Milltek GT86, BRZ and FR-S performance exhaust system
The ‘Toyobaru’ as it has been affectionately dubbed by the motoring press is without doubt one of the most hotly-anticipated tuner cars of the last decade. True to form, Milltek has designed and manufactured a stunning exhaust system for all three variants of the car that balances tangible power gains with a simply sublime soundtrack.
Milltek’s engineers worked alongside leading Subaru tuner Litchfield to start afresh and create an exhaust design that enhanced the normally aspirated flat-four engine to offer gains throughout the rev range, whilst helping to re-introduce some of the missing character from the unique engine configuration.
Whereas the factory saw fit to endow the car with a system diameter of just 53.8mm, careful testing led Milltek’s engineers to arrive at a bore some 15% larger at 63.5mm, reducing back pressure and improving performance. Mass was also a consideration from the outset, with the design team seeking to trim excess weight from the OEM set-up – despite the desire to run a larger diameter bore throughout. The results have been astounding. Two systems will be available upon launch; a secondary cat-back design that is some 4.75kg (23%) lighter than stock, and for those that refuse to compromise, a primary cat-back design that saves more than 8kg (27%) over the standard part.
On a car that is about refinement and light weight, these figures are encouraging – but they mean nothing without tangible power gains to back them up. Thankfully, the numbers here are equally as impressive. Under independent evaluation the Milltek Sport secondary cat-back system delivered increases of 7.2hp (4%) and 4Nm (2%). With the primary cat-back system, the car was able to produce a much more impressive increase of 11.9hp (6.6%) and 16Nm (7.7%). For a normally aspirated car, these numbers are astounding.
With the ‘weight’ and ‘power’ boxes ticked, Milltek’s designers were also keen to ensure that the system packed an aesthetic improvement too. Here, a pair of stunning 4.5” GT115 single-skin tailpipes beautifully follow the lines of the rear diffuser and offer the ideal finishing touch. Juxtaposing a more aggressive demeanour with an ‘OEM+’ attitude, they are the perfect visual balance.
Enthusiasts and tuners can choose from a wide range of options when ordering their system. The OEM exhaust system features two catalysts, one primary cat, located in the manifold and, one secondary cat, located just after the over-pipe. The car will pass emissions tests as long as the primary catalyst is left in place, so Milltek are offering options that cater for both this and the secondary catalyst to be included or deleted. Resonated and non-resonated centre section options can also be chosen – as can uprated ‘over-pipes’ and secondary de-cat ‘straight through’ sections. The ‘over-pipe’ is quite simply a small replaceable pipe which fits after the manifold which routes the exhaust over the top of the front subframe.
This modular system has been carefully designed to allow owners to either precisely tailor their system to produce the exact power and noise levels that they require, or indeed, to allow them to upgrade over time to spread the cost of development. In ‘resonated’ guise the system ensures that the superbly sonorous soundtrack is kept outside the car. In ‘non-resonated’ guise it becomes a much more involving part of the in-cabin driving experience. That said, even with every ‘delete’ option ticked, even the most highly performing of these varying options still tips its hat to Milltek’s enviable OEM experience, with a complete absence of cabin drone that can often be found with lesser systems.
In a similar sense to the Y-Pipe on the Nissan GT-R, replacing the BRZ’s over-pipe with the Milltek Sport Over-Pipe is one of the simplest performance modifications you can make. This is mainly down to the OEM part featuring numerous crushes, dimples and changes in pipe radius. The Milltek Over-Pipe not only features smooth-radius mandrel bends and optimal pipe routing but it’s also manufactured from a larger-bore pipe – 63.5mm versus the OEM’s 53.8mm. Despite this, the Milltek part is actually 33% lighter! Evidence again, if it were needed, that Milltek’s attention to detail on the development of this system has been extremely thorough and complete.
The Milltek Sport Over-Pipe has been engineered to fit both left and right-hand drive vehicles and is fully interchangeable with the OEM exhaust system and the Milltek Sport system.
Prices range from just £74.12 for the centre section rising to £866.06 for the full system in either resonated or un-resonated trim. All prices exclude VAT.
The Milltek Sport BRZ/GT86/FR-S system is being exclusively released by Litchfield Imports throughout Europe and Mann Engineering in North America.
