Track days on an extremely low budget.
Discussion
Hello Chaps,
I want to get into track days, but my budget is very small.
My idea is to get a very cheap car, strip it out and have a go. Eventually I would look at modest up grades but initially it's about getting on track for minimal outlay. I can do nearly all the work myself.
Who else has done this?
I want to get into track days, but my budget is very small.
My idea is to get a very cheap car, strip it out and have a go. Eventually I would look at modest up grades but initially it's about getting on track for minimal outlay. I can do nearly all the work myself.
Who else has done this?
I expect many of us have, certainly me for one :-)
To many people get caught up in the whole 'track car' thing, and it's so common to see builds of such cars with various mods which are perceived to be required, often being built by people who have never even done a trackday!
So your idea is the right one, there is nothing wrong at all in getting a cheap car and just getting out there, providing the car is safe, without getting embroiled in all the 'must have' modifications, many of which add nothing in terms of driver enjoyment or simply having fun.
I've got a mk4 Fiesta 1.4 I've used on track a few times and intend to do many more events going forward, and whilst the spec is getting more comprehensive now, its still very much a road car and my daily, but even so I've had huge amounts of fun in it.
What car are you thinking of using?
To many people get caught up in the whole 'track car' thing, and it's so common to see builds of such cars with various mods which are perceived to be required, often being built by people who have never even done a trackday!
So your idea is the right one, there is nothing wrong at all in getting a cheap car and just getting out there, providing the car is safe, without getting embroiled in all the 'must have' modifications, many of which add nothing in terms of driver enjoyment or simply having fun.
I've got a mk4 Fiesta 1.4 I've used on track a few times and intend to do many more events going forward, and whilst the spec is getting more comprehensive now, its still very much a road car and my daily, but even so I've had huge amounts of fun in it.
What car are you thinking of using?
Chainsaw Rebuild said:
Perhaps a focus? There are loads on eBay for well under £1000, infact many under £500.
Ideally I fancy a BMW 3 series for RWD, I think.
I'd trawl autotrader for whatever bargin might become available local to you. E.g. something like this.Ideally I fancy a BMW 3 series for RWD, I think.
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Or this
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...
Obviously on top of buying the car your annual budget for track days needs to be a consideration too.
For example a mate and I put money in a pot to cover trackdays and costs for work on the car. We each put in £80 a month and that covers us for 5 trackdays a year.
I couldn't afford to do many if I was funding it all myself, for that amount I'd be looking at 2-3 days a year tops, which is why I track my car with a mate.
For example a mate and I put money in a pot to cover trackdays and costs for work on the car. We each put in £80 a month and that covers us for 5 trackdays a year.
I couldn't afford to do many if I was funding it all myself, for that amount I'd be looking at 2-3 days a year tops, which is why I track my car with a mate.
IMHO I think you are barking up the wrong tree if you think you can do it on a budget.
For a moment lets forget the cost of the car & the mods & the insurance & the tax & the MOT etc, and lets assume you have a cheap stripped out lightweight hatchback with 1/2 decent suspension, good brakes, seats & harnesses (rollcage is pretty much obligatory with them I know)
So you buy the trackday £99 to 350, lets be generous & say £150 average as you are on a budget, lets average it at 6 days per year.
You will drive 50 miles to your local track, get 15 mpg on the day & drive back, so there is nigh on 2 tanks of petrol.
You will go through tyres at a significantly higher rate than on the road. Once again lets be generous & say you use good part-worns for £100/set, these will last the above 6 days.
IF you get the discs & pads right the first time they will just last the year also at £250.
So by the time you have serviced the car you are looking at:
6 x £150 = £900
6 x 2 x £50 = £600
£100
£250
£100
So WITHOUT any costs for the car & the mods etc as above that is around £2000/year excluding accidents.
How are you proposing to do that on an extremely tight budget?
Sorry, it just does not add up.
For a moment lets forget the cost of the car & the mods & the insurance & the tax & the MOT etc, and lets assume you have a cheap stripped out lightweight hatchback with 1/2 decent suspension, good brakes, seats & harnesses (rollcage is pretty much obligatory with them I know)
So you buy the trackday £99 to 350, lets be generous & say £150 average as you are on a budget, lets average it at 6 days per year.
You will drive 50 miles to your local track, get 15 mpg on the day & drive back, so there is nigh on 2 tanks of petrol.
You will go through tyres at a significantly higher rate than on the road. Once again lets be generous & say you use good part-worns for £100/set, these will last the above 6 days.
IF you get the discs & pads right the first time they will just last the year also at £250.
So by the time you have serviced the car you are looking at:
6 x £150 = £900
6 x 2 x £50 = £600
£100
£250
£100
So WITHOUT any costs for the car & the mods etc as above that is around £2000/year excluding accidents.
How are you proposing to do that on an extremely tight budget?
Sorry, it just does not add up.
Sorry I forgot your other point.
You mention you would ideally like a BM.
Sorry to give you some more bad news, I am not doing it to be nasty or elitist, just letting you know what you are getting into.
I have an e36 328 which I bought in 2009 for £1650.
