Scion FRS - Track Dream build - under $20k - Normally aspirated

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by philooo

Another very good point, luckily I already have the full suit, glove, full helmet, hans device, 6 point harness, shoes, fire proof underwear, socks and balaclava.
Indeed starting from scratch this could easily have added $3,000 right there.

As for tires, they will be consumable so out of the build budget. But I have been driving a bunch of HPDE , 5 session of 25 minutes per day and my tire don't wear that bad, easily 8 days per set. Racing might be a different deal but I figured with the low power of the FRS, I should be on the more "economical" side of racing.

As for the S2k fanatics out there, you know who you are, I will not be swapping engine. These mods always open a can of worms I am trying to avoid by limiting the engine mods as much as possible. New headers and straight exhaust will be my only mod. mainly to gain weight.

At first I plan to keep the stock exhaust for a while to make sure I can actually hear what is going on inside the car, in case something goes wrong. Loud exhaust are fun but then that's the only thing you can hear. Making things harder to 'debug'.

I stuck to your rules. If you're going to be racing, you better be prepared for creative interpretations of rules, because people will do ANYTHING to get an advantage.

Do you actually have a 20k budget? Because you can build a pretty serious car for 20k.

[philooo]

I am currently finishing rebuilding my car, see there here.

And I am planning to turn it into a full "race"/track car. I figured the budget will indeed be around $20k. I am hoping to do this in steps so that I can actually feel the improvements.

Not sure in which order i'll be proceeding. I am waiting to get to the track in the stock form to see what has priority.

Based on my reading here I'd say

Step1 --- Stockish + tires + pads +seat + harness. Making sure the car drive straight
1.Seat + bracket: Momo Daytona $1200
2.Harness Bar: $200
3.Wheels: 17x8 $1000 [Enkei]
4.Tires: $1000 [BFG R1 225/45/17]
5.Wheel Studs: $100 [ARP]
6.Brake Pads: $400 [Carbotech XP12 Front - Back]

Step2 --- Endurance
7.Used Traqmate: $300
8.Oil Cooler: $700 [JR oil cooler]
9.Catch Can: $200 [Radium auto]
10.Radiotor: NO UPGRADE ?

Step3 --- Brakes
11.BBK: $2100 APR sprint

Step4 --- Suspensions
12.Suspension KW ClubRacer: $3200
13.Adjustable Arm kit: $2200 [RacerX kit]

Step5 --- Tune
14.Exhaust header + straight pipes: $500 [which the best track header ?]
15.EcuTek tune: $1500

Step6 ---
16.Rollcage full: $2000 [Custom build]
17.Fire suppression system: $500 [?]

Revised safety cost and without BBK: $12,500
plenty left over for more gizmos.

[jebuwh]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Free labor according to the rules! This is just for parts.

Haha good call. So CSG won't do it for free labor then? Ha

[telamon]

1.) Oil cooler $700
2.) Stainless brake lines $200
3.) Motul brake fluid $100
4.) Track pads $450
5.) Sticky street tires $1000
6.) Seat time $17550

[ddeflyer]

Some prices on things I have added to my BRZ (many include taxes and shipping, not including labor except on rollbar since it is custom):
2 Seats: $1700
2 Harnesses: $700
Custom rollbar (not cage, rollbar) and installation (harness installation also): $1800
Essex sprint BBK + SS lines and rear pads: $2400
Side mounts for seats: $230
Oils (Engine, Transmission, diff): $240
Brake fluid (torque 700): $90
Tires (225x40r17 AD08r mounted on rims) + rims (18x8.5 PF01s): $2400
Radium dual catch cans: $450
JR oil cooler: $850
Suspension bits for alignment: $1650
Underbody JDM panels: $400
Front strut brace (needed after roll bar installation): $200
2.5lb fire extinguisher + good roll bar mount (most of the cost): $160
Raceseng tow hook: $200
ARP extended studs and new lug nuts: $200
Data logger: $700 (actually paid less but not going to say how much)

So I've spent about $13000 on parts without labor or maintenance and I am no where near done (still stock dampers/springs and stock power, not even a tune yet). There are also some non-performance items I haven't included.

This stuff adds up quickly and if you include labor and maintenance then prices sky rocket. Also god forbid you start thinking about your actual running costs at the track!

