Help - Track Day Wanna Be. Advice Needed !!

[fosterp71]

Hi All,

Just looking for some tips & advice I am looking to buy a fast road/trackday car ready for next spring,
Problem is I'm not sure what to go for and I'm trying to come up with some kind of short list, I recently drove a 96 integra type R, which was quite impressive but i want to be certain I go for the right car,as its only going to be a trackday toy, I cant afford to be chopping and changing to often, (wife wont allow it !! :-) ) something i can upgrade /mod would be ideal but "quick out the box" would be great.

I have a budget of approx 2-3K and of course I want maximum "bang for my bucks" my road car is a TTR 225, ( don’t laugh) so I'd like something with a reasonable amount of power, handling performance & fun

I'm completely open to suggestions, and any advice would be greatly appreciated

Many Thanks

PTF

[mgv8dave]

Go for a Mid 90's Bmw rear wheel drive fun with loads of Potential

1995 on auto trader for £2000K cheap as chips for the car ( no its not mine )

but for that price something like that would give you a great starting place

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+...

[mmm-five]

Do you need to be able to drive it to the track, or will it be trailered? Will it be a weekend car as well, or solely for track use? Do you want a tin-top or a Caterwestical?

BMW e30 320/325, e12 525/528i?

How about something from a saloon championship...http://www.racecarsdirect.com/viewlisting.php?view=13390 ?

[fosterp71]

mmm-five said:

Do you need to be able to drive it to the track, or will it be trailered? Will it be a weekend car as well, or solely for track use? Do you want a tin-top or a Caterwestical?

BMW e30 320/325, e12 525/528i?

How about something from a saloon championship...http://www.racecarsdirect.com/viewlisting.php?view=13390 ?

thanks for the reply.

initially I will need to drive it to the track, but it will not be a weekend car ... my boy racing days are well over :-)
& razzing around normal roads just don't appeal ...anymore
Wife & I plan to buy a chelsea tractor next year,So depending on mods buying a trailer and taking car off road is definitely an option. also taking the car further from home/abroad would be great

3 series sounds interesting, any other suggestions ?

thanks

[RMac]

I would use your tt if you have never done a track day - it will give you an idea of how you would prefer to get around the track.

I don't personally see how an old bmw can give you any enjoyment when your road car is far more capable, you may be able to drift a bm in the wet a bit more but apart from that I don't see an advantage. Throwing £500 at suspension on the audi would make more sense to me, if you feel it needs it - or, hire something suitable for the job like a caterham.

[mmm-five]

RMac said:

I would use your tt if you have never done a track day - it will give you an idea of how you would prefer to get around the track.

I don't personally see how an old bmw can give you any enjoyment when your road car is far more capable, you may be able to drift a bm in the wet a bit more but apart from that I don't see an advantage. Throwing £500 at suspension on the audi would make more sense to me, if you feel it needs it - or, hire something suitable for the job like a caterham.

But it's a lot less worry if you bin a £2k e30 than a £20k TT - plus the TT will be half a tonne heavier and will cost much more to maintain.

[fosterp71]

I would have to agree with mmm-five, theres no way i can afford to risk trashing my main car on the track, but thanks for your advice,
I will do some digging on the BMW option and see whats about...

[deviant]

Mark 1 Toyota MR2 (AW11).

Go for a 1987-1989 model as these came with bigger brakes and anti roll bars.

There is a massive pile of mods you can do them, they are lightweight, love to rev and being mid-engined provide some real thrills.

Very cheap to buy and even cheaper to run. Spare parts are not an issue for them because Toyota pretty much raided their parts bin to build them so there are lots of interchangeable parts with Camry, Corolla, Celica etc.

There would probably be a few ex-race ones knocking around to.

Just make sure you get a rust free one though they are cheap enough to buy that you will have some money left over to freshen up the brakes and suspension.

No need to go over board with the mods on them though...they are very capable things in stock form.

[jleroux]

deviant said:

Mark 1 Toyota MR2 (AW11).

Absolutely 100% agree - it's where my money would be going if I were in the market at that sort of budget. £3k would get you a imported supercharger with LSD, too. Best value for money car i've ever driven on track.

Jonny
BaT

[Jubal]

jleroux said:

deviant said:

Mark 1 Toyota MR2 (AW11).

Absolutely 100% agree - it's where my money would be going if I were in the market at that sort of budget. £3k would get you a imported supercharger with LSD, too. Best value for money car i've ever driven on track.

Jonny
BaT

I looked high and low for one of those without success a few years back and they were mostly buckets of rust or garage queens. I hope the OP has more luck as I really wanted one back then. I ended up with a 205 Mi16 which was maybe faster on track but nowhere near as rewarding. If the OP does buy a track car make sure it's a decent/popular one, has a cage fitted and the suspension/brake mods it needs. That way you'll probably get your money back when you get bored.

[75_Steve]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/269046.htm 

[Mark83]

75_Steve said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/269046.htm 

You'll see plent of these lapping the Nordschleife (75 Experience), fast with sorted suspension and brakes.

[CHIEF]

Went to my first trackday recently - really opened my eyes.

saw loads of stripped out hatches making mincemeat of road going Evo's,Scoobies etc.

i'd say dont discount fwd - as fast as anything else if set up correctly (my buddies Clio Cup ex-racecar re-aaranged my brain cells to how a set up fwd can go around corners)

i'd go for a nice hot hatch as close to or under a ton.

