the range. Nice and ideal, I’d say, for a nice one-make race car. It makes every mistake easy to correct, and occasionally choosing to be in taller or shorter gear won’t rob the driver too much pace.
One thing to note on these car,  it is electronically programmed to cancel all electronic driver assist at engine start, so the cars are as pure as they can be for the driver, and only thing that stays on seems to be the ABS system (which is always a plus, on a concrete walled raceway!!).
There is an option to turn VSC and TRC systems back on, if one chooses, and it was probably left in for those occasions where a journalist or other guests can easily drive it without risk in roles outside of the Pro/Celebrity Race.
Once under way, the specified Bridgestone RE11’s heat up quickly, and within half a lap, they seemed to hit just the right temperatures and stayed pretty nice and predictable throughout the 5 lap sampling sessions. These are not the typical gummy, tacky, full-on race slicks as one may expect, but are what I would call a Sunday Racer level tires, which are designed to be very durable for the race track use, and have far more grip than normal street tires, but also behave in a more forgiving manner in a less peaky way. The RE11 caters to lots of extended fun track sessions and making the car dance at pace all day.

Certainly a full race spec tire may turn in faster laps, but again, ease of operation and less variables the better when we are simply racing with driver skills as the only factor to winning. So these tires are probably the right choice to keep the audience entertained as well.

They exhibit lots more screeching sounds when slid over the grip capability, noticeable to both drivers and fans just on the other side of the fence, than on full race tires. And grip-abundant and predictable enough to every driver to keep the cars from smashing into walls.
I thought it was the perfect choice anyway. It’s basically, a lot of fun this way. And yes, they have FAR more grip than the stock FRS tires.

The cockpit is as familiar as any stock FRS, and the excellent transmission shifting mechanism is retained on these cars. The shifts occur fast and easy and clutch systems are fairly straightforward to any mundane manual seasoned driver. The 5 point harness, which I would recommend to any track driver, not only keeps the driver safe, but also greatly helps in cars like these which can pull a lot of lateral and longitudinal G’s, by keeping his butt in place to feel the car, and to keep arms and legs concentrated on the task at hand than simply holding on. The nicely fitted knee-pads also come in handy for taller drivers who has lots of leg-travel in the cockpit, to keep his/her knees in place.

Steering into each corner and through series of connected corners, the car feels very tenacious at turn-in, responding with eagerness to rotate the car. But unlike some cars that typically become very tail-happy with such settings, the TRD-Eibach suspension system on this car, hunkers down, and keeps all the contact patch stuck to the pavement. It is one of the best combinations of grip and handling balance that I have ever felt on a tuned street car. With increase in steering input, and corrections in mid-corner, controls become really forgiving and positive in feel.

Any well-developed driver can put the car right on the intended line and trace it all day with this car. With a bit of a forced entry or late braking, the RE11’s will slowly warn the driver, and break away progressively, while maintaining great composure, and lets drivers think about how and when he can return the car back online. This freedom and confident attribute is very important in a car which race against each other, and when multiple cars dive and dice on a narrow track like at Long Beach. Drivers can negotiate an off-line corner with another car alongside without fear of losing the car into the walls. FRS has all the body structure and dynamic balance to offer, and with Toyota Motorsports’ expert tuning, all of the fun factor, spelled ‘confident balance’ is retained and extended to a higher cornering speed. Simply amazing in terms of overall chassis development and tune, especially in focus to what they are designed to cater in the Pro/Celebrity Race.

With one look at the car, one may notice a pair of huge red-colored 4 pot caliper with TRD logo on the front hub, and the seeming unbalance with stock rear calipers which seem rather small in visual comparison. But these thoughts just fly out the window when you punch the brakes, then in successive lap after lap on the Pro/Celebrity Scion FRS. The typical mismatch and ill-character that’s usually associated with using haphazard brake caliper selection on a stock fluid balancer and master cylinder like this, is completely non-existent. The cars slow down fast and steady, lap after lap, corner after corner, with complete and neatly proportioned way, and brakes are really close in feel to stock, but with heat related changes curtailed to nothing more than warming the pads for a corner or two at start. It's just what the car needs, to match the huge increase in grip afforded by the excellent RE11 tires.

