For those that track on limited budget

[andy_quantum]

I want to do a few track days this year, and need help with a few things.

I'm thinking of recycling the Elan, doing a bit of work here and there on suspension and maybe change the head gasket as well, or alternatively just buy something cheap around the £2.5k mark that'll hopefully be ready to go

My question is for those who do this already in this sort of price bracket, what prep work do you do for your cars?

Have you suffered any significant wear and tear, say h/g or suspension failure at an event? Or have you already taken care of such things pre match so to speak

Any particular recommendations for cars? I'd like something 2 seater which rules out the usual suspects of the E30, Golf etc. Was thinking MR2 Turbo, MGF, 1.8 MX-5 etc but any other ideas welcome

[HelenToe]

I've had plenty of fun from a standard MX-5 for two years, only mods being the brakes. It's not the quickest thing, but it's such a laugh. Get a Eunos (import) with an LSD and you'll have as much fun as the next guy, and if you really need the speed I hear there are some good turbo/supercharger conversion kits.

[Ianeire]

2000/2001 Clio 172?

[andy_quantum]

Ianeire said:

2000/2001 Clio 172?

I was going to launch off on a rant about that being far outside the budget, but I just checked and it's not that far away at all! Quite surprising what they're going for tbh

Nice idea, but I'm after a 2 seater really which is why I was thinking of doing something with the Elan I already have. Thats dependant on it getting new wishbones, water pump and possibly oil pump too. I also want to check the head after chipping it to make sure I'm not going to stress it too much on track, the thought was if it's too much time, money and effort to do something with the Lotus, a ready made road legal track car might be a better option

Do people just generally see what happens with the cars they take on track, and am I taking it all a bit seriously for the sort of price point I'm aiming at?

[HelenToe]

There's a school of thought that the more you do to a car, re mods, the more that can go wrong. Half of the fun of track days is that you can take a road car on to the track. I don't see the point in spending loads of money on track day cars, you do that for racing! Just get a good, solid car, maybe beef up the brakes, and have some fun.

By the way, Porsche 944s are quite cheap, and good track cars, too.

[iguana]

andy_quantum said:

I want to do a few track days this year, and need help with a few things.

I'm thinking of recycling the Elan, doing a bit of work here and there on suspension and maybe change the head gasket as well, or alternatively just buy something cheap around the £2.5k mark that'll hopefully be ready to go

My question is for those who do this already in this sort of price bracket, what prep work do you do for your cars?

Have you suffered any significant wear and tear, say h/g or suspension failure at an event? Or have you already taken care of such things pre match so to speak

Any particular recommendations for cars? I'd like something 2 seater which rules out the usual suspects of the E30, Golf etc. Was thinking MR2 Turbo, MGF, 1.8 MX-5 etc but any other ideas welcome

Gay wheel drive Izusu elan or proper one?

Anyhow I've run & still run quite a few cars as trackers that would fit into yr catagory price wise, esp if you can go to to £500 ish more.

Golf
Corrado
E30 325i
E36M3
Mx5 turbo

Really on anything you need uprated brakes= race pads, race fluid & uprated cooling, & firmer suspension on anything to track, beyond that all depnds how serious you are, harnesses & cage always a good idea tho, some cars really need oil coolers & bigger rads too, but water wetter & no thermostat, or an earlier opening one from another model can do wonders.

Naturally its always far far far cheaper to buy something already done too.

Breakage wise id say I had one in about 30 trackdays & still limped home ok & that was about 600 miles back home too! fixed for £100, other than that you will need consumables like wheel bearings, top mounts etc, but generally keep on top of the maintenance- & carefully check over the car pre & post track day & it can be fine im very OTT with oil changes for instance personally, couple of trackdays & change it.

The maintenace is more money consuming than you may imagine tho, but far less if you spanner yourself & are careful where you buy parts & use 2nd hand if you can.

Always do a cool down lap off the brakes & power & keep on top of the maintenace & you'd be suprised how much abuse old clunkers can take.

[sniff petrol]

iguana said:

Gay wheel drive Izusu elan or proper one?

Think he means the former due to the previous mention of chipping, don't think you can chip twin carb'd cars.

[andy_quantum]

sniff petrol said:

iguana said:

Gay wheel drive Izusu elan or proper one?

Think he means the former due to the previous mention of chipping, don't think you can chip twin carb'd cars.

OK then, gay wheel drive!

I was quite impressed with the organisation of Lotus-On-Track events, and seeing as a couple of mates are members it probably makes sense for me to get in with them. One of the stipulations is 2 seats rather than 4. I've already got 3 cars, and only really have space for 2 so going for 4 is probably a no-no unless I get rid of one.

It'd make sense to use the Elan, it ticks the boxes as it's a Lotus, it's got 2 seats. Just needs a bit of work to stand up to a bit of abuse on the track, so I was curious as to what people do to the cars they track over and above that of standard road trim

[nsa]

Caterham-type cars always look like they're a good laugh on track, and I'm thinking about buying a non-road racecar to use. Think you have to spend a lot on a road car to get anything like the feel of a racecar. Also would say buy something you can repair easily if you bend it. I don't push as hard as I'd like on track because I know an off is going to cost at least £2k and a lot of hassle.

[andy_quantum]

nsa said:

Caterham-type cars always look like they're a good laugh on track, and I'm thinking about buying a non-road racecar to use. Think you have to spend a lot on a road car to get anything like the feel of a racecar. Also would say buy something you can repair easily if you bend it. I don't push as hard as I'd like on track because I know an off is going to cost at least £2k and a lot of hassle.

I thought about a 7 inspired car, but what puts me off is that I've no storage undercover and I'm 6'3, so struggle with most of them. And I dont fancy driving to/from the track in one either, anywhere other than Donington isnt exactly close

[fergus]

andy_quantum said:

nsa said:

Caterham-type cars always look like they're a good laugh on track, and I'm thinking about buying a non-road racecar to use. Think you have to spend a lot on a road car to get anything like the feel of a racecar. Also would say buy something you can repair easily if you bend it. I don't push as hard as I'd like on track because I know an off is going to cost at least £2k and a lot of hassle.

I thought about a 7 inspired car, but what puts me off is that I've no storage undercover and I'm 6'3, so struggle with most of them. And I dont fancy driving to/from the track in one either, anywhere other than Donington isnt exactly close

I'm 6'5 1/2", and 18 stone, size 13 feet, and fit into a narrow bodied caterham (with a lowered floor, and a tall cage). You will be able to fit, I guarantee it!)

[nsa]

Andy, I struggle for storage and don't really enjoy driving a track car to the track either so will probably rent a lock up and put the car on a trailer. The trailer would be an added hassle but it also makes for a recovery vehicle if anything goes wrong.

I'm talking myself into this now. Would really like one of the Sports 2000 or Britsport cars.

[andy_quantum]

nsa said:

Would really like one of the Sports 2000 or Britsport cars.

Get on with it then!

I've made some progress here, after thinking whether I'd be safe should something break, fail or other at speed, and more likely cornering I've written up a list of repairs and replacements for the Elan and it's in the garage now getting the work done. Just need to source a couple of obsolete parts and we're hopefully ready