How is the car at the track?
 

Thought this would be a good place to ask.....
I'm thinking of picking up an fr-s.... possibly next year

Have read a lot about the car, but how does it really perform on the track..
I do not care what so ever to drift this car, I want traction....

Does the lightness of the car, make up for the lack of power...
Along with the low cog etc..

How do the brakes hold up? When hot?

I saw the toyota pictures about how you can put 4 tires etc.. in the car..
Is that 4 stock tires, or can you fit 17X8

Thanks!

Car is great at the track. I ran it 4 times at Calabogie this year, performed flawlessly.
I upgraded to HP+ pads but ran stock tires and almost beat my previous best time from my RX-8 on cheaters.

I like grip also, but at 9 or 10/10ths the car tends to push a bit on corner entry, and loves to get loose on corner exit. But it grips very well and better tires will tame it a bit. But the oversteer is fully controllable, so don't get scared off. Enough power to keep up with many cars and catch quite a few too.

Loving the car as a dual duty daily and track whore.

You could probably fit wider tires/rims without issue, one in the trunk and 3 in the back.

thanks for the info... was suppose to go to Calabogie this year, but went to Tremblant instead <- If you can get access "private" it's really really worth it..

How did the stock tires hold up after 4 days? Chunking?

I've only been to one track day even (HPDE), and it was in this car. It was out at Spring Mountain Raceway in Pahrump, NV, and my only modifications to the car at the time were my Cusco chassis braces and strut-tower bar, as well as TRD door stabilizes. Nothing to improve power, and no coilovers, swaybars, better brake-pads, or better tires; this was a mostly stock car. Because it was my first-time, I was put with an instructor for the entire day, and we were *supposed* to be taking it relatively easy the whole time. Highway-level speeds, and very, VERY limited passing.

However...

My instructor was an adrenaline-fueled psychopath, who was not only teaching me lines to take that were completely different to everyone else's (lines which, he claimed, were the fastest for a FR car type like mine), but was also yelling at me the whole time to "run down" every car that had the misfortune of being in front of me. He felt that if I wasn't inches from the rear bumper of the guy in front of me, forcing him to open up room to pass, I wasn't doing it right.

Because of this, in spite of having 20 second start-delays between us entering the track, by the end of the day I'd overtaken a Mini Cooper S, newer STi, C6 Corvette, and a frickin' Lambo Gallardo. Was pretty close to overtaking a Porsche 944 too, right at the end. Only car that day that overtook me was a newer model M3, and only after I spun out in a corner by misjudging what gear I needed to be in.

My impressions?

Never, ever, EVER let someone tell you that driver feedback from a car isn't as important as power or grip! I am 100% convinced that I achieved the times I did in this car because I knew, at any given time, exactly how much further I could push my car through any sort of turn. My limits were lower than a lot of the cars out there, but I could get much closer to them, confidently, than could a lot of the other drivers. I've owned two of the cars that I ended up passing out there (the STi and the Mini Cooper S), so I know what they were capable of. Both cars would outgrip the FR-S, and the STi had me so beat in terms of power it was obscene. And yes, while I was stuck behind him, every time we hit a bit of a straight-away, he'd start putting distance between us. But before we were even halfway through the next corner, I was up on his ass again, wishing to god I was allowed to pass him already. Let me say that again: an STi was slowing me down in the corners! That's where those cars live! And that was 100% a result of the predictability and great feedback of my car (well... that, *and* a couple of corners that my instructor gave me better lines on. Lines the STi wasn't capable of taking).

I'm certain against better, more experienced track drivers, I'd lose. I'm certain that on a course that had fewer turns and more straightaways, I'd lose. But the fact of the matter is I took my near-stock FRS out to a full-on racetrack, and held my own all day against some much, MUCH better cars (or at least much more expensive ones). And there were some good drivers out there too; hell, the STi that I was running right behind had been dogging a C6 Corvette himself for most of that run, and the M3 that passed me wasted no time at all in leaving me behind. But if my FR-S did that well in that crowd stock, I can't wait to take it back out there once I start getting serious with the mods! Next time, I hope to have a Vortech supercharger and some Michelin Pilot Sports put on my lightweight wheels, in addition to having my Bride bucket, to see how I do.

Was actually going to comment saying BS.. but then I saw the track layout and I do believe you...

LOL, I like how they copied corner 5A/5B from mosport... that corner is a bitch in FWD/Turbo lol

If you got lightweight wheels for the track.. I would recommend putting on something else...

RS-3.. or next year Star Specs II

If your lightweight wheels are for the sole purpose of tracking

Heh... and I wouldn't have blamed you if you had. There's a reason I don't tell that story often, especially on the internet: sounds like a big ol' steaming pile of... :D We were running the full course clockwise that day, by the way.

