question about frs for a newbie
 

Would you guys recommend a frs as a track car for someone who had no experience whatsoever with the track and that lifestyle.oh hell i could drive great enough got the car on the road, but i don't know about the track.i was in love with this car before i knew it was a track car and know how to maintain it and everything as far as regular driving goes, but yeah..would you recommend it as a first ever newbie track car?

Yes it would be a great first track car!

- low on power so you'll have to learn about momentum
- low running costs (small tires and brakes on a light car)
- great chassis and balance.

yes

its a great starter car for anyone new to tracking or rwd imo

There's a couple of factors: It depends on how much money you have. And if this is your DD or 2nd, 3rd car or whatever.

If you can spend 25K+ and have a budget for gear, tires and brake pads, fluids etc. Then probably. Mods will cost money as well.

However if you don't have the cash or just want to have a bit of fun a used MX-5, would be a better choice IMO. Heck, a salvaged, but good S2K would be a blast too. Plus you have to have a cushion (financially) if something breaks or you crash...

But to answer the question, I think the FR-S would be a fine choice.

Thanks guys.this would be my college car, dailydriver, and whatever else i need it for.i look forward to posting about it when i get it:)

absolutely not for a first track car. To learn, you will make mistakes and unless you want to see your FRS in a tire wall, I would recomend you learn on a cheap car like a crx, s2k, 240sx, rx7, or even a ford focus for the focus challenge series. Parts for the FRS are expensive as it is new, and warranty will not cover you for things that break on the track. Even off track, if they know the car has seen track-time, theyll be resistant to honor the warranty.

I wouldn't say the FR-S is the perfect novice track car... But it's surely much better than certain cars that are brought by first timers to the track life, which I've personally witnessed: F430, Viper ACR, Z06, modified 911 Turbo, Cayman R, e9x M3, Boss 302, Mustang 5.0 GT, etc...

If you have the strength to accept putting your new FR-S through high-performance driving use on the track, then I feel it should be okay.

Any car will help you learn, and I feel the FR-S is one of the much better new sports cars to try out in a proper sports car driving environment.

I myself don't mesh well with driving a high horsepower car on the track... And a momentum car such as the FR-S helps me shine more so than I ever expected.

Good luck to you.

It would be a good idea to have your track vehicle as a second car. This way any damage repairs or upgrades can be performed without worrying about getting to work or school on Monday!

That being said this vehicle and the ones listed above would be a great choice for a novice looking to get into racing. :party0030:

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Come by the shop this weekend. I will take you for a ride in our FRS that will not be restricted by a salesman or break in RPMs that will probably make up your mind for you ;)

That being said, the perfect track vehicle is one you don't HAVE to drive. Or at least one that is backed up by a beater.

You can e-mail us if you are interested. Sales@DDPerformanceResearch.com

Thankyou for your offer but its too far for new to drive..but i will be getting this car for sure now.Thankyou for your consideration:)

track car... consider starting out with autocross?

they have SOLO events (timed so its only 3 or 4 cars on the track at a time, but spaced so that there will never be 2 cars anywhere near each other. You will pretty much only have to worry about cones and spinning out. Yes... accidents do happen. Local to me a corvette's tire rolled over & the rim caught a crack in the asphalt and it flipped, and there was one where a car went into a building, but those are RARE, for the most part.

Autocross is a better way to learn the limits of your car before you go to a real track. It's slower speed and generally a lot less risk.

you want a track car? Get a Miata. parts are cheap and plentiful. There's millions of the car out there, so body parts are cheap too.

This car is a perfect blend of DD and first track car. You will not get any practicality out of a Miata in college when you can't fit anything in your car. You can fit 4 people in the FR-S and have trunk space as well. Albeit the 2 people in the back need to be under 6ft tall but if you're a straight guy in college, you better have your best friend riding shotgun and 2 hot chicks in the back :)

I'm not very experienced in track stuff (yet) and I'm pretty sure the FR-S will be my first to do so in.

I agree completely. Right n ow I have a 2002/NB Miata that is used as such, mostly for autocross and Club events.

"race it if you can't write it off" is damned good advice. Even for autocross. And if you can afford 25K for a track only car, consider getting a D Sports Racer if your doing SCCA, or an old 944 or a Fox Body Mustang if your doing NASA.

For lapping days, you still want to be able to write off a 25K car if your going to do an HPDE or driving school in the FR-S.

Now, when FRS gets a little cheaper used...best track day car on the planet IMHO. Better suspension set up than the MX-5 IMHO, and lots more power than the mee-otter.

Keep us posted, and let us know what you decide!

I would try autocross first. It's easier to go from autocross to track work, and harder to work your way back from road racing into auto cross.

But good luck and keep us posted, and remember, we'll love seeing photographs of your FR-S on track.

Having done both that doesn't make any sense to me.
They are very different and a person should do whatever is more fun to them.

To the OP, if I was stretching my budget to buy an FR-S in the first place I don't think I could muster up the courage to track it regularly. If it's an easy purchase for your budget I'd say have at it.

I started my track experience with a Miata and have been having tons of fun. Miata + FR-S would be my choice. You can get an early one for a couple grand.

Agree with Miata plus FRS.

I've just watched road racers try to autocross after road racing, seems like they have more trouble "stepping down" to autocross than autocrossers do stepping up.

YMMMV

ha!

I'm Miata + BRZ. :D