Our long-term 2013 Scion FR-S recently made an appearance at the track for another round of tests, this time with its new set of Volk TE37s wrapped in Dunlop Direzza ZII tires, which we installed about a month ago. Sadly, we're at the tail end of our time with the Toyobaru coupe, which means this will almost certainly be the last modification we perform on the FR-S (a "verdict" report recapping our overall experience is in the works). That said, here are the numbers, as promised.
Here's a brief review of the performance-related modifications we've performed so far. First was a TRD-supplied cold air intake and catback exhaust, which gave the 2013 Scion FR-S a deeper and rowdier engine note. And after a day at the test track, we found that the relatively simple modification netted slight performance gains. We achieved a 0-60 mph time of 6.1 seconds, which was a tenth of a second faster than stock. The FR-S was also faster through the quarter-mile (14.6 seconds compared to 14.8 seconds) and the figure eight course (25.8 seconds compared to 26 seconds).
Next up were the aforementioned Volks and Direzza ZII tires. There's been a lot of debate whether or not the wheel combo improves the Scion's appearance (we probably would've lowered it on an aftermarket suspension if we had more time), but there's no denying the difference in handling. All it takes is one fast turn to realize that the FR-S is no longer the tail-happy coupe it once was with its skinny stock Michelin Primacy tires. That said, we were eager to find out how stickier shoes affected the Scion's performance. Not surprisingly, the 2013 FR-S was faster through the figure eight -- 25 seconds compared to 25.8 seconds prior to the new wheel and tire setup. Lateral grip increased from 0.93 g to a whopping 1.01 g. As expected, straight-line performance didn't change much. The Dunlops do appear to help the FR-S off the line a tiny bit, reducing its 0-30 mph time by two-tenths of a second to 1.8 seconds. Its 0-60 mph time remained the same at 6.1 seconds, and the quarter-mile time dropped from 14.6 to 14.7 seconds. That said, the new tires would definitely come in handy for anyone trying to shave off precious tenths of a second at the autocross.
More on theScionFR-S:
Comparison: 2013 Mazda MX-5 Miata Club vs. 2013 Scion FR-S
FR-S LT Update 1: Our Hopes and Fears
FR-S LT Update 2: From Road Tripping to the Daily Grind
FR-S LT Update 3: FR-S Loses Its Track Day Virginity
FR-S LT Update 4: "Play With Me!"
FR-S LT Update 5: Audio System Blues
FR-S LT Update 6: Singing the Bone-Stock Blues
FR-S LT Update 7: TRD Parts Galore
FR-S LT Update 8: Unconditional Love
FR-S LT Update 9: Not for Everyone?
FR-S LT Update 10: Don't Slam It
FR-S LT Update 11: Let's Lighten Up a Bit
FR-S LT Update 12: A Little Something Lost
FR-S LT Update 13: Test Track Numbers
FR-S LT Update 14: Now With New Sony Head Unit
FR-S LT Update 15: Fancy Set of Shoes
FR-S LT Update 16: Beating the Heat
FR-S LT Update 17: So Far So Good — Mostly
FR-S LT Update 18: Give and Take
Lead photo by Michael Shaffer
As MotorTrend’s road test editor and fleet manager, Erick Ayapana spends a bulk of his day pestering automakers for vehicles to test and shaming staffers for curbing wheels. Erick is a SoCal native who spends his free time doing SoCal things and pondering the world’s unsolved mysteries, including the proper way to launch a Subaru WRX with a manual transmission.
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