I'm certain the lion's share of my good fortune came from the other drivers being, well... bad drivers. I mean, even if it IS your first time on a racetrack, if you can't get a frickin' GALLARDO to outrun a four-cylinder Toyota, you got problems! But still, it was also my first time on a track too, so that excuse only buys them so much sympathy. Also, the course layout had a lot to do with it; if we'd been somewhere like Willow Springs or Laguna Seca, no way... even a 15 year old on a learner's permit could have gotten away from me in most of those cars.

What did surprise me about the whole thing was how well the car did in high-speed corners. I expected it to dominate in the sharp turns, sure, but I was pleased with how well it gripped going through high speed turns, and how much advance notice it gave you before the rear would start to smoothly slide out. Most other cars I've ever owned, by the time that you started the rear giving way at those speeds, it was already too late. Not so with the FR-S. In this car it was sorta like, "Huh... rear's losing traction. Now, where's that apex? I'm gonna skip songs on the CD player..." LOL... I mean, that's how un-dramatic it is. Same situation in my old C5 Corvette would have had me crying and sobbing that I was too young to die.

Thanks for the recommendation for tires, but I'm building my car up to be equally good on street and track. (Also? No room at my place for two sets of wheels/ tires). So what I'm running daily is what I'm going to the track on. And Pilot Sports have always been favorites of mine. I think they'll suit the character of the car well.

Stock tires held up quite well. I recently pulled them off to mount my winter tires and was surprised (and disappointed) that they didn't wear more. (Disappointed because I wanted to burn through this set so I could justify buying new tires with the CFO).

As for the chap from Spring Mountain, sounds like you had a bad instructor.
As a fellow instructor, this is not what should be taught at a trackday. An instructor should allow the student to learn at his/her own pace, although sometimes we need to get a student out of their comfort zone "a bit" in order to learn what a car can do if the student is holding back (on throttle earlier/brake later). Reminds me of an old youtube video of an instructor yelling to his student and basically harassing him the whole time. It gives us a bad rep.

Tuxedo: That sounds like one of the worst instructors possible. That's a very bad example of what an instructor SHOULD be doing.

As for the car, it's a great track car. A little power at tracks like Sebring would be awesome but it's not needed to have fun. If your club is like Chin Motorsports and is basically a GT3/GT3 RS owners club, be prepared to give a lot of point bys of course. Luckily with anyone else the car doesn't feel too far down on power.

Most importantly, the car is an absolute blast to drive on track.

I didn't have good luck with the stock front brakes, but some here have had GREAT luck. I'm probably just rough on equipment.

@TuxedoCartman At the HPDE events i've been to they mentioned you can suggest for another instructor for any reason. They even recommended it so you get feedback from more then one person. They also said don't feel the need to go fast. Being too slow can be dangerous but going at a pace that you're comfortable with is the best way to learn, just remember to give point bys.


Back on topic, I believe this car is great. Just needs pads and brake fluids to have a really good time. The only recommended mod I would say is a bucket seat. I felt myself moving around too much in the stock seat

Have you tried moving the seat forward? You may be sitting too far away from the steering wheel and/or pedals.

I find the stock seat's incredible good for an OEM seat; it'll hold your torso no problem if you're properly adjusted.

Adjust your seat so that your butt is firmly planted against the back of the seat, and then move the seat to where the pedals are comfortable for you (can clutch, gas, and brake all the way). Then, sit fairly straight, and last, adjust the steering wheel so that you can rest your wrists on the top of the steering wheel with your butt still against the back of the seat, and your shoulders also touching the back of the seat.

Proper seat adjustment will also improve feedback from the chassis to you.

I don't know if that's good or bad lol

Thanks, I don't except stock brakes to hold up.. on small courses... but that ap racing kit... is sexy LOL

You should be firmly in place, in almost any car if your positioned right, relax your arms, and put more focus on the dead pedal.. that will be holding you in lol

I doubt your are pulling the g's to need a real bucket

^^^ yup, and no death grip on steering wheel
still guilty of that sometimes lol

Thanks Ill give it a try. I was more concerned my arm angle was able to be around 90 degrees and feet position was not too angled or too straight.

I put four 17x8 wheels with 245 in the back - no problem.

Bigger would not be an issue. Stack them behind the front seats

Performs brilliantly... Even if you're not the fastest guy out on the track (that's not suppose to be the goal anyway, I suppose), this car delivers a lot of fun and connection with the driver.

I believe it's more of a momentum car, and it doesn't feel like it lacks performance.

As I've advanced with my experience and skill level at the track (and as I drive the limit more and more), I feel the OEM tires can start holding one back. After getting full use of the OEM tires (or knowing when you're ready), it's a good idea to start the search for higher-performing tires... This car and its chassis deserve better tires as you start advancing, that's for sure.

I feel this car has a more torquey engine compared to what I was used to (RX-8 and MX-5). Power is not disappointing, in my opinion...

Brake fluid and pads will need to be upgraded... And as I was taught before, you will have to keep an eye on the rotors.

No need to upgrade all at once, and it's good to take it one step at a time... Or as needed.

As @blkwrxwag mentioned, I don't think you'll have any issue with fitting your specific size of wheels / tires.