throw away trackcar ?
Discussion
I am pondering on the idea of picking up an MX5 as a cheap occasional trackcar... just something to throw around at the odd airfield day or circuit. Obviously not looking to be fast, just want something that is RWD and nice and playable, fun in the momentum style of driving, cheapish to run and driveable to the cct. The few times ive driven MX5s they seem to fit the bill and they appear cheap enough so that if it gest stuffed or fails on me catastrophically it wont hurt just to get the scrappy to pick it up.
dont know much about them though... can anyone advise whats the best car to go for ? I gather the Eunos is better fro some reason ? although I may be worng on that. Would appreciate any pointers
cheers
R
dont know much about them though... can anyone advise whats the best car to go for ? I gather the Eunos is better fro some reason ? although I may be worng on that. Would appreciate any pointers
cheers
R
My only issue with these kinds of "throw away" track cars is that because of their nature, the owner will often have a careless attitude when it comes to the safety of the car.
Let's say for example your car has lost a bit of water and you own a £30k Porsche, the chances are you will be a little concerned, give the car a good look-over, and consult the help of a specialist if you have a trackday coming up so you don't cause any damage.
Now if you have a £500 VW Golf or similar, the usual attitude will be, "Let's just take it out and see what happens..." Because the chances are, the car is worth less than the repair.
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
Let's say for example your car has lost a bit of water and you own a £30k Porsche, the chances are you will be a little concerned, give the car a good look-over, and consult the help of a specialist if you have a trackday coming up so you don't cause any damage.
Now if you have a £500 VW Golf or similar, the usual attitude will be, "Let's just take it out and see what happens..." Because the chances are, the car is worth less than the repair.
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
LaurenceFrost said:
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
I very much doubt he needs telling of the consequences of coolant on the track.What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/trackdays2005/t...
sjg said:
LaurenceFrost said:
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
I very much doubt he needs telling of the consequences of coolant on the track.What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/trackdays2005/t...
Doesn't Howard at BaT run a Max5 racecar? Also Simon Mason built one as a track car and had that up for sale a while ago which would probably be perfect for your needs. He might still have it.
ISTR preferred spec is early 1.6 Eunos as the 1.6 is lighter and originally had a similar output to the 1.8 but got detuned later to mark out a difference between the specs. Eunos had LSD (albeit not a brilliant one) whereas UK-spec cars have an open diff.
Lol at the coolant comment...
ISTR preferred spec is early 1.6 Eunos as the 1.6 is lighter and originally had a similar output to the 1.8 but got detuned later to mark out a difference between the specs. Eunos had LSD (albeit not a brilliant one) whereas UK-spec cars have an open diff.
Lol at the coolant comment...
jackal said:
sjg said:
LaurenceFrost said:
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
I very much doubt he needs telling of the consequences of coolant on the track.What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/trackdays2005/t...
None the less, the page made very good reading, as did the rest of the site. Donkey referred to in that write-up is the same guy who set my Westfield up.
Edited by LaurenceFrost on Tuesday 25th November 10:00
got to be the early 90s rover 216/220 gti. they can be had for peanuts via the usual sources and could still be entertaining. mx5 would be good choice but i would be tempted to upgrade parts to make it faster and then it becomes the same money pit as all the others.
with a rover I would just get the interior out, a new seat, harness and thats the lot. so the fwd bashers will be roused to reply, well i still think i could embarrass some exotica with one at the right track...
with a rover I would just get the interior out, a new seat, harness and thats the lot. so the fwd bashers will be roused to reply, well i still think i could embarrass some exotica with one at the right track...
pablo said:
got to be the early 90s rover 216/220 gti. they can be had for peanuts via the usual sources and could still be entertaining. mx5 would be good choice but i would be tempted to upgrade parts to make it faster and then it becomes the same money pit as all the others.
with a rover I would just get the interior out, a new seat, harness and thats the lot. so the fwd bashers will be roused to reply, well i still think i could embarrass some exotica with one at the right track...
