My Thoughts from Last Weekend's Solo in the Heart of Dixie

[naikaidriver]

I was finally able to compete in my first Solo event of the year for the Tennessee Valley Chapter of SCCA on Saturday. Overall it was a great event and the weather was much more "gentle" to us than we were anticipating! We started with a pretty soggy surface which dried out by the time we broke for lunch so most of us got 3 "dry" runs before the track was rained upon during the lunch break. Thankfully it was the only rain we had and the track was slowly drying out by the end of the day.

For the first time, I did not have the only FRS in the paddock. The other two were relative newcomers to the sport and after meeting them (both of which are members here), they are a welcome addition to the group!

Hopefully they will chime in on this thread as well with their impressions!

To date, the only mods on my car are the Buddy Club Spec II cat back, Cuscu Strut Tower bar and an Injen Intake. Its still a "work in progress" for STX class but since I don't have the resources that others do, I started with simple mods to power output while I get more of a "feel" for how the FRS behaves with the stock wheels, tires and suspension.

Even though I was struggling with a tricky section at the end, which resulted in 3 DNF's, my best run of the day was when the track was pretty wet. 3rd out of 4 and only .05 seconds from second place which was a pretty modified G35. Overall I was pretty happy with my performance but I still have a lot of room for improvement. To my surprise, I had the fastest FRS time of the day by half a second. So much for my slow "slush box".

After giving it a lot of thought, I think that the engine and performance mods are perfect. I don't see the need to change a thing which brings me to a word of advice for anyone that is interested in prepping their FRS for Solo.

Don't think for a second that you have to start modding your car right away. Spend some time with your car in stock trim BEFORE you start changing things. The most effective mod you can perform is the DRIVER! I don't think there is a mod, tire, or setup in the world that can make you any faster than refining your own skills and abilities. While the FRS is lauded as a great drift car, and the car is known for sliding, when the car is driven carefully and in the right hands, it is very maneuverable and capable. Its lack of power is not as important in Solo as cased by our Fast Time of the Day which was done in a H-Stock Mini Cooper piloted by a pro.

Enjoy the car! Enjoy the sport! While its fun to be competitive, as soon as you focus too much on the competitiveness as opposed to the fun, camaraderie, and enjoyment, you set yourself up for some disappointment.

Moving forward, I am planning on replacing the suspension with some RCE's and Konis. I think this is a good setup for my skill-level for now and if I were to put on some RS3, I'm only going to tear them up.

Scott