To buy the same car in the same condition now would cost me twice as much.
The consumable costs I have highlighted above are double those I mentioned for one of those, they are not kind on consumables and I get 8mpg on track and use 2 full 70 litre tanks per track day.
A set of front pads costs me £230+vat.
Rears cost £44+vat
Tyres cost me over £500/year.
I service the car 3 times/year.
I go through a set of discs/year at over £200
And then there is the insurance, mot, tax, track day cost, cost of the inevitable repairs etc.
If I were to put my hand on my heart I would say my track day habit costs me well over £5k/year just in consumables & running costs.
You mention you would ideally like a BM.
Sorry to give you some more bad news, I am not doing it to be nasty or elitist, just letting you know what you are getting into.
I have an e36 328 which I bought in 2009 for £1650.
To buy the same car in the same condition now would cost me twice as much.
The consumable costs I have highlighted above are double those I mentioned for one of those, they are not kind on consumables and I get 8mpg on track and use 2 full 70 litre tanks per track day.
A set of front pads costs me £230+vat.
Rears cost £44+vat
Tyres cost me over £500/year.
I service the car 3 times/year.
I go through a set of discs/year at over £200
And then there is the insurance, mot, tax, track day cost, cost of the inevitable repairs etc.
If I were to put my hand on my heart I would say my track day habit costs me well over £5k/year just in consumables & running costs.
AshVX220 said:
I couldn't afford to do many if I was funding it all myself, for that amount I'd be looking at 2-3 days a year tops, which is why I track my car with a mate.
But presumably he drives it on track too, so you get to visit twice as many days but do half the driving whilst you're there? So the net result is you're actually worse off because you're still getting the same net track time as you would if you funded it all yourself, but you've incurred twice as much travelling and subsistence costs.What am I missing?
I do a few a year on not alot of money. Have a clio 197. Don't need a fancy seat/harness and the standard brakes are more than enough. I've done 10 in since I've had it and used one set of pads and 6 tyres in that time. Use about half to 3/4 a tank on a open pit day. Maybe I'm not pushing as hard as some as it's my only car so is a daily too.
It can be done on a budget I think. I managed 3 or 4 track days a year in my Gti6, whilst still managing to pay rent, look after the kids and own a motorbike.
It got pretty tough when I took a new job that only paid £15,750 a year though. Sure enough, something had to slip and sadly it ended up being the maintenance. This meant that started doing a lot of the maintenance myself. Fine if you're a mechanic, not so fine if you're me. Ultimately i rushed a suspension job, which then collapsed partly . Coupled with my relative low track experience, a meeting with the wall was inevitable.
So just guage what track time you can afford, and go from there. If it becomes a choice of another track day or properly carried out repairs, chose the latter.
It got pretty tough when I took a new job that only paid £15,750 a year though. Sure enough, something had to slip and sadly it ended up being the maintenance. This meant that started doing a lot of the maintenance myself. Fine if you're a mechanic, not so fine if you're me. Ultimately i rushed a suspension job, which then collapsed partly . Coupled with my relative low track experience, a meeting with the wall was inevitable.
So just guage what track time you can afford, and go from there. If it becomes a choice of another track day or properly carried out repairs, chose the latter.
MX5 with MoT £500-£800 pref Eunos with LSD and 115bhp
Airfield trackdays £89-£150
Toyo tyres for above, from £35 per corner, lasting 3-6 trackdays and more than capable in a standard MX5/Eunos.
Brakepads from £25 per set.....
Oil/consumables these things will take chip fat if they needed to.
Spares availability, .....tesco, waitrose any corner shop.....basically there are specialists all over the country
Certainly the cheapest way to get fun on a budget, you may not be the quickest but you will have the most fun. Even on standard suspension they are hilarious in the corners.
D
Airfield trackdays £89-£150
Toyo tyres for above, from £35 per corner, lasting 3-6 trackdays and more than capable in a standard MX5/Eunos.
Brakepads from £25 per set.....
Oil/consumables these things will take chip fat if they needed to.
Spares availability, .....tesco, waitrose any corner shop.....basically there are specialists all over the country
Certainly the cheapest way to get fun on a budget, you may not be the quickest but you will have the most fun. Even on standard suspension they are hilarious in the corners.
D
Neil - YVM said:
Try searching for "Track Car" on eBay.
Will be cheaper in the long run to buy a ready prepped car than prep one your self.
Both the two most popular track day cars can be had for under £1000, MX5 or Clio 172 Cup
Thank you, I will have a look. Will be cheaper in the long run to buy a ready prepped car than prep one your self.
Both the two most popular track day cars can be had for under £1000, MX5 or Clio 172 Cup
This won't be dangerous at all.....
:smilie:
Be careful with "prepped" cars, a lot of them have just had a few bits stripped out to save weight and some cheap 2" straps fitted. They've then been thrashed round with minimal maintenance (cos they are on a budget) and sold when they start to have problems 
.
Often as well getting a standard car unless you are very confident that the prepped version is a proper thing.
.Often as well getting a standard car unless you are very confident that the prepped version is a proper thing.
