Track driving typically involves high speeds, heavy braking, hard cornering and a lot more heat than street driving. Most cars, including the 86/BRZ/FR-S, are not ready to be driven on track when they roll off the factory, so it's a good idea to do some extra preparation before going to your first track day.
Here's a list that I personally used to prepare a brand new GR86 owned by an intermediate driver (~30 track days) for the car's first track day:
This section lists things that I think are absolutely necessary for tracking your 86/BRZ/FR-S, unless you plan to drive 50 mph the whole day.
- Change the brake fluid
- The factory brake fluid can boil under heavy use, which at best will mean you need to end the track day and early limp home and at worst you crash into a wall. Not fun either way!
- Get a high-temperature DOT 4 fluid.
- I personally used ATE Typ 200 (a.k.a. Super Gold), but other commonly used ones are Castrol SRF and Motul RBF660.
- If you don't know how to replace the brake fluid, pay a professional shop to do it for you. It's a safety-critical job with a few things you can mess up, and fixing some of those things can be tricky (e.g. bubbles in the ABS module).
- The performance characteristics of brake fluids degrade as the fluid absorbs moisture. High temperature brake fluids typically absorb moisture much faster than regular "street" fluids, and thus require more frequent changes. Note that the absorbtion happens even if the car is rarely driven, so this factor depends on time, not just usage! Some manufacturers recommend changing their brake fluids every 12 months, or even every 6 months.
- Some fluids degrade faster under heavy use, and may require changes each two or three track days.
- Brake pads
- Factory brake pads are not designed for high temperatures either, even the ones that come in the Performance Package. Ask me how I know...
- For God's sake, don't listen to Miata people who say you can use Hawk HPS/HP+. Miatas are ligher and slower. "Oh no what has happened to my brake rotors" and "why did the brake pad fall apart" complaints pop up ~weekly in track-oriented Facebook groups.
- A good pad to start with is Ferodo DS2500, albeit it has rusty brake dust. Other than the dust, it is ok for street driving. Most beginners go fast enough to start overheating DS2500 in just a few track days, so it's only good for beginners.
- The only pad that I know that is good for street driving and performs reasonably well for light track days is CSG CP. It's pricey but lasts a long time. That being said, some people reported issues overheating these pads.
- If you're sure that you're going to do more than 5 track days, invest into a set of dedicated track pads. They will last a long time and minimize the risk of rotor-related issues. Put the track pads in before the track day, put the OEM pads in after the track day and you're good. Replacing brake pads is one of the easiest things to learn to do on your car.
- Which brake pads to pick is a topic of endless debates on forums. Commonly
recommended budget-friendly options include:
- PowerStop Track Day Spec
- Carbotech XP10, XP12
- G-LOC R10, R12
- Please do your research on the forums/etc. about these pads before buying.
- When replacing the pads, spend a few more minutes to take off the front rotors and remove the dust shields behind the rotors, as they limit the airflow that's important for cooling. Put the dust shield back for winter if you live in a place with snow, salt, etc.
- Engine oil
- Which oil brand and viscosity to pick is a topic of endless holy wars on forums, Facebook groups, etc. I'm going to share what I think, it's up to you to follow it or vocally disagree.
- The OEM oil is 0w-20 is too "thin" at high temperatures, not providing enough oil pressure to reliably lubricate the critical components of the engine.
- The JDM owners manual recommends 5w-30 for "heavy use".
- I personally use either Mobil 1 5w-30 or Castrol 0w-30.
- Some recommend thicker oils, such as 0w-40.
- Tow hook
- Many track organizations require two tow hooks, but the car only comes with one.
- Just buy a second one, you might be able to find a used one for very cheap.
- If you want to buy a nicer aftermarket tow hook, make sure it's actually designed for towing rather than just for the looks. Bizarrely, the instructions for the Perrin tow hook says something like "only designed for a slow straight pull" -- good luck telling something like that to the tow truck driver!
This section includes things that are strongly recommended for the longevity of the car/components/consumables, but aren't strictily required.
- Oil cooler
- Once again, a topic of endless debates on forums, etc.
- The majority opinion is that these cars don't like oil temperatures over ~250ºF due to oil thinning causing low oil pressures.
