Big Mistake
 

I participated in a local BMW Car Control Clinic yesterday in my BRZ. The last time I did any kind of event was in a 2002 MINI S, that I ended up doing quite a few mods to. Anyway, I just wanted to see what the BRZ was capable of. Wow! It was just a blast to drive and all of the instructors were really curious since it was the first BRZ that had seen in one of their clinics.

The big mistake is, I now want to try a few track events. In my area, the tracks are Thunder Hill, Infineon Raceway, and Laguna Seca. I don't want to go crazy on mods, but what would be the top 3 or 4 mods you would recommend for just light track duty? One of the instructors told me 1) brakes, 2) coil overs, 3) tires

Thank you in advance for any helpful suggestions. I did a search, but it gets somewhat confusing after a while.

Honestly, after tracking my car a few weeks ago, I think my mods list is brakes, alignment, driver, driver.

For brakes, it's just going to be a fluid change and pads.
For alignment, crash bolts and some neg. camber.
The rest is just more driving. Yes I'd like better tires, but while these aren't the best for performance, I think the work well for learning/practicing.

glad you popped your cherry

I don't own one of these cars yet, but after reading other threads in this section I've surmised that for starters simply upgrading the brake fluid is sufficient. After that the pads and maybe rotors as well, then what @diirk said with huge emphasis on driver, driver, driver, driver. Also, you lucky duck live right at hwy 9 so you can go for a quick twisties drive whenever you want :)

The rule of thumb is to start from the ground up (literally) with plenty of seat time between. Don't change more than one thing at a time.

Seat time
Tires and wheels. Alignment.
Seat time
Brake pads and fluid. Maybe stainless lines for track days.
Seat time
Suspension (may need to be coupled with tires for clearance reasons)
Seat time
Intake exhaust
Seat time
And keep going.

1) Brake pads, fluid 2) Better tires 3) More seat time....your instructor had it right

1) Brakes
2) Tires (anything but the stock Michelins)
3-20) Seat time

Everything else is just icing on the cake. I think meth or crack might be a cheaper addiction.

pads and fluid are plenty for a few track days. once you get comfortable then suspension, then tires. the stock tires will give you alot if you treat them well and take what they give you. the tires have more grip than ppl are giving them credit for. and learning how to drive at the edge of slip makes you a better driver faster than changes your tires will.

OP will now be telling his friends "I made a thread, but it gets somewhat confusing after a while" :bonk:

I'd avoid really grippy tires until you can consistently push the OEM tires to the point that you need to upgrade. A second wheelset with really durable tires (similar to OEM) might be a great idea. Keep these as your track wheels and upgrade to stickier tires as they wear out and as you progress your skill. Same with suspension, hold off for a bit, sticky tires really shine when you have the proper suspension to use them.

Brakes are a great first step (pads and fluid) since they're a major safety item and will help you with consistent brake feel after many laps. Do this upgrade first above all else. Hawk and Ferodo make great pads, there's a lot more out there to choose from. Ferodo DS2500's and Motul RBF600 fluid are at the top of my to-do list this winter.

Very good question to ask especially when you decide to jump into the tracking world. Mike and I have setup our BRZ with very basic mods and yielded excellent results so far. CSG's BRZ was originally modified with the following setup:
17x8 RPF1s with 215/45/17 Dunlop Z1 Star Specs
Crash bolts maxed out camber and 0 toe all around
Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads
Ferodo racing brake fluid

Our recommendation is to run crash bolts, brake fluid (Ferodo, RBF600/660, PMU, Super ATE), and brake pads (PMU HC+800, PMU CR/999/777, Carbotech XP8 or XP10). We do not recommend an aggressive street pads such as Hawk HP+, PMU B-Force, or Carbotech AX6, etc if you decide to go full out tracking often. You're going to run into brake fading issues much more often than not and that's going to make for some really sad track days. The OEM Michelins are constantly misunderstood to be crappy tires from the factory. Although they yield excellent gas mileage, they also have pretty good grip for what they are. The very large large LARGE downside is that they can't take heat very well, hence, jumping into the EHP tire will solve that issue. To give you an idea how bad they take heat, we chunked the tires after the first couple of laps at Streets of Willow with proper warmup. SOW is pretty abusive on tire grip and brakes to begin with. :)

Don't jump into any coilover setup until you figure out the limits of the OEM setup. CSG is constantly refining the factory car with very basic mods (tires, brakes, fluid) in order to show you that the BRZ/FRS is designed to be very capable at the track. :thumbsup:

Thank you for this info (entire post)!!! Can you make a brake pad recommendation for someone who uses the car for semi-frequent twisties drives on public roads and *occasional* track days?

Driver tires driver repeat

Well, now that you've caught a very dangerous bug, don't get too caught up in another one- making your car faster than you!

I agree with a lot of the posts here- and speaking from experience, the greatest limitation if you're just starting out will be you, not the car. Save money on modifying your car to go faster (faster does not always equal 'funner') and spend it on driving instruction and track time.

You're lucky you have some great tracks nearby with some good schools. Take advantage of them.

I would suggest changing out the brake pads and fluid though. In Motor Trend's best driving cars contest which was at Laguna Seca, they mentioned the BRZ could use better brakes.

Good luck and have fun!!!