GR86 Oil Accumulator Setup & Testing

Does this setup fix the infamous FA24 oil pressure drop in right turns? Watch to the end to find out the track test result at Thunderhill Raceway.
This video features the installation steps of the 1.5 QT Moroso accumulator together with the Canton electric solenoid valve. Data is collected with AiM Solo2 DL and my DIY devices for sensor reading and display.
With the test result shown in the end of the video. I'm comfortable now to run sticker tires on this car with the accumulator setup.
#FA24 #GR86 #BRZ #accumulator

[@elpyrodraco]

Thanks for the comprehensive installation instructions as well; I feel confident I could install this as a result. Appreciate the videography which makes it easy to follow each step and see how much physical effort is needed!

[@TrackandBuild]

Great to hear that! This is a rather less physical installation but more thinking and caution :)

[@BrandonTLuong]

Great video as usual! Can you do a video on the LED dashboard and the buttons near beneath the AC controls?

[@TheBTRGarage]

Great work! This is about the same exact setup I was planning, thanks for proving it out 😁 I take it your electric valve is a simple on/off style, not one of the PSI sensitive ones? (ie: opens automatically at 35psi then closes/charges over 40psi)

[@TrackandBuild]

Yes this one is on/off. I found I only need to turn it on on the outlap and turn it off on the in-lap. On the street it's always off

[@TheBTRGarage]

@@TrackandBuild Perfect, that was my plan as well. Out lap turn on, cool down lap turn off 🤘

[@brianb2376]

@@TrackandBuild Correct me if I'm wrong, but the valve is not an on/off "shutoff valve" like a ball valve, it's a reversing one-way check valve. So in the 'off' position, oil can flow from the engine to the accumulator, but not out, and in the on position, oil can flow out of the accumulator, but not back in. That's why you have to turn it on during the out lap, so the oil doesn't all flow out at low idle pressure.

[@TrackandBuild]

@@brianb2376 correction is when it's on, oil flows both ways; when is off, oil flows only one way (from engine to the accumulator)

[@AnsixAuto]

Great Video! Nice Oil Accumulator Mounts! :)

[@aygwm]

Accumulators have the additional benefit of pre-oiling before startup 😉

[@LuisL1999]

Thank you for sharing!

[@nicklauher9323]

Great job, great info (comments too)!

[@d_shiznit7874]

Appreciate the video installation! You make it look easy lol. I know these accumulators work well but always wondered what keeps oil from backflowing. Do you have a check valve somewhere or does the oil filter act as one? And what made you choose the Moroso? I would have thought the relief valve on the Canton accumulator would be a benefit.

[@TrackandBuild]

no i don't have check valve. it's installed to the engine block directly per instruction. Moroso has thicker wall but yes the relief valve might be a benefit assuming it's working properly.

[@atpgarageatl]

Thank you for all your hard work and research into this issue! What made you go this route vs an accusump kit?

[@KarlKondor]

they are the same thing

[@atpgarageatl]

@@KarlKondor I actually like his setup better after researching it. The accusump kit only has a manual valve where his has the electronic one with a switch.

[@TrackandBuild]

they are functionally the same. The difference is The Moroso one has thicker wall and the accusump has a oil side relief valve

[@atpgarageatl]

@@TrackandBuild good to know! Do you have links for all the parts you used?

[@mikesamson1930]

Nice work. I always wondered about cars with accumulators at start-up. Doesn't it take longer to build pressure. Anyway, this solves it. I am not sure if this would work well or not, but would the valve wired to the "ignition on power" do this automatically. At start up it may dump the oil too quickly. I don't know. Just an idea.

[@zestboys1728]

Hey Love the video very helpful. Would you mind letting me know the gauge system you are using? “LilyGo”? I really like it and would like to use it on my GR86. Where did you get it and how do you get all of the info to it? I cant find it anywhere.

[@future_phonk]

Can you rotate the oil pressure gauge on the accupump so you can actually read it from the front?

[@sikrip]

Nice video, thanks for sharing. May I ask, how much oil are you putting in now? I assume 5.3 + 1.5 q? And with the valve in the off position it will charge the accumulator while idling?

[@TrackandBuild]

The accumulator will take about 0.7qt oil while charged at 80psi with an extra air preload of 30psi. Yes it will charge when the valve is off

[@fallenstatus]

Should we still remove excess rtv from the oil pickup when installing the oil accumulator?

[@TrackandBuild]

There's no data so far suggesting RTV is a major issue. I have done that test myself before/after removing RTV. No difference in oil pressure

[@Blight-fp3vt]

@fallenstatus@@TrackandBuild RTV is not really a problem captured in your oil strainer/pickup, however its a symptom of a larger risk that RTV can clog parts of your oil gallery and reduce the ability of the engine to effectively oil itself. Best to remove the RTV from the pickup however, as overtime thin stretched out pieces can migrate past the strainer.

[@josephpalack1440]

How does this work vs 1L oil overfill in terms of pressure drops? Have you tested both? I heard 1L overfill gets to high 40s low 50s on the hard right handlers? If that’s the case wouldn’t it be just as good an option?

[@phelpsgarage4202]

What’s your preset psi before the accusump is on?

[@TrackandBuild]

30psi for faster oil discharging

[@phelpsgarage4202]

@@TrackandBuild just ordered my kit. Thanks for the video!

[@NoHoHank]

Any negatives to this setup? I’m looking to get a similar setup but wanted to weigh the pros and cons of the accumulator

[@aygwm]

Weight, complexity.

[@TrackandBuild]

main cons from my eyes is this will add more complexity to the system, i.e. more failure points

[@RohanSanjith]

Pos engine design by Subaru

[@zacharyparis]

Seriously. Wish they could have worked with Honda on this motor instead.

[@RohanSanjith]

If i were the owner experiencing these issues, i would just sell it and buy something else.

[@TrackandBuild]

at this price, I won't complain anything about this car even with the oiling issue (it's an issue in general for all cars with wet sump). And it already gave me 40+ trouble free track days and still holds up very well!

[@RohanSanjith]

@@TrackandBuild not all wet sump cars, only boxer engines are specifically affected.

[@TrackandBuild]

@@RohanSanjith that's true. and we know what next level up is for boxer engines:)

[@davidsucks922]

@@RohanSanjith What would you buy? As a total package for the price (even with the cost to install the accumulator/accusump), this platform is still very good. An ND2 is comparable on the track but too small for many with a helmet and not very livable on the street. Seems short-sighted to discount the platform for an issue with a sub-500$ + afternoon fix (if this does end up being the fix). Not to mention almost every platform needs mods to make track-ready/reliable. Oil starvation in particular is not at all only a boxer engine issue, as many street cars aren't designed for hard G cornering. If you look it up you can find oil starvation and baffle-pan/accusump discussions for many other platforms (quick search found K20a, mr2 spyder, BMW E30, Fiat 124, Corvette, Mustang, Mini Cooper, GTI, 370z)

[@Blight-fp3vt]

@@RohanSanjith Lots of production cars have oil pressure issues on track - the g-forces when turning, braking and accelerating on cars hitting over 1g create situations in the pickup where its pulling air instead of oil. This is not just a boxer engine issue, however boxer engines are more sensitive to low pressure events in high-g corners.

[@nodrogkam]