Bringing the BRZ to a track in or around north Jersey - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

Jbrz14 · 06-27-2015, 12:02 PM

Just over two weeks into ownership, already feeling the itch.

I am moving to NJ shortly, and I am having trouble getting a clear picture of the laws in the area.

What changes, if any, are needed to be made to the stock BRZ in order to be legally allowed on the track?
What changes, if any, are needed to be made to the stock BRZ in order to have a better experience on the track?
What licenses or classes are required?
What location is your favorite? I will be in North Jersey, so closer to places in CT and NY than South Jersey.

In Massachusetts I thought I needed to take an expensive class and get a license in order to be allowed to attend track days, is it different in NJ? I found "Progressive Paced Laps: Beginner" at the New Jersey Motorsports Park on their track days. Is it as simple as signing up and learning through these courses?

Any guidance on how to get into this hobby would be excellent.

TM · 06-27-2015, 12:59 PM

If you do HPDE, you don't need any special licenses. I've brought my bone stock BRZ to NJMP. If you've never been to the tracks, I would go at least once while stock just to get a feel of how your car performs before adding mods.

Here's a good article on how to prepare for a track day: https://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/preparing.html

This site has plenty of other good articles and HDPE schedules, too.

I've only been once, so maybe more experienced drivers will add more/better info.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Xero-Limit · 06-27-2015, 09:06 PM

Go to motorsportsreg.com and look for events there within your radius. Lime Rock, NJMP, Palmer (new) are some of your close tracks. NJMP lightning is a great learner track because you have a ton of runoff. LRP is great too in that respect. Start off with the beginner group, Mike@AZP installs (search AZP track events) has great events set up at NJMP which always have plenty of instructors. He can get your hardware up to snuff as well and is close to you.

In regards to setup, ensure you have fresh fluids (oil and brakes in particular), good tires and brake pads, and you're all set to hit the track. Once you work your way up to the ladder you can consider the other pieces of equipment.

From a reliability standpoint, once you start routinely driving at 10/10ths, then it is time to do an oil cooler, seat/harness, and a big brake kit (stoptech works great). But otherwise it sounds like you just need to hit the track and see what it is all about. Only when you get your feet wet will you then start to learn the limitations and modify accordingly. Power should always the the LAST thing you modify (and we say that being mainly a vendor of power mods!) Even a stock BRZ will turn much quicker lap times with a good suspension/tire/brake package than any of the power bolt-ons.

AZP Installs · 06-29-2015, 07:48 AM

Welcome to NJ!

We have been track driving and instructing and road racing for close to 14 years here in the tristate with most of that time in subies. Currently we are completing a build of our Spec86 Cup wheel to wheel race car and have extensively tracked our Project BRZ as well.

NASA Northeast http://NASANE.com runs probably the safest and most learning experience track days in the area and you can progress up from from HPDE to Time Trials and eventually road racing if you want.

AZP Track Day http://AZPTrackEvents.com is run by us and is a smaller group on track so more track time but our annual day is usually a weekday.

As Mikey said, heat is going to be our enemy as we've extensively tested our Project BRZ at track days and found that engine oil temps are the main weak point. Luckily there are lots of solutions out there to fix them.

Depending on your experience level on track you will likely want to start with the following mods:

Rims/Tires- stock tires are terrible on track
Brakes- Flush the fluid and get a set of Hawk HPS or HP+ Pads
P3 Vent Gauge- this will let you keep an eye on your oil temps and will be an invaluable tool (it also has a bunch of other gauges in it as well)

After you've done a few track events and start moving up the ladder you'll start to know what you need in terms of cooling, and other bits for the car.

AZP is at every single NASA Northeast Event and can help guide you along the way since we've been there and done it many times over. Depending on where in NJ you are we can also help you prep the car for the events.

Shoot me an e-mail to paisan@azpinstalls.com or our sales@azpinstalls.com account and we can help get you going.

-mike

AZP Installs · 06-29-2015, 07:53 AM

Jbrz14 · 06-29-2015, 03:16 PM

Thank you for the detailed responses AZP Installs and moto-mike, @TM as well. I'll be going over all of these links. It looks like I will need a NJ liscense and plate so I will start that process sooner than expected. I will likely be signing up for a beginner HPDE slot and getting out there learning to drive before diving deeper into suggested mods. The best improvements I can make right now is my own learning/driving.

I'm moving around august 1 so once everything settles I'm hoping to go out a couple times before the season this year ends. I'm seeing most of the last dates in September.

Thanks for the help offer as well AZP Installs. As tempted as I am to dive into all this now I might reach out once I'm done with the move busyness.

AZP Installs · 06-30-2015, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbrz14

Thank you for the detailed responses AZP Installs and moto-mike, @TM as well. I'll be going over all of these links. It looks like I will need a NJ liscense and plate so I will start that process sooner than expected. I will likely be signing up for a beginner HPDE slot and getting out there learning to drive before diving deeper into suggested mods. The best improvements I can make right now is my own learning/driving.

I'm moving around august 1 so once everything settles I'm hoping to go out a couple times before the season this year ends. I'm seeing most of the last dates in September.

Thanks for the help offer as well AZP Installs. As tempted as I am to dive into all this now I might reach out once I'm done with the move busyness.

For the track you don't really need any plates or a NJ license (just a valid lisc from some state) although it would be hard to drive to car to the track without any plates.

Definitely take your time and ease into it all. No need to go crazy upgrading all at once.

Where in NJ are you moving to?

-mike

Jbrz14 · 06-30-2015, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AZP Installs

Where in NJ are you moving to?

North Jersey, around Paramus probably.

AZP Installs · 07-01-2015, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbrz14

North Jersey, around Paramus probably.

Not bad, a short trip down the GSP to us once you are here.

