thinking about buying a track day car

[picks129]

i have heard a clio 172/182 is a good start car. but what would you guys would say is the best car for 3-4 k .
cheers in advance lee

[philevo6]

As above.

The clio 172 is a great little rocket.

Look on the classifieds on here (trackday cars)....there are a few decent ones with bits done to them.

[picks129]

im a little worried that it wont be fast enough but i suppose if you are out with simular powered cars it wont be a issue

[anonymous-user]

picks129 said:

im a little worried that it wont be fast enough but i suppose if you are out with simular powered cars it wont be a issue

you will be surprised. a clio 172 can carry a lot of speed through the corners and wont be embarrassed on the straights. renault did a very good job with the handling on that car and if you wave some cash at k-tec they will make it even better....

[joe_90]

the 172 cup, can keep up with a lot lot faster stuff, on trackdays I have done, only the lightweights and things like suprerchangered elises go past. I goes past a lot lot more expensive stuff.. It was quicker (let past) by elises, mx5, boxters, and a stripped out golf on semi slicks, mini coopers S, and even a could of 2 seaters..

Its carries (as standard) huge amounts of speed in the corners, and you can break late (uprate the pads/discs/fluid) as it weights nothing.

However for 2K I have now got a e36 track car (see my thread in readers cars).

Have no fear, the 172 standard can show up a lot more expensive metal.

For a laugh watch THIS its me tooling around a track, ignore my ramblings, the point is you can see the corner speed, and a few cars that move over.. Also about 9 mins, I attempt to keep up with a xbow


However 4 options:
Buy a cup for 3k ish, and strip, and put semi slicks on (and maybe better suspension)
Buy a m3?
Buy a 328, strip, suspension, semi slicks, strut braces and wider alloys..
Buy a mx5 and do suspension/cage.

Edited by joe_90 on Wednesday 25th August 22:02

[AndrewO]

Sort the suspension out and cars like this can hold their own against the majority of cars on short twisty circuits. The problem is the long straights, so places like Silverstone GP you will feel slow.

To start off with a cheaper front wheel drive car is the best bet. Once your comfortable sliding it about on wet/dry tracks it maybe time to go for something quicker. If you want to keep up on the bigger circuits you'll need 140-150mph on the long striaghts so thats £10k+. Your usually talking about M3's with big brakes/suspension mods.

[brillomaster]

does it have to be road legal/insurable? for cheap thrills you cant go far wrong with a 328 - and you'd have 2k to spare, easy.

i wouldnt be hugely worried about fwd/rwd, a track is the place to push the limits and have a bit of fun!

[picks129]

my closest track is snetterton so may need to go for something faster for the long straights there.
i have had a number of rwd drive cars in the past so not really worried about that but i have been racing fwd cars for the last 12 years but now fancy doing something a little different rather than oval racing

[Chris71]

picks129 said:

im a little worried that it wont be fast enough but i suppose if you are out with simular powered cars it wont be a issue

Not driven the 172, but certianly the 182 is a genuinely quick car on the road. With some weight reduction and some semi-slicks it should fly on the track.

It's not the end of the world if you are slower than the other cars, but if you're doing an average track day you'll most likely find it full of hot hatches and MX5s anyway!

[Porkie]

I have a 172cup. bought it for a bit of FWD fun on wet trackdays and to relive my teenage years! and for my little sister to drive on trackdays as all my other cars were a little too fast and valuable for her to crash!

awesome little cars on track.

I took mine to Mark Fish motorsport in Harlow. The man is a TOTAL and utter GENIUS with Clios.

very very cheap to run as well!

excuse the Essex accents! and my friends laugh!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8OYQtse7zo

Edited by Porkie on Thursday 26th August 13:51

Edited by Porkie on Thursday 26th August 13:57