Agree with Steve, more often than not cheap 'track cars' are not a great idea and a factory standard car that hasn't been messed with is a safer bet, as mentioned a lot of mods you'll find on cheap track cars are not needed anyway.
To minimise costs go for something with a small engine and low weight, it'll help no end when it comes fuel costs and consumables.
To minimise costs go for something with a small engine and low weight, it'll help no end when it comes fuel costs and consumables.
Don't need to be loaded to do trackdays, but you do need to go into it with your eyes wide open.
If you don't already have a means of towing a car, then the biggest 'upfront' cost is the tax, insurance and MOT on an additional car. I'm of an age now where insurance is cheap(ish), but that alone is around £700 a year for me.
Next priority if you're driving the car to/from track is making sure it's in good enough nick to get you there, take the punishment and get you home again. Budget to do oil services every 2k instead of every 10k and at least half intervals for coolant, transmission fluid etc. Brake fluid every 2-3 trackdays. Do inspections between trackdays and be prepared to replace anything that needs it - pads, discs, ball joints, CV joints, bushes etc. The big cost here is labour really, so if you can do all that yourself, you're quids in. You may need to allocate budget for tools.
Otherwise, just stick with a standard car for your first few trackdays. A lot of cars are okay on OEM brakes, provided they're in good nick, with fresh fluid and you are not running trackday rubber. The upgrade to sticky tyres is often the killer of brakes - depending on car of course. But a few trackdays in a standard car will soon tell you where upgrades would be of most benefit. Lighter cars will be less hungry for consumables.
So that comes to what...£1000-£1200 per year, accounting for replacing wear and tear items? Plus cost of car. Plus cost of trackdays. Plus cost of fuel.
Otherwise, budget for a decent helmet, sub 10 mpg on track (I get 8 mpg ish - in a smaller engined car you'll do better, but best be conservative) and you're good to go.
If you can share the costs with another party, that makes it much more affordable but remember you'll also get half the track time
If you don't already have a means of towing a car, then the biggest 'upfront' cost is the tax, insurance and MOT on an additional car. I'm of an age now where insurance is cheap(ish), but that alone is around £700 a year for me.
Next priority if you're driving the car to/from track is making sure it's in good enough nick to get you there, take the punishment and get you home again. Budget to do oil services every 2k instead of every 10k and at least half intervals for coolant, transmission fluid etc. Brake fluid every 2-3 trackdays. Do inspections between trackdays and be prepared to replace anything that needs it - pads, discs, ball joints, CV joints, bushes etc. The big cost here is labour really, so if you can do all that yourself, you're quids in. You may need to allocate budget for tools.
Otherwise, just stick with a standard car for your first few trackdays. A lot of cars are okay on OEM brakes, provided they're in good nick, with fresh fluid and you are not running trackday rubber. The upgrade to sticky tyres is often the killer of brakes - depending on car of course. But a few trackdays in a standard car will soon tell you where upgrades would be of most benefit. Lighter cars will be less hungry for consumables.
So that comes to what...£1000-£1200 per year, accounting for replacing wear and tear items? Plus cost of car. Plus cost of trackdays. Plus cost of fuel.
Otherwise, budget for a decent helmet, sub 10 mpg on track (I get 8 mpg ish - in a smaller engined car you'll do better, but best be conservative) and you're good to go.
If you can share the costs with another party, that makes it much more affordable but remember you'll also get half the track time
Edited by motorhole on Wednesday 1st June 09:39
I track on a small-ish budget.
I used to run a pretty standard 1.8 Celica. Not very powerful, but even with standard suspension it handled well.
I've just 'upgraded' to an e46 323i, that I bought as an MOT failure. It's my daily so I still want it to have at least some road manners.
I'm lucky that I'm a mechanic.
But if you feel capable to do some spannering yourself, that'll cut your costs considerably.
I used to run a pretty standard 1.8 Celica. Not very powerful, but even with standard suspension it handled well.
I've just 'upgraded' to an e46 323i, that I bought as an MOT failure. It's my daily so I still want it to have at least some road manners.
I'm lucky that I'm a mechanic.
But if you feel capable to do some spannering yourself, that'll cut your costs considerably.
mattdaniels said:
AshVX220 said:
I couldn't afford to do many if I was funding it all myself, for that amount I'd be looking at 2-3 days a year tops, which is why I track my car with a mate.
But presumably he drives it on track too, so you get to visit twice as many days but do half the driving whilst you're there? So the net result is you're actually worse off because you're still getting the same net track time as you would if you funded it all yourself, but you've incurred twice as much travelling and subsistence costs.What am I missing?
I keep recommending (and being ignored about) the 206 GTi as a budget track car. It's effectively a poor relation to the Clio 172/182, and as a result there are plenty of serviceable examples on Ebay in the £500-800 region. The engine was used across the Pug range, and is pretty robust, and it's generally an easy car to work on and maintain.
Once stripped, they should be comfortably under the ton. With 130-something bhp, they will be plenty of fun on track.
Once stripped, they should be comfortably under the ton. With 130-something bhp, they will be plenty of fun on track.
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