Mr2, GT4, RX7 or Supra
Mr2, GT4, RX7 or Supra
Author
Discussion

nin73

Original Poster:

7 posts

211 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
Hi Guys,

I have been doing trackdays on motorbikes for a few years now and after a rather nasty crash at Rockingham in the wet in May have decided on the safety of 4 wheels. I am undecided on my choice of weapon though. I have looked around and have compiled a list of 4 candidates the Mr2, GT4, RX7 and Supra and was wondering if anyone has driven these cars and can give me the plus and minus points of ownership?? I have a budget of around £3500 and want something reliable that wont need constant maintenance. It also needs to be road legal.

Any ideas of other potential vehicles welcome.

Cheers.


Edited by nin73 on Friday 5th December 08:37


Edited by nin73 on Friday 5th December 10:09

dele

1,270 posts

218 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
Disregard the RX7 then

Great cars but the engine is very fickle, if its not 100% then you'll be spending quite abit

curlie467

7,650 posts

225 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
Id go with an mr2 turbo.

jleroux

1,511 posts

284 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
all 4 are too heavy for regular track work IMO. they will all be needing a set of pads every track day (if you're leaning on the car) and a set of tyres every 2 or 3 days. Depends if you class that as "maintenance" or not though I guess!

"Only a fool breaks the 1 Tonne rule"

For £3500 for a track day car i'd be looking at MK1 MR2 or MX-5.

gtdc

4,259 posts

307 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
I'd be going for the MX5.

Melindi
www.goldtrack.co.uk

nin73

Original Poster:

7 posts

211 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
Surely an MX5 can't be right. Not sure i like the idea of taking a convertible out on track.

boxsey

3,579 posts

234 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
jleroux said:
"Only a fool breaks the 1 Tonne rule"
"or uses a Japanese nutter barge"

biglaugh

OlberJ

14,101 posts

257 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
Mk1 Mr2 with a V6 engine.

Will do all of the above. And more.

£3000 will get you a ready sorted one. Then you can strip it to your hearts content.

mjrc

371 posts

208 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
[quote=jleroux] they will all be needing a set of pads every track day (if you're leaning on the car) and a set of tyres every 2 or 3 days.
thats absurd!

fuchsiasteve

329 posts

230 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
MR2 rev 3 gts turbo. 270 bhp for pocket money with mid engine handling. Mid engine cars are very engaging but you do need to get the setup right.

I only wear front brake pads every 2-3 or so open pitlane track days. I get front performance pads for £20 so no drop in the oceanlaugh

Rear pads last ages. Only downside is she does have a thirst for V power but hey so does every flat 4 turbo.

jleroux

1,511 posts

284 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
mjrc said:
thats absurd!
each to his own. i've done the maths more times than I care to mention (there's a big market for a tin-top track day rental) and it's never stacked up.

Jonny
BaT

taffyracer

2,093 posts

267 months

Friday 5th December 2008
quotequote all
curlie467 said:
Id go with an mr2 turbo.
Me too, done exactly that, had a good look around for something I could thrash during the winter off season and the MR2 turbo ticked all the right boxes, 3k will get you a decent one alredy sorted

A.Wang

541 posts

221 months

Sunday 7th December 2008
quotequote all
I've done a handful of track days in a stripped out Toyota Supra Mk3 7M-GE (non-turbo), and that's a lot of fun!

In my ownership I've changed the suspension and brake pads, amongst the usual wear and tear stuff - the car's bullet-proof and really good fun to drive. Also, I found it to be really forgiving when I push too hard...I've had the tail out a couple of times but it's always been really easy to catch - not had a single spin! smile

For the right price - and certainly much less than your budget - you can have mine. I've done everything that I feel needed to be done on the car for fun track days. Drop me an email if you're interested!

Blue Meanie

73,668 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th December 2008
quotequote all
fuchsiasteve said:
MR2 rev 3 gts turbo. 270 bhp for pocket money with mid engine handling. Mid engine cars are very engaging but you do need to get the setup right.

