|
Tracking / Autocross / HPDE / Drifting What these cars were built for! |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
10-21-2012, 12:56 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Drives: BRZ Limited, WRB, 6 MT
Location: Saratoga, CA
Posts: 82
Thanks: 35
Thanked 7 Times in 6 Posts
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
|
Big Mistake
I participated in a local BMW Car Control Clinic yesterday in my BRZ. The last time I did any kind of event was in a 2002 MINI S, that I ended up doing quite a few mods to. Anyway, I just wanted to see what the BRZ was capable of. Wow! It was just a blast to drive and all of the instructors were really curious since it was the first BRZ that had seen in one of their clinics.
The big mistake is, I now want to try a few track events. In my area, the tracks are Thunder Hill, Infineon Raceway, and Laguna Seca. I don't want to go crazy on mods, but what would be the top 3 or 4 mods you would recommend for just light track duty? One of the instructors told me 1) brakes, 2) coil overs, 3) tires Thank you in advance for any helpful suggestions. I did a search, but it gets somewhat confusing after a while. |
10-21-2012, 01:13 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Drives: 4Runner
Location: N. Utah
Posts: 1,149
Thanks: 684
Thanked 392 Times in 252 Posts
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
Honestly, after tracking my car a few weeks ago, I think my mods list is brakes, alignment, driver, driver.
For brakes, it's just going to be a fluid change and pads. For alignment, crash bolts and some neg. camber. The rest is just more driving. Yes I'd like better tires, but while these aren't the best for performance, I think the work well for learning/practicing.
__________________
diirk
waiting on a Neptune Premium MT |
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to diirk For This Useful Post: | Brett (11-03-2012), Captain Snooze (11-02-2012), CSG Mike (10-21-2012), GoSharks (10-21-2012), hmong337 (02-14-2014), rice_classic (10-21-2012) |
10-21-2012, 03:56 PM | #3 |
Banned
Join Date: Aug 2012
Drives: VortechSC,BorlaEL,Perrin,GCRace
Location: HighHeatHighAltitudeAZ,USA
Posts: 2,254
Thanks: 458
Thanked 669 Times in 394 Posts
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
|
glad you popped your cherry
|
The Following User Says Thank You to gmookher For This Useful Post: | 20valvewynn83 (10-22-2012) |
10-21-2012, 04:20 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Drives: several
Location: norcal
Posts: 903
Thanks: 421
Thanked 286 Times in 223 Posts
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
I don't own one of these cars yet, but after reading other threads in this section I've surmised that for starters simply upgrading the brake fluid is sufficient. After that the pads and maybe rotors as well, then what @diirk said with huge emphasis on driver, driver, driver, driver. Also, you lucky duck live right at hwy 9 so you can go for a quick twisties drive whenever you want
Last edited by einzlr; 10-21-2012 at 09:57 PM. |
10-21-2012, 05:32 PM | #5 |
Overthinking it
Join Date: May 2012
Drives: BRZ in CS
Location: DC
Posts: 271
Thanks: 27
Thanked 81 Times in 48 Posts
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
The rule of thumb is to start from the ground up (literally) with plenty of seat time between. Don't change more than one thing at a time.
Seat time Tires and wheels. Alignment. Seat time Brake pads and fluid. Maybe stainless lines for track days. Seat time Suspension (may need to be coupled with tires for clearance reasons) Seat time Intake exhaust Seat time And keep going. |
10-21-2012, 05:44 PM | #6 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2011
Drives: Moped
Location: CA
Posts: 4,300
Thanks: 4,905
Thanked 2,131 Times in 1,195 Posts
Mentioned: 21 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
Quote:
1) Brake pads, fluid 2) Better tires 3) More seat time....your instructor had it right |
|
10-21-2012, 06:08 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2012
Drives: '13 BRZ / '11 Outback / '06 Tundra
Location: Durham NC
Posts: 510
Thanks: 6
Thanked 155 Times in 104 Posts
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
1) Brakes
2) Tires (anything but the stock Michelins) 3-20) Seat time Everything else is just icing on the cake. I think meth or crack might be a cheaper addiction. |
10-21-2012, 09:32 PM | #8 |
#TrackAddicts
Join Date: Dec 2011
Drives: The Dipped Car
Location: Augusta, GA
Posts: 203
Thanks: 72
Thanked 70 Times in 36 Posts
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
pads and fluid are plenty for a few track days. once you get comfortable then suspension, then tires. the stock tires will give you alot if you treat them well and take what they give you. the tires have more grip than ppl are giving them credit for. and learning how to drive at the edge of slip makes you a better driver faster than changes your tires will.
