I'm still in two minds if I just go easy-ish button on a car for track use or not, and if I do the Frisbie is pretty high on the list.
As this place knows everything, how much of a concern is high mileage on these? Most of the ones I'm looking at are around 150k, because if I go above that then I can find more interesting Miatas^Wcars for the money.
While I can't quite speak to that kind of mileage, mine is holding up just fine at 97k-ish of four season daily use. I replaced the shocks/struts in the fall and the throw out bearing failed on me last spring (known issue), other than that just scheduled maintenance.
I'm guessing most of the higher mileage examples are going to be the earlier cars, so you'll want to look into the valve spring recall that affected the 2013-14 cars. Also, a good oil cooler is going to be a must for track use.
I have no idea but posting to follow. This would be a good car for my oldest next year when he gets his driving permit.
Also, just want to point out that you have the worst car ADD I have ever seen lol.
For those of us who are uninformed, what is a Frisbie?
Furious_E (Forum Supporter) said:While I can't quite speak to that kind of mileage, mine is holding up just fine at 97k-ish of four season daily use. I replaced the shocks/struts in the fall and the throw out bearing failed on me last spring (known issue), other than that just scheduled maintenance.
That's good to know. IIRC one of the cars I'm considering has had the throw out bearing and clutch replaced around 100k, and if the seller actually gets back to me and can back up the maintenance claims with paperwork, it appears to have been maintained pretty well.
I'm guessing most of the higher mileage examples are going to be the earlier cars, so you'll want to look into the valve spring recall that affected the 2013-14 cars. Also, a good oil cooler is going to be a must for track use.
I'm aware of the valve spring recall and also the, err, variable results people have experienced having them done at Toyota/Scion delaers. Didn't know about the oil cooler, but that makes sense.
stuart in mn said:For those of us who are uninformed, what is a Frisbie?
Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ, aka the Frisbie twins.
Slippery (Forum Supporter) said:I have no idea but posting to follow. This would be a good car for my oldest next year when he gets his driving permit.
Also, just want to point out that you have the worst car ADD I have ever seen lol.
Me? Automotive ADD? Who gave you that ... oh look, shiny car made out of unobtanium parts. BRB.
The funny thing is, I either keep vehicles for a long time, or get bored/frustrated with them very quickly. I have a motorcycle I've owned for almost half my life, several others that I have owned for well over a decade, and there are some cars I find very hard to part with (usually ones that say 911 on the back, and I don't mean old Panther chassis ones).
I think part of it is that I have a bit of a scarcity mentality due to my upbringing - my parents were pretty crap at managing money, and I had a failed business venture that essentially bankrupted me (only there was no real bankruptcy in Germany back then, so I ended up paying for it for well over a decade). As a result, I find it hard to treat myself even when I can afford something better. Maybe I should just get my act together and buy a 911 as a track toy, but for some reason I always end up talking myself out of something and buy another E36 M3box. The S2000 was really the first deviation from that pattern, and I just liked it much better as a street car than a track car.
Right, the sensible stuff out of the way, you don't know half of it. Right now, the shopping list for a potential track beater includes:
Problem? Moi? Nah, I just need a bigger garage.
In reply to BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) :
From what I understand, proper cooling is a pretty big deal if you're going to track one of these. Mine is pretty much strictly a DD, I have the RX7 for fun stuff, although I will admit I have taken it to a few autocrosses and turned times embarassingly close to that car, even on POS all seasons.
I think my TOB had 85-86k when it went out, and of course I did the clutch while I was in there, although the original easily had half its life left. The root cause seems to be insufficient grease from the factory, causing the bearing to seize. Mine came out in two pieces. There is an updated part that solves the issue, it will have a white dot of paint that denotes the fixed unit. I should note that my Exedy clutch kit did not include an updated version of the TOB, I had to buy it separately, so you might double check that seller's receipts. Mine had been making just a hint of noise for a long time until one day it just went suddenly. I managed to limp it home, but it is imperative that you pretty much stop driving it immediately to avoid the seized bearing grinding up your input shaft. Make sure the clutch actuation is smooth.
The trans and diff also need somewhat frequent oil changes, about every 15k in my experience. The factory specs a longer interval, but the shift quality falls off noticeably, especially when cold.
I'd love to retire mine to racecar status someday, if I hang on to it long enough. Fantastically well balanced little cars.
In reply to BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) :
I vote for the mini.
But the cheap Frisbees i see are always early 2013 FRS' which are the recall ones. or they have a salvage title.
100k of street duty on my 2015 FR-S with zero issues.
Where are you finding multiple x1/9's for sale? I've always liked those but would be terrifyingly slow as a track car without an engine swap.
Furious_E (Forum Supporter) said:I think my TOB had 85-86k when it went out, and of course I did the clutch while I was in there, although the original easily had half its life left. The root cause seems to be insufficient grease from the factory, causing the bearing to seize. Mine came out in two pieces. There is an updated part that solves the issue, it will have a white dot of paint that denotes the fixed unit. I should note that my Exedy clutch kit did not include an updated version of the TOB, I had to buy it separately, so you might double check that seller's receipts. Mine had been making just a hint of noise for a long time until one day it just went suddenly. I managed to limp it home, but it is imperative that you pretty much stop driving it immediately to avoid the seized bearing grinding up your input shaft. Make sure the clutch actuation is smooth.
Thanks for the pointers. This one supposedly had a clutch and throwout bearing at 100k, but I'll make sure to check it out.
The trans and diff also need somewhat frequent oil changes, about every 15k in my experience. The factory specs a longer interval, but the shift quality falls off noticeably, especially when cold.
Based on the ad, this one likely has been maintained by the book, but at least it's supposed to have had regular fluid changes.
After talking to the seller, it actually looks like this one has been maintained properly, although not all of the paperwork is available. Guy seems to know his Subies, too.
I'd love to retire mine to racecar status someday, if I hang on to it long enough. Fantastically well balanced little cars.
Yeah, I've driven a few, which is why I think they might be the easy button instead of chucking another project into my shop. If this is as good as the seller says, it's probably an oil cooler, tires and brake pads away from a track outing.
MrChaos said:In reply to BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) :
I vote for the mini.
I'd love to get another one - I owned a 1275GT in the UK - but I'm not sure it's a smart idea for a track car. The one I was eyeballing does have a rollbar, but I couldn't help but notice that the downtubes were perfectly placed for banging the side of your head on.
Plus, they might be a little too slow for a track car these days.
But the cheap Frisbees i see are always early 2013 FRS' which are the recall ones. or they have a salvage title.
Yeah, the one I'm looking at is a '13 which has had the recall and a bunch of other work done. Supposedly clean title, though.
parker said:100k of street duty on my 2015 FR-S with zero issues.
Good to hear that.
Where are you finding multiple x1/9's for sale? I've always liked those but would be terrifyingly slow as a track car without an engine swap.
In about a 500 mile radius of home 
. I've got several bookmarked on FB marketplace that pretty much range from the Canadian Border down to NC.
You can squeeze a fair amount of power of the original engine and take some weight out, which should get it more or less on par with a 1.6 NA Miata.That's still slow, but not that slow.
stuart in mn said:For those of us who are uninformed, what is a Frisbie?
The only one the googles found, would not be the best chassis to build from...
BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:Yeah, the one I'm looking at is a '13 which has had the recall and a bunch of other work done. Supposedly clean title, though.
that is the thing, I see way to many reports of the engine eating itself after the recall work was done.
03Panther said:stuart in mn said:For those of us who are uninformed, what is a Frisbie?
The only one the googles found, would not be the best chassis to build from...
Might have to lower that a bit and find some wider tires.
MrChaos said:BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:Yeah, the one I'm looking at is a '13 which has had the recall and a bunch of other work done. Supposedly clean title, though.
that is the thing, I see way to many reports of the engine eating itself after the recall work was done.
I thought this mainly affected Scions?
BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:MrChaos said:BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:Yeah, the one I'm looking at is a '13 which has had the recall and a bunch of other work done. Supposedly clean title, though.
that is the thing, I see way to many reports of the engine eating itself after the recall work was done.
I thought this mainly affected Scions?
Yea its mainly scions since subaru dealers know how to work on boxers.
When I saw this thread this is what I thought of
Buy one and hope the engine blows so you have an excuse to do this. No affiliation, no-cut, no-fab swap that reuses stock transmission and saves 140lbs off the nose.
https://kpower.industries/blogs/news/kpower-ft86-swap-faqs
In reply to lnlds :
Damn, Honda makes good engines.
BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:I'm still in two minds if I just go easy-ish button on a car for track use or not, and if I do the Frisbie is pretty high on the list.
As this place knows everything, how much of a concern is high mileage on these? Most of the ones I'm looking at are around 150k, because if I go above that then I can find more interesting Miatas^Wcars for the money.
I'm counting on you to do the Beta testing on this for me.
I had a couple FRS. Did DE events and had a couple of issues. I had an early '13, direct injector seal failed and the Dealer said I needed a 2nd transmission right after claiming the noise was from the aftermarket coilovers...
If it's had major repairs, I'd rather buy one serviced at a Subaru dealer.
I thought they were called Toyobarus.
Also, holy E36 M3 that kswap sounds like fun.
MrChaos said:BoxheadTim (Forum Supporter) said:Yeah, the one I'm looking at is a '13 which has had the recall and a bunch of other work done. Supposedly clean title, though.
that is the thing, I see way to many reports of the engine eating itself after the recall work was done.
From what I've seen if the engine is going to fail after the recall work it will happen pretty quickly. If it's gone 10,000 miles after the work it is most likely fine.
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