Contemplating FRS for track car

[Code Monkey]

I would not even bother with a $1,500 coilover kit; a good entry-level kit such as MCS with all the fixins is a tad over $4,000.

[tony_r]

C5Z is a better track car for sure. It's a bargain for the performance. With more power you will go through things faster, though. Tire consumable will get you, too. Is the performance worth the cost? Up to you. Good thing is that you don't need to add reliability upgrades for track use (so long as you have the batwing oil pan).

FR-S tends to get boring on bigger tracks. No power for straights in 4th gear. Boost fixes that but then you add another point of failure to the car, which already has track reliability things you have to take care of. Add more power and you go through more consumables. Parts are slightly cheaper and tires are about 1/2 the cost even with a 245.

E36 M3 is in between the two. Not terribly slow for track use, not too fast where you go through consumables a lot, not expensive to get into.

And there is no reason to get $4k + coilovers for the 86 on track. Spring/travel matters more than damping on most tracks. A decent set of singles will get the job done, and there are plenty of low buck choices with the right spring rate.

[GrandSport]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

You have a track prepped 86 ready for purchase for 10k and you're not driving to get it right now?

My old c5z is selling for 18k and it has 55k on the clock. I mean deals are out there.... IMO it's a wash between a c5z as it comes and a track prepped twin in terms of consumables. C5z parts are cheap and they're reliable out of the box. What would you really need to upgrade on a c5z besides safety? Whereas to seriously track a twin with some reliable and decent hp you're dropping coin. Depends on how far you take hp and how much you're really modifying the car.

I'd probably do C6 Z06 calipers for about $1200 with rotors. Definitely need to add a seat and improve cooling and get wheels. Otherwise, it's probably good to go. I think there are some other small things that need to be upgraded.

I've been looking. No real good deals I've come across. I'm still looking for a good C5

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by tony_r

C5Z is a better track car for sure. It's a bargain for the performance. With more power you will go through things faster, though. Tire consumable will get you, too. Is the performance worth the cost? Up to you.
.

All depends on tire choice and setup. Stock c5z tire sizes are 265/40/17f and 295/35/18r

I'm going to guess 245/40/17 for a decent twin tire choice for tracking but who know. 245 40 17 is a very common size, so you save there but depends on how you select your tires and how aggressive your alignment and driving is. C5z isnt too bad to replace tires for.

[GrandSport]

Originally Posted by Code Monkey

I would not even bother with a $1,500 coilover kit; a good entry-level kit such as MCS with all the fixins is a tad over $4,000.

The sky is the limit- but this is a weekend track car, not a competitive race car. If it handles half as well as everyone is raving about, I'm sure that even a reasonable coilover kit will be more than adequate. It sounds like it's great in factory form.

[TommyW]

Lots of good suggestions. I think ultimately it comes down to how you want the car to feel on the track. The Vette is a bigger heavier car and fast on the straights, the BMW is a nice balance but after doing a ride along at Thunderhill I just felt for my taste it sat a little too high. I decided on the 86 platform. Awesome little track car.

Your opinions may vary

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

You have a track prepped 86 ready for purchase for 10k and you're not driving to get it right now?

Eh, it'll need a few thousand to get it ready based on the description in the OP.

It'd probably be advised, at the rate he hits the track, to upgrade with an Oil Cooler and BBK at a bare minimum. So that's maybe $3k-ish on top of the $10k price.

BBK just because of the frequency he tracks:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94608
CSG has a kit that's supposedly even cheaper on consumables

Depending on what tire OP decides to use he'll probably be looking at coilovers to handle the grip, the 235# RCE springs probably won't cut it for a <201TW tire bigger than stock, I'd guess $2k ballpark.

It already comes with header and OFT but if you go FI you're up to $20k all in.


It makes more sense as 'upgrading the miata' instead of 'downgrading the corvette'

And with consumables being the primary factor, I'd take the 86 over the E36, it's already in your sights and if the power is lacking bolt on a blower and call it a day.

