3rd trackday in FR-S.....interesting!!!!!

[icemang17]

I was at Thunderhill today with NCRC and they asked me to instruct in Drivers School....so I brought my FRS since it was about a MILLION degrees (108f) and my racer gets STUPID hot..... It was nice to see at least two other BRZ-FRS.....both blue BRZ were in driving school!!!! I even had them in my groups doing drills....it was cool....

So my racer wasn't ready for my 1st session in open group (like usual) so I took out the FR-S......and I beat on it.... Learned a couple things.....

1: The steering is FAST...like crazy fast....since I am used to making corrections in my 928 racer...I tend to over correct due to the fast steering ratio....
2: The stock tires suck, but I knew that.....however they are EXTREMELY forgiving.....to an amazing extent....I could push the car way too far, feel the tail coming around, yet keep it in a slight slide for WAY too long until I had the car pointing where I wanted.....
3: The car is very loose.... at near stock tire pressure....I bled them down to 33 front (HOT) and 32 rear (HOT) and that increased the rear grip a bit....
4: An interesting point.....the BRZ owners were watching me run in open group...they commented on the "extreme" body roll in the front of the car compared to theirs.... Which makes sense, since the BRZ has stiffer front springs vs the FRS.....it also could be driving style, since I am pushing harder too..but you can see it in photos www.gotbluemilk.com look up today's event #51....you will see me taking a corner, then the BRZ 51...and as an extreme comparo is my racer 51 (white 928)....
5: In stock setup like mine the brakes are the weakest link....I ran with everything off and after about 10 minutes "flat out" the brakes were cooked.....so I would let up for a lap, brakes would recover then I would go after it again....by about 15 minutes both the brakes and tires were GONE...worthless.....it wasn't worth it to stay out for a full 20 minute session....
6: Cooling....EPIC...unreal.....in driving school I had both windows down and drove with the AC maxed out for the whole session.....temp never wavered...not even a touch.....in Open I turned it off since I was pushing harder....still perfect...stunning really considering it was 105F+ on my last session and I was pushing hard....

However...with proper brake pads and better-wider tires this thing would be an absolute track BEAST......it really is the best "drive to track and home" car....not a single doubt about it....with proper brakes and tires I have no doubts I could rival spec miata times......

Full Disclosure......this car is SO good....it is making me strongly consider why I spend SO MUCH $$$$ to go maybe 5-7 seconds faster in my lighter much more powerful 928 (2600lbs 265whp)......

Single best part of the FRS on track today.....want to know how many times I opened the hood...........ZERO.....one tire pressure adjustment...DONE.... My racer needs work every single time I bring it in...

[oofie]

How were the tire shoulders after the sessions, were they chunking?

[wparsons]

The brakes last an even shorter amount of time with sticky tires, I can't wait to get back out now that I have better pads and fluid.

[icemang17]

tires were fine.......at the higher hot pressure (36) they weren't even rolling fully to the shoulder.....after the adjustment they were using the full tire, but I didn't notice any chunking.....however I only pushed hard for two sessions of the 6 I ran in the FRS.....and it was not worth it at all....set my best time in the AM....thought I was driving faster in the afternoon when it was HOT and was 3 seconds per lap slower!!!!