What Car - Track/Fast Road Daily Driver - £5-7k
Discussion
I've been chewing this one over a while.
What car would you choose for trackday and road thrills at a fairly modest budget but could still be used every day?
I'm keen on considering the "through life cost" - parts must be cheap, upgrades must be cheap, and the car must be supportable by a capable independent mechanic rather than requiring specialist, or even worse, Main Dealer attention (and all the "OEM parts tax" and inflated labour rates that incurs). It would be my only car, but I have a short commute.
Immediately thinking something like the ubiquitous MX-5, or maybe a Renaultsport Clio or Megane?
What car would you choose for trackday and road thrills at a fairly modest budget but could still be used every day?
I'm keen on considering the "through life cost" - parts must be cheap, upgrades must be cheap, and the car must be supportable by a capable independent mechanic rather than requiring specialist, or even worse, Main Dealer attention (and all the "OEM parts tax" and inflated labour rates that incurs). It would be my only car, but I have a short commute.
Immediately thinking something like the ubiquitous MX-5, or maybe a Renaultsport Clio or Megane?
I went for a BMW E36 328i. Trouble is finding a good one but chuck £5k at it in upgrades and ypu will have a great road and track car.
The 'Reader's cars' section seem to have a few being modded. Also Dale Lomas of PH ran one for few years as his 'Ring car.
They are soggy as standard but have a lot of potential...
The 'Reader's cars' section seem to have a few being modded. Also Dale Lomas of PH ran one for few years as his 'Ring car.
They are soggy as standard but have a lot of potential...
Tickle said:
Renault Sport (Clios) require a specialist for belt service including dephaser pulley. Not sure on the Megs. Worth considering with your criteria.
Which is its only foible - there are lots of specialists who can do it now, or it's a very doable job on the driveway if you're prepared to spend the time.ChevronB19 said:
Clio 200 - bought one for that precise reason, although I'm having loads of rattle problems from a mysterious heat shield and it's driving me nuts!
Should add by the way - I had an NC MX5 a couple of cars before the Clio. If I wanted a car that was just a lot of fun, rather than 'fast' (I know all this is relative), I'd go for a 2.0 sport MX5 NC with bilsteins and 4 wheel geometry done properly. If you want the capability to be 'fast' and frenetic, Clio. But for track days I'd always go RWD for fun (my race car is RWD, so I'm biased), but when I was an instructor I always preferred the RWD school cars.ChevronB19 said:
Should add by the way - I had an NC MX5 a couple of cars before the Clio. If I wanted a car that was just a lot of fun, rather than 'fast' (I know all this is relative), I'd go for a 2.0 sport MX5 NC with bilsteins and 4 wheel geometry done properly. If you want the capability to be 'fast' and frenetic, Clio. But for track days I'd always go RWD for fun (my race car is RWD, so I'm biased), but when I was an instructor I always preferred the RWD school cars.
This is appearing a tempting option. Off to hunt the classifieds.
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