[GrandSport]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Eh, it'll need a few thousand to get it ready based on the description in the OP.

It'd probably be advised, at the rate he hits the track, to upgrade with an Oil Cooler and BBK at a bare minimum. So that's maybe $3k-ish on top of the $10k price.

BBK just because of the frequency he tracks:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94608
CSG has a kit that's supposedly even cheaper on consumables

Depending on what tire OP decides to use he'll probably be looking at coilovers to handle the grip, the 235# RCE springs probably won't cut it for a <201TW tire bigger than stock, I'd guess $2k ballpark.

It already comes with header and OFT but if you go FI you're up to $20k all in.


It makes more sense as 'upgrading the miata' instead of 'downgrading the corvette'

And with consumables being the primary factor, I'd take the 86 over the E36, it's already in your sights and if the power is lacking bolt on a blower and call it a day.

I don't have much free time, and I hate wasting track time trying sort out crap. That's my fear with the E36. I'm always going to be working on it, which means I won't want to jack with it which means I wont drive as much.

[CSG Mike]

It all really comes down to how much you want to spend a year in upkeep, and how much seat time you want to get annually.

If you ignore the cost of my build, my running cost to do 50 events a year as is would be under $15,000, including ALL consumables, spare transmissions, maintenance, track entries, travel, etc. Of course, if you choose to use stickier tires than I do, that cost will go up. On the other hand, if your pace is slower than mine, your cost could be lower. My running cost for 2018, so far, is under $7000, due to judicious use of consumables and electing to cool down and pull of track when things get hot, instead of "getting one more lap in".

To put it in perspective, a new set of RE71R or Hoosiers are good for about 15 laps for me before they're destroyed; I can run 150+ laps on a set of SX2. In any given year, I tend to run a wide gamut of tires, ranging from low grip slicks to medium grip street tires.

[tony_r]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

All depends on tire choice and setup. Stock c5z tire sizes are 265/40/17f and 295/35/18r

I'm going to guess 245/40/17 for a decent twin tire choice for tracking but who know. 245 40 17 is a very common size, so you save there but depends on how you select your tires and how aggressive your alignment and driving is. C5z isnt too bad to replace tires for.

For standard 200tw tires in 245, you're looking at $700-800. Slicks $900-1300.

Vette, 200tw - $1200. Slicks - $1500

[GrandSport]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

It all really comes down to how much you want to spend a year in upkeep, and how much seat time you want to get annually.

If you ignore the cost of my build, my running cost to do 50 events a year as is would be under $15,000, including ALL consumables, spare transmissions, maintenance, track entries, travel, etc. Of course, if you choose to use stickier tires than I do, that cost will go up. On the other hand, if your pace is slower than mine, your cost could be lower. My running cost for 2018, so far, is under $7000, due to judicious use of consumables and electing to cool down and pull of track when things get hot, instead of "getting one more lap in".

To put it in perspective, a new set of RE71R or Hoosiers are good for about 15 laps for me before they're destroyed; I can run 150+ laps on a set of SX2. In any given year, I tend to run a wide gamut of tires, ranging from low grip slicks to medium grip street tires.

How on earth do you destroy a set of hoosiers in 15 laps? That's barely more than a session at most HPDE.

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by tony_r

For standard 200tw tires in 245, you're looking at $700-800. Slicks $900-1300.

Vette, 200tw - $1200. Slicks - $1500

Not bad, especially when comparing either to a c7 gs. Lol.

[tony_r]

Originally Posted by GrandSport

How on earth do you destroy a set of hoosiers in 15 laps? That's barely more than a session at most HPDE.

Some drivers are particularly hard on cars/tires. I can see a set of A7's MAYBE but RE's or others... I think there is something else going on. I had one full hour of track time on a 50 AX run set of RE's with this car and, aside from the RF being more used than the rest (CCW course), the tires are still fine.

[kch]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

To put it in perspective, a new set of RE71R or Hoosiers are good for about 15 laps for me before they're destroyed

Is that a tire problem or a driver problem?