Definitely come by to hang when you are settled in.

-mike

Rafi@RR-racing · 08-02-2015, 05:08 PM

There is a great opportunity to participate in a member meeting and track day at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) on September 12th!

If you guys have not noticed, please read the details on the following thread:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92013

Please register as soon as possible, if you are interested in driving with an instructor. Details are on the first post of the above thread.

Thanks!

06-27-2015, 12:02 PM	#1
Jbrz14 Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited WRB Location: NJ Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Bringing the BRZ to a track in or around north Jersey Just over two weeks into ownership, already feeling the itch. I am moving to NJ shortly, and I am having trouble getting a clear picture of the laws in the area. What changes, if any, are needed to be made to the stock BRZ in order to be legally allowed on the track? What changes, if any, are needed to be made to the stock BRZ in order to have a better experience on the track? What licenses or classes are required? What location is your favorite? I will be in North Jersey, so closer to places in CT and NY than South Jersey. In Massachusetts I thought I needed to take an expensive class and get a license in order to be allowed to attend track days, is it different in NJ? I found "Progressive Paced Laps: Beginner" at the New Jersey Motorsports Park on their track days. Is it as simple as signing up and learning through these courses? Any guidance on how to get into this hobby would be excellent.

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06-27-2015, 09:06 PM	#3
Xero-Limit Join Date: Nov 2012 Drives: JDL Turbo FRS, 335SC BRZ (ret) Location: Lehigh Valley, PA Posts: 932 Thanks: 368 Thanked 1,547 Times in 525 Posts Mentioned: 380 Post(s) Tagged: 6 Thread(s)	Go to motorsportsreg.com and look for events there within your radius. Lime Rock, NJMP, Palmer (new) are some of your close tracks. NJMP lightning is a great learner track because you have a ton of runoff. LRP is great too in that respect. Start off with the beginner group, Mike@AZP installs (search AZP track events) has great events set up at NJMP which always have plenty of instructors. He can get your hardware up to snuff as well and is close to you. In regards to setup, ensure you have fresh fluids (oil and brakes in particular), good tires and brake pads, and you're all set to hit the track. Once you work your way up to the ladder you can consider the other pieces of equipment. From a reliability standpoint, once you start routinely driving at 10/10ths, then it is time to do an oil cooler, seat/harness, and a big brake kit (stoptech works great). But otherwise it sounds like you just need to hit the track and see what it is all about. Only when you get your feet wet will you then start to learn the limitations and modify accordingly. Power should always the the LAST thing you modify (and we say that being mainly a vendor of power mods!) Even a stock BRZ will turn much quicker lap times with a good suspension/tire/brake package than any of the power bolt-ons.

06-29-2015, 07:48 AM	#4
AZP Installs Join Date: Oct 2011 Drives: '11 STi->'14 BRZ \| '14 Touareg TDi Location: Kenilworth, NJ Posts: 1,269 Thanks: 359 Thanked 557 Times in 371 Posts Mentioned: 49 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Welcome to NJ! We have been track driving and instructing and road racing for close to 14 years here in the tristate with most of that time in subies. Currently we are completing a build of our Spec86 Cup wheel to wheel race car and have extensively tracked our Project BRZ as well. NASA Northeast http://NASANE.com runs probably the safest and most learning experience track days in the area and you can progress up from from HPDE to Time Trials and eventually road racing if you want. AZP Track Day http://AZPTrackEvents.com is run by us and is a smaller group on track so more track time but our annual day is usually a weekday. As Mikey said, heat is going to be our enemy as we've extensively tested our Project BRZ at track days and found that engine oil temps are the main weak point. Luckily there are lots of solutions out there to fix them. Depending on your experience level on track you will likely want to start with the following mods: Rims/Tires- stock tires are terrible on track Brakes- Flush the fluid and get a set of Hawk HPS or HP+ Pads P3 Vent Gauge- this will let you keep an eye on your oil temps and will be an invaluable tool (it also has a bunch of other gauges in it as well) After you've done a few track events and start moving up the ladder you'll start to know what you need in terms of cooling, and other bits for the car. AZP is at every single NASA Northeast Event and can help guide you along the way since we've been there and done it many times over. Depending on where in NJ you are we can also help you prep the car for the events. Shoot me an e-mail to paisan@azpinstalls.com or our sales@azpinstalls.com account and we can help get you going. -mike

06-29-2015, 07:53 AM	#5
AZP Installs Join Date: Oct 2011 Drives: '11 STi->'14 BRZ \| '14 Touareg TDi Location: Kenilworth, NJ Posts: 1,269 Thanks: 359 Thanked 557 Times in 371 Posts Mentioned: 49 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)

06-29-2015, 03:16 PM	#6
Jbrz14 Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited WRB Location: NJ Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Thank you for the detailed responses AZP Installs and moto-mike, @TM as well. I'll be going over all of these links. It looks like I will need a NJ liscense and plate so I will start that process sooner than expected. I will likely be signing up for a beginner HPDE slot and getting out there learning to drive before diving deeper into suggested mods. The best improvements I can make right now is my own learning/driving. I'm moving around august 1 so once everything settles I'm hoping to go out a couple times before the season this year ends. I'm seeing most of the last dates in September. Thanks for the help offer as well AZP Installs. As tempted as I am to dive into all this now I might reach out once I'm done with the move busyness.

08-02-2015, 05:08 PM	#10
Rafi@RR-racing Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Drives: Toyota GT86 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 133 Thanks: 3 Thanked 181 Times in 79 Posts Mentioned: 5 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	There is a great opportunity to participate in a member meeting and track day at the New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) on September 12th! If you guys have not noticed, please read the details on the following thread: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92013 Please register as soon as possible, if you are interested in driving with an instructor. Details are on the first post of the above thread. Thanks!

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