MK2 Golf GTI, Pug 306 GTI, 205 GTI, 106 Rallye, MX-5's seem popular as well if you want to do rwd.

spend a couple of grand on a nice decent hot hatch and then spend a grand modifying it - leave engine alone and do the supension and brakes, i cant emphasize how important braking and suspension set up on a track is.

loads of high powered cars being passed on the first corner by lowere powered mk2 golfs and old pug 205's (including me who was passeging in a 300bhp+ Scooby)

go for it.

good luck

Edited by CHIEF on Saturday 15th December 16:23

[Jubal]

CHIEF said:

Went to my first trackday recently - really opened my eyes.

saw loads of stripped out hatches making mincemeat of road going Evo's Scoobies.

i'd say dont discount fwd - as fast as anything else if set up correctly (my buddies Clio Cup ex-racecar re-aaranged my brain cells to how a set up fwd can go around corners)

i'd go for this nice hot hatch as close to or under a ton.

MK2 Golf GTI, Pug 306 GTI, 205 GTI, 106 Rallye, MX-5's seem popular as well if you want to do rwd.

spend a couple of grand on a nice decent hot hatch and then spend a grand modifying it - leave engine alone and do the supension and brakes, i cant emphasize how important braking and suspension set up on a track is.

loads of high powered cars being passed on the first corner by lowere powered mk2 golfs and old pug 205's (including me who was passeging in a 300bhp+ Scooby)

Really opened my eyes.

good luck

Having owned and tracked one of those stripped out hot hatches I'm not so sure that the apparent performance gap is down to the car in quite the way you think. 3k of disposable track car gives you pretty much free reign to drive as fast as you dare. But a good friend of mine regularly tracked his Subaru STI and it felt every bit of its 300bhp. However, he had decent tyres, drove it without much sympathy and always gave it ten tenths. Therefore he was mixing it properly with other well driven cars where the power to weight ratio was similar. Not many 106 Rallyes went past him, let's put it that way. An awful lot of scoobs, evos and other quick cars appear slow on track because the driver holds back a bit, for whatever reason. I think it's important to consider that when looking at relative performance on track. In essence I agree with you but for different reasons

[CHIEF]

Jubal said:

CHIEF said:

Went to my first trackday recently - really opened my eyes.

saw loads of stripped out hatches making mincemeat of road going Evo's Scoobies.

i'd say dont discount fwd - as fast as anything else if set up correctly (my buddies Clio Cup ex-racecar re-aaranged my brain cells to how a set up fwd can go around corners)

i'd go for this nice hot hatch as close to or under a ton.

MK2 Golf GTI, Pug 306 GTI, 205 GTI, 106 Rallye, MX-5's seem popular as well if you want to do rwd.

spend a couple of grand on a nice decent hot hatch and then spend a grand modifying it - leave engine alone and do the supension and brakes, i cant emphasize how important braking and suspension set up on a track is.

loads of high powered cars being passed on the first corner by lowere powered mk2 golfs and old pug 205's (including me who was passeging in a 300bhp+ Scooby)

Really opened my eyes.

good luck

Having owned and tracked one of those stripped out hot hatches I'm not so sure that the apparent performance gap is down to the car in quite the way you think. 3k of disposable track car gives you pretty much free reign to drive as fast as you dare. But a good friend of mine regularly tracked his Subaru STI and it felt every bit of its 300bhp. However, he had decent tyres, drove it without much sympathy and always gave it ten tenths. Therefore he was mixing it properly with other well driven cars where the power to weight ratio was similar. Not many 106 Rallyes went past him, let's put it that way. An awful lot of scoobs, evos and other quick cars appear slow on track because the driver holds back a bit, for whatever reason. I think it's important to consider that when looking at relative performance on track. In essence I agree with you but for different reasons

Agreed but that is a Scoob that has been prepped for the track, something like a rallye stripped out with minor mods can push 160bhp per ton and with a decent set of stoppers can embarrass much more powerful machinary.

Ok the track has a lot to do with this, i.e. Oulton is twisty and i would imagine that a track like castle combe the outcome may be different.

Dont get me wrong i love Scoobs (i'm actually in a scooby club) and i thought cars like this and evo's were the be all and end all, what i didn't realise is that a tracked prepped hot hatch can be every bit as quick if not quicker than a road modded rally rep.

incidentally my trip in the Clio round Oulton nothing and i mean nothing passed us - amazing little car.

[Jubal]

It was a standard road going STI, I know because it was mine before I sold it. Pads and tyres were the only mods. Anyway, I don't want to argue, I just wanted to point out that your experience at your first track day was not the only explaination of events. I totally agree that a cheap track car is the way to go, if you know what you want that is, but don't expect to blow everyone away with it.

PS, I know Dai's car well too and have driven one before. It punches well above its weight but it isn't the only way to go round a track quickly at that price point.

[CHIEF]

No argument from me mate just a debate :-)

If i was spending ten grand or so i think i'd lean towards a westy/caterham, I put this to Dai but he prefers his tin tops.
afetr the recent track day at Oulton i can understand why - god it was cold.

[richad027]

At Spa last year I ended up hiring an old BMW 318 that was stripped out and setup as a trackday car, it turned out to be a lot of fun far better than I expected and that was with modest tyres on it. I'd highly recommend this as your starting path as very cheap to buy and there are lots of mods available at a reasonable price.

I then hired an even older BMW at the Ring, it was a lot of fun too.


Richard.

[fosterp71]

Many thanks for all your tips/advice,
I am leaning towards the suggestion of buying a car maybe with a few mods (cage supension etc.. already done, but if the right/solid car comes my way with no mods thats ok too.
besides the usual autotrader and ebay and of course the classified ads on here are there any other sites that are worth looking at?

thanks - P