Boss's Entry Into Auto Racing

[series.trackday]

Originally Posted by TheBoss77

I imagine as a novice racer, I'll overuse the brakes and I want to make sure they will last the session. Right now the only power adders that I would be interested in are bolt-ons, and only if they make an actual difference at the track.

As a novice, actually, you're likely to underuse the brakes. Experienced drivers will be braking harder, later, and if they're carrying more speed, longer, than a novice.

If this is a dual-use street/track car, I would look at upgrading wheels and tires first, brake pads to a semi-track compound, and then moving on from there.

245s F/R on a 17x9" wheel around ET 32-40 are a popular choice, but as you get faster you'll need to look at adding camber beyond what the factory adjustments can support to avoid prematurely wearing out the outside of the tires.

The only realistic "easy" bolt-on thing you can do for low/mid-range grunt is get an equal-length, catless header and tune. Other than that, you're looking at superchargers.

[TheBoss77]

I'm starting to see the benefit of delaying the BBK. Seems like the oil cooler and AT oil cooler should be on top of the list of mods to maximize track time.

Originally Posted by series.trackday

As a novice, actually, you're likely to underuse the brakes. Experienced drivers will be braking harder, later, and if they're carrying more speed, longer, than a novice.

If this is a dual-use street/track car, I would look at upgrading wheels and tires first, brake pads to a semi-track compound, and then moving on from there.

245s F/R on a 17x9" wheel around ET 32-40 are a popular choice, but as you get faster you'll need to look at adding camber beyond what the factory adjustments can support to avoid prematurely wearing out the outside of the tires.

The only realistic "easy" bolt-on thing you can do for low/mid-range grunt is get an equal-length, catless header and tune. Other than that, you're looking at superchargers.

[TheBoss77]

Spent the week detailing the hell our of her and putting her on weight loss. I have to admit, I'm really impressed with the Toyota / Subaru engineers. Stripping most of the interior of the car resulted in weight saving of only about 100 lbs, far less than I anticipated.

Incidentally, the interior for this car is for sale if anyone is looking.

Breakdown of interior part weights below:

[TheBoss77]

First time at the track at the Grand Bend Motorplex yesterday. Ran into @Villanous_FRX who gave me some good pointers and off we went.

Went out 3 times, once on dry, once during rain and once again after the sun came up. It was one helluva first day out, ended up doing a nice 720 into the grass during the rain run, now I know what the limits are.

I love this car. Feeling very confident that this was a great choice for a lapping car.

Need to get a lap timer of some sorts for next year. Stock up on oils, tires, brakes etc over the winter months.

One thing is for certain. After yesterday, I'm absolutely hooked. This is definitely going to be an expensive hobby

[Thefalls]

Go for it!

We live only once

[series.trackday]

Originally Posted by TheBoss77

First time at the track at the Grand Bend Motorplex yesterday. Ran into @Villanous_FRX who gave me some good pointers and off we went.

Went out 3 times, once on dry, once during rain and once again after the sun came up. It was one helluva first day out, ended up doing a nice 720 into the grass during the rain run, now I know what the limits are.

I love this car. Feeling very confident that this was a great choice for a lapping car.

Need to get a lap timer of some sorts for next year. Stock up on oils, tires, brakes etc over the winter months.

One thing is for certain. After yesterday, I'm absolutely hooked. This is definitely going to be an expensive hobby

A great tool for lapping (and even video-making) is your smartphone. Pair it with the Harry's Laptimer app, a high-quality mount (like a RAM mount or similar) and a high-frequency GPS antenna and you'll get all the front-facing video, laptime, split time, section, and speed data you want.

[jflogerzi]

Originally Posted by TheBoss77

First time at the track at the Grand Bend Motorplex yesterday. Ran into @Villanous_FRX who gave me some good pointers and off we went.

Went out 3 times, once on dry, once during rain and once again after the sun came up. It was one helluva first day out, ended up doing a nice 720 into the grass during the rain run, now I know what the limits are.

I love this car. Feeling very confident that this was a great choice for a lapping car.

Need to get a lap timer of some sorts for next year. Stock up on oils, tires, brakes etc over the winter months.

One thing is for certain. After yesterday, I'm absolutely hooked. This is definitely going to be an expensive hobby

And another one hooked because of the twins.

Sent from my Pixel 5a using Tapatalk

[TheBoss77]

Full Blown Motorsports oil cooler install today. One step closer to getting this thing for extended track duty. This car is so easy to work with compared to some other projects I've worked on.

[TheBoss77]

I know that I want to shed all unnecessary weight but I still want some music and navigation for the road to the track and back. Got some basic Polk Audio speakers and mounts on the way, picked up a Sony head unit, nothing fancy, just a basic model with Android Auto. The car is completely gutted inside so audio quality won't matter much when the interior is bare metal.



Started pulling new speaker wire through the door boot since the factory amp is gone and the speakers will be driven directly by the head unit.

[TheBoss77]

Finished installing the head unit and the Polk Audio speakers. Nice to have Android Auto. The sound quality is "good enough", the interior is almost completely bare so not worth investing in good quality sound.

Added Weight:
Head unit weight: 2.27lbs
Speakers weight: 1.71lbs x2

Removed Weight:
dash speakers and tweeter: 1.47lbs

[TheBoss77]

Installed the Garmin Catalyst system today. As a complete newbie to road racing I feel like I will be able to honestly review this product, how good of a training tool is it for me...


Hooked it up to a hidden 12v accessory socket in the glove compartment that I accidentally found while pulling speaker wires.

[Espi]

nice progress how are you enjoying the new oil temps? For me it was very nice peace of mind.

[TheBoss77]

Thanks! First track day of the year is Saturday. I'll have a much better idea on temps for both Oil and Transmission after, although ambient temperature is expected to be below 12C.

Originally Posted by Espi

nice progress how are you enjoying the new oil temps? For me it was very nice peace of mind.

[TheBoss77]

First day at TMP was a success. Joined the Touge.ca group for a lapping session and had a blast.

Ambient Temp was about 54F and windy
Oil Temp maxed out at about 240F
Trans Temp maxed out at about 210F
Track Mode, Sport mode on
Transmission in "Auto", no paddle shifting yet


Set a benchmark PB of 1:34:52

Definitely lots of newbie mistakes, including gripping the steering wheel too hard, need to learn how to relax more while driving. Last few sessions tried using both feet for brake/gas. I found that the left foot needs a lot of work on controlled braking, this will take some time.

Constructive criticism and feedback greatly appreciated.