To the truly hardcore, we applaud your dedication to outright speed. Although, for most enthusiasts, a 350dB exhaust isn't so great at the local drive-thru. Is it possible to build a car that can blaze track pavement AND still be soft enough for the hot date waiting back at home? That's where we come in.
Contrary to what many people believe, bigger isn't always better, and it is possible to build a comfortable street rocket. It just takes the right parts and the right mindset. If you just got some parts on your car and ponder incessantly about what advantage your hard earned dollars just achieved you, then an open track is just what you are waiting for. Street racing, and similar antics, will be one foot out the door after a true dose of on-track fever. What follows here is a multi-part series of articles that displays what kind of modifications it takes to build any car into a monster that feels at home on the track and the street.
Step 1: FoundationOur first step is to choose a capable platform. We want something that has good power, fine cornering capability, superb driving manner, the ability to do it all-year round, and with a level of comfort. Popular choices include such cars as the Integra, Lancer Evo, any lightweight hybrid Honda, the Miata, or the 350Z. For our example, we chose a 2004 Subaru WRX wagon, because what's more real world than a fast wagon?
Due to the superbly large collection of American liability laws, the majority of factory cars are set up too soft and understeer far too much to have any real fun in. Under harsh driving conditions, garbage all-season tires just howl and slide as the front end struggles to maintain the driving line. Experiencing exactly this sort of behavior in our tester, our first course of action is to increase our overall grip level, slash understeer, and cut down braking distances. Magically, all these points can be addressed with one thing, the most fundamental point of any performance car-tires.
We draped on a set of 225/40/18 BF-Goodrich G-Force T/A KDW (Key features Dry and Wet) tires around bronze 18x7.5-inch Work Emotion CR Kai wheels. From a stock baseline of 0.85g on the skidpad and a 140 foot 60-0mph braking distance, our WRX stuck to the tune of 0.88g and grinded down in 126 feet with only a wheel/tire package upgrade. The ultimate all-year round tire (we don't see snow in Southern California), the KDW gave a huge increase in grip, and the wet weather capability means we won't ever have to worry about going easy in the rain. Although it's one step down from BF-Goodrich's super-sticky dry performance KD tire, we decided to test the KDW since many car enthusiasts aren't interested in keeping a set of winter tires mounted and taking up space in their respective garages.