Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ

The sheer number of big brake kits available for the Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 / GR 86 makes BBK choice seem difficult, but CSG is here to help!

Below is a summary of our most often recommended kits from true motorsports brands Brembo and AP Racing, with their basic characteristics outlined and their compatibility with the Gen1 and Gen2 (2022+) chassis.

The 2022+ Subaru BRZ in particular uses a new aluminum steering knuckle that differs from the older generation and also from the 2022+ Toyota GR 86. This new spindle prevents some of the existing brake kits from fitting the 2022 BRZ.

OEM wheel fitment of Brembo big brake kits

• Our popular CSG Spec Brembo GT big brake kit is compatible with the 2022+ OEM BRZ and GR 86 wheels in 17" and 18" sizes when upgraded to the B-M4 cast monobloc caliper and using 3mm+ spacers (available as a bundled option). It will fit OEM 2012-2020 17" wheels with a 20mm spacer.

Aftermarket wheel fitment of Brembo big brake kits

• Too many options to list! Please inquire, we are familiar with many popular wheels options from TWS, RAYS, APEX, Wedssports, Enkei and others that clear Brembo big brake kits.

OEM wheel fitment of AP Racing big brake kits

• The new, revised Sprint (299mm) and Endurance (325mm) systems clear all OEM wheels without a spacer (2012-2020 and 2022+ in 17" and 18" sizes).
• The CP9660 / 355mm brake systems clear OEM 18" wheels without spacers, but will not fit inside OEM 17" wheels.
• The CP9668 / 355 mm / 372 mm brake kits will not clear any of the stock wheels.
• The rear CP9451 / 340mm kit clears OEM 2022+ 18" BRZ / GR86 wheels without spacer
• More detailed compatibility notes by Essex / AP Racing can be found here.

Aftermarket wheel fitment of AP Racing big brake kits

• Too many options to list! Please inquire, we are familiar with many popular wheels options from TWS, RAYS, APEX, Wedssports, Enkei and others that clear AP Racing big brake kits.

Wheel fitment templates for each big brake it are also available, please contact us if you need a template or more information about a specific setup.

Summary of available big brake kits for Subaru BRZ and Toyota 86 / GR 86

Brembo

• Front - CSG Spec - Brembo GT 4-piston 326x30mm
• Front - Brembo GT | GT S | GT R 6-piston 355x32mm
• Rear - Brembo GT 2-piston 316x20mm
• Rear - Brembo GT 4-piston 328x28mm

AP Racing

• Front - CP9660 6-piston 372x34mm
• Front - CP9660 6-piston 355x32mm
• Front - CP9668 6-piston 372x34mm
• Front - CP9668 6-piston 355x32mm
• Front - Endurance 4-piston 325x32mm
• Front - Sprint 4-piston 299x32mm
• Rear - CP9451 / 340x28mm

CSG Spec Brake Pads

We have brake pads available for Brembo and AP Racing calipers here.

We often get asked about our recommended intervals to perform maintenance on the Toyota 86 or Subaru BRZ. Here is a guide that you can use as starting point.

CSG's recommended scheduled maintenance for daily and spiritedly-driven Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86

To preserve optimal performance of the car throughout its life, we recommend all our customers to follow the maintenance intervals below as a baseline.

Suggested change intervals are at mileage or age, whichever comes first

• Engine Oil & Filter: use a high quality synthetic up to SN standard and change every 5000-7500 miles / 8,000-12,000 Km depending on car usage. Only use engine oil with the viscosity grade recommended by Toyota or Subaru in the owner's manual of your car. This is usually SAE 0W-20 for most regions.
• Engine Air Filter: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km, inspect once a year if driving in dusty / dirty areas
• Fuel Filter: replace the complete Fuel Pump instead every 100,000 miles / 160,000 Km
• Bench Cleaning of Port Injectors and DI Injectors: every 60,000 miles / 100,000 Km or 5 years. If car is running E85 or an ethanol mix (flex fuel), then clean every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km or 3 years. We offer a mail-in service for cleaning of injectors and replacement of DI seals.
• Spark Plugs & Coil Packs (2012-2014, 2015+): every 60,000 miles / 100,000 Km
• New front O2 sensor: every 60,000 miles / 100,000 Km or every 8 years, whichever comes first.
• Oil Control Valves: we have observed that oil control valves (VVT solenoids) can sometimes malfunction on high mileage vehicles, degrading performance, causing engine hesitation and pinging under acceleration. We recommend oil control valves be replaced every 100,000 miles or 10 years, whatever comes first.
• Coolant: first change at 135,000 miles / 210,000 Km or 132 months, whichever occurs first. Subsequent changes every 75,000 miles / 120,000 Km or 72 months.
• Manual Transmission Fluid: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km
• Automatic Transmission Fluid: Every 40,000 miles / 65,000 Km
• Rear Differential Fluid: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km
• Brake Fluid: inspect every year, replace at least every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km
• Battery: Change after 5 years or if voltage consistently stays below 13 volts. Bad batteries can cause system voltage fluctuations and result in erratic engine & drivetrain performance due to sensor readings being off.

