What is your track day car, and why?
Discussion
Mega Drive said:
The youtube clip of the mx5 vs subaru doesnt surprise me at all - its a common occurance at the handful track days I have attended and great to see.
Hear hear! It's usually Pork getting in the way buy this time it was an M3:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qswi1tCNhf8
ORD said:
It made me think of the infamous Kebab video! It is hardly the driving enthusiasts' choice for taking on track: heavy, expensive consumables, oodles of assistance, not much feedback, etc etc.
I cant think of a single Audi that I have not found positively unpleasant to drive (although I havent driven an R8).
- that kebab video is just unbelievable, can see why you'd think that but bet you wouldn't if you'd driven one. The GTR I have is completely different - it's the old, classic GTR.. I cant think of a single Audi that I have not found positively unpleasant to drive (although I havent driven an R8).
- I really like the Audi to drive, it's so comfy and handling is ok - biggest gripe is that you can't turn the anti skid off! You lot will think I'm mad for saying that lol
Ex championship Ginetta G20 race car. I figured that being a proven entry level racer it should manage my ham fisted track attempts with ease. Quick enough to be fun, variably adjustable suspension to tweak the handling, fairly cheap/robust powertrain plus a full FIA approved safety cell enveloping me in case it all goes horribly wrong.
git-r said:
- I really like the Audi to drive, it's so comfy and handling is ok - biggest gripe is that you can't turn the anti skid off! You lot will think I'm mad for saying that lol
I agree that with most cars, fun can be had in any half decent car. Obviously you'd have more fun in a more sporty car though.I have an AMG Merc Class as a daily and its lovely until you drive it to 9/10ths and it loses all it composure.
Peugeot 306 Gti6
Pro's
- Great fun, agile and lively chassis
- Relatively cheap to modify/fix
- Plenty of parts out there both new and second hand
- Genuinely exciting to drive and holds its own against much more powerful cars
Con's
- Lacks power on longer/straighter circuits
- Its old and french so it is rusting...
- There is always a niggle somewhere I need to fix
Wouldnt sell it/change it for anything :-)
Pro's
- Great fun, agile and lively chassis
- Relatively cheap to modify/fix
- Plenty of parts out there both new and second hand
- Genuinely exciting to drive and holds its own against much more powerful cars
Con's
- Lacks power on longer/straighter circuits
- Its old and french so it is rusting...
- There is always a niggle somewhere I need to fix
Wouldnt sell it/change it for anything :-)
having had fwd cars and rwd, and the odd 4wd i cant ever see me going back to a fwd trackday car or even a 4wd.
i've gone full circle, had a beat up mx5 mk1 that altho slow was the best fun and cheapest laugh ever on track, and could hustle many other cars in bends and braking. having just sold a 500bhp mid engine rwd trackday Lola T70 that was often the fastest car on most trackdays but was worth a lot of money and was always in the back of your mind when pushing on, i've decided to go back to a trackday prepped mx5 thats stripped out and standard engined.
oil changes, brake pads, tyres. that will be the basic costs plus trackdays of course. i'll drive it to and from, i've just sold my trailer, the recovery can pick me up if needed if there is an issue.
yes i'll be one of the slower cars you blast by on track but i'll be grinning from ear to ear again without worrying about it going pop, crashing it or what might happen to it.
just need to find the right car now thats not rotten as a pear!
i've gone full circle, had a beat up mx5 mk1 that altho slow was the best fun and cheapest laugh ever on track, and could hustle many other cars in bends and braking. having just sold a 500bhp mid engine rwd trackday Lola T70 that was often the fastest car on most trackdays but was worth a lot of money and was always in the back of your mind when pushing on, i've decided to go back to a trackday prepped mx5 thats stripped out and standard engined.
oil changes, brake pads, tyres. that will be the basic costs plus trackdays of course. i'll drive it to and from, i've just sold my trailer, the recovery can pick me up if needed if there is an issue.
yes i'll be one of the slower cars you blast by on track but i'll be grinning from ear to ear again without worrying about it going pop, crashing it or what might happen to it.
just need to find the right car now thats not rotten as a pear!
I have been tracking an MR2 for the last 3 years.
