I've turned the BRZ from a tossable, relatively comfy DD, into something not so nice for DD.
255/35 DZIIs, coilovers with camber plates and solid rear mounts. It tramlines, it's rough, it's loud. Why must this be the cycle?
And now I've got the oil cooler, brake pads/fluid, and the SPL Rear lower control arms (yay Aurora sphericals will make it even louder/harsh) and now I'm hesitating to put them on and start doing the occasional HPDE like I originally planned.
My Automotive ADD (AADD?) has me considering taking it back to stock and waiting for the FoRS or maybe even another GT Mustang? Blah.
I have fought with this myself. My solution is to:
A: only race my DD in STOCK autox and rallyx classes. There are still plenty of ways to mod and spend money in a stock class.
B: keep race cars separate from DDs.
(Almost) boring DD and dedicated track rat was my solution.
I started auto-xing after I bought a brand new 20AE GTI. After a few small upgrades (shocks and sway) I realized I was destroying a very comfortable cruising car that I was commuting in. I decided to buy a $400 GTI that I can gut and give zero berkeleys about instead of continuing the mods on my nice car.
I eventually progressed to an SM prepped 240SX that sits in the garage until it's monthly beatings on course. Meanwhile I drive my e46 automatic quietly to work everyday.
It's easy to make them harsh and loud and fast. It's much harder to make them fast and well-mannered - and a lot more fun.
Two cars used to be the solution for me as well, not so practical now that I'm single guy again.
Keith, no joke. A big part of it is the tires, it wasn't too bad on the coilovers with the stock wheel/tire setup. I guess I should do that and save the sticky tires, but it looks good hunkered down over the 18s!
Raze
UltraDork
10/7/15 5:44 p.m.
2 cars...or 3...or 4...or GRM
z31maniac wrote:
Two cars used to be the solution for me as well, not so practical now that I'm single guy again.
Keith, no joke. A big part of it is the tires, it wasn't too bad on the coilovers with the stock wheel/tire setup. I guess I should do that and save the sticky tires, but it looks good hunkered down over the 18s!
Consider using a less aggressive tire, such as the Yokohama S.drive. Better road manners (and quieter) than the Dunlop but still fairly sticky. They have a softer sidewall so the ride improves. And they're cheap, which is nice.
Stay away from sphericals and solid mounts. They don't help that much, they wear like crazy and they sure ratchet up the NVH. Heck, stay away from poly.
Keith Tanner wrote:
z31maniac wrote:
Two cars used to be the solution for me as well, not so practical now that I'm single guy again.
Keith, no joke. A big part of it is the tires, it wasn't too bad on the coilovers with the stock wheel/tire setup. I guess I should do that and save the sticky tires, but it looks good hunkered down over the 18s!
Consider using a less aggressive tire, such as the Yokohama S.drive. Better road manners (and quieter) than the Dunlop but still fairly sticky. They have a softer sidewall so the ride improves. And they're cheap, which is nice.
Stay away from sphericals and solid mounts. They don't help that much, they wear like crazy and they sure ratchet up the NVH. Heck, stay away from poly.
Yeah, unfortunately there is no other option if you want a quality lower control arm so you can adjust camber.
Does anyone sell boots (or similar) that may help the Aurora bearings last longer?
The 18" wheels and tires ARE the main issue here...why do you need such a large and heavy setup for a FR-S/BRZ...I know, I know, you've said it before - looks good. But there is no denying it is the main cause of your ride quality issues. Just the tires alone are ~30% heavier than the stockers. There are ways to make the car even better than stock with a MUCH better ride quality...mainly get that unsprung weight DOWN, not UP, from stock.
My suggestions for improvements that work for a Twin while making it BETTER for daily driver duty (based on nearly 3.5 years of owning one):
-
Grimspeed Strut tower bar (noticeable better ride quality increase over bumps/dips with a more solid front end feel.)
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Lightweight 17x7.5 wheels with Max Performance 205/45-17 tires...quicker responsiveness than stock wheel/tire setup with much less unsprung weight and noticeably improved ride quality. And with a lower CG and better gearing due to reduced diameter the car feels more stable and accelerates quicker. Win-Win-Win all around. Most 205/45-17 tires have a wider tread than the stock 215/45-17 Michelin Primacy HP's as well.
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Perrin stiffer Motor mounts and transmission support...amazing how much better these make the ride quality, REALLY smooth out the sharp bumps and dips. That drivetrain moving around on the stock mounts from impacts is really one of the biggest detriments to ride quality in this car. I got the mounts because of the CAE Ultra shifter that was being installed (what's the point of getting a highly precise shifting unit if you have slop elsewhere in the system that would make it harder to use and reduce it's precision), but never imagined it would have such a dramatic effect on improving ride quality better than any other single thing I did.
