Thinking of purchasing a track day car. Advice please.

[K Man S]

I'm an ex Westfield SEI owner and am looking to purchase another kitcar with a friend of mine for track days. We both currently track our CaymanS and Z4M but am becoming increasingly concerned about adverse wear and tear together with the added worry of a £4k excess and £1.5k insurance costs (in addition to standard policys) which we both pay.

We have around £6k to spend and wondered what advice you guys could give us. Ideally we want something as quick as possible which handles well and will be cheap to run, insure and play with if we decide to upgrade the mechanics. My old Westfield, although great fun, always seemed under-powered (1600CVH). Am i barking up the right tree going down the Westfield route or are there others now available which are just as good or better? What engine would you recommend? 2 litre Pinto, 1700cross flow, 2litre Vauxhall etc???

Looking forward to receiving your replies. Cheers.

[Furyous]

£6K Should but you a well set Fury Bec or similar.

My Fury9r was pretty much as quick as a stock Cayman round Brunters, so would def be the thing to have I would say.

I wouldnt think any of the car engined variants will feel quick enough given your road car choices.

F

[K Man S]

What about these cars/people? Anyone got an opinion (good or bad) about them?

http://www.mksportscars.co.uk/indy.htm

[DavidCane]

I think you'll find MK are highly regarded as one of the best manufacturers of Locosts. Infact, along with Sturat Taylor Motorsport they were pretty much the first high quality guys to really get on bard the whole locost thing. I've never read a bad word about them.

[Furyous]

Agreed, short of Westy, prob one of the best 7 clones out there.

[LocoBlade]

If its solely for track and you want maximum performance for £6k, then yep Id agree with the others that a BEC Fury / Locost etc would be a good way to go.

You could get a car similar to mine (a Locost R1) for £6k, that gets you in the seat of something that as quick as a pro driven 997 GT3 RS round Cadwell!

[Jubal]

I have an MK Indy which is set up for track use. Only a fireblade engine so not the last word in straight line grunt but it handles well and is plenty quick enough to enjoy yourself. People are very optimistic about what they think their cars are worth but if you hold out over the winter and wait for the right car you'd get an R1 Indy for 6k ish. You'd get a blade car for less. Happy hunting.

[Snake the Sniper]

Just as an aside, are you aware of HIC insurance? They used to, and quite possibly still do, offer track day cover on their normal policies! The excess used to be £1000 for the first track day, or £500 if you have proof of having been before.
As for the car, does it need to have 2 seats? If not, there are plenty of single seater's about, or you could build the new SprintR, a 360-400 KG or so R1 powered single seater for that much.

[Furyous]

Single seaters wont be allowed on the majority of track days though.

[Jubal]

Furyous said:

Single seaters wont be allowed on the majority of track days though.

I have a couple of mates building the Sprint R and all the major trackday companies have confirmed they are happy for the car to run at their days.

[Furyous]

Oh, ok.

Obviously been a change of heart.

[Snake the Sniper]

Yup, it's generally being allowed, but must have cycle wings fitted, as a rule.

[LocoBlade]

From what I understand, although most of the TDOs will accept the SprintR, the same cannot be said for old race single seaters such as Formula Fords etc. I think its mainly due to the fact that the SprintR is (or at least can be) road legal.

[toady1]

Ive got an Mk Indy which this year i put a 954cc fireblade engine in. Its very quick, and thats coming from an ex cerbera owner. I recently kept up with a 997 gt3 rs around track. If it had longer straights I may have been slower but we were neck on neck. If its solely for track then id say bec! they really shine on the track, and handle SO well as they're so light! Mines around 450kgs and putting out around 160-170bhp. If your near Oxford then ill take you for a ride if you like?

[lost my mojo]

Toady,

Good to see you have your car working now. Hopefully see you at a trackday next year. (currently traveling at the moment, but cant wait for next year)

Andy

(I own the sylva mojo - my engine went bang same day as you in abingdon last year)

[Furyous]

Hi Andy

Hows it going ?

Will be back on the scene next year in an Elise all being well.

[Corpulent Tosser]

K Man S said:

We have around £6k to spend and wondered what advice you guys could give us.

Buy my Striker, that is the best advice I could give you.

Seriously ! Class A5 winner (1400 - 1700cc)- Scottish Sprint Championship 2005 & 2006, Highland Speed Championship 2006.

Just in your price range too.

[Lost my mojo]

F

Its going good thanks. You?

Curretly in Hong Kong and off to Thailand on Saturday and back in Blighty mid November. Winter great....

Take it you missed having a car to play with then? I saw your post about an Elise or a 5EXI. Are you not tempted by another BEC?

Hopefully see you at a tracday next year.

Andy

[Furyous]

Would love another BEC, but kinda been there and done that now, fancy a road/track car instead.


Take it easy.