Motor Australia – May 2019

d motorofficial f motor_mag^117

froma PorscheCaymanGT4toa
BMWM5toa FordFocusRSandthe
little151kW/212NmSubiewasasgood
as any of them (okay, maybe not
the Cayman...). Yes, it was slow in a
straight line, hitting just over 200km/h
down the long straight, but 165km/h
through turn one, flat through Hayshed
at 155km/h and 145km/h through the
probably-flat-but-I’m-too-scared last
corner is plenty fast enough for me,
thank you very much.
A best time of 1:57.3 was the result
and to provide some context, I dug up
some lap times from previous MOTOR
tests at Phillip Island. With Sir W. Luff
driving, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X
clocked 1:55.1 at PCOTY 2008, while
in 2011 a VW Golf R managed 1:55.3,
a Renault Megane RS250 1:54.4 and a
Ford Focus RS 1:54.3.
Go back even further to Bang For
Your Bucks 1996 and not a single car
could best two minutes, the Mercedes-
Benz C36 AMG coming closest at
2:00.19, which itself was quickest by
more than two seconds. Viewed thus,
the little BRZ does alright.
The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres that
are part of the tS package provide
support lacking in the standard
eco-spec Primacys without robbing
the car of its adjustability. Through
Phillip Island’s long, long corners the

03 03

1.Nospeedlimit.

2.Drivinglessons.

3.Friendlyfolk.

1.Componentwear.

2.Fueluse.

3.Highlyaddictive.

TRACKDAY

WINS

TRACKDAY

PROS SINS

CONS

and

THE SUBARU BRZ TS IS THE PERFECT

EXAMPLE OF WHY OUTRIGHT SPEED

AND FUN AREN’T CORRELATED

challengewasto keep it balanced

rightontheedge of grip, attempting

tocorrectundersteer or oversteer

beforetheyreared their heads

androbbedthecar of precious

momentum.If you’re just starting out,

thisprocessis made easier by the

BRZ’swell-judged ‘Track’ ESP setting.

Warmweather and high speeds

meanttheMichelins worked hard,

thougha side-to-side swap at

lunchtimeatleast kept the wear even.

PhillipIslandisn’t particularly hard on

brakes(atleastnot in a BRZ) so the

Brembosproved their worth, with

nofadeorgroans all day. Or so it

seemed.According to Subaru the BRZ

needsnewrotors and pads (partly

due to the old pads not fitting snugly

with brand new rotors).

The size of the hardware and the

weight of the car makes this a bit

disappointing, but it also serves as a

valuable (if expensive) lesson. If you

plan on using your BRZ on track in

standard form, be sure to limit the

number of laps as wear is clearly

occurring even if all feels well. If we

had to offer a hypothesis, we’d suggest

the rotors are the weak link in the

chain, given the lack of any signs of

brake stress from behind the wheel

(usually a soft or hard pedal).

If you want to track your BRZ

regularly – and you should, because it’s

fun – it’s clear a rotor upgrade (for tS

models) or complete brake overhaul

(for standard models) is in order. If

that all sounds a bit too serious, next

month we’re investigating a relatively

little-known motorsport that’s cheap,

loads of fun and results in virtually zero

wear to any component. – SN

01 02

03 04

01 The BRZ isn’t as

slow as most think

but the torque bump

between 2000-

3500rpm only makes

the hole that follows

feel even deeper

02 Turn left to go

right. Entry oversteer

into Turn One at

165km/h certainly

grabs your attention!

The BRZ loves to slide

03 One of the best

things about attending

track days is seeing

the array of drool-

worthy machinery that

is getting exercised

04 Brembo stoppers

one of the more

obvious tS upgrades

and work brilliantly,

though it appears

rotors are the weak

link in the chain

➜