CSG Blog

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!

CSG is proud to carry Pakelo Lubricants for high performance road car & racing applications.

Pakelo's car lubricants are made in Italy and are characterised by a very high quality of the base stocks and use of latest generation chemicals. Professional racing teams like Risi Competizione trust Pakelo for their lubrication needs.

A full range of specific oils ensure a perfect match for the application. Pakelo engine fluids are  divided into four distinct series: Racing, Premium, Regular or Classic.

Have a look at our Pakelo Lubricants high-performance oils in stock or contact us to help you choose the right oil for your use case.

Our annual Black Friday sale is here! Be sure to check out all the deals for this year, valid through Monday 30!

Note: Only one coupon can be applied to each individual order. If you have special shipping or invoicing requirements, don't hesitate to contact us at sales@counterspacegarage.com

Thanks,
The CSG Team

To celebrate their 25th Anniversary, JRZ Suspension Engineering is offering a $500 credit toward new orders of JRZ RS PRO, RS PRO3 and JRZ Motorsports Line coil-over systems. The special credit is valid through December 31st. See our available JRZ systems here or contact CSG for any non-listed application or custom orders!

Monterey County's sound limit ordinance for Laguna Seca requires most track day events held there to adhere to a strict 90 dB sound limit.

During the majority of track days held at Laguna Seca, cars whose noise levels are measured to be over the 90dB threshold get a mechanical flag for a sound violation. See the "donut" flag three times, and you're finished for the day. A popular workaround is lifting or coasting while approaching the sound booth, located between turns 5 and 6. However, it's not unusual for the staff to perform checks with a mobile mic unit from other turns.

Many sports cars sold in the US market are already too loud for Laguna's sound limit in stock form.  For example, all of the following models in stock or showroom trim are known to get flagged at Laguna Seca for being too loud:

• Audi R8
• Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C6, C7), ZR1 (C6)
• Dodge Viper
• Ferrari 360 / 430 / 458  / 488 / F12
• Ford Mustang GT350 / GT500
• Nissan GTR (R35)
• Lamborghini Huracan / Huracan EVO / Aventador
• Porsche 911 GT3 / GT3 RS  (996, 997, 991.1, 991.2, 992)
• Porsche Cayman S/Boxster S/GTS/GT4 (981, 987)
• Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 / Boxster 4.0 / GT4 (718)

Days with cloudy or foggy atmospheric conditions can make compliance with limits even harder, as sound bounces off the cloud layer.

Making your modified Toyota GR 86, Subaru BRZ or Scion FR-S pass Laguna Seca sound test

While the Toyota 86 / Subaru BRZ / Scion FR-S are rather quiet from factory, just adding an aftermarket cat-back exhaust will typically increase sound levels beyond what's permitted at Laguna Seca.

CSG has co-developed several exhaust solutions to keep output under a 90 dB threshold without considerable loss of power or response:

Both the ACE Laguna 90 and the CSG MXP Touring86 exhaust are proven to pass Laguna 90dB days with either Turbo or Supercharger kits, plus ACE header and ACE front pipe.

For applications where a higher limit of 100dB is present, you take advantage of additional weight savings by fitting the ACE Laguna 100 Exhaust: