GR Corolla on track with 0W-20 blows engine and crashes

[TiGeo]

Yeah, I remember the dude on M5board that regularly tracks his 300,000 mile E39 M5, lol. Total trash, right?

German cars are certainly on the average more costly to own over time but there is no doubt that they make incredibly robust engines and cars. Any issues with the Supra? No because it's a BMW engine.

 

[edyvw]

You have an aux oil cooler on your BMW right?

Yep. Since then 270f max. But that is with ambient temperature 102f and 5,100ft altitude.

 

[edyvw]

Owner should have used a much stouter grade for the track.
Even in stock form these engines are known to grenade with Toy voiding warranty.
Where's the guy who ascribed wondrous durability to Toyota products while calling BMWs trash?
AFAIK, you can track any BMW without fear of failure.
In the case of Toyota, if the owner tracks a car that begs for that sort of use, they are essentially out of luck.

Well, there is more to it.
There are BMW engines that proved a bit finicky on the track, N54/55. N54 is darling bcs. you can squeeze out 950hp out of it. Twin turbo (sequential design), forged everything etc. N55 you can't squeeze out that much power, but it is more reliable. The problem is suspension. It has A LOT of potential. Regardless of whether it is E90 or F30, the stock will throw some serious G's. But, people who track cars start with small or big modifications, and next thing you know, your vehicle is defying the laws of physics. Those engines, due to the fact that they are I6, can temporarily get starved of oil in high-G left turns. M engines have dual pick-up lines, or M sport packages on M235, but regular N54/55 don't, and ones with heavily modified suspension can throw rod bearings easily.
But tracking is expensive, and BMWs are generally much cheaper to track because. chasis is already made for M models. Also, you already have a bunch of stuff that in other vehicles you would have to modify, or buy as aftermarket products (brake ducts, oil cooler fitting points, oil cooler ducts to lead air, etc.). So, on my BMW, fitting an oil cooler was a breeze as there is already a fitting point, there is a dual air duct that leads air to the brakes and the cooler, etc. On Subaru etc. you have to modify all that. Next is suspension, it is stout. So when you go aftermarket stuff, bushings are already big, oversized bolts etc. so there is A LOT of space to make it really competitive. Not to mention that regular RWD models can take control arms from M models. So on my E90, due to the fact it is xDrive I could only do wishbones in the back from M3. But RWD 325/328/330/335 can take a complete suspension from M3. And those are bearing style, full rubber bushings, forged aluminium arms etc. Brakes are already exceptional, but you can install ones from much stronger models like I did, as everything is almost plug-and-play.
So, making a vehicle track worthy is not a big deal with BMW or Mazda Miata.
Subaru, Toyota, etc. are much more work and much more money.

But, here is the problem with Toyota. They have GR86, which has a lot of issues with engines. Then they have this Corolla. Toyota is not for a long time in business of delivering small turbo engines to the masses. They are complex, there is a lot of sophistication there, and people think "hey, it is Toyota, and I had 2GR-FE, super reliable, so why not?" Yeah, that was 2GR-FE, which is like fitting in BMW M54. It will never die. But, 3cyl turbo, also means a lot of potential for bumping power. Now, suddenly, you will have a cottage industry of aftermarket "tuners" who will claim they can "chip" it 50, 100hp just like that. Of course, each tune is different. Some are good, some are bad. The difference in tuning Corolla and @TiGeo VW is that VW tuners have been on the market for 30 years, chipping their turbo engines.

So, this could be oil, but this could be really bad tune and aftermarket parts.
Generally, when you track, you buy car like I did, $10,000 and then you start working on it. E82 128 is now darling among track folks. E90 chassis, in a smaller package, N52 naturally aspirated engine that with little work can produce 270hp (like mine) or with a bit more, some 300hp. However, if you strip it dramatically, as some folks do, it can drop weight below 3000 pounds. Parts are readily available and cheap. And if something like an accident on the track happens, walking away from $10k vehicle that you invested maybe $3000 in, is much easier than walking away from $70,000 vehicle.