5-10k time attack/drift car

[decjay99]

Hi all,

Looking for suggestions on a track car that with setup changes I can switch between time attack/ drift (however will be doing majority grip driving) as well as the occasional B road drive to a meet or track

I’m looking for something reliable and easy to work on with relatively low consumable costs for the power it has.

Must have good aftermarket support with reasonably priced parts as I would like to avoid having too many things custom built

I have come up with a few options:

Rx8’s have always appealed to me but unsure how reliable these are or if they are easy to work on/if the engines are easily rebuilt or paid to be rebuilt

S2k however it’s near impossible to find a good example in my budget

Older BMW’s - e36 or 46

Feel more limit being in the UK than the US 😂

Thanks for any input

[aka_kerrly]

If you go for the rx8 they are plentiful for a fraction of your budget compared to your other ideas.

With £10k you can buy one rx8 for around a £1000 and budget for some decent brakes/suspension/seat/cage up upgrades. If/when the engine pops have it rebuilt for £1500 blow it up again or destroy the shell, transfer everything to another shell or buy another car and still have change compared to buying one Honda S2000

[decjay99]

£1500 seems pretty cheap for a rebuild, how long do the engines generally last? And is there any way to make them more reliable?

[decjay99]

I’m also not set on those idea btw, just a few I could think of. Also just thought of toyota mr2’s but working on mid engine seems to be a pain so probably wouldn’t be the best choice

[Daston]

decjay99 said:

£1500 seems pretty cheap for a rebuild, how long do the engines generally last? And is there any way to make them more reliable?

It all depends, if it's just apex seals that need doing then you can get it done for that price but if they damage a rotor or iron then it can increase. With the RX7 £3k was the rule of thumb.

There are better seals on the market these days, generally proper care of the engine will help it last longer, regular oil changes no ragging before all warm plus using all the rev range (won't be an issue for you)

[decjay99]

3k still isn’t overly expensive for a full rebuild, assume it may also be cheaper if you just purchased a donor car with a decent engine and just had the seals replaced? Yeah I’m used to the full warming up scenario anyway with owning a modified wrx hahaha.

I would assume generally if you get 60k out the engine it isn’t the worst investment? Are the apex seals a hard job to do in a garage (By myself) or does it require a specialist?

What are the general reliable power upgrades/options for an rx8 if I were to have progressed all other areas of the car?

[samoht]

Lots of info about tracking / competing in RX-8s here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=15...

I think they're pretty limited in terms of making more power. The quick ones I've been aware of have an older 13B turbo swapped in from an FD or FC. But good handling.


I've seen S14s around for under £10k, no idea how rusty they are. But for drifting, the S-chassis is the business, it goes sideways as readily as it does forwards.

Having said that, the first drifting competition I watched was won by a kid in a Ford Sierra pickup, probably less good for time attack tho!

[ZX10R NIN]

The answer is the 350Z there's great aftermarket support for these & you can get a decent one for around 5k leaving you a decent amount to start making more track ready:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009103...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-350Z-FULL-LEATHE...

Or the 370Z if you want to use all of your budget.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009183...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006019...

[decjay99]

samoht said:

Lots of info about tracking / competing in RX-8s here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=15...

I think they're pretty limited in terms of making more power. The quick ones I've been aware of have an older 13B turbo swapped in from an FD or FC. But good handling.


I've seen S14s around for under £10k, no idea how rusty they are. But for drifting, the S-chassis is the business, it goes sideways as readily as it does forwards.

Having said that, the first drifting competition I watched was won by a kid in a Ford Sierra pickup, probably less good for time attack tho!

I will be sure to give that a read in the morning, thanks for the link

Any s chassis of decent condition seems massively out my budget tbh but I’ve always fancied one

[decjay99]

ZX10R NIN said:

The answer is the 350Z there's great aftermarket support for these & you can get a decent one for around 5k leaving you a decent amount to start making more track ready:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009103...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-350Z-FULL-LEATHE...