We offer custom performance maintenance packages for 86 / BRZ  with your choice of fluids and filters.

CSG's recommended scheduled maintenance for track-oriented Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86

For cars being regularly raced or taken to track days, we recommend a more agressive maintenance schedule.

Suggested change intervals are at mileage or age, whichever comes first

• Engine Oil & Filter: every 25 hours or 3000 miles / 5000 Km. Consider sending out your used oil for analysis to monitor wear on your engine and help you determine optimal oil change intervals for your application. We recommend using motorsports-grade engine oil from manufacturers like Pakelo or Motul, with a minimum viscosity of 0W-30 / 5w-30, with 0w-40 being preferred for conditions where oil temperature exceeds 230F (110C).
• Engine Air Filter:  inspect after every race or event, replace once a year
• Fuel Filter: replace complete Fuel Pump instead every 75,000 miles / 120,000 Km
• Bench Cleaning of Port Injectors and DI Injectors: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km or 3 race seasons. We offer a mail-in service for cleaning of injectors and replacement of DI seals.
• Spark Plugs & Coil Packs (2012-2014, 2015+): every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km
• New front O2 sensor: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km or every 5 years, whichever comes first.
• Oil Control Valves: we have observed that oil control valves (VVT solenoids) can sometimes malfunction on high mileage vehicles, degrading performance, causing engine hesitation and pinging under acceleration. We recommend oil control valves be replaced every 60,000 miles or 5 years, whatever comes first.
• Coolant / Water: if you're running distilled water with additives, do a full system flush at least once per season. If running coolant, every 50,000 miles / 80,000 Km.
• Manual Transmission Fluid: in very hot climates (95F+/35C+) without an external transmission oil cooler, for turbocharged or supercharged 86/BRZ cars, or for highly advanced drivers on semi-slicks, change after every event or race. For intermediate drivers in other conditions, change fluid every 5 events.
• Rear Differential Fluid: every 10,000 miles / 16,000 Km, 10 events, or when the driver can feel degraded performance of the LSD, whichever comes first. With the factory Torsen differential, depending on the driver, tires and track, degraded performance may be experienced after only 2 events. Use of larger capacity differential covers and/or aftermarket clutch-type LSDs can all contribute to extended useful life of the fluid, and can be a good idea for endurance racing 86/BRZ builds.
• Brake Fluid: inspect after every track day, replace at least every 20 circuit hours or once a year. For best pedal consistency in racing & competition, bleed after every race, or use a brake fluid tester of the kind that actually boils a sample of the fluid to determine current boiling point and therefore degradation. We particularly like Endless RF-650 and Project Mu brake fluids.
• Battery: Change after 5 years or if voltage consistently stays below 13 volts. Bad batteries can cause system voltage fluctuations and result in erratic engine & drivetrain performance due to sensor readings being off.

We offer custom performance maintenance packages for 86 / BRZ  with your choice of fluids and filters.

If you race an early production Toyota 86 or Subaru BRZ (2013-2014), it's possible your car will burn through coil-packs and direct injector seals at a higher rate. Faulty coil-packs and burned up DI seals will result in misfires during acceleration and can cause long term damage to the engine if not replaced quickly. We recommend you keep a spare brand-new coil-pack in your bag of tools at circuit events, to replace a faulty one in a pinch.

• Spare OEM Coilpacks for 2012-2014 Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ cars
• Spare OEM Coilpacks for 2015+ cars Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ cars

Supercharged Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ maintenance

Owners of supercharged cars should follow the maintenance plans outline in the user manuals of their kit. Here's a summary for the two most popular 86/BRZ supercharger kits:

Jackson Racing supercharger

• Change your Rotrex Traction Fluid every 2 years or 50,000 miles (80,000 Km). Use only Rotrex Traction Fluid in your Rotrex Oiling system. Failure to use Rotrex Fluid will void the Rotrex warranty and cause damage to the drive unit.
• Change your Rotrex Oil Filter at the same time as the Traction Fluid, that is every 2 years or 50,000 miles (80,000 Km).
• Inspect the supercharger drive belt, at every engine oil change.
• Track-driven cars with JSRC superchargers: check Rotrex Oil Level after every event or race (see last page of JSRC installation instructions PDF).
• Check your install (or ask your installer) to ensure your supercharger kit's MAF extension harness was not routed along the alternator's harness. Doing so can result in RFI (radio frequency interference) and disrupt the signal along the MAF harness, resulting in inconsistent performance and hindering any ongoing custom tuning process.

