Hernan’s Corolla: The Right Side of the Strain-Satisfaction Spectrum

Growing up in Argentina, Hernan Ferraris had the good fortune of having a supportive family. He and his grandfather would spend Sundays watching Formula 1, which sparked something inside the young Hernan. His grandfather began began buying him toy cars, magazines, and anything else that would stoke his grandson’s imagination, and though he didn’t know it, would lay the foundation for Hernan’s greatest hobby in later life.

By the time teenage Hernan moved to the states, he could name just about every four-wheeled vehicle which passed him on the street, especially the sporty ones. He was then approaching seventeen and eager to take advantage of the import cars available on the US market which are not very common or affordable in Argentina, and through scrimping and saving every cent, he picked up his first quick import as a Senior in high school: a 1990 Integra coupe with a five-speed manual. Or, as he liked to refer to it: his first sporty shitbox.

Years later, he made the leap into track days with his then-new Fiesta ST. The morning of, he left his house without any real nerves or worrying thoughts of any kid as he’d garnered real confidence through logging thousands and thousands of virtual on Gran Turismo IV and Forza Motorsport.

“They forced me to have an instructor even though I was sure he could do well without one, and the instructor eventually let me lead the lead-follow laps. He trusted me enough to start setting my own pace. I was so confident because I thought I knew it all, but I really didn't. I was only scratching the surface of what track driving technique was,” he said.

Sadly, the first flirtation with the real thing was trailed by a few lackluster period. “I took some time off due to the costs of HPDE, but after four years, he decided to take his then-new 2018 WRX to Thunderhill East for a long-overdue second track date. The pull was just as strong the first time, which spurred him onto modifying the hell out of his new acquisition. With a range of engine bolt ons, Ohlins coilovers, STI BBK, and sway bars, he was able to get his kicks for a while.

The WRX was quick, but far from involving in the way his first car was. “After a few events with this car, I felt I was hitting a plateau with the car, and I wondered if all the mods had made it worse. It was the driver, not not the car, but since the engine was pushing a little over 400 horsepower, I used that as a reason to retire the WRX from track work; I’d heard plenty of horror stories about these engines blowing on the track.”

After this awkward reentry to HPDE, he decided to shift his approach and buy something more driver focused and to keep it mostly stock. “Instead of mods, I’d spend that money on seat time,” he declared. He made a 2022 GR86 his new baby and began modifying. The list was short: a set of Hankook RS4s wrapped around bigger 17x9” Enkei RPF1s, as well as a set of front camber tophats and rear adjustable rear control arms to maximize the contact patches. For engine modifications, Hernan went with JDL Unequal length catless headers and catback, along with a flex tune by Gary Bains. These three items bumped power from 232 whp to 258 whp on E85 and also gave him the sound he was after. “To this day, my favorite sound is the traditional Subaru Rumble,” he said.

Within the first two years, Hernan logged 15 HPDE events and built a real sense of confidence in his new drivers car, though reports of the FA engines failing in 2023 took him off his cloud. “People kept blowing their boxer motors. When the failures started making the news, I was saving up to buy a house, and I thought, ‘The last thing I need to do now is buy a new motor.’”

So he said sayonara to the GR86, but not the GR family. “I had been seeing the GR Corolla in the works for a while, and when it was finally released, the price markups were ridiculous. I made a bid, but the dealer wouldn’t play ball, so I said I’d wait until I freed up some funds. I priced the GR86 to sell, and when I got the cash in my account, I called them up and learned they hadn’t been able to sell the GR Corolla in over a month. They were willing to accommodate me then,” he chuckled.

He’d been ready for a real transition in performance and handling habits, but he wasn’t quite prepared for how much he’d have to change his driving to suit the AWD hot hatch.

“The GR86 is a much better balanced platform; I only had a little understeer if I went in way too hot into corners. Since there wasn’t much torque, it was easy to dance with the rear at corner exit – that’s what brings me so much joy. It’s much more rewarding learning how to manage oversteer than it is to learn to manage understeer.

