Autocrossed FR-S at Scion FR-S First Drive Event in Baltimore!

[dori.]

Originally Posted by NYC BRZ

What size wheels and tires were fitted? I'm most interested in front fitment.

agreed. I'm sure most of the future Zx6 owners' first upgrade is going to be wheels/tires.

wheels size, tire size, offset

[JDMrolla]

which color looked best....White or black? i feel like black looks great in the pics and is the best looking all around, but worried about the maintenance. Looks like im getting white, but im afraid it wont give off an aggressive sporty look. any input since you've seen both?

[buzznasa]

Originally Posted by sportsguy83

How can I know when will the next event happens? Anyone know if one will happen in FL?

I've have been looking feverishly for this as well for the Central Florida area.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Ack, bummed I missed it but something came up. Nice pictures guys!

- drew

[sastexan]

Originally Posted by Lighting Red

LOVE the way the TRD exhaust sounds! It lends the car a deeper, fuller sound vs. the stock flatter and more appliance-like tone. Pardon my ignorance, but is the TRD exhaust axle-back or cat.-back?

Cat back according to the rep there. It is a TRD prototype that he said he believed was essentially production ready but Toyota hasn't confirmed.

I haven't weighed in on my drive there - had my parents in town this weekend and no computer time - I'll try to get online tonight and post my videos / photos (if they are worth it - haven't looked at or watched them).

[jackoskate]

Originally Posted by JDMrolla

which color looked best....White or black? i feel like black looks great in the pics and is the best looking all around, but worried about the maintenance. Looks like im getting white, but im afraid it wont give off an aggressive sporty look. any input since you've seen both?

Both colors looked amazing in person. The black, like all black cars was showing lots of finger prints and pollen. My girl friend was in love with the white one (which is strange cause she has always hated white cars). I guess it all depends on how much you feel like cleaning your car.

[Kage]

Glad to see other people went to this! Car was absolutely gorgous in person. I was expecting to fall in love with the white but didn't like the way the white looked when it was dirty. Black looked real good (don't know if I could bring my self to buy another black car).

Yeah after two short laps during the event I'm 100% sold on the car (still not sure between frs and brz). Handling was great. Even the automatic was fun to drive... and I HATE driving automatics. So good infact I'm seriously considering it for when I eventually get the car. TRD exhaust sounded great.

My only dislike is the headunit...I brought a usb stick with music to test it out, and it worked well, but it's just annoying to use. I'll definitely be switching it out with an aftermarket unit.

[ayilar]

Originally Posted by Kage

Car was absolutely gorgous in person. I was expecting to fall in love with the white but didn't like the way the white looked when it was dirty.

Same feeling. White looked more like pearl than white. I know that is the idea, but it's not my cup of tea.

Originally Posted by Kage

Handling was great. Even the automatic was fun to drive.

Agreed. I have ordered a 6MT, but I must say that the auto was impressive.

[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by Kage

My only dislike is the nav unit

??? FR-S has no nav unit. Bespoke isn't a nav.

[sastexan]

Originally Posted by subaruferrucci

there is my second run and my girlfriend going for a slow stroll

She did better than my mom did in the same session...

[Kage]

Originally Posted by Scion FR-S

??? FR-S has no nav unit. Bespoke isn't a nav.

sorry sorry I meant head unit, I have a nav in my car so I'm use to referring to it as such.

[speedrye]

Originally Posted by MmmHamSandwich

Would have been nice if they had used a layout similar to what the D.C. SCCA region uses. Putting a freaking narrow lane of cones with one every 6 feet is a joke. Especially at an event where people are supposed to get a feel for the car. A course like that clearly says to the participants we don't want you to explore what the car can do.

Haha, this is actually completely wrong for those who have autocrossed a lot, but 100% accurate for the general public.

