Which Mk1 MX-5 for the track?
Discussion
I'm seriously looking for a good track prepped MX-5, it'll be used pretty much exclusively on track (some of you may have seen my thread in the Track Days sub forum).
I just missed out on a Mk1 RS which I was disappointed about, so for any standard spec models, which mods do you think are essential for a track car? My budget is limited at 1.5k so I'm not expecting too much.
Cheers all
I just missed out on a Mk1 RS which I was disappointed about, so for any standard spec models, which mods do you think are essential for a track car? My budget is limited at 1.5k so I'm not expecting too much.
Cheers all
Have you looked in the track car section of the classifieds here? It's under the Motorsport subsection.
Also, another good place to look is on the mx5nutz website, if you keep an eye out there then track cars come up fairly frequently. There's a green 1.8 Mk 1 Eunos (MX-5 import from Japan) on there at the moment that looks interesting. It's up at £1,850 at the moment, so you could see if you could negotiate down from there to your budget. It shows a picture of the car with a hardtop, so if it comes with that then maybe you could sell the hardtop on to get some money back. The advert says that it's rust free and if it is then that's great.
When I was looking for an MX-5 track car I wanted one with a roll bar or hoops (not style bars), coil over suspension and that was about it. The next thing for me would be bucket seats and a harness bar. A Torsen LSD is a good thing for the track, but not essential (mine doesn't have one).
Good luck with your search!
Also, another good place to look is on the mx5nutz website, if you keep an eye out there then track cars come up fairly frequently. There's a green 1.8 Mk 1 Eunos (MX-5 import from Japan) on there at the moment that looks interesting. It's up at £1,850 at the moment, so you could see if you could negotiate down from there to your budget. It shows a picture of the car with a hardtop, so if it comes with that then maybe you could sell the hardtop on to get some money back. The advert says that it's rust free and if it is then that's great.
When I was looking for an MX-5 track car I wanted one with a roll bar or hoops (not style bars), coil over suspension and that was about it. The next thing for me would be bucket seats and a harness bar. A Torsen LSD is a good thing for the track, but not essential (mine doesn't have one).
Good luck with your search!
You want the RS for the Torsen LSD, lightened flywheel, stiffer ARB's and lower rear axle ratio. More good news is that if it's fitted with the correct BBS wheels, Recaro kevlar seats and Nardi steering wheel and gearknob, you could get back some of your initial investment by selling these.
The bad news is that I've never seen one of these that was in very good nick. Except one, which I own and am not selling!
The bad news is that I've never seen one of these that was in very good nick. Except one, which I own and am not selling!
IMO the RS is nice but not worth the premium they usually command, especially for a track car.
There are lots of 1.8s with TorSen, the seats & wheels will probably get replaced, the lower ratios make very little real difference and the suspension will probably get replaced too.
Personally, I'd target cars the same way I would for a road car i.e. the thing that kills them is rust so just find the best condition car you can. It doesn't need to be clean for a track car but rust-free is definitely the most important thing.
There are lots of 1.8s with TorSen, the seats & wheels will probably get replaced, the lower ratios make very little real difference and the suspension will probably get replaced too.
Personally, I'd target cars the same way I would for a road car i.e. the thing that kills them is rust so just find the best condition car you can. It doesn't need to be clean for a track car but rust-free is definitely the most important thing.
VR-ltd and v-spec 1.8 cars have the same spec as an rs but without the seats and the badge! I have a VR-ltd with suspension and chassis mods and its great on track. Not that quick as std, but great fun and more power will be added in time
An LSD is pretty essential in my opinion and makes a huge difference to the driving experience. The type-2 Torsen fitted to my car is fairly aggressive and you can really feel it pushing the nose onto the apex when bringing the thottle in early. Great fun!
An LSD is pretty essential in my opinion and makes a huge difference to the driving experience. The type-2 Torsen fitted to my car is fairly aggressive and you can really feel it pushing the nose onto the apex when bringing the thottle in early. Great fun!
911p said:
Quite a lack of track prepared cars for sale, think I may have a little wait ahead.
Just be patient and keep an eye out on the classified on here and on mx5nutz and something will no doubt come up soon. Unless you have a specific track day in mind that you need a car for then I'd wait for the right car to come up.When I was looking for a similar type of car as you there wasn't anything suitable at first, but it didn't take long for one to come up in the classifieds here.
Evangelion said:
You want the RS for the Torsen LSD, lightened flywheel, stiffer ARB's and lower rear axle ratio. More good news is that if it's fitted with the correct BBS wheels, Recaro kevlar seats and Nardi steering wheel and gearknob, you could get back some of your initial investment by selling these.
That's what I did and now the car doesn't owe me much at all!The longer you can wait the better the car you'll end up with. All the above RS bits are worth having but any MX5 will be good on track especially if you upgrade the pads and get some decent suspension/tyres on it.
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