Cheap daily to track car build

[tjones4478]

Hey everyone! I'm new here and just wanted to share my build after nearly 5 years of ownership and 50,000 miles of smiles. I bought my 2013 10 series M/T with 155k miles in February of 2021 for $5,500 with a clean title (1 accident with a deer). The car was bone stock on cheap tires with a HOWLING LR wheel bearing. Other than those "issues", I couldn't figure out why the previous owner sold it so cheap (roughly $4,000 under market value at the time) and was just waiting to find what I missed. Luckily it seems that the previous owner just wanted to sell it quickly and move on.

On to the build.... I drove the car stock for about 3 years before I started to modify / track it. First mods were stainless brake lines, DOT 4 fluid EBC yellowstuff pads (more on those later), some used 200tw tires and all new fluids throughout leading up to the first track day at PittRace. I was hooked after the first session.

The next round of mods included Tein Flex A coilovers, Tein front sway bar links, Megan Racing rear lower control arms, a new set of 225/45/17 Falken 615k+ on stock wrx wheels, megan racing extended wheel studs and Hawk DTC60 pads as the EBC Yellowstuff's were causing brake fade during my first track day. I had it aligned to the following specs - 0.00 Toe front and rear, -3 degrees camber front and -2.5 degrees camber in the rear. This round of mods was by far the most transformative.

At the beginning of the next track season I added the following - Cadillac ATS 4 piston front caliper swap with GLOC pads and Centric rotors, grassroots motorsports oil cooler, 17x9 apex ARC8 +42, and steering rack bushings.

This brings us to current day and sort of a crossroads in my driving career. My local track (PittRace) is slated to close at the end of the year so now instead of driving 10 mins to the track, I will have to tow the car at least 2.5 hours to Mid Ohio or even further to Watkins Glen, Summit point, Etc. This tragedy has led to one of my good friends parting out his FR-S and I ended up with a few of the parts off of his build including both Whiteline sway bars, a TRD exhaust, Perrin intake tube, brake master cylinder brace, jackson racing oil cooler and a few other goodies. Winter has fully set in here in Pittsburgh so I haven't had a chance to drive the car with this round of mods yet...

I'm currently sitting at 204k miles with no issues to report. During my ownership I have only had to replace the LR wheel bearing, idler pulley passenger seat belt buckle, a million key fob batteries and outer tie rods. The engine appears to be original and doesn't use a drop of oil, even after 80 mins of track session per day. The transmission is a little clunky, especially when cold but it isn't much worse than either of my friends 86's with way fewer miles.

Have I driven with any of you at Pittrace over the last 3 years? Any Mid Ohio natives on here??

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by tjones4478

Have I driven with any of you at Pittrace over the last 3 years? Any Mid Ohio natives on here??

I'm from the Dayton area. Mid Ohio is my home track and I've been to Pitt Race twice (crashed on the second time coming out of T4). I drive to all tracks with the track wheels inside the car and swapping track pads and rotors at home before/after.

I read about Pitt Race closing, it's a shame, it's a great track.

Plenty of Twins at Mid Ohio every time I'm there. I love Mid Ohio - it's the perfect bland of track features for me. I also did Nelson Ledges (too boring, poor facilities), Pitt Race (a little too complex layout), NCM (too tight and dangerous feeling).

Originally Posted by tjones4478

The transmission is a little clunky

Might want to change the trans fluid and look into stiffer bushings and inserts for the driveline.

[tjones4478]

Originally Posted by Ohio Enthusiast

I'm from the Dayton area. Mid Ohio is my home track and I've been to Pitt Race twice (crashed on the second time coming out of T4). I drive to all tracks with the track wheels inside the car and swapping track pads and rotors at home before/after.

I read about Pitt Race closing, it's a shame, it's a great track.

Plenty of Twins at Mid Ohio every time I'm there. I love Mid Ohio - it's the perfect bland of track features for me. I also did Nelson Ledges (too boring, poor facilities), Pitt Race (a little too complex layout), NCM (too tight and dangerous feeling).



Might want to change the trans fluid and look into stiffer bushings and inserts for the driveline.

How bad was your accident coming out of T4? Fortunately I've only gone off once on T8 with no consequences.

I've never driven Nelson Ledges but did watch my buddy do a Motorcycle track day out there, I have no desire to drive there lol.