I only wear front brake pads every 2-3 or so open pitlane track days. I get front performance pads for £20 so no drop in the oceanlaugh

Rear pads last ages. Only downside is she does have a thirst for V power but hey so does every flat 4 turbo.
Flat 4 turbo?

RogueMotorsport

246 posts

212 months

Sunday 7th December 2008
quotequote all
jleroux said:
each to his own. i've done the maths more times than I care to mention (there's a big market for a tin-top track day rental) and it's never stacked up.
Really? I've got a fleet of MR2 race cars that I hire out - perhaps we should talk! scratchchin



Patrick

Blue Meanie

73,668 posts

279 months

Sunday 7th December 2008
quotequote all
RogueMotorsport said:
jleroux said:
each to his own. i've done the maths more times than I care to mention (there's a big market for a tin-top track day rental) and it's never stacked up.
Really? I've got a fleet of MR2 race cars that I hire out - perhaps we should talk! scratchchin



Patrick
Yeah, but what do YOU know? hehe

G_T

16,163 posts

214 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
Blue Meanie said:
fuchsiasteve said:
MR2 rev 3 gts turbo. 270 bhp for pocket money with mid engine handling. Mid engine cars are very engaging but you do need to get the setup right.

I only wear front brake pads every 2-3 or so open pitlane track days. I get front performance pads for £20 so no drop in the oceanlaugh

Rear pads last ages. Only downside is she does have a thirst for V power but hey so does every flat 4 turbo.
Flat 4 turbo?
"Flat 4 turbo" = glorified 4 pot tubby.

Herman Toothrot

6,702 posts

222 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
jleroux said:
For £3500 for a track day car i'd be looking at MK1 MR2 or MX-5.
Yep, MX5 If I was getting a track only one then £1000 car then £2K on a turbo and relevant mods and be faster than most other things out there and having a lot of fun.

System-G

420 posts

254 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
RogueMotorsport said:
jleroux said:
each to his own. i've done the maths more times than I care to mention (there's a big market for a tin-top track day rental) and it's never stacked up.
Really? I've got a fleet of MR2 race cars that I hire out - perhaps we should talk! scratchchin



Patrick
And at BaT we have a fleet of Caterhams and an Elise (as well as my personal MK1 MR2 (not for BaT useage) of course). Your cars see 8 - 12 rounds a year (poss a few more?). The Caterhams see about 8 - 12 full days a month... Huge difference there Patrick wink
Not having a dig or anything Patrick ( smile ), but I think if the MR2's worked as hard as the Caterhams or the Elise Jonny runs, they would turn out to be very expensive in consumables in compaarison to the BaT fleet.

Honestly though, if I were the OP and I had 3.5k for a track car, based on the above list, I would opt for a MR2 MKII N/A (Rev3) prepped close to the spec one of Rogue's cars (get the weight down to as close as 1000kg as poss) . Decent pads in the form of EBC Yellowstuff or if you can afford them, Carbotechs (Are Pagid Race spec pads avail for the MKII???), suspention, decent rubber and jobs a goodun thumbup

The others would be far too heavy (barge like) and expensive to run.

My biased opinion is to run out with a MK1 MR2 for around 1k and spend the change on sorting the tired parts and rust biggrin



Edited by System-G on Monday 8th December 17:38

LuckyP

6,243 posts

249 months

Monday 8th December 2008
quotequote all
System-G said:
...I would opt for a MR2 MKII N/A (Rev3) prepped close to the spec one of Rogue's cars (get the weight down to as close as 1000kg as poss) . Decent pads in the form of EBC Yellowstuff or if you can afford them, Carbotechs (Are Pagid Race spec pads avail for the MKII???), suspention, decent rubber and jobs a goodun thumbup..
Sounds like I made a lucky call then? smile

Say Patrick, what pads do I get?

Lucks