The GR Corolla is an understeer machine in stock form, so you have to make a few changes to reduce that characteristic. With Eibach Pro lowering springs, which bring the car down by an inch, it increases the rear negative camber from -1.6 to -2.5 degrees, and with camber bolts up front, I can get about -3 degrees of camber at that axle. The balance is much more encouraging with those changes.

Then I replaced the stock rear bar with a Cusco item - from 24 to 26mm which helped with rotation. Now, the turn-in is sharper, and with a little trailbraking, I’m actually able to get the back end to step out enough. The swaybar helps mitigate some of the rear bodyroll, too. Once I dialed in the suspension and put on a set of Falken Azenis RT660, my best time at Thunderhill East dropped by almost seven seconds: from a 2:10.8 to a 2:04.1,” he explained.

Pushing it harder revealed some of the car’s shortcomings. “If you’re driving the piss outta the car, the transfer case gets mega hot and the ECU disengages the rear diff. It feels like my old Fiesta ST: too much power to the front wheels. You can drive around it if you’re careful applying the throttle, but you’re still engaging the transfer case and driving up the temps. 555 Engineering studied this and measured 400F+.

The recommended solution is 555 Engineering’s Setrab-based transfer case cooler. It’s a little pricey, but I’d say it’s worth it if you’re doing several events annually. The other half of the solution is an AWD controller from Syvecs that will trick the AWD system into staying on, despite the temps.

That was one pricey setback, but not as bad as the consumable cost. Generally, the GR Corolla is not as nice to pads and tires as the GR86 was. The compact shape has a surprising amount of tech packed into it, and that shows up on the scales. The Corolla weighs about 3,300 pounds wet, and the factory pads are not up to the task. “I’ve heard some people say they wore theirs out after one day,” he added.

Thankfully, it doesn’t need much to run all day. With DOT 4 brake fluid and Ferodo DS2500 pads, he doesn’t consider brake fade as long as he isn’t driving Laguna Seca.

“The upside to all that weight is that it’s big enough for my dogs. It’s a versatile car, and I can go anywhere in it. It’s not just a track car – it’s also my daily and my canyon car. I’d say it does all three things fairly well, but doesn’t do anything excellently, which is fine with me since I can only currently have one car,” he explained.

That versatility has helped change his tune. I don’t see it going anywhere then. Actually, I guess that depends on whether I can find a nice NC Miata and turn it into a dedicated track car with my dad – he’s retired and needs a project. He actually ran his second event with me at Laguna this month. I’m happy to say: he’s obsessed.

A $38k starting price makes the GR Corolla an expensive track car, though the following is growing.  

For the time being, he has a more actionable plan. If he can sub-2 at Thunderhill East, he will spring for a tune, an intake, and a downpipe. He’s already gone pretty quickly considering the light modifications; he took first in the Modified class at the GR Corolla Time Attack Challenge at Thunderhill East – first out of sixteen.

Before his next event, Hernan is revamping of his entire front brake system. Girodisk 2 piece rotors, BCB caliper piston and rubber seals, Spiegler stainless steel brake lines, and Counter Space Garage CP pads should drop temps at the front axle. If this mod set works as well as he hopes it will, he believes he’ll stand a chance at taking his second consecutive title in the GRC Time Attack Challenge.

Either way, sounds like he’s found a livable balance between stress and satisfaction.

Engine

K&N drop in filter

Velossa Tech intake snorkel

SXTH Element Intercooler

555 Engineering Oil cooler

Lam Speed Oil pan baffle

Drivetrain

Racerx fabrication pitch stop mount

Racerx fabrication short throw shifter

Racerx fabrication shifter cable bushings

Suspension

Eibach Pro kit lowering springs

SPC front camber bolts

Cusco rear sway bar

-3° camber front

-2.5° camber rear

0.06° toe front

0.03 toe rear.

Wheels and Tires:

Enkei RPF1 wheels 18x9.5 +38 wrapped in Falken Azeniz RT660 255/35R18