GLOLwith a rover I would just get the interior out, a new seat, harness and thats the lot. so the fwd bashers will be roused to reply, well i still think i could embarrass some exotica with one at the right track...
LaurenceFrost said:
My only issue with these kinds of "throw away" track cars is that because of their nature, the owner will often have a careless attitude when it comes to the safety of the car.
Let's say for example your car has lost a bit of water and you own a £30k Porsche, the chances are you will be a little concerned, give the car a good look-over, and consult the help of a specialist if you have a trackday coming up so you don't cause any damage.
Now if you have a £500 VW Golf or similar, the usual attitude will be, "Let's just take it out and see what happens..." Because the chances are, the car is worth less than the repair.
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
I think you're mistaking the OP for some pikey chav who thinks he's ready to tack on the track cos he can do a burnout in a burgerworld carpark.Let's say for example your car has lost a bit of water and you own a £30k Porsche, the chances are you will be a little concerned, give the car a good look-over, and consult the help of a specialist if you have a trackday coming up so you don't cause any damage.
Now if you have a £500 VW Golf or similar, the usual attitude will be, "Let's just take it out and see what happens..." Because the chances are, the car is worth less than the repair.
Now if the coolant gets dumped all over the circuit it will cause at best a track closure for a few minutes, disrupting everyone's enjoyment, and at worse it will cause a big accident and many thousands of pounds-worth of damage.
What I am trying to say is please apply the same precautions that you would to an expensive track car to make sure it is mechanically sound, because it is something that is often overlooked on "throw away" cars. Obviously the above example could happen to any car, but it's more likely to happen to something that is not really cared about.
I have a "throw away" track car because exactly like the OP I have a very nice 968 that I dont want to leave at the side of the track up to its A pillers in the Nurburg armco... and i love nothing more than overtaking big money motors in my small money matchbox car!
I use mine as the occasional track car. And the Mrs commuter.
The reason the Eunos is generally better for this is that the 1.8 comes with a torsen LSD more often than not. In the UK it's an open diff. 1.6 versions can have a viscous LSD but by the time it's this old it's less viscous and more slip.
If you dont dick with the engine and drive train on an MX5 you'll never break it. People put double the power reasonably reliably through the 'box.
I've treated my 1.8 like crap for over 50,000 miles before the Mrs got to drive it every day(full bore standing starts is a very regular feature...like every junction). And it's never had a major failure.
Upgrades required for track use. Good brake fluid. Good brake pads. Thats it. Anything else is an extra. Like uprated ARBs. Otherwise you do get a bit of body roll....
The reason the Eunos is generally better for this is that the 1.8 comes with a torsen LSD more often than not. In the UK it's an open diff. 1.6 versions can have a viscous LSD but by the time it's this old it's less viscous and more slip.
If you dont dick with the engine and drive train on an MX5 you'll never break it. People put double the power reasonably reliably through the 'box.
I've treated my 1.8 like crap for over 50,000 miles before the Mrs got to drive it every day(full bore standing starts is a very regular feature...like every junction). And it's never had a major failure.
Upgrades required for track use. Good brake fluid. Good brake pads. Thats it. Anything else is an extra. Like uprated ARBs. Otherwise you do get a bit of body roll....
i have an mx5 track car and it is awesome fun. if you have low expectations then you will be VERY surprised at how capable it is on track. strip, cage and suspension is all you need to do to have fun.
I also disagree with the coolant post. Just because someone hasn't paid a lot of money for their track car doesn't mean that they don't value their own neck! i have replaced just about everything on my 'old shed' just to be sure. The cars that have let the side down reliability wise on all the track days i have ever been on are the big money or big power cars.
Get a 5. you will love it
Greg
I also disagree with the coolant post. Just because someone hasn't paid a lot of money for their track car doesn't mean that they don't value their own neck! i have replaced just about everything on my 'old shed' just to be sure. The cars that have let the side down reliability wise on all the track days i have ever been on are the big money or big power cars.
Get a 5. you will love it
Greg
Forum | Track Days | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff