Best option to salvage (or abandon) upcoming track weekend

For used tires you could check JB Racing Tire; they sell mostly race tires but may have something works for you.

In reply to Spearfishin :

Yup, bit too far. Im west of I95. You might be able to try TireStreets.com for the cheap-o Acceleras. They run like $140/each and have 35% off right now. $550/set isnt too terrible.

I could still send the 14mm camber bolts in the mail if you want them. Have no cars that can use them. 

Spearfishin said:

dean1484 said:

I think take the Impressa. The CTSV is way more car than you need at your skill level. You will learn so much more in the Impreza.  
 

Driving a fast car slow sucks and you don't learn much other than your right foot makes up for a lack of cornering skill. 
 

Driving a slow car fast is so much more fun. You actually have time to think. Things happen fast on track and if you don't have experience your brain can not process the information fast enough to actually learn to drive fast. A slow car on average tires teaches you how to threshold brake and corner at slower speeds so you can actually learn something. 
 

This will sound a bit harsh but you should have been prepping the Impreza from the beginning. The CTSV is a poor choice for a car to start with.   

I can appreciate your stance, and agree the CTS is a poor choice for more than one reason, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will continue with it once the motor is back in shape. 

I have a CLS 550. It is a fantastic street car. One of the top 3-4 cars I have ever owned. However it would not be a fun car on track. First off it would plow. To solve poor track handeling it would require significant suspension tuning and an alignment that would be horrible for the street.   I have raced for years and trust me that a street CTSV is not the tool for the job. Converting it to track use is fine but a car with that kind of performance potential can get you in way over your head extremely fast. Hit a couple corners correctly and you are now 20-30 mph faster in to the third corner. You go for the same brake point as the last lap and at best you have a serious pucker moment.  Yes it is a teaching moment as well but trust me you don't want to learn that way.  
 

I made this exact set of choices when I was stepping in to track driving back in the late 1980s. It took a bit of swallowing my pride later to realize my mistakes.  Just trying to pass on a bit of wisdom. 
 

In either case the number one thing is to have fun no matter what you are piloting. 

Appreciate all the comments. Spent some time last night going over the Subaru and using RockAuto for stock replacement part pricing, I need $700 in wheel bearings and brake parts (and other miscellany), $600 as my placeholder for tires and $400 for brake pads...throw another $100+ in for fluids and I'm spending more than I'm comfortable with given the time crunch to install these parts and shake down the car enough to feel comfortable. 

So, think I'm bailing. Will try to earn some brownie points to applied to the engine rebuild effort (and bill) by taking wife somewhere she wants to go for that weekend.

And I'll give some thought to continuing down the path of track prep on the Subaru, since its in the driveway anyway. (Fun fact, tires on it are 13 years old...and they look it, but they hold air.)

Nobody suggested the fastest car in the world yet? For shame:

Rental? First words out of my buddy's mouth: "well I guess a Hertz mustang is going to get some hard miles!"

In reply to Spearfishin :

It's probably wise to pull the plug but I'd still prep the Subaru. 

I'm a huge advocate of starting in something underpowered. It's why all of those karting kids are so fast they start out in 10hp karts that require inch perfect lines to get the most out of them........even the slightest bobbles have huge penalties.

Spend a season or two in the Imprezza and then either keep flogging it or run the CTS-V. Also note I'm a fan of disposable track cars...........to me the Subaru is disposable.

Random thoughts:

• Do you have friends at the track? If so, would one of them let you co-drive their car? I've let a bunch of people drive my cars on track over the years.
• Renting a car isn't crazy...but don't rent a "premium" car, like a Hertz Mustang or any sports car. They have black boxes and will know that you're on track. Rent an econobox and you're more likely to fly under the radar. Ask me how I know!
• Cancel the weekend and try to salvage as much time and money as you can?
• Throw some Walmart tires and pads on the Subaru and send it?

LanEvo said:

• Throw some Walmart tires and pads on the Subaru and send it?

This................I've been racing like this for 30 years. LOL

Tom1200 said:

For used tires you could check JB Racing Tire; they sell mostly race tires but may have something works for you.

Their website seems broken, I cannot find any inventory or literally anything but a picture of one of the monthly specials tires (which I kinda want to buy because I have two cars they would work on)

At the very least, contact the organizer and explain the situation, they may give you credit towards a different event and you not being there frees up a spot if the event is booked solid.

accordionfolder said:

At the very least, contact the organizer and explain the situation, they may give you credit towards a different event and you not being there frees up a spot if the event is booked solid.

I forfeit $100 for cancelling inside of 30 days, but balance of fee is applied to future event with them... hopefully sooner than later. 

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Tom1200 said:

For used tires you could check JB Racing Tire; they sell mostly race tires but may have something works for you.

Their website seems broken, I cannot find any inventory or literally anything but a picture of one of the monthly specials tires (which I kinda want to buy because I have two cars they would work on)

I always call them.