Or the 370Z if you want to use all of your budget.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202009183...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202006019...

I have previously owned a 350z but since (regrettably) got rid of it for a Subaru wrx as I needed something with 5 seats (however I’m not having 2 separate cars), I do like the Nissan and it’s transmission is very good, just found it very awkward to do simple jobs such as power steering belts, however I was massively less experienced at the time, just not much room in that engine bay 😂

[ZX10R NIN]

Yes the engine bay is tight but you shouldn't need to be doing much more than maintenance work & anything more involved will be a bit of work no matter what you choose.

[Gary C]

decjay99 said:

£1500 seems pretty cheap for a rebuild, how long do the engines generally last? And is there any way to make them more reliable?

Install a Sohn adapter and run the engine oil on something decent and only inject burnable dexelia into the rotors.

They are not 'quite' as bad as is often made out. A lot of problems were exacerbated by failing coil packs (the engine is very sensitive to a poor spark, which is why each rotor has two plugs)

Also its worth letting them cooldown before stopping to reduce the oil burden in the chambers as burnt carbon deposits are hard and seem to be the root cause of worn seals.

Loved mine, great car in so many ways, but a gallon of petrol just driving to work and back plus £500 road tax was daft for a daily.

Edited by Gary C on Monday 19th October 03:28

[decjay99]

ZX10R NIN said:

Yes the engine bay is tight but you shouldn't need to be doing much more than maintenance work & anything more involved will be a bit of work no matter what you choose.

Oh yeah but it seems like it’s even harder than usual, however I haven’t really worked on one much as I never needed to, I’m not sure what the interval for belts is on one tbh

[decjay99]

Gary C said:

Install a Sohn adapter and run the engine oil on something decent and only inject burnable dexelia into the rotors.

They are not 'quite' as bad as is often made out. A lot of problems were exacerbated by failing coil packs (the engine is very sensitive to a poor spark, which is why each rotor has two plugs)

Also its worth letting them cooldown before stopping to reduce the oil burden in the chambers as burnt carbon deposits are hard and seem to be the root cause of worn seals.

Loved mine, great car in so many ways, but a gallon of petrol just driving to work and back plus £500 road tax was daft for a daily.

Edited by Gary C on Monday 19th October 03:28

Sohn adapter? And did you ever track the car, but yeah I always use good oil.

I paid £550 for my Nissan as a daily and currently £350 for my Subaru so I’ve come to the decision that now I’m moving house and have the space, an eco box to get to work and a track/weekend car is the way to go for me

[Gary C]

decjay99 said:

Sohn adapter? And did you ever track the car, but yeah I always use good oil.

I paid £550 for my Nissan as a daily and currently £350 for my Subaru so I’ve come to the decision that now I’m moving house and have the space, an eco box to get to work and a track/weekend car is the way to go for me

Problem with the rotary is it needs to inject oil into the combustion chamber to lubricate the seals and this oil must be designed not to leave carbon deposits that can damage the same seals.

To make things 'simpler' for the average user, Mazda decided to use one oil for both functions and the metering pumps draw oil from the engines sump to inject into the combustion chamber. So you only get one oil level to check and maintain.

You end up with an oil that isn't quite brilliant at lubricating the bearings and isn't quite what you want to inject into the combustion chamber (though it seems more biased to that function)

The Sohn adapter adds a small oil tank in the engine bay so the metering pumps inject that into the engine. You can then use a much more appropriate oil to lubricate the bearings such as a high quality synthetic (which is a big no-no for an unmodified RX8 as it fouls the combustion chamber)

I would think its an essential modification for a track rotary.

The rear LSD is quite good but is prone to breaking off the 'tabs' on the plates that stop them spinning, can break off so a better diff might be on the cards for track use (look up Togichi-Fuji LSD broken tabs)

Never tracked mine.

Edited by Gary C on Monday 19th October 14:39