The CAE Ultra shifter is the only thing I've done that has made the everyday use quality actually worse than stock...but since it's the most awesome shifter I've ever had the pleasure to use, I will gladly put up with it's quirks. The benefits more than outweigh the issues it brings with it...
Get a nice, lightweight 17" wheel/tire setup for everyday driving put together and have a second set of wheels/tires which are suited for track duty/autocross. Trying to do everything on a single set of wheels/tires is an exercise in compromise and frustration...
The best solution; however, is a comfortable daily driver and a 'track only' car...no compromises for either duty.
z31maniac wrote:
Keith Tanner wrote:
z31maniac wrote:
Two cars used to be the solution for me as well, not so practical now that I'm single guy again.
Keith, no joke. A big part of it is the tires, it wasn't too bad on the coilovers with the stock wheel/tire setup. I guess I should do that and save the sticky tires, but it looks good hunkered down over the 18s!
Consider using a less aggressive tire, such as the Yokohama S.drive. Better road manners (and quieter) than the Dunlop but still fairly sticky. They have a softer sidewall so the ride improves. And they're cheap, which is nice.
Stay away from sphericals and solid mounts. They don't help that much, they wear like crazy and they sure ratchet up the NVH. Heck, stay away from poly.
Yeah, unfortunately there is no other option if you want a quality lower control arm so you can adjust camber.
Does anyone sell boots (or similar) that may help the Aurora bearings last longer?
Sorta. You can get boots, but they only postpone the inevitable. Part of the problem is the nature of the shock loading in suspension parts, it batters the bearings to death.
There are always options if you have a welder 
Opti
HalfDork
10/7/15 8:24 p.m.
I did the same thing with the z28, but I eventually fixed it. I was always after the last tenth or couple hp, made the car a whore to drive except on a 70-80 degree sunny day.
No I've come to realize I may track a car occasionally and I can set a car up to do that, but it will mostly stay on the street so I try to improve performance without killing drivability.
Like stated tires are a big part of this, I also removed most of my poly bushings and went to upgraded rubber bushings, solid instead of the factory ones with voids.
Stupid amounts of power helps.
One of the problems with a "slow" car like the FRS (or my Civic) is you want to make it fast enough to at least keep up with the middle of the pack where it's fun.
My Civic and my CTS-V are pretty close to the same Lap time (with me driving) but the Cadillac is stock and pleasant while the Civic is ruined and terrible.
What if you put it back to stock?
I finally broke down last winter and bought a 1990 Mercedes 420SEL. I put snow tires on it. It's like driving a couch through a cloud. And suddenly I cared a lot less that the rest of my fleet were a bunch of harsh sleds that made my fillings rattle out of my head. It's a car+ solution, but there is no other way if you have the disease.
See Keith, we really need you to open something like Flyin Twins to have you offer all the parts we need!
Why do you need to do all that stuff to the car for an occasional track day? Just leave it stock, with the exception of brake fluid and pads...
z31maniac wrote:
Two cars used to be the solution for me as well, not so practical now that I'm single guy again
Im single and have 6 cars, a truck, and 2 bikes....completely practical. 
WOW Really Paul? wrote:
z31maniac wrote:
Two cars used to be the solution for me as well, not so practical now that I'm single guy again
Im single and have 6 cars, a truck, and 2 bikes....completely practical.
he didn't say he wanted to stay single...
I think this is a pretty common issue--- so the OP shouldn't feel bad. Most of us have btdt. What I began to analyze was how often would the car be on track vs. how often would the car be driven on the street. With my M3, I realized that 90% of the time, it was a fun street-car, so I have modified it with that in mind. I still run stock springs, as I don't want the car any stiffer,or lower--- remember it's a street car-- has to deal with potholes, curbs, etc. I also won't use solid bushings. The result is a car that is fantastic on the street, but also competent, and fun on track. No, I won't win any races, but I"m mostly doing auto-x and HPDE events, so I don't really care.
If it's just for fun, keep it street able. If you are going for a class win--- modify to the extent the rules allow. (and get another car for the street)
In reply to rcutclif:
Meh, I'm cool with that. The vehicular hobby is still much cheaper than women.
I have 2 e30's. A caged 2 door track rat with a licence plate but no headlights or I terror. And a 4 door dd that I remind myself never to take to a track. Its a constant battle to remind myself they have different purposes and lives. The warm up/ shakedown drives of the track rat on public streets is usually enough to remind me why though..
As for wheels/tires. I took care of that by having more than one set. As set of stock rims w/daily driver tires and a set of light rims with sticky tires. Yeah, issue was getting them to the location to use them. Especially with a Miata. But not insurmountable, considering you only do that a couple times a month at the most. Usually only once a month. I also didn't go with solid mounts & sphericals for that reason. Of course I have now broke that rule and my autocross Miata is now an occasional driver, not my daily.