- For gen2 cars (FA24D with a water/oil heat exchanger), there is an opinion that thicker oil + occasional cooldown laps is sufficient. For a complete beginner, another factor that can help is short-shifting at say 6000 rpm.
- For gen1 cars (FA20D), I personally saw ~290ºF oil temperature on my first track day, not going that fast.
- Jackson Racing is a commonly recommended option, although their customers reported issues with oil lines rubbing against various parts of the car over time -- need periodic inspection/replacement.
- Alignment
- These cars come with only ~-0.5º of front camber. Even beginners notice excessive wear on the outside edge of the tires after track driving.
- There are multiple ways to gain more negative camber in the front.
- A cost-effective way to get ~-2.5º of front camber is Pedders camber plates and SPC 81305 camber bolts. Make sure to tighten the camber bolts with the weight of the car on the suspension to maximize camber.
- If staying in the SCCA DS class is important, you can only use OEM "crash bolts" to add front camber. Unfortunately, that doesn't provide enough camber to optimize tire wear and is bad for the longevity of the tires.
- If the camber is not limited by any regulations for you, aim for -3.3º front
and -2.5º rear camber as a starting point.
- You'll need adjustable rear upper or lower control arms to be able to achieve that rear camber. Please do your own research on the pros and cons of RUCA vs RLCA.
- The stock toe arms should be sufficient for -2.5º rear camber.
- You will need to get the toe re-aligned after installing camber bolts to get it just right, but small changes in camber don't have a very strong impact on toe.
- A good starting point is 0 toe in the front and 0.07º of toe per side in the rear.
- Tires
- Stock Michelin Primacy HP are surprisingly decent as a track tire for a beginner. They squeal a lot near the limit, providing good audio feedback, and have a fairly predictable breakaway past the limit. They can survive 5+ track days.
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4 don't seem to last as long.
- A commonly recommended beginner tire is GT Radial SX2. Similar to Primacy HP, but lasts much longer and costs less.
- Cusco throttle pedal cover [for manual cars only]
- Makes heel-toe'ing much easier.
- Gearbox fluid
- The factory one is fine for 5-10 beginner pace track days.
- For longer/heavier use, a common recommendation is Motul Gear 300.
- I personally hated Gear 300 and use Red Line MT-90 instead.
- Differential fluid
- Same concern as the gearbox fluid.
- Motul Gear 300 is also recommended for the diff.
- I personally use Motul Gear Competition 75w-140.
- Data logging
- In general, you need a device (can be a phone app) that logs data, has a GPS module, and ideally can monitor and record your inputs.
- A beginner-friendly way to start is to get a Garmin Catalyst. It makes a lot of otherwise complicated things easy and fun. The downsides are that it's expensive, doesn't provide you with ways to review your inputs, and doesn't have data sharing/comparison options...
- A cost-effective way to start is to get a 10+ Hz GPS module and record your
driving with RaceChrono (an app for iPhone and Android).
- This will give you a lot more insight into your driving over time.
- It allows sharing data, so that more experienced people can review your data and give you advice even without riding in your car. Similarly, you can ask others to share their data with you and see what they do better.
- RaceBox Mini is a great 25 Hz GPS with very good accuracy.
- For gen1 cars, OBDLink MX+ (a simple OBD-II dongle) can log the accelerator and brake pedals, steering angle, RPM, wheel speed, oil and coolant temperatures. See further pointers here.
- For gen2 cars, you will also need something like an Ansix ASC harness to be able to get the same information using an OBDLink MX+. See further pointers here.
- Android only: you may be able to save some money by using OBDLink LX. OBDLink LX will not work with iOS!
Here are some common suggestions to consider at the track
- Even with track pads, it's recommended to cool them down for a lap or two at the end of the session, and/or drive a few circles in the paddock.
- Make sure to cool down the oil before parking the car to about 200ºF or less. Again, find a place around the paddock where you can drive in circles for a few minutes. It is recommended to keep the RPMs above 3000 (15 mph in 1st gear) to let the oil circulate and cool down the engine evenly.
- Don't use the parking brake between sessions, as it may distort the hot rear brake rotors and/or the parking brake pads can stick to the drum.
- Check oil level between sessions, make sure it's at max (or higher -- some actually prefer overfilling by 0.5-1L).
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