With all the handing and braking prowess, the relatively stock FRS engine seems a bit unexciting on the main straights of course. However, this is something very negligible to the driver once they clip the first apex of a corner, as the car retains so much momentum and inertia, that the driver shall be very preoccupied with keeping the cornering G’s high, and screaming out of each corner at speeds akin to race cars than production based car. Not to mention the sheer width of his smile being wider than the track width at Long Beach! What is commendable about this engine is the absolutely flat and easy torque and power output, which is such a joy to modulate while the car is on the edge. Throttle translates so well to vector changes and steering inputs extremely well. For those of you that are familiar with rear wheel drive sports cars, you will immediately know that this is the ideal form of something light and scratching the road with the back tires, that can both propel the car, as well as steer the car at will.

All said and done, the day ended way too short of what I wanted to spend, and this was with a FULL day on the race way with just 14 drivers invited! I just could not get enough of these Pro/Celebrity Race cars despite the 4 sessions I had, and I would easily say that this is the best Pro/Celebrity race car ever for the series.
I say this because unlike the heavy and flex-frame Celica in the old days, or the tricky and demanding nature of front driven Celica and recent Scion tC, this FRS leaves so much options for the drivers to change his style, speed, pace, lines and whatever we do on the raceway, that much more of the driver’s individual style, driving prowess, and character will probably be apparent in the 2013 race, and therefore making us, the spectators that much more entertained and focused on the race.

You know, I might just have changed my mind about the favorite Toyota car I would want to take to the track… Yes, I think I prefer this Pro/Celebrity spec, Scion FRS to the mighty Lexus LFA…
It’s that good!

PS. I had the opportunity to take our favorite in-house photographer for Club4AG, Danny and Geoff of JDMZIPTIES, and they have photographed the event nicely, moment by moment. We thank them as well as everyone at Toyota Motor Sales USA, various service and Public Relations entities, and partners, for making the event a really comfortable experience. The FRS Pro/Celebrity replica Radio Controlled cars were a nice touch by HPI and Scion PR! And TRD USA display and OEM AUDIO+ on site kept us talking for hours as we took turns at the very special automobiles from Scion.

More about the 2013 Pro/Celebrity Race:
Driver Roster Official Release - http://club4ag.com/driving-the-2013-scion-frs-long-beach-grand-prix-procelebrity-race-cars/

More photos here at JDMZIPTIES webpage!  http://jdmzipties.com/2013/03/06/toyota-pro-celebrity-race-scion-fr-s-media-day-streets-of-willow-highlight-photos/

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I've spent a bit of time to reorganize the Scion FR-S center console today, since I missed my chance to get out to CES...

I had on hand a pair of APEXi EL-II Metering gauges, so I spent a bit of time last week, trying to find a cleaner installation than simply screwing pods on the top of the dash, or using any of those gaudy pillar clusters that block your view.

But be forewarned, as this method invloves a lot of cutting, drilling, griding, and hacking the potentially expensive HVAC controller bezel and parts of the dash. Only if you are comfortable with DIY and have done these things before, I would recommend.

I knew there was enough space but the original HVAC controllers and warning display panel, and the bottom pocket, all stylish but sort of wasting a lot of space in the layout.

I've trimmed the HVAC controller panel to drop it lower into the console taking up space that was previously occupied by the pocket and the USB cable socket.

Next I trimmed off the stay and frame of the clock, seat-belt warning, and hazard switch, moved the hazard switch using a more generic one hidden away. I left the belt warning and clock off the panel as I have enough devices that tell me the time of day, and I really didn't need my car reminding me I should wear a belt. I wear a seat-belt anyway, regardless.

The carbon look panel over lexan acrylic panel I created from scratch. I usually use lexan for making prototypes, so I can see through it during fabrication and makes pinpointing screw bases and pin holes to exact locations easier.

APEXi, A'PEXi, Apexi USA, #Scion #Club4AG #FRS #86DDA,Club4AG, Club4AG

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Bride Seats +Cusco

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800+ Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ, and the AE86!
The biggest gathering of FT86/AE86 in the world to date.

