With the XR5 project completed and the Silvia still a fair way off track time, the hunt began for a low hassle track car so I could get back to cutting laps ASAP. I’m guilty of scope creep, and what started out as smaller budget quickly doubled after realising how much work was still needed on cars in that end of the market, plus I really wanted something RWD.
I’ve never been a big fan of Subaru’s, but everyone assured me the 86/BRZ was “the” track car to get and when a trusted contact offered me his turnkey 86 for a great price, I decided to take the punt and see what all the fuss was about – They can’t be that bad right?
I hitched up the trailer and hit the highway, with the seller generously offering to meet me halfway. A quick test drive around the truck stop was all we could really manage in a public space, but it was enough to tell me the car had been well looked after and had a big chunk of the mods that I’d planned already completed. The deal was done, the car was loaded up, and I headed back to NCR HQ with my new toy as I started running through the prep work needed for the first track day.
The complete spec list looked like this;
Engine:
Stock FA20 N/A engine – 85ks
Perrin Intake
SME EL headers
Custom single straight through exhaust
Tuned by LS Tuning – Approx 123rwkw on 98
Perrin Oil Cooler Kit
Moroso V2 Sump Baffle kit
New battery plus spare supplied
AC delete kit fitted
Mishimoto Catch can
Maddat Fuel surge flap
Gearbox and diff:
Verus Clutch Fork
Direct Clutch – Solid Centre
Cusco Shifter Spring Upgrade
Shifter linkage bushes replaced
Perrin Rear Shifter Mount
Whiteline gearbox mount
Whiteline Diff mount bushings
Suspension:
AF Racing strut brace and BMC stopper
BC BR Coilovers with new DS Valved shocks
Custom spring rates front and rear 8F 7R
Cusco Steering Rack bushes
Full Sti bolt upgrade kit
New front wheel bearings
Hardrace Swaybars F+R
Whiteline Swaybar link kit (R)
MCA Traction mod
ISC adjustable rear LCA
Adjustable rear traction and toe arms
Safety, Interior and Exterior:
Velo Apex XL Race seat
Velo 6pt Hans compatible Harness
AGI Roll cage (Half with additional bars)
Cage is MA Registered
Cams approved fire extinguisher
Fully stripped interior
Sparco pedal covers plus a few carbon highlights
Proper metal tow hooks
Front blank off plates
Facelift style taillights
Blacked out reverse lights and badges
Go pro and timing mounts fitted
Wheels & Tyres:
Set 1 –
Rays Gramlights 57DR 18×9.5 +38
Zeknova RS 265/35/18 240tw tyres all round
Set 2 –
Lenso D1SE 18×9.5 + 38 (near new)
Brand new Zestino 07rs front tyres 265/35/18
Brand new Zeknova RS rear tyres 265/35/18
It was early March, which meant I had 3-4wks to get the car ready for round 1 of the Winton Sprint series. Thankfully there wasn’t really much to do, the previous owner had serviced it recently so after a quick fluid and bolt check, I set about trying to quieten down the straight piped exhaust which was far from pleasant.
I sourced a large offset Redback and got to work fitting that at the rear, removing the existing muffler and refitting it back up stream. Packaging was a challenge, and I didn’t love the look, but at least it was quieter now.
I spent some time adjusting the seating position and getting my phone and GoPro mounts sorted as I packed up the usual track day bits and closely watched the weather forecast – which was looking a little inclement.
The first 2 sessions were a baptism of fire with scattered showers and an ABS issue making it quite difficult to string a lap together and get a feel for the car. Thankfully, I’d brought a laptop and the Techstream dongle along which helped us trace the issue to a wheel speed sensor. With that sorted and the weather clearing I did manage a few cleaner laps in the remaining sessions of the day finishing around 5th in class with a 1:43x with some very average driving.
The front rotors had clearly copped some abuse with the ABS issue and there was a noticeable challenge shifting into 4th with the syncro having issues unless shifted firmly at around 6k rpm. I was not a fan of the mismatched treadwear front and rear tyres or how stiffly the car was setup, but at least we now had a baseline.
I chatted to DBA and Winmax, both of which agreed it wasn’t a sticky piston so I put it down to the ABS cooking the pads/rotors and ordered some replacements. The DBA rotors were a little pricey so I opted to give the HFM 2-piece rotors a try and paired them with some new Intima RR pads. I noticed the nipples were not great during the bleed and swapped those out, I also realised the calipers were effectively on backwards in terms of piston size leading/following. I realised why when swapping them around as the grub screw on the other end of the calipers was not budging, something to fix when the calipers are rebuilt next, for now I just removed the caliper to bleed so the nipple could be oriented upwards while keeping the pistons in the right order.
With the tyres still having plenty of meat on them, I decided to keep those for now and moved my attention to softening the rear. The Whiteline end links needed a little deflection to fit into the softest setting on the Hardrace bar, Whiteline did say it may accelerate wear on the bottom bush but that it was “ok”, I spaced out the bush mounts to help reduce the angle.
I dropped the fluid in the box and found notable debris on the magnet, I didn’t fancy a box swap right off the bat and made the call to refill with fresh fluid, use a smooth shift additive, and keep shifting it at 6k rpm and see how long it would last. After finishing the box and engine service, the car was ready for round 2.
Round 2 was a notable improvement in driving, weather, and outcomes with a new PB of 1:40.8 as the car actually pulled up cleanly when asked – the new rotor and pad combo proving an excellent choice. The softer swaybar had helped settle the rear, but I felt there was still room for improvement on that front. I bumped into Matt Thewlis on the day who demonstrated how to get the car into “Pedal Dance” mode which made a significant difference in the car’s electronic aids, allowing me to actually “drive” it more.
I was still having GoPro issues, but managed to salvage enough footage to put together another wrap up clip, including the gearbox shifting issue which was not resolved with fresh fluid, a tasty divebomb on a fellow competitor after it was established he was not going to let me by on the straights, and a nice save after overheating the poor Zenkova rear tyres.
It was time for a service and a used oil analysis with Komatsu sending over an amazing care package for the job, I didn’t have the hand pump normally used but a clean brake bleeding kit did the job nicely. As the car had been serviced just before my ownership, this was the Penrite “Extra Ten” oil that came in it, with the idea being to compare it to the 10 Tenths racing oil I switched to during the service after a few events.
Results showed a little water and a little silicon, the water was not unusual for E85, but the silicon was a little odd. Was there a lump of it floating around in the sump? Caught in the oil pickup tube? Left over from the sump baffle install? It was impossible to know without dropping the sump, but as the rest of the results were good, the call was made to leave it until the next sample was taken.
I was very impressed with the kit and the service and whipped up a little video to show others how easy the process was. Want one for yourself? Grab one from the shop.
With fresh oil onboard and Round 3 of the Winton Sprints a few months away, I headed out to The Logic Centre with AWDCC for my first run in the 86 with the local club. Conditions were decent and it was great to be lapping with some familiar faces as I managed to string together a 58.5s lap with some fairly untidy driving on the slippery 240tw rubber (The Silvia had managed a 57.2 there on AR1s and with more power).
I knew the car wanted some better tyres under it, but I was still making a lot of mistakes and it seemed better to punishing cheap tyres as I got my grove back. I had been sitting 3rd in class until the last session when another 86 on R888s put his lap together to pip me at the post, better luck next time!
I’d had some issues with pedal dance mode at Logic, it could be a pain to engage as the car needed to be warm and you had to hit the sequence just right. Numerous people suggested the TrakBox to solve the issue, which allows pedal dance mode, and other options, to be engaged with a single button press. A quick group buy was arranged and a TrakBox arrived shortly after, installation was quite simple and I opted to wire up Fans and ABS also (allowing me to engage fans at any time and fully disable ABS on command).
During the post event check I’d also noticed the battery was weeping and swapped it out for the well known HC20 variant, modifying the existing battery mount to utilise the stock tray securely. The swap saved a solid 8kg and has proved more than capable of starting the 86 without issue (it also lives on a trickle charger to keep it in good shape).
With Round 3 of the sprints now fast approaching, the last mod was to dust off the old 10 in 1 multi-gauge from the Silvia so I could monitor oil/coolant temps and pressure, the shift light was a nice addition too – A few sender adaptors later and we were good to go for another event.
The weather forecast was not looking fantastic and I was on the fence about attending given how tail happy the car still was. As predicted, it basically rained for enough of the day that there was almost never a dry line, certainly not dry enough for PBs. Worse still, I had made the mistake of trying to extend the life of the front tyres by flipping them on the rims prior to the event and having been left too long in the current config and with no way to get good heat into them to wear them in, the car was an absolute pig to drive.
On the plus side, the TrakBox was an instant success and being able to just leave the switch on and not have to worry about it was fantastic. Likewise, being able to monitor the cars vitals with the old gauge setup was a welcomed addition and the new battery was having no issues with the repeated starts.
I pushed on as best I could, managing a 1:57 and a few nice saves for the B-Roll, but ultimately paid the price for pushing too hard with a terrible setup, having a minor off and making contact with the wall at the infamous turn 10. The car was darting around all over the place under brakes and I had clearly missed the apex, after gathering it up I found myself out on the ripple strip and, in a moment of stupidity, just jumped back on the throttle for no good reason. The car kicked hard to the right and I wasn’t able to save it as we gracefully pirouetted into the wall backwards, woops! Thankfully I was able to save myself further embarrassment and self-recovered as I cruised back to the pits to assess the damage, to was time to go home I thought.
Thankfully, the postmortem revealed the damage was only superficial, having made contact right on the tow hook probably saved the bumper. The tow hook itself and the bumper reo were toast and replacements were ordered as I made some plans to put some proper tyres on the car. The next event was not for a couple months, which gave me time to check off a few more items on the list that I’d planned since purchase.
Porsche brake ducts popped up at a great price, and were promptly fitted, as I got about replacing the damaged rear components, performed a bumper chop for better areo, added a flat rear floor, and rejigged the exhaust yet again. I wasn’t loving the look, and it was an easy way to drop another 5kg, this time going for a lighter, but louder, straight pipe setup which was still an improvement on the raspy setup it arrived with.
Next it was a Zero Offset lip kit, ducktail spoiler, and a small front splitter, made by cutting down the Silvia’s well-worn unit, all in the name of improved aero. I took the grinder to the bonnet shortly after and fitted a CircuitWorx bonnet vent, taking my time and measuring many times before committing to the cuts. Lastly, for convenience, I wired in a second moment switch for the clutch so the car could be started without pressing the pedal, much easier for reaching in while in the pits to fire the car up.
A trip to Sydney to deliver the S13s partly finished long block to Redsun Motorsport was the perfect opportunity to arrange for and collect some near mint condition A050s (255s and medium compound), these were fitted to the Gram Lights that came with the car and saved over 11kgs vs the old setup, better still it was all rotational mass.
With all this complete, I had planned to get the car some basic stickers, but time was against us, and we didn’t manage to get the full livery in place, opting to go with just the stripes for the next event back at the Logic circuit. Keen eyed pundits will note those stripes and flourishes are pulled straight from the Nismo time attack decal pack, I’ve always wanted some, even if it meant putting Nissan stickers on a Subaru powered Toyota.
Pic dump!
AWDCCs second Logic sprint event for the year was now upon us and with the car looking the part and the weather forecast suggesting a few good sessions in the morning, spirits were high for an improvement on the last outing. I found myself a spot with the other 86s and kept fiddling with the GoPro, it had been giving me grief all year. All in all, the 86 behaves a lot like an S13, it’s just a tighter, better, chassis straight out of the box and I’d done enough laps here to be comfortable getting stuck in straight off the trailer.
I wasn’t really ready for the increased grip level of the A050s, I’d never used anything better than AR1s on the S13, I left a lot on the table in the first session. I found some clear air and strung a lap together, missing a few turn-in and braking points as I kept trying to find the limit of the tyres, clocking a 56.6s in the process which was a new PB for not only this car but the S13 as well (0.6s faster), things were looking good.
I wasn’t game to change anything for the next session, only checking tyre pressures and giving the GoPro another once over. My efforts were in vain however as not only did the GoPro record nothing of this session, but RaceChrono was also recording zero data as I left the pits, I was annoyed, but it wasn’t the end of the world I told myself, I’ll just push on and see how we go.
I would eventually eat those words and wished I had gone back to the pits to fix all the bits as I romped around the track in 55.8s taking a tenth off the long-standing A class lap record (held by another and more seasoned 86 driver). I was pretty shocked, as it hadn’t been a clean lap, there was definitely more in it, but there was no denying the excitement in the pits as I headed back in. Other cars, that would be in the same class, have gone faster before including a mental MX5 that’s already in the 54s, but for our club that’s the current record.
