Brian's BRZ: Painful Lessons in Lubrication
Few BRZ owners have been as methodical when it comes to monitoring their engine's oil pressure as Brian Armstrong, who hopes to develop new components to make this popular new platform more dependable.
He’d spent years dreaming of driving on a track. Brian Armstrong had grown up hearing racing tales from his late uncle, a former professional stock car racer; and grandfather, a racer, mechanic, and performance engine builder. Even coming from good stock, Brian hadn’t really found a door into the world of motorsport himself. The opportunity finally arose when he relocated from New York City back to his native California in 2021.
Now in a more car-friendly environment, he decided to get a more track-oriented car and explore performance driving. It didn’t take long to choose a vehicle. He wanted a front-engine, rear wheel-drive platform and relatively low cost of operation. It was either the newly released BRZ/GR86 or the latest MX-5. The stars aligned when he found a 2022 BRZ in World Rally Blue in transit to a local dealer for MSRP. He put down a reservation site unseen and picked it up about a week later, in early December 2021.
In Good Company
He started with autocross, attending 4-5 events before graduating to track days. After a couple events, he found 86 Challenge, a local time attack series dedicated to the 86 platform and sponsored by SpeedSF and GT Radial. He started participating in the Stock Class, which allows only minimal modifications to the car, with the intention of setting a level playing field with a low cost of entry to be competitive. “The stock class appealed to me because all the cars are set up the same, more or less. That means your pace is primarily dictated by driver skill.”
The few modifications allowed in street class help showcase the BRZ’s brilliance out of the box; there are no drawbacks to having such a short list of legal upgrades. His car has the following modifications:
Pedders Offset strut mounts and top camber bolts for -2.5° of front camber
17x8” 949 Racing 6UL wheels wrapped in 225/45R17 GT Radial Champiro SX2 tires
AP Racing Endurance front BBK with Ferodo DS1.11 pads and Carbotech XP10 pads in the rear
7mm Perrin front spacers
ARP extended studs
GR Performance Exhaust
And he’s added a couple ergonomic tweaks: a shift knob from Ansix and, for a little added support, he inserted a section of half-inch yoga mat into the factory seat bolsters. It’s surprisingly effective!
In addition to competition, he also found community in 86 Challenge. Having faster drivers as benchmarks is helpful, but the participants also freely share information to help each other improve as drivers.“We record our telemetry data on AiM Solo 2 or RaceChrono data loggers, then share the data on Google Drive, so we can compare. It’s all voluntary, but we all want to help each other get faster.”
They were also interested in diagnosing some of the BRZ’s from-factory flaws. “We’ve also been collaborators in trying to understand and improve the reliability of the oiling system in the 2nd generation BRZ/GR86,” Brian continued. Two 86 Challenge participants had added oil pressure sensors to their cars and started documenting oil pressure drops on right hand corners as early as November 2022. After several drivers in the broader 86 community suffered engine failures on unmodified engines, including a couple who Brian knows personally, this became a bigger focus..
Brian’s analytical strengths helped him delve into the data and contribute to this effort. He instrumented his own car, with help from 86 Challenge drivers @nostreetracing86 and Miles Kodama, and published a video on YouTube explaining the issue with evidence from his car and two others. He also volunteered to test a prototype baffle from Killer B Motorsport and later Verus Engineering in hopes of finding a simple way to mitigate oil starvation.
Ironically, his engine blew the day one in-depth article he’d contributed to was published.
That expensive afternoon at Thunderhill East went smoothly until it didn’t. Initially, when Brian saw a pressure drop to 0 PSI, he first thought a sensor had failed. When he heard that terrible telltale shuddering sound emanating from his engine bay — the one he’d heard so many times in the big-hit failure videos on YouTube — he knew it was catastrophic.
Thankfully, fellow 86 Challenge driver Kevin Schweigert offered Brian space in his garage to suss out the cause of his FA24’s failure. With the pan on Kevin’s garage floor, Brian took a peek. It took two seconds to determine what had happened.
A small piece of metal had broken off the baffle and blocked the oil pickup. “It was a one-of-one prototype build, so these types of things can happen. Verus immediately accepted responsibility and said they would help with the rebuild.” They covered the cost of a new FA24 long block and, through generous donations from the community, Brian was able to cover the cost of labor and additional parts needed for the rebuild.
Second Stab
During this rebuild, Brian took advantage of the opportunity to make some improvements to his oiling system to try and increase durability and decrease flow restrictions, which can decrease pressure to the crankshaft.
His old oil cooler lines had been rubbing on a sheetmetal seam near the driver’s side headlight and there was insufficient protection from abrasion. It could have been a serious issue if not addressed.
Following advice from other 86 Challenge members, he decided to replace the lines with custom built Goodridge 910 AN hoses—as used in the GR86 Cup Car. These kevlar-braided lines are more abrasion resistant, but also feature a larger internal diameter, for less flow restriction. He also increased the size of the oil cooler core with the hope of reducing temps and reducing flow restriction.
His shakedown of the new engine, oil cooler, and a new generation of oil pressure instrumentation hardware at a recent SpeedSF event was auspicious. Everything worked well, Brian was at ease, so he pushed a little harder than normal set a new PB.
Brian’s committed to the cause. His continuing work with Verus aims to solve this starvation issue and the pair is planning to test a new prototype in January. They now believe the primary issue may be related to the oil returning too slowly from the heads to the oil pan, which the prototype attempts to fix.
The community support and innovation from the major aftermarket players have encouraged Brian to continue chancing his baby in an attempt to solve the problem which worries most BRZ owners. Undaunted by the big bang this year, he’s planning on returning to Stock class in the 86 Challenge in 2024. Consider it a testament to a lovely atmosphere among cooperative drivers and an exhilarating platform worth taking a few risks for.
