Mistople's 2017 BRZ PP Track Build

[mistople]

CSG Spec Flex A

Super excited about this one. I won't be able to throw these on for a while since I'm waiting on some supporting parts, but I'm happy to add them to the inventory regardless. I have much to learn about the car in a track setting first, so I'm in no rush. They sure are lookers. Thanks as always to @CSG Mike for the advice and quick delivery.

[CSG Mike]

If you thought stock was telepathic.... check out Dan's thread.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126107

[mistople]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

If you thought stock was telepathic.... check out Dan's thread.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126107

I've been following this one. Can't wait!

[mistople]

First track day in the BRZ! Had an absolute blast. I was definitely slow, but couldn't have had more fun. Many thanks to Turn2 for organizing and to my instructor for the great lessons. I fully expected to eat more than a few slices of humble pie, and I wasn't wrong! That said, I started the day really slow as I learned the track, and ended up passing a Porsche and an R8! Obviously they were novices like myself, but I'll take what I can get

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmz14AGkbYI[/ame]


Conditions

The first two sessions were dumping rain. I think the first crash happened in the B group in one of these sessions. Ambulance, tow trucks..you name it. I won't say the make/model of the car to keep the owner's info private, but as far as I can tell he just lost it while hydroplaning down the main straight. Some guys were hitting 140-160mph by the end, so I can't imagine it would be easy to recover the car if it started to go our from underneath you.

The rain eased up a bit, but the track was still very wet. The limits of the car came very easily, and it served as a great learning tool. The BRZ can rotate incredibly easily even with very small throttle movements. I had to be Jenson Button smooth to get out of some of the corners without getting my tail out. I believe the second crash happened just before lunch. From what I can tell, standing water was again the likely culprit. This time on a high speed right-hander that was apparently known for collecting water at the bottom.

Conditions finally improved by the second half of the day, so I finally got to experience how the car handled with a semi-dry track. Interestingly, the stock Primacys seemed to like either full wet or mostly dry—they got super greasy on a semi-wet track. In any case, I got to experience the limits of the stock tires in almost every condition, so I felt like I got a lot out of the day.

Driving impressions

The instructor had me mostly focusing on building good habits and consistently nailing the line. He even had me stop shifting down to 2nd in the tighter corners to focus more on nailing the lines. I actually found it super useful, even though I felt like a bit of an idiot chugging through 3rd out of exits. As you can tell in the video, if the car isn't revving about 5k, its not doing much. A good lesson for next time to find some lower gears now that I'm comfortable on the track.

Once I learned the track, I wanted to mainly focus on being as smooth as possible. Lap times can come later. I found the BRZ exceptionally well balanced and confidence-inspiring on track, even with the stock tires. It was very tail happy in the rain (no surprises there), and pushed the front a bit in the dry. I actually didn't install my camber bolts before the day, so perhaps that would have helped in that regard. The tires were very good learners given the gradual loss of traction and audible feedback in corners. I'm going to keep them on until they aren't usable. Thankfully they didn't chunk or anything. Definitely increased wear on the shoulders, no doubt aided by the factory camber.

Thoughts for next time

- Need a data acquisition tool
- Need oil cooler
- Buy a canopy in case of rain
- Get camber bolts and alignment
- Find another instructor for a different perspective
- Squash habit of slightly turning in when locking up
- Brake later and learn to modulate better

Snagged a few shots between sessions. There were SEVEN GT350s there. Each of which had a full trailer. Those guys weren't messing around. Unreal sounds!





Love this color.



This guy was fast. Very heavily modified S2K that was keeping up with the big boys.



Another nice GT350

[mistople]

Cool shot at The Ridge from Kirk at Myhre Creative. Definitely want to get a set from him next time. Really nice guy.

Faster than a Mini. I'll take what I can get.

[mistople]

Winmax W5 + BF Racing Fluid

The parts hoarding continues. These were slated to go on before last weekend's track day, but given the pouring rain, the stock pads ended up being totally fine in those conditions. Almost done spending money on the car for a while. Still need tires and lugs before I can install the Teins.

[mistople]

My parts inventory is growing and collecting dust! I have 6 track days scheduled for the summer, and although I'm in no rush, I'm preparing for a very big weekend of installs:

- CSG Spec Flex A
- WedsSport TC105N 17x9 +35 — Dark Gunmetal (in my closet since January. I've been keeping them secret. Pictures coming...)
- CSG 1.125 Competition lug nuts
- Muteki 65/56 Hub rings
- GT Radial SX2 245/40/17 (en route)
- Jackson Racing NA Oil Cooler (en route)
- Winmax W5 F/R pads
- Winmax BF Racing brake fluid
- Fresh Eneos Sustina 0W-20 + OEM Subaru filter

All of that is super exciting of course, but I'm really just having such a blast taking the car out to the backroads lately and—safely, where there are no other cars—putting the car through its paces in its stock-ish configuration. I've learned so much about car control and the particular handling characteristics of the car in the 7 months of ownership. Its just getting better with each passing week.

The Delicious tune has been great, and the JDL + Perrin setup is still treating me well. The car pulls hard throughout the rev range. I'm still interested in some other catbacks down the line, but I'm really liking the relatively covert nature of the exhaust as is.

I'm beyond satisfied with my gearbox after the bushings, springs, and fluid were swapped out. Its truly incredible once warm. Night and day over stock. I wasn't as excited about it when I first swapped everything out, but it all seems to have settled in very nicely and has made shifting so much more engaging.

[NoHaveMSG]

Where did you find the SX2's in 245? I had hunted for some earlier to buy and stash away until my RS3's wear out.

[mistople]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

Where did you find the SX2's in 245? I had hunted for some earlier to buy and stash away until my RS3's wear out.

PM'd

[bmxr]

Great thread. I am doing something similar, only with less goodies! Lol

I highly recommend using Harry’s Lap Timer and an OBD interface for data and video overlays.

How exactly did you mount your camera (phone?)?

[mistople]

Originally Posted by bmxr

Great thread. I am doing something similar, only with less goodies! Lol

I highly recommend using Harry’s Lap Timer and an OBD interface for data and video overlays.

How exactly did you mount your camera (phone?)?

Thanks! I'll start with Harry's and then move up to AiM at some point. I'm actually working on a proof-of-concept for my own data logging tool in my spare time too.

Its GoPro Hero4. Unfortunately I set it to meter the whole frame with a matrix, so it exposed mostly for the black interior and blew out the view of the track. Lesson learned. Its just mounted 3/4 up the rear window on a suction mount. Not bad, but had to crop in to 125% to get a more useful view. I'd like something with a slightly longer focal length and/or the ability to mount closer to the driver next time.

Also looking for an audio solution. No real ideas or plans yet.

[mistople]

The final bits are starting to arrive! Can't wait to put the car on stands and install everything.

I couldn't resist a great deal I got on these SX2s. WedsSports photos coming soon

[Clipdat]

Running those same tires in that size as well. They're pretty nice, lots of grip on the street during aggressive canyon carving.

[mistople]

Originally Posted by Clipdat

Running those same tires in that size as well. They're pretty nice, lots of grip on the street during aggressive canyon carving.

I'm excited to give them a shot. Very interested to see how they do on track.