2012 SEMA is an important year for the event largely due to the introduction of the FR-S/BR-Z. It’s no secret that this car has made quite a scene since its debute with a winning formula of an accessible and practical packaging combined with a fun to drive spirit rooting from the legendary AE86. With the introduction of this RWD platform has sparked an explosion of aftermarket offerings from all over the automotive industry. With our Scion FR-S, we aimed to showcase just how great the right combination can make an already exciting car even better.
When we took deliver of the car, it was completely bone stock, so of course we had to start changing things immediately. The bumpers and headlights were immediately taken off. Lightwurkz started gave the housings the little touches that will help it stand out from the crowd, starting with some LED rings around the projectors.
The body work was then cut away even further to make room for the aero kit supplied by Rocket Bunny. This kit which debuted at our Slammed Society even in Japan earlier this year, gives the car a much more aggressive stance with bolt on fenders, a redesigned front and rear bumper along with a new rear diffuser.
This, however, isn’t a simply bolt on kit. In order to make sure the upgraded wheel size wouldn’t rub inside these new fenders, the old ones needed to be cut and welded away.
With the new clearances, we started installing the new handling parts. Cusco supplied chassis bracing in the upper engine bay, lower engine bay, rear subframe and rear bumper support to help fight any flexing the car may experience as well adding additional safety with their bolt on roll cage.
Other Cusco parts installed were rear lower control arms while the front lower control arms and adjustable end links were supplied by Cortex.
Next up in the handling department are the Varient 3 coilovers, supplied by KW. These will help give the car the sharp, crisp handling while at the same time returning a competent ride and allowing us to give the car the lower ride height that we desired.
Finally, Brembo GT Big Brake Kits with their high performance brake pads on all 4 corners will make sure this car stops exactly when we want it to over and over again.
Inside the car we kept things simple with just the installation of a pair of our Illest x Bride Zieg III Type R bucket seats. These seats, which are all carbon fiber and FIA approved, feature Bride’s Low Max seating position, giving the driver a great view of the road ahead. Holding the driver inside our seats are Takata’s new harness system, now available in black with Takata Green accents.
Lastly, we addressed the problem which is most criticized with the new FR-S; lack of power. Using Vortex’s new bolt-on supercharger system, this system is a reliable and easy way to give this modern Hachiroku the grunt it needs to really start flying. Helping keeping things cool while shedding off some weight on the front end is a new racing radiator by Koyo. Adding to the character is Greddy’s stainless steel dual exhaust system which gives the car a great deep growl without mimicking any traditional Subaru Boxer exhaust tones.
Lastly, the wheels. As many of us know, wheels can make or break a car’s appearance. The wrong set will either understate the car or completely clash with the car’s personality. Since ours was so aggressive thanks to the Rocket Bunny aero, we felt it deserved a raw track set of shoes to compliment it. Limited TE37SL in gunmetal grey with Toyo Proxes RS1’s definitely seemed to do the trick just right, showing that this FR-S isn’t some boulevard cruiser.
Come by the Toyota booth at SEMA this year to check out our Fatlace x Scion FR-S and also don’t forget to swing by the Toyo booth to see our other SEMA project, the BenSopra GTR.
Fatlace FRS
by Fatlace Motorsports
Exterior
Tra Kyoto – Rocket Bunny FRS Bodykit
Lightwerkz LED Headlights
Engine
Vortex Supercharger
Koyo Radiator
Cusco Power Brace
Interior
Illest x Bride ZEIG III Typer-R / Super Aramide Bride seat
Cusco 5 pt. Roll Bar
Suspension
KW V3 Coilovers
Cortex Adjustable ARB End Links
Cortex Bump Steer Adjustment Kit
Cortex Tactical Front Control Arms
Cusco Power Brace (Front lower cross-member)
Cusco Power Brace (Lower arm)
Cusco Power Brace (Rear Cross-member side)
Cusco Power Brace (Rear Cross-member)
Cusco Power Brace (Rear end)
Cusco Rear Lateral Link
Cusco Strut Tower Bar
Cusco Strut Tower Bar
Cusco Oil Catch Tank
Wheels / Tires
Rays Engineering / Volk Racing TE37SL
Toyo Tires Proxes RS1
Brakes
Brembo Gran Turismo Front & Rear Brakes
Brembo high performance brake pads
This is really nice, way better than the hella-flush stuff. I don’t hate hella flush, its really cool and perfect for a cruiser but this is what I like most. A pure track/race car. All performance that can be driven on the street and look bad-ass. Really cool. I like this side of Fatlace. Oh and the performance oriented KW coil-overs were a great choice. I’m glad tiens or stance coil-overs didn’t end up on that car. wheel/tire choice is perfect. Real r-compound tires that actually fit… perfect car.
Thanks Robert, the guys and myself will be using this car for drifting and some driving events after Sema. Should be a good fun little track car.
Hey Mark, what was the process behind deciding on the vinyl for the car? Why the blue on red in the strange shapes? Car looks amazing otherwise. Maybe I am just used to seeing the clean original Rocket Bunny car.
Amazing build mark! I’ll be in California next week for a few business meetings and was wondering if there was any way Bluemotion could stop by and shoot some random photos/videos and check out the RWB cars, the sema 86, and illest boutiques…!