CentralCoaster wrote:
AutoX will help you learn the car and force you to learn good throttle control, but it seems to me like putting a bull in a china shop. It's only a lap at a time, so you never really have a chance to overheat the brakes (or have fun.)

I think roadracing is easier on the car, assuming you don't overheat your fluids.

If you have the base 12" brakes, they definitely need to go. They were designed for a 250HP car for aggressive street use. They can be overcooked on a track even with a stock motor, and you'll have much higher corner entry speeds than that. Also a beginner driver will use up the brakes more.

The first question is what are you willing to spend? You could probably go pretty far on C5 fronts with high temp pads front and rear and a $12 DRM spring.

Also the 88+ ABS cars seem to have endemic problems with not getting enough pressure to the rear brakes. I don't know if it due to something failing in the ABS or what, but most people start throwing new parts at it and don't fix the problems. It's akin to putting new running shoes on a guy with a bum knee.