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by philooo

Safety: $5500
--------
Rollcage custom build: $3000
Fire suppression system: $2500

Way overpriced on both. If labor is free, then remove everything and drop the car at the cage builder. I spent $1900 on my SpecE30 cage. I have the SPA Firefighter AFFF Fire System - 4L Multiflow Steel fire supression system, and I think it was only like $600. I have two nozzles in the engine compartment and two in the driver compartment, but adding more is easy.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by ddeflyer

So I've spent about $13000 on parts without labor or maintenance and I am no where near done (still stock dampers/springs and stock power, not even a tune yet). There are also some non-performance items I haven't included.

This stuff adds up quickly and if you include labor and maintenance then prices sky rocket. Also god forbid you start thinking about your actual running costs at the track!

Total costs to run a race car at the club level can easily run $1,000 to $2,000 per day, depending upon how you're going at it (free labor - where do I find that!?!; rubber - what do you mean that just 'cause there's lots of tread left the darn things have no more stick to them, how can that be!?!).

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by King Tut

Way overpriced on both. If labor is free, then remove everything and drop the car at the cage builder. I spent $1900 on my SpecE30 cage. I have the SPA Firefighter AFFF Fire System - 4L Multiflow Steel fire supression system, and I think it was only like $600. I have two nozzles in the engine compartment and two in the driver compartment, but adding more is easy.

Good point. Failure to specify every last expense using real-world numbers will likely result in unpleasant surprises. When that happens, deep pockets help.

[ddeflyer]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Total costs to run a race car at the club level can easily run $1,000 to $2,000 per day, depending upon how you're going at it (free labor - where do I find that!?!; rubber - what do you mean that just 'cause there's lots of tread left the darn things have no more stick to them, how can that be!?!).

Heh...

What do you mean "brake pads gone in two months"?
I just had that oil changed, what do you mean change it again?
Brake pedal isn't as crisp, time to get fresh fluid in the brake caliper!
Hmm, where did my tread go?
Gee, those rotors are looking spider-webby...

[philooo]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Good point. Failure to specify every last expense using real-world numbers will likely result in unpleasant surprises. When that happens, deep pockets help.

I am still gathering info on cost, and I am curious to hear what other have to sy about the cost of the cage + fire system.

I started the thread with free labor as I can do almost everything myself but when it comes to the cage and fire system, I don't want to learn about that and risk doing it wrong. So for these two items I will have to pay someone to do the build.

If anybody want to chime in with their cage build cost, please be my guest, I am budgeting a little high in these 2 safety items just to make sure I got it covered.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by dradernh

Total costs to run a race car at the club level can easily run $1,000 to $2,000 per day, depending upon how you're going at it (free labor - where do I find that!?!; rubber - what do you mean that just 'cause there's lots of tread left the darn things have no more stick to them, how can that be!?!).

I have my SpecE30 costs calculated out to be under $1000 for most weekends including fuel to get there and hotel costs. The single biggest car expense is tires which are $700 a set, and I get 3 weekends out of them. My advice is definitely to use real figures and calculate a racing budget for the year to decide what events you will be attending.

[philooo]

BTW about brakes I see the FT86 cup race in germany, organized by Toyota Gmbh racing still uses the stock brakes with cooling ducts...
So I still hope good pads and cooling will help me skip the BBK expense.

[King Tut]

Originally Posted by philooo

BTW about brakes I see the FT86 cup race in germany, organized by Toyota Gmbh racing still uses the stock brakes with cooling ducts...
So I still hope good pads and cooling will help me skip the BBK expense.

The question is whether a BBK will save you money in the long run with longer lasting rotors/pads and lower expendables costs in the future. If you only get one weekend out of a set of OEM rotors and pads, but get 4 weekends out of a set of AP Racing rings and pads, then the savings start being seen even if you don't factor in the additional performance advantage. With that being said, we race on OEM brakes in SpecE30, and with good fluid and a long lasting pad like a PFC08, we can go a whole season on the same rotors and pads, haha.

[philooo]

I had PFC pads on my previous cars, they do last forever !
I wanted them for the FRS but very pricey so I decided to get started on the carbotech XP12, we'll see