__________________
Racecomp Engineering / FT-86 Speedfactory / Essex / Counterspace Garage / Topspeed Motorsports / Forged Performance
Chadbee Photography / Passion Moves Photography |
10-21-2012, 09:55 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Drives: several
Location: norcal
Posts: 903
Thanks: 421
Thanked 286 Times in 223 Posts
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
|
10-21-2012, 11:43 PM | #10 |
Join Date: Jul 2012
Drives: 2013 BRZ, 2020 KTM Super Duke 1290R
Location: Denver
Posts: 1,788
Thanks: 714
Thanked 1,141 Times in 624 Posts
Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
|
I'd avoid really grippy tires until you can consistently push the OEM tires to the point that you need to upgrade. A second wheelset with really durable tires (similar to OEM) might be a great idea. Keep these as your track wheels and upgrade to stickier tires as they wear out and as you progress your skill. Same with suspension, hold off for a bit, sticky tires really shine when you have the proper suspension to use them.
Brakes are a great first step (pads and fluid) since they're a major safety item and will help you with consistent brake feel after many laps. Do this upgrade first above all else. Hawk and Ferodo make great pads, there's a lot more out there to choose from. Ferodo DS2500's and Motul RBF600 fluid are at the top of my to-do list this winter. |
10-22-2012, 12:06 AM | #11 | |
Join Date: Aug 2012
Drives: S2000 CR
Location: California
Posts: 2,109
Thanks: 537
Thanked 1,721 Times in 956 Posts
Mentioned: 173 Post(s)
Tagged: 3 Thread(s)
|
Quote:
17x8 RPF1s with 215/45/17 Dunlop Z1 Star Specs Crash bolts maxed out camber and 0 toe all around Carbotech XP10/XP8 brake pads Ferodo racing brake fluid Our recommendation is to run crash bolts, brake fluid (Ferodo, RBF600/660, PMU, Super ATE), and brake pads (PMU HC+800, PMU CR/999/777, Carbotech XP8 or XP10). We do not recommend an aggressive street pads such as Hawk HP+, PMU B-Force, or Carbotech AX6, etc if you decide to go full out tracking often. You're going to run into brake fading issues much more often than not and that's going to make for some really sad track days. The OEM Michelins are constantly misunderstood to be crappy tires from the factory. Although they yield excellent gas mileage, they also have pretty good grip for what they are. The very large large LARGE downside is that they can't take heat very well, hence, jumping into the EHP tire will solve that issue. To give you an idea how bad they take heat, we chunked the tires after the first couple of laps at Streets of Willow with proper warmup. SOW is pretty abusive on tire grip and brakes to begin with. Don't jump into any coilover setup until you figure out the limits of the OEM setup. CSG is constantly refining the factory car with very basic mods (tires, brakes, fluid) in order to show you that the BRZ/FRS is designed to be very capable at the track. |
|
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to CSG David For This Useful Post: |
10-22-2012, 12:24 AM | #12 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Drives: several
Location: norcal
Posts: 903
Thanks: 421
Thanked 286 Times in 223 Posts
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
Quote:
__________________
Asphalt FR-S MT (future)
'05 Hyundai Accent; '01 BMW M Coupe; '01 BMW M Roadster (for sale); '99 BMW Z3 Coupe 2.8l (for sale) "Simplicate and add lightness." - Gordon Hooton |
|
10-22-2012, 12:53 AM | #13 |
Drift Specialist
Join Date: Oct 2012
Drives: 180SX,GT86
Location: JDM ONLY
Posts: 1,041
Thanks: 237
Thanked 475 Times in 276 Posts
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
|
Driver tires driver repeat
|
10-22-2012, 02:14 AM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2012
Drives: 2013 BRZ Limited SWP
Location: Seattle
Posts: 204
Thanks: 53
Thanked 53 Times in 31 Posts
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
|
Well, now that you've caught a very dangerous bug, don't get too caught up in another one- making your car faster than you!
I agree with a lot of the posts here- and speaking from experience, the greatest limitation if you're just starting out will be you, not the car. Save money on modifying your car to go faster (faster does not always equal 'funner') and spend it on driving instruction and track time. You're lucky you have some great tracks nearby with some good schools. Take advantage of them. I would suggest changing out the brake pads and fluid though. In Motor Trend's best driving cars contest which was at Laguna Seca, they mentioned the BRZ could use better brakes. Good luck and have fun!!!
__________________
Past Subarus: 08 STI, 05 Legacy GT, 98 Legacy L wagon, 97 SVX LSi
Daily Driver: 2013 Acura MDX |
|
|
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Interesting story - dealership pays big for mistake | Sirnice | Other Vehicles & General Automotive Discussions | 17 | 10-07-2012 11:03 AM |
Awful, terrible mistake... | ShinyBRZ | Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 GT86 General Forum | 45 | 08-21-2012 11:35 AM |
Was ordering whiteout a mistake? | Liquidsnake | Scion FR-S / Toyota 86 GT86 General Forum | 63 | 04-29-2012 10:13 AM |
I think Toyota/Scion is making a BIG mistake with the FR-S' suspension tuning | Impey Barbicane | Suspension | Chassis | Brakes -- Sponsored by 949 Racing | 126 | 03-27-2012 12:34 PM |