FA24 Short Block x FA20 Heads Engine Swap - [Best BRZ or GR86 I Have Ever Driven - Track Review]

[@JackyCheung-k8y]

As you said... Great option for anyone with a blown Gen 1 motor... I actually think there is a harness kit that makes it easier for a direct FA24 swap, but this option is definitely a good one for someone with a blown FA20. Will be interesting to follow this build after the header and refinement in the tune. Great video.

[@802Garage]

Link ECU also offers full standalones for the direct injection FA engines now. :D

[@ballnotfall]

So glad youtube recommended this channel. Been on a binge

[@stevemartegani]

Ooh, been wondering about this engine combination... Seems like a great idea to find a cheap, grenaded engine first gen and rebuild it like this. The N/A EJ crew has been doing hybrids like this for decades, glad it works with the FA too!

[@DriversPaddock]

It’s exactly what happened here. Two motors with spun rod bearings built back up to this hybrid motor. If you have machining capabilities… definitely a great option trading some labor for reduced cost of buying a full FA24.

[@Shelter-CS]

Such a cool build! Thanks for sharing it!!

[@jenzelk]

I recognized Phil from Speed Academy 2.4l swapped Miata!

[@DriversPaddock]

That’s a throwback! But yes, same Phil

[@blackice228]

That car was such a trainwreck 😂😂😂

[@alexxkolev]

Such underrated channel man! Love your content! 🙌🏻

[@DriversPaddock]

@@alexxkolev thanks for watching!!!

[@ricepony33]

Good endurance car setup.

[@vjegathe]

Great content!

[@salami99]

solid theory on mods

[@longdomedia]

I always wondered if this were possible, wish it were the same for the ez series engines. Ez36 heads with ez30 shortblock would have been a lot of fun.

[@isDonald]

Great content dude. Love the walk thru and feedback. Side note, I want to mention I would be careful with the stoptech kit (c43). Looks like c43. I was one of the beta testers when it came out and the verdict on the kit is that is not well made. It chews through pads (sr33 pad) and the rotor needed to be replaced by the 7th day for me. There were also a recent case of a fellow gr86 who had it failed on track. I ended up going with brembo bm4 kit and I would just be cautious if your push hard on the c43 kit.

[@blackice228]

Yep. Chews through rotors. Doesn't have a ton of heat capacity. Rotors are impossible to source. I'd love to update to a brembo bm4 kit.

[@DriversPaddock]

Thanks for watching!

[@Yumemaru.]

Man I just love the way that the gen one looks. I've always been an 86 guy, I'm not a fan of the BRZ front end. But this is still such a cool car.

[@kevind_53]

Thanks for the details 🚗💥💨🔥

[@albertt7784]

Makes no financial sense to do this but hey that's not why we love modifying cars for right?

[@Pearlwhitez28l69]

Phil is a pretty awesome guy. Took me for a drive in this and gave me some tips on driving. Pretty grateful for that. Not sure I’ll be able to capitalize on that with the colder track temps anymore, but it’s a lot different experiencing it than watching videos, reading and taking notes (which I have done). Pretty amazing experience. Thanks again Phil! Hope everything goes well with the new family! -Arie (with the black BRZ)

[@tone3560]

If you put a fa20 on a fa24 bottom end wouldnt that put your compression higher than stock?

[@blackice228]

Not necessarily, because the heads need to be machined in order for them to clear the pistons, that increased combustion chamber volume lowers compression closer to the OE FA24's 12.5:1.

[@Reciever1]

Dope

[@chriswong0331]

That’s crazy I got 207whp in my 2015 brz with full bolt ons and e85

[@vvevvevvvv]

But a lot less torque

[@inferniousX]

Man that’s awesome! What’s the plans moving forward? Turbo? Supercharge? See how much you can get out of the NA?

[@DriversPaddock]

The owner mentioned he’s going to get a better flowing header, intake, intake manifold and retune. From there, I think he just wants to drive and drive and drive.

[@matthewwyers4342]

I hope there is some light engine price build. Is it at all viable as a replacement option to stock build swap that would have a small turbo or supercharger. I’d like the better torque. Have had my stock for 10yrs now

[@anthonysamaha3760]

Would have been nice when he was talking about the car to explain why you would put fa20 heads on a fa24 block. Still good video! Thanks for sharing!

[@wilsonyang2209]

They did talk about it.

[@anthonysamaha3760]

@@wilsonyang2209No, they didn't talk about why you would do that. I would like to be proven wrong. Please point me to the time stamp, I watched I full video.

[@Scirollo]

@@anthonysamaha3760 Proven wrong: 1:50 It's extremely difficult to swap an FA24 into the chassis especially the pre-facelift ones because the ECU is not compatible. Better off retaining the heads and honing the 2.4 block to fit the new pistons. That is why he went this route.

