How fast is a 2.4L BRZ? Setting lap records with PVS tuning.
As most of you would know we weren’t at Aus Time Attack alone. Tyler entered the PVS Tuning 2022 BRZ into the new Prodsprint class where it performed exceptionally well in an extremely fast and competitive field. We’ve already posted a wrap on our Aus Time Attack in the turbo 86 which you can read here but in this post we’ll chat about Tylers lap and the PVS BRZ and how it’s set a new lap record at Wakefield Park.
How fast does a lightly modified 2022 BRZ go?
Tyler stopped the clock with a 1:08.3 which is pretty wild for such a lightly modified, NA car on a road tyre. What was even better was just how many low 1:08’s Tyler could extract from the BRZ. Every session was just a tenth faster until the theoretical wall of a 1:08.3 was hit. Check out the lap below.
So what has been modified on the BRZ?
Given how young the ZD8 platform is (particularly in Australia) there hasn’t been a whole lot of local testing or development on this chassis, so much so that ATA was the first outing for the BRZ. With this the PVS car follows a similar very simple recipe that the PVS NA 86 does which includes:
Silvers Coilovers
Whiteline front camber bolts
18x8.5 rep wheels that weigh a tonne
Bridgestone RE71RS in a 245
How does it compare to the 2L?
Over the years we’ve seen some great developments with quality bolt ons and E85 tunes on the PVS dyno on the 2L engines with the higher end cars hitting the very low 150kW and 220Nm mark. So far Tyler has run 4 new cars with the 2.4L up on the dyno and all 3 cars were between 150-160kW with the torque numbers upto 235-245Nm which is huge. The dyno chart below is a 2022 BRZ (solid red line) up against #project86 with its 150kW NA tune (blue line) and a standard 2L (dotted red line) - I even made a video about it at my last job where I collaborated with PVS!
The added power doesn’t massively compensate for the added weight in the new car (albeit a very low amount of weight) but we feel that the better top end and fatter torque power band will see a bigger gain at a track like SMSP. Below is a side-by-side comparison of the PVS BRZ ATA 1:08.3 and my fastest lap in my 2L back with the 130kW tune, a 1:09.3. Tylers fastest time in the PVS NA car was a 1:08.8 which we unfortunately don’t have any footage of.
In this video the cars are pretty similar. Identical AP Racing brakes, the BRZ is making an additional 30kW and is on a 245 RE71RS vs the 86 on 245 Zestino 07RS and both cars are riding on budget, entry level coilovers.
Chassis wise Tyler reports both cars feeling almost identical. The BRZ however does seem to have an interesting braking feature that pinches an inside real wheel under heavy braking that we haven’t found a way of turning off yet. We are working with Gerald Just Projects to develop a track box for the new car to disable all nannies.
What’s next for the BRZ?
Both SME and PVS are working hard on developing the chassis further for everyone to enjoy. We’re happy to report that SME has already built a fleet of bits to bolt on and test once tuning software is available. I hear that after some brief testing in NA mode with some tuning, power runs and track testing the BRZ will receive the full SME treatment with a track ready turbo kit to really see the potential of the new driveline. I imagine the 20% increase in capacity will do wonders for spool time and torque. Tyler and the team at PVS have shown on numerous occasions that they can build and tune very reliable boosted 2L cars so I can’t wait to see the performance of the new car!
In the short term we will be running 3x cars at an SMSP track night this month. My boosted 86, the 22 BRZ and the PVS NA 86 to do some testing, shake downs and create some content for you all to enjoy!
