Big Mistake

[Dave-ROR]

Originally Posted by Racecomp Engineering

Brakes, alignment, seat time.

Tires are tricky....if you go with a "track" tire early on you won't learn as much. And with a stickier tire you will want at least some suspension work, even just a good set of springs. You'll have a lot more grip and thus want to control it a little more.

A good streetable sporty tire will do well though....resist the temptation to go superwide.

Focus on learning and not times.

- Andrew

We don't let Novice and Intermediate students run R comps at ITR Expo. Sticky tires cover up mistakes and make the real big mistakes happen a lot faster.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

We don't let Novice and Intermediate students run R comps at ITR Expo. Sticky tires cover up mistakes and make the real big mistakes happen a lot faster.

Exactly! That's a good policy to have.

- drew

[ABQautoxer]

Alignment and brakes...then tires. Keep replacing tires and little else until you really have a grasp for the stock setup. Mods can be great but only if the right ones that are adjusted correctly actually make you faster. As a newbie, the lower the limits, the better so if you have an off, its at a lower speed.

[kllrnohj]

Originally Posted by GoSharks

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.

Others covered the car stuff (and I totally second the general theme of brake pads first, then maybe tires), so I'll cover the tracks.

Learn on Thunder Hill first - it is by far the most forgiving of those 3 in that it has large grass run offs and very few walls to crash into. It's also a really fun track - Laguna is a bit repetitive, not much variety in the turns (although the corkscrew is a ton of fun). I still haven't gotten to Infineon yet, but from what I've heard it has some turns that are pretty easy to get wrong and put your car into a wall just like Laguna does.

The only absolutely critical thing you need to do is have a spare set of front brake pads - doesn't matter what they are, just you will almost certainly burn through the stock pads in a single day so you'll want a set of spares if this is your DD.

This is a fantastic car to learn on - light weight & low power force you as a driver to make up the difference (and it's cheaper in consumables). You don't have 350hp+ to cover up that you as a driver can't turn

[GoSharks]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I did take my MINI S to Thunderhill 2x and Laguna Seca once several years ago. I really enjoyed Thunderhill, Laguna Seca was a much slower track and for some reason not as fun for me (corkscrew was really cool though). I did fine with my OE brakes, I can't say the same for the terrible run flats. So going into my second school at Thunderhill I changed the springs, rear sway bar, intake, exhaust and switched the tires to Potenza S 03's. The tires made a huge difference. The instructor i had really pushed me and I ended up going off track at 90 to 100 mph in turn one (counter clock wise direction). Long story, everything was fine but scary as hell. I really am appreciating the benefits of rear wheel drive now.

Based on the advice from everyone I am planning on a brake kit, cat back exhaust (just because i like to hear the car more), and possibly tires/wheels later on.

Thanks again everyone!

[gmookher]

run flats at the track=horror

[GoSharks]

Originally Posted by gmookher

run flats at the track=horror

Yes they were! Felt like I was hitting grease in the turns. The best thing I ever did with my MINI S was to dump the run-flats. The ride improved tremendously not to mention cornering. Run flats have probably improved a lot since then, but still....

[DR 86]

This car is absolutely trackable stock as long as you recognize your own and the car's limitations. This past weekend I tracked Shannonville in Ontario (a 4.02km road course), logging a little over an hour of track time in a 3 hr session. I had zero brake fade on stock pads and fluid by keeping each stint to under 10 laps and allowing them to cool off in between stints. I guess it's really dependent on the track, but IMO this car has neither the power nor weight to really destroy brakes if you're using them properly (a lot of the cars that day definitely weren't, especially novice drivers in so-called stock high-performance cars...braking way too early and likely dragging their brakes, instead of getting on them hard).

[DR 86]

These tires are also decent enough to learn on. Their limit of adhesion is perfect for shifting the weight of the car to turn through corners the way you want without having to do serious suspension upgrades. I wouldn't switch to sticky tires until you've logged enough seat time on track to kill the stock tires.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Dave-ROR

I don't think anyone has data logged oil temps on track yet but brake pads and fluid are a minimum requirement IMO. Oil cooler goes in the nice to have category for me.

The car logs oil temps from the factory, and WILL go into limp mode if it gets high enough. Although we haven't experienced it on our car, I've spent enough time with Subaru techs and their diagnostic tools to know that the ECU does track it.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by einzlr

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?

If you can either A. bed race pads properly (I swear, SO many people don't read instructions...) or B. handle noise (horrendous screeching, squealing dying pig noises), consider running a race pad year round. Unless it snows in your area, or frequently gets below freezing, you'll be just fine.

There is a lot of misinformation regarding race pads. The most common one is that they simply DO NOT work when they're cold. While untrue, it comes from from the fact that race pads work *best* when they're hot. A cold race pad will bite hardest when it's got some heat in it, but even when completely cold (e.g. sitting overnight outside), it will still bite harder than a street pad will.

Bedding race pads properly can be summed up as "get it to barely fade, and then roll around for 10-15 minutes so they can completely cool down". Once properly bedded, race pads make so little noise that it won't be a concern, and easily pass the wife/girlfriend/date test, even when daily driven. Contrary to popular belief, the transfer layer doesn't scrape off when bedded correctly. Race pads do dust like a mofo though...

I've been daily driving with race pads on my car for years now. Street pads just feel weird to me now; it feels like the car won't stop because the torque(bite) doesn't ramp up quickly enough when I'm stopping at a light. Additionally, we've been street driving the BRZ on Carbotech XP10 and Project Mu Max900i pads with no issues, other than dirty wheels.


Once you swap your own pads a few times, with the proper tools (floor jack, 4 jackstands, cordless impact, tool set), you can swap all 4 pads in less than 20 minutes without breaking a sweat.

[jflogerzi]

Wow I just want to say thank you to all who posted. This thread is great with lots of good information. I am hoping to start going to a few events per year starting with a car control clinic first

[QFry]

wow...lot of advice out there. My opinion is drive it as is until YOU feel/realize something needs to be improved...if you get to the end of the track day and realize you need more of something (brakes, tire, power, suspension etc) that is what you get. Just starting out and throwing parts at the car based on others advice and recommendations is not an effective way to learn your car, if you feel it is needed you can feel what was changed and whether it was money well spent or whether you need to change again...