Championship winning, track record breaking, and proven the most reliable Subaru engines in the industry!
Engine Build Services Subaru “FA20”
Element Tuning Pro Comp Engines for Subaru BRZ, WRX, FRS, GT86
Element Tuning’s Pro Comp Subaru engines were born with a racing pedigree. Our engine program has over 17 years of R&D through thousands of miles racing Subarus exclusively. Every specification these engines are blueprinted to were derived from our long term racing data. Element Tuning builds the best engines you can buy! We’re confident saying this as every aspect of these motors has been tested and verified under the most demanding racing circumstances at the highest racing levels.
FA20 Rod Bearing Failures
Engine Oiling Issues plague the FA20 series engines!
Nothing will kill your brand new motor faster than inadequate oil pressure. Unfortunately the FA20 series of engines do not have adequate oil pressure for substantially more power or RPM. Even under OEM power levels excessive oil temperature from this motor has oil pressure dropping into the 50 psi range. While this may be OK for street driven Naturally aspirated power levels, it’s nowhere near the reliable pressure we need for a track day or boosted motor!
Only one main oil galley to feed two rod journal bearings!
Look at the FA20 crank mains and the rod journals and you should spot something unique where we oil starved the rod bearing. The third main from right to left has a larger oil port. Why? Because it has to feed two rod journals where all others only feed one rod journal. What happens to oil pressure when you increase the oil port size? What happens to you oil volume requirements when you need to feed two journals with one main? Guess which one failed? Unlike the EJ series of Subaru motors this engine does not have a “main priority” oiling system and therefore critical oil pressure isn’t directed to the engine bearings first. The OEM oil pumps that are fitted to the BRZ/FRS and also the WRX (which is 14mm compared to 12mm) does not provide adequate volume to support the required oil pressure and therefore an bearing failure is eminent with any engine that doesn’t address the lack of oil pressure.
Only Element Tuning engines solve this problem!
Precision Blueprinting
A Bigger Oil Pump Did not Solve the Problem!
While we hoped we could simply install a bigger oil pump, which we did test, it was still not enough to get oil pressure high enough to be reliable on this boxer engine. What we do, we keep close at hand, but it’s not one thing but a series of modifications and the blueprint of our engines that allows us to keep over 80 psi of oil pressure under street conditions and over 70 psi under racing conditions.
Fitted to our exact standards, competition crank and rod bearing are assembled to a crank that has been verified for perfect trueness . Our bearings and clearances have been tested for 10,000+ miles of racing. You may ask us how is this possible? It's very common for racing teams to run new engines multiple times in a racing season but we would not allow this for our long term R&D. The only way to have long term durability data on your engine program is to continue using the same parts. Each season or sometimes midway through the season we would tear down our motors to inspect how the parts were holding up and how our building specifications were performing. We would inspect items such as cylinder wear, ring wear, piston wear, oil consumption, hardware fatigue, and finally crank and rod bearing wear. As long as there was no component failure we would reuse the same bearings, crank, rods, block, and pistons and continue the durability testing
Forged Internal Engine Components
Forged Connecting Rods.
The Achilles heal to our beloved OEM FA20 motors have been the OEM connecting rods. While these rods are perfectly suited for OEM hp levels, when the power increases above 300 and RPM exceeds 7500 they are no longer reliable. We experienced OEM rod failure under racing conditions in the 350 ft/lbs of torque range. Element Tuning engines are fitted with seriously stout forged machined Asymmetrical connecting rods using ARP 2000 bolts. We’ve tested these rods to over 700 whp and 9k RPM so they’ll handle just about everything you can through at them! Machined 4340 forged connecting rods are manufactured to the highest standards in the industry. Element Tuning has fully tested these rods in our Time Attack program with exceptional success and performance. CNC machined from 4340 steel forgings, shot peened, stress relieved, and heat treated for uncompromising strength and reliability. Manufactured and precision machined to within .0002″ ensures exacting fitment and balanced to within 1 gram.
Direct Injection Forged Pistons
A critical component in a built motor. Every Element Tuning engine is custom built to order so we give you a choice that best suits your needs or goals. Our BRZ, FRS, GT86 “Turbo” engine build uses 10.5:1 JE forged pistons with the new crown design for stronger wrist pin support. During R&D while racing thermal loads can soften the piston and weaken this area resulting in piston cracking around this area. This new design strengthens the wrist pin area preventing this. All of our pistons are custom fit to the bore and rings gapped to our specification to ensure your engine has the most efficient power with very little blow by and oil consumption. For naturally aspirated builds you can opt for the 13.5:1 forged piston for race use or we can even refresh the factory piston and keep the motor at 12.5:1 to save a little money (At NA power levels the OEM piston is very durable
For the FA20DIT used in the WRX we use Manely forged 2618 pistons utilizing the proper direct injection pocket and 10.5:1 compression ratio.