Club4AG was there to show you what happened behind the scene and on the raceway

Nestled deep in the foothills town of Shizuoka, Japan, is the world famous Fuji International Speedway.
The event this time was "Style 86 with BRZ"
Most of the parts maker's and tuner shops that cater to these cars were present, as well as drivers who sport the cars.
A one make race of "86 Racing" models also took place that included the celebrity female race car drivers of Japan too.

Nanami Tsukamoto, Rina Ito, Oda Chiho, Megumi Hachigo, and Yumi Yoshida all took part in this race, with women out-numbering this year's Toyota 86 Racing One Make, the Citizen Timepiece Driving Force Cup.

Behind the scenes, many of the AREA86 Master Staff met with Club4AG Mr.Mannen and myself, Sandy from OEM Audio, staff from San-Ei Publishing famous for Hyper Rev magazine, and Mr. Tada and Kishi, along with a few of the prominent designers and PR officials from Toyota Japan.
Some great moments, captured here with photos so I will let the pictures do the talking!

I can't wait till next year!

This is how things look from the window of a Shinkansen "Nozomi" as it blasts its way from Tokyo to Nagoya at 315 km/h along the Tokaido JR Line.

BeatSonic's official Showroom in Aichi, Japan.   "CarDen", a cabin in the woods, featuring live performance in a cafe setting, with product showcase next door.

When you drive in the rural areas of Shizuoka, you find the most crazy done up cars...  This Estima was on the way to Fuji for the event, as support car for one of the Toyota 86's

AREA 86 Dealership Master Staff from all over Japan, met with Club4AG along with Chief Designer Furukawa, and Chief Engineer Tada, OEM+ Sandy Lirag, and Mannen from Maruman Hokkaido.
It was a short 2 hour conversation, but one that was of great meaning.  It was a pleasure meeting them all!

GT300 Subaru BRZ, and Driver Yamano Tetsuya, who grew up and spent part of his young life in California.
He is the face of Subaru Racing these days!

Gazoo Racing Campaign Girls pose with the recent Nurburgring Winner #166 Toyota 86

Nanami Tsukamoto's Toyota 86 Racing, with Sandy being her biggest fan from the USA.

Toyota 86 Griffon Concept...

Keiichi Tsuchiya's "TRD STREET 86" built by the late Mr.Sakurai, the master builder at TRD in the 1990's for Best Motoring's Hot Version Video Series.

86 Chief Designer, Mr. Furukawa along with Sandy Lirag of OEM Audio and me.  

A Celebrity DJ, a model, and part-time Class A Licensed Race car driver, Chiho Oda, drives the Toyota 86 Racing in today's race, Citizen Driving Force.

One of the most popular columnist in automotive journalism in Japan, Yumi Yoshida, took to the wheel of this orange Toyota 86 with President Akio's stamp on the hood, in the "CITIZEN DRIVING FORCE CUP" one-make race to commemorate the new Citizen Eco-Drive wrist watch soon to be produced in limited numbers. Her joyful demeanor, and eloquent words always inform and entertain the world of car enthusiasts in Japan.

Rina Ito, in another Toyota 86 with Team K-One

Megumi Hachigo drives the #85 Profi Team Toyota 86

Nanami Tsukamoto, a race queen and a licensed Classs A driver in the ita-sha created by Kyosho Model Co. and sits at the 4th place after qualifying.

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86 EXPO

A gathering of FRS/BRZ at the heart of sin, World famous Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

44 cars gathered to celebrate almost the 1 year anniversary of the Scion FRS and Subaru BRZ.

The tour took us through the #Valley of Fire National Park, on a 160 mile tour of the Nevada Deserts, and Mohave.

The night-time hosting of a small amateur SCCA Solo II autocross event, and a celebration gathering at the Fletcher Jones Toyota dealership. — in Las Vegas, NV.The usual summer heat of 115'F weather never faded any of the owners, and we all had a blast meeting new owners from the Mountain States and Northwest as well!
The FR-S and BRZ community just gets merrier every month!

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