Which car should I take to the track?
 

Should I take my brz to the track or my 1986 Monte Carlo ss I can't decide.

Take both. Then you'll appreciate your BRZ even more.

take the monte carlo since its clearly always on your mind

It's my baby. First car I ever owned and the first that I ever modified and spent the time to learn about.

Are we talking 1/4 mile drag strip or a road course here?

Road course

You will miss the power of the carlo on the straights but will love how much speed you can carry in the corners with the brz. My wife just got done with an ls3 swap in her brz and so he has the best of both worlds but with the stock motor you will notice passing is only if they let you. I think you will have a blast in either one personally and maybe have a friend register and bring both so you guys can swap and get seat time in both of them.

Sent from my Q10

The 86 is a better platform for driver development. You'll feel more of the vehicle dynamics, and how your inputs relate to what the car is doing.

Take BRZ without question then. Why take a car that going to fight you when you have another car already perfectly suited for the track which will teach you a lot more? I'm sorry, but no matter what you've done to the Monte Carlo it will still be a car which will fight you and not be optimal for learning techniques on track. Bone stock the BRZ/FR-S is near perfectly optimal for road-course use and instruction...you'll be fine with the stock brakes unless you are at an intermediate HPDE driving level or higher.

If you do take both along, drive the Monte Carlo AFTER you've gotten use to handling the BRZ on track - It will be quite an eye opener; the FRS/BRZ is quite a track car stock, especially on technical and medium speed level tracks with not a lot of long straights.

My personal rule of thumb is to only take a car to the track that you are willing to leave there. It's no more likely (and probably a lot less likely) that you'll have an incident on track than driving it there, but unless you get track insurance you have a lot more risk. Stuff a '97 BMW worth $2k into the wall due to your fault or somebody else's and it'll suck less than explaining to your insurance agent that you were only participating in a driver's training program in your BRZ/FRS at VIR.

I'll admit.... I can't wait to take my BRZ to VIR and Road Atlanta even though I drive a Spec3 with NASA Mid Atlantic.

Honesty is key when it comes to the insurance company. I called my insurance lady advised her what I was planing on doing and she upgraded my plan (extra $20 a month) and she sent me a paper stating that hpde events were covered. This however does not cover competition events so no racing just track days. The extra little bit I pay each months isn't much considering what I have into the car.

Sent from my Q10

Weight=$$$ when it comes to consumables cost, which is most of the racing budget.

The Monte will require large tires, and brakes to get around the track, which it will then consume voraciously, while breaking sundry expensive bits in the driveline, and suspension d/t the stresses of the weight and HP. Also, the crash lasts longer in a high HP car.

Take the BRZ.

More Power also =more $$$.