Jake's S2000: Balance and the Best of All Worlds
Jake learned that he really can have it all with his AP1 S2000. Basic but capable, this particular car has just what’s needed and nothing more to make it unreliable. Plus, it looks better than most with a distinct coat of Porsche Chalk.
The first 5-10 track days went well. Jake Montinola’s E36 M3 was so forgiving, so comfortable, and so beautifully balanced that the start was without many worrying moments. That changed when he tried an S2000 on the tenth event. He was hooked immediately, and the ease with which he entered into racing was replaced with trepidation. But that justifiable concern was tied to a sort of excitement that Jake knew he needed more of in his life.
The breakaway in the S2000 was faster, the reactions faster, and the need to drive it more smoothly forced him to alter his style consciously—one of the first things he changed. Gary Yeung and Gary Wong were huge influences who helped reshape his style to be smoother, neater, more considerate of things like the rate of brake release, and much more concerned with keeping the rear underneath him. Some people can drive the S2000 with a lot of slip angle very effectively, but the inherent pointiness of the car requires a delicate touch, regardless of driving preferences.
Gary Yeung of Elite Performance also lent a hand with the servicing and upgrades. For a long while, all the car had was an HKS exhaust and a set of Winmax pads. That was enough—Jake had been struggling to keep the fidgety car pointed in the right direction. “I probably spun it every other session the first couple times I took it out,” he laughed.
The softness of the S2000’s stock suspension became an issue he didn’t want to deal with any longer, so to try and minimize some of its willingness to oversteer, he installed a set of Ohlins DFVs. The body control improved, but he came to find that he liked the S2000 with stiffer suspension underneath it. In the Ohlins’ place, he moved onto the HKS SP coilovers that “made a world of difference.”
That didn’t mean it became an inert lump of metal. The car turned fantastically when he replaced the stock wheels with a set of Weds Sport TC105s and 255-section Advan A052s. “Turn-in was immediate after that. Then Gary [Yeung] helped me neutralize the car with a few setup tweaks. I added a front sway bar, which helped stabilize the car. I then played around with the rear dampening, as well as a more aggressive alignment with more rear camber helped improve rear traction.
Always a fan of the ASM cars, Jake made his look like one with their front bumper and wider fenders.
In addition to having this extra pointy front end at his disposal, he had a fantastic braking system with real anti-dive to help the platform stay solid so the driver could absolutely stomp the middle pedal at the beginning of the brake zone. “The stock brakes were great, but eventually I upgraded. The Stoptech ST40 front, a reasonably priced setup, has paid off some of the initial cost with pad savings over the last couple years. “Plus, the brake feel stays consistent through a session, and I never have heat problems. I might’ve cracked one rotor, but I think it’s a great kit for the price.”
The motor went on for years, but once he passed the 170,000 mile-mark, it let go. He turned to Gary for a rebuild, who was mindful of Jake’s budget, so he used OEM parts where he could—including OEM AP2 valve springs and retainers as they’re a little stronger. Along with those, he added a Ballade baffled oil pan as well as a valve cover baffle to reduce blow-by.
Over time, he got tired of the Silverstone Grey and went with a variation of Porsche Chalk.
Though some friends felt he ought to try and spend more time learning the car before adding aero, he couldn’t resist grabbing a J’s Racing Type 2 wing. The snappiness at the rear was still noticeable—though Jake acknowledges it could’ve been his driving—so he went to the next logical step. With Megan Racing rear toe arms and rear roll center adjusters, he could correct the geometry with the rear sitting as low as it was.
With that, he’d nailed the setup. “I had 100% confidence in the car. I was attacking the esses at Sonoma and actually had a few scary moments, but I kept pushing. The car was perfect.” With a subsequent string of flawless track days, Jake hit his personal bests at Sonoma, Thunderhill West, and Laguna Seca in a short time.
Well, almost. Jake’s always loved the looks of the ASM S2000s—cars that have been able to get around Tsukuba in 56 seconds without the help of a turbo, so he grabbed himself an ASM IS11 replica front bumper to help balance the rear downforce with a little more front bite. Along with that, ASM’s vented front fenders made it possible to add a square set of 17x9.5” Volk ZE40 wheels wrapped in either Yokohama A052, Nankang AR1, or the new Nankang CRS. With all the grip available, Jake now was a little worried about something snapping.
The most renowned failure points, the hubs, had to be replaced. The front hubs are new Honda items and the rears are Karcept’s replacement hubs, which are filled in solid where the weight-reducing cut-outs are on the backside of the already thin OEM hub flange. These beefier items remove the factory rotor retention screw holes for reportedly twice the strength of the standard hubs. Along with those, he replaced the wheel bearings with standard Honda items and added ARP extended studs at all four corners.
There’s not much more he feels is needed to make this car just about perfect. A better set of Penske 8300 coilovers are currently on their way. Following that, he’ll upgrade the bushings, add a 4.3 final drive, and install a Cusco 1.5-way differential. Hopefully this diff will save him the headache of popping stock diffs—he’s been through a few already.
“I feel it’s better to keep it closer to OEM,” Jake asserts. “That way, I’m working more on my driving and worrying less about something going wrong.” The package has been built well and sports some strong parts, which should make it more than enough for consistent, stress-free, fun driving.
That’s it for the winter mods, but then there’s the change in mindset: he has a plan to go back, attack, and hit a few new PBs. He’s just been calming down a bit, enjoying the drives, and using it as a coaching tool lately—and that is no criticism of the car. It only shows that a car can be equal parts fast, fun, reliable, and challenging. Only some cars can wear a few hats well, and this lightly-tuned, rock-solid S2000 is certainly one of them.