I felt like the track might be going away a little as the day warmed up and threw the keys to the previous owner of the car for the next session, he’d done himself a mischief in the previous sessions and needed something to complete a lap in for the championship standings. He clocked a 56.4 and noted there was clearly time on the table with a fully functional gearbox and better driving.
I didn’t take the car back out after this, opting to save the tyres and the gearbox for the final round of the Winton sprints as this was always my priority and I had unfinished business there. It was a fantastic day at Logic though, coming away with the class win, lap record for the club, and my first outright win – thankfully none of the really fast boys showed up! This was all I could salvage from the GoPro and I vowed to sort out whatever gremlins were causing the sporadic recording.
With the final round of the sprints only a few weeks away, I chose not to start any bigger projects that could potentially stop me making the event, instead focusing on a few convenience mods and conducting another used oil analysis instead.
I went about fitting a secondary moment switch for the clutch, to enable two finger starting and save me needing to awkwardly put my foot on the pedal from outside the car in the pits, which has proven to be a great addition. After this, I swapped out the factory wheel and blown airbag for a decent OMP unit and Works Bell quick release, no more jamming my knees into the wheel.
As I had received the proper hand pump from the team at Komatsu for oil sampling, I went about conducting another analysis and sent back a new clean sample and used sample to compare, everything was looking good. With those items complete, it was time to load up and head back to Winton, but not before finally working out that the GoPro issues were simply a low battery and that I needed to not only have the charger connected during an event but start with a fully charged battery also. I now bring a power bank for between sessions just to be sure, and since then have had zero issues with the old GP4 Silver. I could not replicate the RaceChrono issue and opted to move the app from my old, dedicated track phone to my normal phone and use the power bank to keep it topped up throughout the day.
The weather forecast was looking encouraging and with the new rubber, expectations and excitement were pretty high going into the event. Straight off the trailer the car went 3s faster, running a high 1m37 lap and as my confidence and capability generally improve throughout a trackday, I was expecting to go quicker. I only managed to find another few tenths in the next few sessions though, a combination of traffic, average driving, and missed shifts with the box proving to be as finnicky as ever.
By the time session 4 rolled around, I’d worked out where to stage to get clear air and who was watching their mirrors, it was go time and I did my best to put myself into the right mental state to go and find a chunk of time. On the first hot lap of the session, disaster struck as the gearbox packed it in on the 3-4 shift coming out of turn 10 – ironically the same corner I’d crashed at last time out, are we cursed? I popped the car into neutral, had a chuckle, and rolled off track all the way back to the trailer, that was definitely going to be that for the day.
The day was still an overall success, with my first class win also elevating me to 2nd outright for the series, a fantastic result for the first season back in an unfamiliar car with rusty driving. It was a bit of a challenge getting the car off the trailer with debris causing lots of binding issues, but after a few nasty bangs the car was back in NCR workshop, on the hoist, and ready for some love.
That was a wrap for the 2024 season with final results comprising;
– 1 class win, at round 4, and 2nd place outright in the Winton Sprint Series
– 1 overall win + class win at round 6 of the AWDCC Lap Dash Series
– 1 AWDCC Class A lap record at Logic
I was pretty happy with the results, but felt that there was potential to win the sprint series in my class, depending on who turns up next year. The final round had seen 2023s champ return in his Renault Cup Car and he had managed a faster lap time than me in the last session with a 1:36. I think this is beatable with better driving and a working gearbox so the goal for next year is to make minimal changes to the car and work on bringing that lap time down through better driving. The 2024 champ, a beautiful little Mini, will need to find a lot of time to keep up and, after chatting with him, may not be willing to push the car quite that hard.
I’ll fix/replace the box, do a little more aero, finally give the car an alignment/keep working on settling the rear and otherwise it’ll just be maintenance and track days as I’d plan to get back into the Silvia (having finally received the completed long block). Now that we’re caught up to present day, the post format moving forward will be more task focused, rather than a full yearly wrap up.
Thanks go to HFM.Parts Intima, Michael Holland from Komatsu, The86shop, CircuitWorx, KWIK Stickers, Winton, AWDCC, Matty Hull from The Nugget Project, and Ruckus Streat for their assistance and support throughout the year.
If you enjoy this content, learned something from it, or would just like to support NCR in some way, consider popping over to the shop and grabbing a shirt or some parts for your own project from our preferred suppliers, every little bit helps 🙏
