Ever since they were released from the Toyota and Subaru camps I have had an interest in the BRZ and FR-S. Whenever I ran into them at a track event I always mentioned to whoever I was with that I will own one of those cars one day. I just knew from their initial introduction that it was going to be a platform that I wanted to toy with and about 2 weeks ago I pulled the trigger on a 2015 Subaru BRZ. What ultimately lead me down the path was conversations that I had with existing owners and their experience with the cars in a track day environment.
The latest round of research specifically dealt with the quickness potential of the car at tracks like Sebring and Roebling road, the requirements to get them track prepped and the ultimate reliability of the cars on track. 2 years, 50 Track days, 12k track miles and the engine has only needed (1) coil pack and a clutch. That was the feedback from one owner that made the decision easy.
The track and racing in general is fun when it goes smoothly and is relaxed. This year of racing for IPG has been, well to be honest, pretty horrific. Nonstop issues with cars and engines has made it not fun to continue to do what we like to do. As I grow older what I want out of our track and racing endeavors has changed. It is much more fun to me to go to a HPDE event with my family and run all sessions available during the weekend only having to do tire pressures and fill the car up with gas versus being the fastest car there. Reliability and low maintenance levels are a key to what I want out of the HPDE events and even racing events that I attend.
This brought me to my most recent search. I realized that I am working with 25 year old cars in some cases with the current options at the shop. And even though we have gone through them, updated, and maintained them when it comes to a 25 year old car there is only so much that you can make bulletproof. Honda doesn't have anything in their current model lineup that got me excited but I looked at other options as well. The 2006-2008 Porsche Cayman S was on the radar but after doing the research on those the track prep and overall running costs were just going to be too much. A 2006 Lotus Elise popped up for sale locally and I considered that for a bit but again the ultimate potential maintenance costs turned me away. No matter what idea's I came up with the logical choice always came back to the BRZ platform. I could buy one brand new with a warranty. The aftermarket support is huge. And by their basic design they can be a fun track day car.
Enter the IPG 2015 Subaru BRZ. It goes hand in hand with what we already do. We can supply the full gamut of parts for it to any potential customers and it should be a heck of a lot of fun to have around. The initial goal is to prep it for reliability and basic quickness. I want to run this car as much or as little as I want with very low maintenance during the events.
So far we have acquired for it:
- Racecomp Engineering Tarmac 2 Clubsport Coilovers
- AP Racing Sprint Front Brake Kit
- Perrin Oil Cooler
- 17x8 Enkei RPF1 with Bridgestone RE71r Tires
- SPC Front Camber Bolts and Rear Control Arms
- Motul Fluids for Engine, Transmission and Differential
This will get us started with a solid platform. These cars are limited to what power than can make in Naturally Aspirated form but with reliability and low maintenance the keys to the project we will make some strategic bolt-on horsepower changes in the next round of modifications after there are some track days under its belt. Track time and Track miles is the goal. There are quite a few tracks in the Southeast United States that I have not been to yet and with the BRZ as a reliable tool I am hoping to explore and enjoy those in the near future. -- By: James Innes
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