The gates were very narrow and in a Mustang, you would've been threading a needle and hitting lots of cones, but this is why the FR-S shined so brightly to me. The first run I only took at 70% to get a feel for the car and the course, but it was so controlled, I wrung that FR-S out at a full 100% on the second run. The first run I hit a few cones as I learned where the corners of the car were, but the second was run wide open with a clean run still. Rev limiter and traction control were working hard for me (which is an odd phrase since I feel they usually work against me) but I came away with much more appreciation for the car and it's dead-on accuracy. I can think of very very few cars that could've navigated that tight course that quickly while still being a clean run (and let me tell you, a clean run with that many cones is hard to do, any misstep and there's a cone there, unlike a standard SCCA track setup).

I'm sure the tight course didn't help the average Joe/Jane though since it was probably intimidating (though you certainly couldn't get lost).

End result, I've determined this car is designed to dominate some autocrossing classes and with a good driver, it'll easily do so. It reminds me the most of the FD RX-7 twin turbo, just with less power and less body roll.

[MmmHamSandwich]

Originally Posted by speedrye

Haha, this is actually completely wrong for those who have autocrossed a lot, but 100% accurate for the general public.

The gates were very narrow and in a Mustang, you would've been threading a needle and hitting lots of cones, but this is why the FR-S shined so brightly to me. The first run I only took at 70% to get a feel for the car and the course, but it was so controlled, I wrung that FR-S out at a full 100% on the second run. The first run I hit a few cones as I learned where the corners of the car were, but the second was run wide open with a clean run still. Rev limiter and traction control were working hard for me (which is an odd phrase since I feel they usually work against me) but I came away with much more appreciation for the car and it's dead-on accuracy. I can think of very very few cars that could've navigated that tight course that quickly while still being a clean run (and let me tell you, a clean run with that many cones is hard to do, any misstep and there's a cone there, unlike a standard SCCA track setup).

I'm sure the tight course didn't help the average Joe/Jane though since it was probably intimidating (though you certainly couldn't get lost).

End result, I've determined this car is designed to dominate some autocrossing classes and with a good driver, it'll easily do so. It reminds me the most of the FD RX-7 twin turbo, just with less power and less body roll.

Haha omg ur so wrong lawl duh SCCA autocrossers hav gno ideya wut dey r doing oloolololl!!1111

Nice try. Too bad we're not already in the same SCCA region, I'd love to see your take on an actual autocross track where every aspect of your line isn't pre-dictated to you by a manufacturer. Are you sure you are someone "who has autocrossed a lot"? The guys I know, including national champions, would laugh at a course setup like this, even if only one model of car was competing. The only time you should see that many cones is the exit towards the pits.

Also I generally wouldn't gloat over how much skill it takes to avoid cones and stay in the lines when I freely admit I left the drivers assists on.

But hey I'm not the only autocrosser who has that opinion...

Originally Posted by Kostamojen

You can always tell when the manufacturer sets up an auto-x type test track like this...

They use WAY too many cones!

Originally Posted by subaruferrucci

I have been doing this for 6 years and I was haveing a hard time being able to look a head because of TOOO many cones

[speedrye]

My point is that very few cars on the road can navigate a course this tightly designed this well. Minimum gate widths, not here for sure. This course was so far from anything SCCA would approve, it's not even a fair comparison and I certainly agree that it was a joke in that regards.

As far as driver's nannies, they are on and you can't defeat them at these events, but they are very subtle, which is a positive. Would I ever autocross my own car with them on? Heck no. Would I even register at a sanctioned event that had a course set up like this? Again, heck no, and I'd file some complaints to the sanctioning bodies since it wasn't even close to a real course.

The course is set up by Yokohama guys, not the manufacturer, but you're right, I'm sure it's designed to show off their average summer tires that they'd installed on the cars...

The end result remains the same to me. The car did well in an enviroment where very few would. I didn't care for the course, the nannies or the lack of a manual transmission, but the car was easy to get into and drive fast. It was precise with nicely weighted feedback and will do very well in actual autocross events where the driver has more say in the line they take around the course.