Contemplating FRS for track car

[Shark_Bait88]

Originally Posted by GrandSport

Life advice: Buy the car, kiss the girl, take the trip. Three things you'll never look back on and regret.



edit: Well, I guess if the plane crashes or you get herpes or something you'd regret it.

I've been living largely by this philosophy for a good 4 years now. Loving my FR-S, getting married next month (herpes free, I might add), and so far no plane crashes. Hoping it stays that way with a trans-Atlantic flight coming up for the honeymoon. lol

[Sleepless]

Originally Posted by GrandSport

Slight curveball. My friend has a Lotus Elise he'd sell me really cheap. It's a lot more money, but I can't imagine I wouldn't make money selling it in a year.

Had a 2005 Elise track car and frankly I like the 86 much better as a track car.

The Elise is fragile and very easy to total (just cracking a clamshell is commonly a reason for an insurance company to total it). The suspension mounting points are also fragile. And, it has literally no rollover protection (I know from personal experience as does a local guy who suffered a brain injury in a Exige rollover). The engines have worse issues than the 86.

[GrandSport]

Originally Posted by Sleepless

Had a 2005 Elise track car and frankly I like the 86 much better as a track car.

The Elise is fragile and very easy to total (just cracking a clamshell is commonly a reason for an insurance company to total it). The suspension mounting points are also fragile. And, it has literally no rollover protection (I know from personal experience as does a local guy who suffered a brain injury in a Exige rollover). The engines have worse issues than the 86.

Their frailty is a big concern of mine. There is plenty of runoff here, but none of it is soft or flat.

[CatDaddysBBQ]

I just drove one for the first time ever over the weekend. SUCH a different experience. If I had room for a car that really wouldn't be used for road usage (other than short recreational jaunts) and it was going to be 85% a track toy I'd be all over one.

Oh, and I also BARELY fit into it, and really can't wear a helmet inside so there's that too.

[lutfy]

Originally Posted by CatDaddysBBQ

I just drove one for the first time ever over the weekend. SUCH a different experience. If I had room for a car that really wouldn't be used for road usage (other than short recreational jaunts) and it was going to be 85% a track toy I'd be all over one.

Oh, and I also BARELY fit into it, and really can't wear a helmet inside so there's that too.

At 6'4" that was my concern but since its a TT only car, I put on FIA seat "on slider" (which raises it a little bit) and have no issues with the headroom. If mounted on the floor, it was too low.

Lutfy

[snoxracer183]

Originally Posted by lutfy

At 6'4" that was my concern but since its a TT only car, I put on FIA seat "on slider" (which raises it a little bit) and have no issues with the headroom. If mounted on the floor, it was too low.

Lutfy

Pretty sure he's talking about the Lotus, not an 86

[GrandSport]

Okay, so I decided to be responsible and not go with the Lotus. I got a pretty sweet bonus at work I wasn't expecting from bringing in a big client (my biggest to date I think), and it was burning a hole in my pocket. In the end, I should probably just put in the old savings account. A few months closer to retirement!

It was a good price, but too many little things I didn't want to deal with to get it going and/or resell. I'm also terrified of damage. Honestly, if it wasn't so easy to total the damn thing, I'd buy it. The whole point of this car was to buy a car that I'm not scared to run hard. I'd be more scared of totaling the Elise than the GS. But damn it would be cool to have a home garage of an Elise, Grand Sport (and a 4runner I guess) with a Miata at the track.

Anyway! I'm back to FRS. Can I run this thing on a 70 degree day without an aux engine oil cooler? I'll run straight water and water wetter if it helps. How bad is this engine oil cooling problem? I'm doing a track day right after (I hope to) buy it. After that day, I'll probably dedicate a weekend to installing the header, the engine oil cooler and big brake package (and maybe cutting some holes in my hood).

[justinco]

Congrats on the bonus!

The car will be fine w/out the aux oil cooler, you just can't go hard lap after lap after lap. Take a couple hot laps and then a cool down lap, etc. I've run mine in 90+ heat multiple times and that approach works fine for occasional track days. I have a friend that has been running NASA TT for years w/out an oil cooler and his car has had no issues as well.

That said, like most everyone else, I highly recommend a good oil cooler if the car is going to be tracked regularly. I recently tested the OEM Forester sandwich cooler and it was no good, so don't get that lol. Get what CSG recommends, that is next on my list as I start to track my car more often.

[Code Monkey]

Oil temps do not depend much on ambient temp but on revs. Take a stock twin out on a highway, and drive at 7,000 rpms in 3rd for 5, 10, 15 minutes, watch/log the oil temps. Easy 270 F or more.