ARP Head Studs
ARP head studs are used to lock down the heads securely to our own specification. Upgraded head studs are important to prevent head gasket failure due to “lifting” heads from not only higher horsepower but higher temperatures like seen while tracking your car.
Element Tuning “Big Valve Heads” +60 WHP!
Element Tuning’s 9000 RPM of Fury!
Admit it, you really wished this engine had more character from the factory! Finally we can give you that screaming top end power you wished your car had. Whether you’re doing a high compression NA build with us or a lower compression boosted build, the head package is where we make power! While our head package is optional, it’s the only place you can get the powerband to sing all the way to 9k RPM.
Plus 1mm Larger Intake and Exhaust Valves
The key to this gain in the +1mm larger stainless steel intake and Inconel exhaust valves. The factory FA20 heads are pretty good from Subaru but the valve size holds it back. When too much power is not enough look no further than adding our competition “Big Valve” head modification to your engine. Through years of testing on the track and on the dyno the key to maximum power is unlocking the potential within the Subaru heads!
WRX FA20DIT Big Valve Head
BRZ/FRS FA20 Big Valve Head
Multi-Angle Valve Seat Machining and Bowl Blend
Element Tuning has discovered that the majority of the gains from the Subaru head are attributed to the valve size itself and not the intake and exhaust ports. Often “Big Valve” heads can be $4000 plus dollars due to the labor required to port the heads. The first step is to fit +1mm Ferrea stainless steel intake valves. The modifications to your supplied head (complete heads are available also at a higher price) start with a 3 angle intake valve job and it finished off with a bowl blend to maximize the flow through the intake port to the larger valve. On the exhaust side we also install a +1mm inconel valve and hone the guide but a 2 angle with radius valve job is performed. The exhaust port is again blended to maximize the potential of the larger exhaust valve.
Porting
Many may ask why don’t you port the intake ports fully? We don’t do this because almost 100% of the gain is realized by just fitting the larger intake valve and performing a bowl blend. (HP/value/compared to porting) On top of this the head retains 100% of it’s reliability due to how thin the cast walls are. It’s all too common to see highly stressed, high HP, road race engines blow through over ported head walls. The FA motors have nice and very large ports from the factory but extremely thin castings! With the big valve heads fitted to the motor we dynoed more than 60 whp gain at the same boost level with a 60 trim Garrett turbocharger.
High Performance Valve Springs and retainers
With our Pro Comp engines pushing 9k RPM, these bigger valves need better valve control and more sealing power that comes with high boost turbochargers. There is a balancing act here and we’ve carefully selected the spring rates to not just withstand the boost and high RPM our head packages see but to also limit excessive pressure on the valve rockers and valve shims!
Race Proven Reliability
Pushing The Limits!
It was not uncommon for us to push all the extremes to find the maximum and minimum operating range of each component and it's clearance. With this data we have been able to build an engine that not only makes huge power but has near OEM oil level consumption. All too often motors are built too loose causing lots of engine noise, too much cylinder blow-by, and major oil consumption issues. Just because you stuff and engine with 800 HP pistons and rods, does not make it an 800 HP reliable motor if they do not address the FA20 issue of low oil pressure!
We have tested our combination at the highest levels of racing to deliver the tightest, most trouble free, and durable engine you can buy at any price. With multiple national championships, multiple regional titles, countless race wins and podiums, and numerous track records broken while racing with Element Tuning Subaru engines, you can have confidence our engines come with a racing pedigree!
Rebuilding Your Subaru “FA20” Long Block
Element Tuning Competition Long Block Engine Rebuilds for Subaru $5376, $7363, and +
Having Element Tuning build your entire engine is the best option to guarantee a trouble free experience. Send us your Subaru/Scion/Toyota long block with the timing chain cover on and we’ll take it from there. The first step for us is to fully disassemble and evaluate your current engine noting normal engine wear and noting any failures. We are experts in diagnosing failure points and potential problem areas. If there are any parts that do not meet our specification then we’ll make a recommendation to replace this component. In most cases even when a piston is cracked we can still utilize the OEM block and crank once they are checked for trueness, honed, and blueprinted to our specification.
You benefit from our vast R&D and building experience to avoid problems that are so common in this industry when it comes to performance engine building. There are very few problem areas or even failures we have not seen even on engines build by other so called professionals. What you get in return is a fully built engine to our exacting standards with no hidden surprises. Element Tuning builds all engines with a 100% OEM engine gasket kit so every o-ring, gasket, seal, and crush washer is replaced from your crank all the way to your valve covers. Bolt your new Element Tuning engine in and live happily ever after.
Whether you’re building a street monster or an unlimited Time Attack winner, give us a call and see what we have to offer.