I did a drain and fill of the trans fluid about 2 year / 15k ago and only noticed a very small improvement, I've just accepted that its clunky. It doesn't cause any real issues on track or on the street.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

Originally Posted by tjones4478

How bad was your accident coming out of T4? Fortunately I've only gone off once on T8 with no consequences.

Hit front right and rear right on the Armco barrier. Bent front lower control arm, destroyed front right wheel and tire, bent rear right wheel, damaged both bumpers, front right fender and rear right quarter panel, busted right headlight and right taillight. Had to take a U-Haul truck and car trailer to get back home.

I also had a no damage off-track in T17, trying to push a little too much speed and not accounting for the brake fade I was starting to have.

[tjones4478]

[QUOTE=Ohio Enthusiast;3617661 Had to take a U-Haul truck and car trailer to get back home.[/QUOTE]

Glad you were ok and hope the car lived to see more track sessions. This is why I'm opting to trailer the car now, I've accepted the fact that its not a matter of if I put it into a wall / blow it up but when lol... It wouldn't have been a big deal to run home from PittRace to get the truck and trailer but being 2.5 hours away is a different story.

Also, if I end up doing full weekends I have a roof top tent on the truck which is a nice bonus to trailering the car.

[Mad_Mike]

Do you happen to have the part numbers for the 10 series seat belts? How bad was the install? The belts on my wife's 10 series (208k miles) barely retract at this point and I'm sure I'll have to eventually do something about it.

[cmiovino]

Oh snap. Hi there. I run... or used to run (I'm still not over the whole closing thing) at Pitt Race a ton. Mainly autocross with STC up there, but I do NHSCC and Central PA too. Oddly enough, I'm also number 35, ha.

I did the final few Track Nights in America up there. Didn't run my car officially, but did do the touring laps. I've been autocrossing 15+ years now, but being on track even at 80% - I get the whole track thing now. It closing really sucks for all of us. At least us autocrossers have some hope in finding a new location and have other locations nearby-ish, but track guys like yourself are left really screwed.

I doubt it will fully scratch the track itch, but do a few autocross events this upcoming year and see if that's your thing too. Some people don't like autox once they're doing those speeds at a track day, but some do both. It's at least some supplemental seat time locally.

I'll miss the VDA at Pitt Race. It was flat, wide open, and we could hit 3rd gear on some courses. Plus the bathrooms, BBQ truck, and the sound of the guys on track around you at an autocross... uh yeah, I'll take that vibe.

[KeishaMurch]

Originally Posted by cmiovino

Oh snap. Hi there. I run... or used to run (I'm still not over the whole closing thing) at Pitt Race a ton. Mainly autocross with STC up there, but I do NHSCC and Central PA too. Oddly enough, I'm also number 35, ha.

I did the final few Track Nights in America up there. Didn't run my car officially, but did do the touring laps. I've been autocrossing 15+ years now, but being on track even at 80% - I get the whole track thing now. It closing really sucks for all of us. At least us autocrossers have some hope in finding a new location and have other locations nearby-ish, but track guys like yourself are left really screwed.
That mod setup looks clean, especially considering how sensitive these cars can be to small changes. Fitment and tuning really make or break the experience. When stepping back from planning upgrades, I sometimes unwind with simple games like https://casinosanalyzer.com/free-slo...Legacy-of-Dead. Looks like you’re on the right track with this build.
I doubt it will fully scratch the track itch, but do a few autocross events this upcoming year and see if that's your thing too. Some people don't like autox once they're doing those speeds at a track day, but some do both. It's at least some supplemental seat time locally.

I'll miss the VDA at Pitt Race. It was flat, wide open, and we could hit 3rd gear on some courses. Plus the bathrooms, BBQ truck, and the sound of the guys on track around you at an autocross... uh yeah, I'll take that vibe.

Thanks for the info.

[tjones4478]

I still haven't accepted its closure lol... I recently put together a mid tier sim racing rig and its scratching the itch while my car is parked during winter. I've been putting in laps at Mid Ohio in iRacing in hopes that I can hit the ground running next year...

I used to do autox back in the day when I worked at BeaveRun (PittRace). I had a ton of fun doing it in my 1995 Civic SI but I think putting my FR-S on track has probably completely ruined AutoX for me. If there is a local event next year and I'm free, I may give it a shot but at this point I'm just looking forward to hot laps at Mid Ohio.