If I were you, I would do a track day, then change the oil and install an oil cooler. I have a RacerX 19-row Setrab oil cooler and it has been great keeping oil temps at around 240 F.

[Tristor]

Originally Posted by Code Monkey

Oil temps do not depend much on ambient temp but on revs. Take a stock twin out on a highway, and drive at 7,000 rpms in 3rd for 5, 10, 15 minutes, watch/log the oil temps. Easy 270 F or more.

If I were you, I would do a track day, then change the oil and install an oil cooler. I have a RacerX 19-row Setrab oil cooler and it has been great keeping oil temps at around 240 F.

This right here is on point. It's all based on revs. Ambient temperature affects it some, but not nearly as much as you might imagine. Since there's no cooler in place from the factory, the ambient temperatures only affect oil temp in-so-much as they affect coolant temp and that keeps the engine cooler overall.


I did my first 3 track days without an oil cooler and nothing catastrophic happened and it was mostly in the 80s. But as soon as I saw the temps on a data logger I knew I needed to get it down. If I'd known after my first track day I probably would have installed an oil cooler before the next two.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by GrandSport

Okay, so I decided to be responsible and not go with the Lotus. I got a pretty sweet bonus at work I wasn't expecting from bringing in a big client (my biggest to date I think), and it was burning a hole in my pocket. In the end, I should probably just put in the old savings account. A few months closer to retirement!

It was a good price, but too many little things I didn't want to deal with to get it going and/or resell. I'm also terrified of damage. Honestly, if it wasn't so easy to total the damn thing, I'd buy it. The whole point of this car was to buy a car that I'm not scared to run hard. I'd be more scared of totaling the Elise than the GS. But damn it would be cool to have a home garage of an Elise, Grand Sport (and a 4runner I guess) with a Miata at the track.

Anyway! I'm back to FRS. Can I run this thing on a 70 degree day without an aux engine oil cooler? I'll run straight water and water wetter if it helps. How bad is this engine oil cooling problem? I'm doing a track day right after (I hope to) buy it. After that day, I'll probably dedicate a weekend to installing the header, the engine oil cooler and big brake package (and maybe cutting some holes in my hood).

Unless you tie the oiling system to the ambient air temp (aka oil-air oil cooler), ambient temps have zero relation to the oil temps.

An oil cooler is needed no matter what.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Code Monkey

Oil temps do not depend much on ambient temp but on revs. Take a stock twin out on a highway, and drive at 7,000 rpms in 3rd for 5, 10, 15 minutes, watch/log the oil temps. Easy 270 F or more.

If I were you, I would do a track day, then change the oil and install an oil cooler. I have a RacerX 19-row Setrab oil cooler and it has been great keeping oil temps at around 240 F.

I see you like my litmus test I've always wondered how many people actually do it, because anyone who does will instantly want an oil cooler.

[kch]

Originally Posted by GrandSport

Okay, so I decided to be responsible and not go with the Lotus. I got a pretty sweet bonus at work I wasn't expecting from bringing in a big client (my biggest to date I think), and it was burning a hole in my pocket. In the end, I should probably just put in the old savings account. A few months closer to retirement!

It was a good price, but too many little things I didn't want to deal with to get it going and/or resell. I'm also terrified of damage. Honestly, if it wasn't so easy to total the damn thing, I'd buy it. The whole point of this car was to buy a car that I'm not scared to run hard. I'd be more scared of totaling the Elise than the GS. But damn it would be cool to have a home garage of an Elise, Grand Sport (and a 4runner I guess) with a Miata at the track.

Anyway! I'm back to FRS. Can I run this thing on a 70 degree day without an aux engine oil cooler? I'll run straight water and water wetter if it helps. How bad is this engine oil cooling problem? I'm doing a track day right after (I hope to) buy it. After that day, I'll probably dedicate a weekend to installing the header, the engine oil cooler and big brake package (and maybe cutting some holes in my hood).

My first track day was at TWS in November '15, with a high around 68. No oil cooler. My oil temps peaked around 260f during 30min sessions, but I was a newbie at the time, so you might go higher. My UOA afterwards was fine, but I had no way to monitor pressures at the time. You'll probably be okay, but I would suggest getting an OC ASAP.

[GrandSport]

oh wow, I didn't realize there was no engine oil cooler at all I just assumed it was undersized. Hm, well, that's interesting.

I'll do my first track day and then just add the cooler, temp gauge and some ATS brakes (maybe harness bar and harness too). Does the brake bias get pretty jacked up when you do the ATS brakes?