endurance acing advice sought - what car?

[kawasicki]

Hello all

intending to start endurance racing at the N'Ring in the VLN next year. have a budget of about £8k for the car. Choice seems to be;
a) clio cup (2.0l seq 6 speed) 190bhp
b) mini cooper s cup (dont know much about this car!)
c) ford fiesta st (1.6l H pattern) 170bhp

anyone got any opinions on what would make the most suitable race car? We aim to be competitive, but mainly have fun!

I know I'm being vague, just like to know people's opinions!

Shane

[p490kvp]

Dude - get an old E36 M3. They are real strong and lots of bits for them plus they turn a decent lap time which means you don't have to look in the mirrors so much. Racing a little car at the 'Ring must be a nightmare.

Regards, Phil Bennett.

[Simon Mason]

If you can stretch to it Phil is right, a Bimmer is the best option, however I suspect at £8k for the car you will struggle to find anything worth having. So on that basis the Clio is top dog but you will still struggle to get one worth having for that money. Baring in mind you want it for endurance racing its not worth buying one of the many sheds because it will cost as much to put it right as a proper car will, unless you intend spreading the cost of extra bits over the winter.

However, watch out for gearbox issues they break easilly, try to buy one already with a big tank, to save money. A big fuel tank (100ltrs+) will set you back another couple of grand unless you want the car to handle like a dog when its full. This means you are probably looking at a car from Germany, Holland or Belgium already. Theres plenty of them.

[kawasicki]

Thanks for the advice

we just sold a BMW E30, mid eighties (pre M3) saloon, with a 2.7l 12V straight six. We ran it in a few CHC events this year, and did a couple of VLN training days. We need something smaller, more competitive within its group. We are on a shoe string budget really.

I understand the need for a large, sorted fuel tank!

Shane

[mat205125]

Do you have a link to a site with more info about the event?

Am I to understand that you are planning to compete in a standard road car? What licence do you need to take part?

[kawasicki]

No, it's a normal endurance race. Based at the N'Ring. Great fun.

Cars are racing cars, some of them are quite close to production spec though! A former colleage of mine races a bmw 325i with better suspension and different discs and pads, besides the safety stuff, that's the only change from standard. His team does ok too!

My plan is to race in this years 24hr.

Shane

[doctorpepper]

I'd have thought something like this would have been what you want...

www.pistonheads.com/sales/101902.htm

superb reliability, already preped to full FIA spec ( not sure if its different for VLN? ) easy to maintain, excellent handling.
Also IIRC the VLN class that covers 2.5l cars is "reasonably quiet" there were lots of cars in the up to 2litre class and then all the 911 are in the 3litre and above.. so i think you'd only have to worry about the E30 M3's... etc

DP

[kawasicki]

Nice 944, I used to have a sports suspended 944 Turbo SE. It was amazing fun.

I've bought a 2003 Clio Cup car!

Should be fun in the 07 VLN.

Shane