[@TheBigNate505]

Bro can drive

[@TravisHoggart]

What happened to your fa24 engine? Obviously the block was ok so im guessing rod bearing?

[@DriversPaddock]

Sadly, yes. Oil starvation… right hand turn. Since then, my friends at Formula Delta have found a solution. They have a working prototype oil pan, the video is on my channel. We also have an in depth dive on the likely cause of oil starvation in these cars. Thanks for watching.

[@jg_ultra]

Sigh. "My friends at ... have found a solution." I've lost count of the number of times I've heard that since the twins launched. There's only one solution: swap away.

[@revvolutions]

​@@DriversPaddock does the fa20 head swap eliminate oil starvation too?

[@revvolutions]

Does this fix the right hander issue?

[@IronStorm666]

No Bro. There it is the draught of the oil from the sump, you have to put an anti-squoting barrier.😉

[@jonathanguignard536]

How much does it cost to do this?

[@DriversPaddock]

Check out the substack link in the description. Owner has a detailed breakdown of the build and costs associated. Thanks for watching.

[@andyy6481]

noob here, so he replaced the first gen car engine with a second gen one?

[@vvevvevvvv]

He replaced standard 2.0 liter engine with 2.4 liter block (cylinder heads remained from the 2.0 motor). So, displacement is now 2.4 liter.

[@PolishAlexx]

For context, a stock mk5 supra with a good driver runs 1:20 on this track!

[@calvinyeung6342]

1:20.4 is crazy fast in this car but Jason actually drove my bone stock A91 Supra to a 1:17.98

[@rhunt2363]

4th engine 😳

[@jaron95]

Are these the 9k spring rate Xida coilovers?

[@blackice228]

Yessir (it's me, the builder dude)

[@DriversPaddock]

The famous builder dude :O!

[@jaron95]

@@blackice228 Danggg. I was looking at HKS Hipermax S with 6k and one of the Cusco models with 7k for my 2nd gen. I think stock is like 3k, so 9k seems intense! EDIT: thanks for the reply!

[@ItsMarkBernardo]

​@@blackice228hi there, what timing equipment do you have there installed on the dash?

[@blackice228]

​@@jaron95ultimately the most important thing is that the spring rate is matched to the damper, so if HKS ships out 7k spring, I probably wouldn't touch the spring rate. I've tried a few different coilovers - KW V3s with 6/7k springs, BCs with 12/14k springs (I know, why). The Xidas at 9k seem to be a real sweet spot for a track orientated setup.

[@fearlessknight1343]

"these cars are cheap to begin with" meanwhile im still paying off my loan on my 2023 BRZ :( all stock

[@halfwaytobedlam3234]

nah bro he means used gen 1s that have been beat on

[@DriversPaddock]

He means an extreamly used gen 1 that needed a new engine and tons of body work, not a brand new 2023. The 2023 Brz is an amazing car… enjoy every moment of it. Having driven almost everything under the sun, it’s still such a refreshing drive whenever I get into a BRZ/86.

[@ztp913]

lol and this whole time he had the ac on max

[@DriversPaddock]

:O! Thanks for adding to my excuse list.

[@ravenstylea2]

Engine build makes a whole 170 lb feet torque at the wheels 😮🤯

[@VictorPitstop]

😅

[@TassieLorenzo]

For us metric people that's 230 Nm. That's about what you'd expect for a 2.4L (benchmark is 100 Nm/L, while for power it's 100hp/L, so I like the UK combination of Nm and hp units because it makes it easy to see NA engines are performing for their displacement), if a little low. Perhaps the volumetric efficiency of the engine is not the best -- but it does have the stock intake manifold on it and it seems like any porting and cam work on the FA20 heads was not extensive (if any), after all. There don't seem to be all that many good aftermarket intake manifolds for a FA NA engine. It's "built" but it's basically a stock engine after all.

[@michaeljohn1160]

So. My 2018 brz made 201whp on e85. Race exhaust, but that’s it. For the amount of money and time you put into yours, getting 200, maybe 205-ish, to me it’s not worth it.

[@TassieLorenzo]

@@michaeljohn1160 The "area under the curve" will likely be greater with the 2.4L and you can always run it on E85 as well.

[@jkr19888]

Damn and 202whp, thing must be a hand full keeping that under control

[@30pizzas1hour]

an ls makes 200 torque off idle, shouldve just swapped that in, cool engineering project nonetheless

[@vvevvevvvv]

A lot more tinkering required. Also transmission will not hold the torque of an LS engine.

[@30pizzas1hour]

@@vvevvevvvv this looks more mechanically involved building an entire engine rather than buying a swap kit installing mounts, dropping in a v8, banging out the trans tunnel to fit a t56 or ar5 and a wiring harness + canbus translator

[@Burzgla]

best swap in brz is 2006 jdm subaru legacy ej20