Element Tuning “Track Turbo” Build *$5336+
Recommended for Turbochargers/Superchargers 300 whp up to 500 whp and 7500 RPM
Element Tuning 10.5:1 Turbo Engine Build (No Big Valve Heads). Built to our exacting standards with all oiling modifications, competition rod bearings, forged connecting rods, block honed and fitted with JE (BRZ/FRS) or Manley (WRX) forged Pistons and rings, all new OEM gaskets, seals, o-rings, and head gasket, heads are completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected, new valve seals are fitted, new cam seals, valves are adjusted (new shims may be required at $), ARP Head studs are used to our specification, and valve covers are fitted with new gaskets. Your oil pan will be installed and sealed. The engine timing sprocket, pulleys, cam sprockets, and timing chain are fitted. The engine is timed and the timing cover installed. Your engine must have less than 70k miles to not require the “Big Valve Heads.”
*If the engine has been damaged new replacement parts such as an oil pump, cam sprocket, crankshaft may be required at an additional $. You will be contacted and quoted* Feel free to contact us prior to your build and we are happy to discuss the most likely costs involved with a damaged motor.
Element Tuning “Pro Comp Turbo” Build *$7363+
Recommended for Turbochargers/Superchargers 400 whp up to 800 whp and 9000 RPM
You want the exact same engine Element Tuning runs in our “Unlimited” Time Attack BRZ/FRS/WRX then look no further. Whether you want to make 400 whp or 800 whp, this will have the biggest and fattest powerband you Subaru can have. This motor is setup to maximize HP from 4000 RPM to 9000 RPM with the addition of our “Big Valve” head package.
Element Tuning 10.5:1 Turbo Engine Build with Big Valve Heads. Built to our exacting standards with all oiling modifications, competition rod bearings, forged connecting rods, block honed and fitted with JE (BRZ/FRS) or Manley (WRX) forged Pistons and rings, all new OEM gaskets, seals, o-rings, and head gasket, heads are completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected, new valve seals are fitted, new cam seals, valves are adjusted (new shims may be required at $), ARP Head studs are used to our specification, and valve covers are fitted with new gaskets. Your oil pan will be installed and sealed. The engine timing sprocket, pulleys, cam sprockets, and timing chain are fitted. The engine is timed and the timing cover installed.
*If the engine has been damaged new replacement parts such as an oil pump, cam sprocket, crankshaft may be required at an additional $. You will be contacted and quoted* Feel free to contact us prior to your build and we are happy to discuss the most likely costs involved with a damaged motor.
Element Tuning “Track NA” Build *$5336+
Recommended for Naturally Aspirated 185 whp up to 215 whp and 7500 RPM (May also be used for low boost superchargers)
Element Tuning 12.5:1 Naturally Aspirated Engine Build (No Big Valve Heads). Built to our exacting standards with all oiling modifications, competition rod bearings, forged connecting rods, block honed and fitted with JE (BRZ/FRS) forged Pistons and rings, all new OEM gaskets, seals, o-rings, and head gasket, heads are completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected, new valve seals are fitted, new cam seals, valves are adjusted (new shims may be required at $), ARP Head studs are used to our specification, and valve covers are fitted with new gaskets. Your oil pan will be installed and sealed. The engine timing sprocket, pulleys, cam sprockets, and timing chain are fitted. The engine is timed and the timing cover installed. Your engine must have less than 70k miles to not require the “Big Valve Heads.”
*If the engine has been damaged new replacement parts such as an oil pump, cam sprocket, crankshaft may be required at an additional $. You will be contacted and quoted* Feel free to contact us prior to your build and we are happy to discuss the most likely costs involved with a damaged motor.
Element Tuning “Track Turbo” Build *$7363+
Recommended for Naturally Aspirated 215 whp up to 235 whp and 8500 RPM
If you want the best NA engine Element Tuning offers for your BRZ/FRS then look no further! This engine has the biggest and fattest powerband your NA motor can have. This motor is setup to maximize TQ and HP from 2500 RPM to 8500 RPM with the addition of our “Big Valve” head package. Using 93 octane pump gas, a modest Tomei header, AFE intake, a basic exhaust system, and tuned, gains of +35-40 whp were achieved on a non-broken in motor. Some of our customers with more race oriented headers and exhaust, properly broken-in engine have dynoed near +50 whp on 93 octane!
Element Tuning 12.5:1 or 13.5:1 Naturally Aspirated Engine Build with Big Valve Heads. Built to our exacting standards with all oiling modifications, competition rod bearings, forged connecting rods, block honed and fitted with JE (BRZ/FRS) forged Pistons and rings, all new OEM gaskets, seals, o-rings, and head gasket, heads are completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected, new valve seals are fitted, new cam seals, valves are adjusted (new shims may be required at $), ARP Head studs are used to our specification, and valve covers are fitted with new gaskets. Your oil pan will be installed and sealed. The engine timing sprocket, pulleys, cam sprockets, and timing chain are fitted. The engine is timed and the timing cover installed.
*If the engine has been damaged new replacement parts such as an oil pump, cam sprocket, crankshaft may be required at an additional $. You will be contacted and quoted* Feel free to contact us prior to your build and we are happy to discuss the most likely costs involved with a damaged motor.