Harrop or Edelbrock supercharger:

• Supercharger service: replace supercharger oil and inspect o-ring on the oil plug every 100,000 miles / 160,000 Km. Track-driven cars will require much shorter intervals. Check Edelbrock's Supercharger Service Procedure documentation (PDF) for details.

If you bring your supercharged or turbocharged car to track days or races, see also our recommendations in the previous section.

How much performance can I gain back after servicing injectors and spark plugs on a supercharged Toyota 86 or Subaru BRZ?

Here is a sample dyno chart showing a BRZ tuned by CSG with a Jackson Racing supercharger, running before and after a fuel injector system cleaning service and fresh spark plugs.

Notice the difference in power and torque after cleaned injectors and new spark plugs!

If you are looking to have your 86 / BRZ injectors serviced or need to order replacement parts and fluids, we're happy to help, just contact us.

Premium Performance Maintenance Package
Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S / Toyota 86

CSG Spec - Fuel Injector Cleaning Service
Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ

Recommended OEM scheduled maintenance for Subaru BRZ / Toyota 86

Lastly, we are including here what Toyota and Subaru officially recommend on their 2019 service manual for US cars:

• Engine Oil & Filter: every 7500 miles / 12,000 Km.
  Repeated short distance driving or driving in extremely cold weather? Replace every 3,750 miles / 6,000 Km or 4 months, whichever occurs first. Only use engine oil with the viscosity grade recommended by Toyota or Subaru in the owner's manual of your car. This is usually SAE 0W-20 for most regions.
• Engine Air Filter: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km, inspect once a year if driving in dusty / dirty areas
• Cabin Air Filter: every 15,000 miles / 25,000 Km
• Fuel Filter: every 75,000 miles / 120,000 Km
• Spark Plugs: every 60,000 miles / 100,000 Km
• Coolant: first change at 135,000 miles / 210,000 Km or 132 months, whichever occurs first. Subsequent changes every 75,000 miles / 120,000 Km or 72 months.
• Automatic Transmission Fluid: Every 60,000 miles / 95,000 Km
• Manual Transmission Fluid: n/a
• Rear Differential Fluid: n/a
• Brake Fluid: every 30,000 miles / 50,000 Km
• Battery: OEM batteries will typically last between 3 and 5 years. Lifespan will depend on weather, frequency and nature of driving cycles. If the reported battery voltage is consistently under 12.5 volts, it may be a good time to replace it.

Source: Toyota USA Maintenance Guide for Toyota 86 (2019) - Download PDF here

CSG staff was on-site at Circuit of the Americas for the first round of Super Lap Battle in 2021, supporting customers of CSG Spec Motorsports Brake Pads in several classes.

Congratulations to PhD Motorsports who were able to reset two different track records using CSG Spec Motorsports Brake Pads:

• Jackie Ding / A90 Supra: GTA Street Class Record 
• Mary Valdez / FK8 CTR: GTA FWD Enthusiast Class Record

CSG Racer Contingency Program in 2021

Are you participating in Club Racing, Time-Attack or Competitive Auto-Cross this season? Write us to contingency@counterspacegarage.com and get details about our Racer Contingency Program in 2021!

We are proud to announce the launch of CSG Spec brake pads to the general public!

CSG Spec brake pads have been developed to meet the specific demands of customers in GT Racing, One Make Racing, Time Attack, etc. where off the shelf products were often inadequate.

The result is a line of sprint & endurance friction materials which offer superior peak brake performance, pedal stability, braking control, higher fade resistance and lower wear.

We have lots of sizes in stock, with many more applications available upon request:

We are offering special pricing on several sets in stock the following  RAYS wheels for Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S (5x100 bolt pattern):

Interested? Please inquiry about the special pricing through our contact form, thanks!

ACE Header is considered the best exhaust manifold for the Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S. Here's a quick look at the production process of the ACE headers at their factory in Taiwan:

CSG has used ACE headers in their BRZ with great success, winning Super Lap Battle's Enthusiast RWD class two years in a row (2017, 2018) as well as SoCal's 86CUP Street & Modified classes. CSG has helped develop base engine maps for naturally aspirated and boosted applications  -both supercharged and turbocharged variants.

The following is a dyno chart of a 2017 BRZ with:

• ACE 350 Header + CSG's Ceramic Coating
• Tune for ACE Header, with a Flex Fuel Kit
• Otherwise 100% OEM Intake, Exhaust and Engine

ACE Header on ACN91 gas (California 91 octane) : 18% HP gain
ACE Header on E70 mix fuel: 25% HP gain

The ACE Header boosts power across the whole RPM range, with even greater gains when paired to the ACE Front Pipe and a Flex Fuel (E85) kit. Our Power Package for 86 / BRZ includes ACE Header, Flex Fuel Kit, tune and more!

Besides the ACE Header 350, there are several specialty models for left-hand and right-hand applications to choose from. If you are not sure which one you should get, just ask us!