Going to track with stock setup good or bad idea?

[evasquez7]

I'm thinking to at least upgrade brake pads, brake lines, and tires before I go to a track but wanted some opinions running on a stock setup. Good idea or bad?

[CSG David]

You have the right idea evasquez7! Safety first!

Good brake pads (Carbotech XP10 front / XP8 rear for safety) and brake fluid (RBF600 is good enough).

Changing to a street tire to Dunlop Z1SS, Hankook RS3, etc. will make the driving experience much better. I also recommend getting the crash bolts to get more camber in the front tires. The tire tread will start chunking if you don't have enough camber. Make sure the toe is zero'd out after the crash bolt install.

Running synthetic oil in the differential and transmission will prevent fluid from breaking down and potentially cause issues in the long run. Transmission oil will break down on factory fill making it a little more difficult to shift into the correct gate on track. Running a solid synthetic fluid in the engine is a great idea because the engine runs extremely hot. The CSG car runs Motul in the engine, differential, and transmission.

Happy tracking!

[Grimlock]

One track session on a bone-stock car won't hurt anything if you're not trying to be Pobst. Car magazines take bone-stock cars to the track all the time, but then again they are more experienced at it.

But, as you know, tracking a car is going to put a lot of stress on parts, so if you can upgrade things before you go, that would be best.

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by evasquez7

I'm thinking to at least upgrade brake pads, brake lines, and tires before I go to a track but wanted some opinions running on a stock setup. Good idea or bad?

There's nothing wrong with it. Personally, I'd recommend doing a solid track day and really push the car in stock form just to get an idea of the dynamics of the car as it is. It's not as if the car wasn't meant to handle it. Also, you won't really appreciate (or notice) the real benefits of any upgrades if you don't know where the car started, plus you might as well get your money's worth out of the stock parts rather than just tossing them aside or selling them online for cheap.

[Turbowned]

I agree with DeeezNuuuts83. You should definitely take it stock to attain a baseline for performance and then judge what you should do for the next session. Obviously the tires and brakes are going to be a limiting factor, but you won't be able to appreciate the improvement if you don't start off bone stock.

[CSG David]

In another thread under the Tracking subsection, a few of us came to an agreement that if you're just out there to tinker around a track to familiarize yourself with that environment, stock tires should do just fine, but upgrading brake fluid should always be done first. Generally this will work very well for beginners who are looking to gain some experience in a car's natural playground.

"Stock car on the road course" Thread

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

I agree with DeeezNuuuts83. You should definitely take it stock to attain a baseline for performance and then judge what you should do for the next session. Obviously the tires and brakes are going to be a limiting factor, but you won't be able to appreciate the improvement if you don't start off bone stock.

Absolutely. To build on that, when I first bought my Evo IX years ago, I immediately wanted to do this-and-that to it... springs, TBE, tune, etc. Thankfully I ended up being between jobs shortly afterward and had to watch my spending, and that ended up being the best thing I could've done, since I pretty much learned a lot more about pushing the car (and myself) rather than just blowing money on some other stuff to go faster while not really improving my skills behind the wheel. In addition, I don't really do competitive driving, so most power upgrades won't really do much for me other than register on the butt dyno. I just want to be happy behind the wheel.

Regarding tires and brakes, luckily those are wear-and-tear items that you'll eventually have to replace, and you can definitely experiment with other tires at that time and see what a difference it makes, and it will be more drastic for an FR-S/BRZ than it was for me (since the factory tires are pretty sticky to begin with). But again, unless you're competing (or have a few hundred bucks laying around that you want to burn), you might as well just use up the tires then move onto a stickier tire when the time is right. Or at least that's what I'd do, if I were in that situation.

[dsgerbc]

Take it to autox in stock form first and push it. If you don't spin - go to track stock. If you spin during autox, I'd keep going to autox before you stop spinning out. All on stock tires.
Stickier rubber will only make you spin at a higher speed.

[CSG David]

Also if you guys are in California, we can always get together on the track. Let me know when you go and I can ride shotgun to help you find your way around the track. You can hop into my car for a ride-along and find out why brake fluid, brake pads, tires, a good alignment, and good fluids are necessary items to keep the track fun factor at a high level.

[RebornS14]

i was going to reply until i read "turbowned" who pretty much said what i was going to say.

[Turbowned]

When you feel comfortable and consistent turning lap times with a stock car, you already know you can shave your lap times with tires like Z1 Star Specs or Hoosiers, whatever is your poison. If you throw parts on a car before you feel consistent with one setup, you won't know if the improvement is caused by the driver or the parts.

Unlike me, who's thrown parts at his car for years without testing them...

Do as I say, not as I do!

[DeeezNuuuts83]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

When you feel comfortable and consistent turning lap times with a stock car, you already know you can shave your lap times with tires like Z1 Star Specs or Hoosiers, whatever is your poison. If you throw parts on a car before you feel consistent with one setup, you won't know if the improvement is caused by the driver or the parts.

Z1s are awesome, but having used them, it would be a HUGE jump from the stock tires (based on what I know about them) since they're at two different extremes of the tire spectrum. Personally I don't think it would be necessary unless you're actually going to the track. There are plenty of other tires that are a bit less expensive, will last longer and would still be far better than the stock tires for DD duty and even a bit of autox or something. I think Hankook V112 Evos would still definitely enhance the handling of the car while not costing as much as the Z1s while lasting a bit longer. Also, they're more comfortable for DDing, which is something that people don't always take into account when upgrading to Z1s, which have REALLY stiff sidewalls.