Harrop gets the 86 drift
BY IAN PORTER | 12th Mar 2015
Toyota and Subaru have ruled out forced induction on their respective sportscars to date, citing insufficient room in the engine bay for satisfactory turbocharger plumbing.
Several aftermarket supercharger and turbo kits are available, with items such as Sprintex's system, among others, widely available.
Harrop's supercharger solves the plumbing issue, with the front inlet, front drive giving a neater installation than some, which can have large pipes channeling air around the unit.
While the rear-wheel drive naturally aspirated coupes are in high demand in Australia – we buy more of them than Japan, per capita – Harrop has its eyes on the export market.
“It’s brilliant that it is a global vehicle platform,” said Harrop general manager Heath Moore at the suppliers’ showcase at the Asia Pacific Automotive Engineering Conference.
“That’s one of the first criteria that we look at when looking to develop a new product.” “The US market has a huge appetite in the aftermarket for modifying these vehicles and Toyota and Subaru, when they collaborated, came up with a package that was meant to be a blank canvas.” He said that meant it could appeal to the drifting segment, the time attack crowd or circuit racing enthusiasts.
“Through our association with Eaton, we have developed a unique installation for that boxer engine.” The supercharger will be inverted from its normal attitude using the 1320cc displacement, which is the same that Harrop supply to Lotus in the UK for its V6 models.
“It will be intercooled and will give the car the torque and power the car desperately needed from the factory,” Mr Moore said.
“The competition we are up against are turbo kits, which are inherently more complex to fit and there are heat considerations, too.” Harrop has managed to overcome the challenges of fitting the supercharger under the bonnet without disrupting the standard equipment like the air-conditioning, Mr Moore said.
“It needs to be bolt-on. You can’t be cutting the bodywork or disconnecting the air-conditioning to sell a kit like this.
“The consumer still wants all their creature comforts but they just want to go faster.” Mr Moore estimated that about 90 per cent of 86/BRZs would be modified in some way.
“In some degree, whether it’s a boot spoiler or a set of wheels. They are definitely undertyred. They get the fuel economy by using Prius tyres.” Harrop already offers a range of parts for the Toyota and Subaru twins.
“We offer a German suspension kit as part of a menu of modifications. People can get brakes, suspension, they can do engine modifications, we are looking at differential options and they can get wheels.”