Pros:
Rear wheel drive
Drive to the track and back
Reliability, usually first on track and last off it
Cheap to run
Extremely good handling car
Cons:
Slow on the straights
Acceleration, needs a stronger 3rd and you have to carry speed through the corners
https://youtu.be/5pK1m_LgJgI
Pros:
Rear wheel drive
Drive to the track and back
Reliability, usually first on track and last off it
Cheap to run
Extremely good handling car
Cons:
Slow on the straights
Acceleration, needs a stronger 3rd and you have to carry speed through the corners
https://youtu.be/5pK1m_LgJgI
Pdelamare said:
Caterham Levante with 600hp. .
Pros:-
Fast, really really fast.
Handles well, weighs only 530kg.
Great conversation starter.
Cons:-
Useless really in the wet.
Needs insuring due to £120k cost to replace.
Bespoke parts, slight offs can be expensive and take a long time to repair
Currently too loud for some circuits, though this is being sorted.
Can't drive it to or from circuit (yet)
Having typed that out and seeing the cons appear to outweigh the pros, I wonder why I have it, however that all changes as soon as the tyres are warm and your eyelids peel back out of corners and straights disappear.
Pros:-
Fast, really really fast.
Handles well, weighs only 530kg.
Great conversation starter.
Cons:-
Useless really in the wet.
Needs insuring due to £120k cost to replace.
Bespoke parts, slight offs can be expensive and take a long time to repair
Currently too loud for some circuits, though this is being sorted.
Can't drive it to or from circuit (yet)
Having typed that out and seeing the cons appear to outweigh the pros, I wonder why I have it, however that all changes as soon as the tyres are warm and your eyelids peel back out of corners and straights disappear.
Edited by Pdelamare on Monday 5th October 21:17
Excuse my possible ignorance but what engine is in that?
Also do you find it has too much power(can you ever)? From the track days I have done, power isn't everything, or maybe I'm just a s
t driver! The most fun I had was in a 1.6 Nissan 100NX. Boat like handling, really slow but turned out genuinely great fun! Mega Drive said:
e21Mark said:
Cons -
I'm not sure there are any?
Cost is one I guess.
Every car has compromises! I'm not sure there are any?
Cost is one I guess.
On track, unless it weights 3 kilo grams, has 1200kg of downforce, 900hp and a centre of gravity so low you scrap your arse on every corner, it a compromise
Being a based on a saloon was always going to be a compromise but, being a confirmed Bavarian fanboi, I was always going to forgive any such compromises. I was also going to add a lack of torque, but as that means I get to rev the s14 harder and change gear more often, it's almost a positive!
AdamIndy said:
Pdelamare said:
Caterham Levante with 600hp. .
Pros:-
Fast, really really fast.
Handles well, weighs only 530kg.
Great conversation starter.
Cons:-
Useless really in the wet.
Needs insuring due to £120k cost to replace.
Bespoke parts, slight offs can be expensive and take a long time to repair
Currently too loud for some circuits, though this is being sorted.
Can't drive it to or from circuit (yet)
Having typed that out and seeing the cons appear to outweigh the pros, I wonder why I have it, however that all changes as soon as the tyres are warm and your eyelids peel back out of corners and straights disappear.
Pros:-
Fast, really really fast.
Handles well, weighs only 530kg.
Great conversation starter.
Cons:-
Useless really in the wet.
Needs insuring due to £120k cost to replace.
Bespoke parts, slight offs can be expensive and take a long time to repair
Currently too loud for some circuits, though this is being sorted.
Can't drive it to or from circuit (yet)
Having typed that out and seeing the cons appear to outweigh the pros, I wonder why I have it, however that all changes as soon as the tyres are warm and your eyelids peel back out of corners and straights disappear.
Edited by Pdelamare on Monday 5th October 21:17
Excuse my possible ignorance but what engine is in that?
Also do you find it has too much power(can you ever)? From the track days I have done, power isn't everything, or maybe I'm just a s
t driver! The most fun I had was in a 1.6 Nissan 100NX. Boat like handling, really slow but turned out genuinely great fun! The 2.3 litre V6 is lighter at 83kg, and can take more boost to make 600hp, or 520hp at the wheels. The top ends are from a 1150cc Yamaha Ski-mobile and they site on Russell Savory's (RS Performance Engines) custom bottom end. Mountune spent a lot of time 'productionising' it.
Gassing Station | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff