Track car or weekend car
Discussion
I'm sure others have been in a similar situation! Either spending £6-8k (e.g. wrx sti) on a fast weekend car or £1-2k (e.g. clio 172) on a track car.
The track car is likely to be much slower but I would be able to spend £1-2k on improvements with the remaining money going towards track days costs.
I don't think I would want to do lots of track days in the more expensive 'weekend car' due to high maintenance costs etc.
I can't seem to convince myself either way, which one would I get more pleasure from - thoughts?
....wish I could have both!
The track car is likely to be much slower but I would be able to spend £1-2k on improvements with the remaining money going towards track days costs.
I don't think I would want to do lots of track days in the more expensive 'weekend car' due to high maintenance costs etc.
I can't seem to convince myself either way, which one would I get more pleasure from - thoughts?
....wish I could have both!
You need one car that does both then. I used to have uncompromised track cars but I found I hardly used them except on track obviously. So I got something to bridge the gap.
The trick is weight. If you track a heavy car then the bills mount up. It's a compromise because what works on track suspension wise isn't perfect for a bumpy B road. But that's your choice to make.
The trick is weight. If you track a heavy car then the bills mount up. It's a compromise because what works on track suspension wise isn't perfect for a bumpy B road. But that's your choice to make.
Porkie said:
Elise or cheaper Vx220 to do both jobs.
I was starting to think along the same lines. Im guessing a half decent elise is out side my budget. However, im not sure a VX220 n/a will be thrilling enough along the straights. I would have to start thinking about track insurance costs as £6-8k would be alot to lose if something were to happen.
Speedy300 said:
However, im not sure a VX220 n/a will be thrilling enough along the straights.
I'm sure that it doesn't matter what car you have, the twisty bits are far more interesting than the straights (red victor aside of course), and after a while the novelty of vmax stops being thrilling.Speedy300 said:
Porkie said:
Elise or cheaper Vx220 to do both jobs.
I was starting to think along the same lines. Im guessing a half decent elise is out side my budget. However, im not sure a VX220 n/a will be thrilling enough along the straights. I would have to start thinking about track insurance costs as £6-8k would be alot to lose if something were to happen.
Porkie said:
Both of your answers tell me that you should stick to weekend cars and forget about trackdays completely.
That's a bit harsh. Everything is relative. The OP should actually read a track day insurance policy though. You need to balance the potential loss with the excess you'll commonly find on these policies. It's rarely worth it for a cheap car IMO. Good Response
Excess for example whn i enquired was around 5 to 6k which is more thean the value of my car.
If i tracked my GTR on a regular basis then it would be a no brainer to take out insurance but for a car worth around 6k does it make sense.
In addition it only covers damage to your car
Excess for example whn i enquired was around 5 to 6k which is more thean the value of my car.
If i tracked my GTR on a regular basis then it would be a no brainer to take out insurance but for a car worth around 6k does it make sense.
In addition it only covers damage to your car
Hark said:
If you already have a commuter car then buy a car that you can use on weekends for fun and the odd trackday. Scooby wouldn't be my choice as a weekend car. Doubt it would ever feel special...
Ona different note, my trackday excess is £2k
What would you suggest?Ona different note, my trackday excess is £2k
As a guide, the kind of performance I am after would be 0-100 mph in under 15 secs.
To be honest, I am more likely to get a weekend car rather than a more focused track car but I was toying with the idea.
We use a V70 D5 R Design for the family and i have an old E39 M5 for weekends and as a second car which has been faultless for 4 yrs so far ! I bought a Mk2 Golf gti 16v caged it and fitted an abf bottom end plus a few other bits and i take that to Lydden hill my local track 3 or 4 times a year, its good fun and doesn't matter if i crash it. I found i have much more fun in a cheaper track car as no fear of crashing it plus parts are cheap.
Buy something that is good on track but can be used on the road anytime you like, eg I bought a tidy old Nissam 200sx road car (has aircon, leather, cd etc) and have made a few upgrades to get it sorted for the track (suspension, brakes, more power).
So far its only been used on one track day, but I enjoy taking it out for a blast on the road every now and then, and if I needed to I could use it for work as its still a pleasant car to use on the road.
Unless you are building a racing car there is no nead to turn your track car into something that is a pain in the neck to use on the road. Track days are just for fun, stripping the last few kg's out your car is a complete waste of time unless you are planning on doing some real competition with it.
So far its only been used on one track day, but I enjoy taking it out for a blast on the road every now and then, and if I needed to I could use it for work as its still a pleasant car to use on the road.
Unless you are building a racing car there is no nead to turn your track car into something that is a pain in the neck to use on the road. Track days are just for fun, stripping the last few kg's out your car is a complete waste of time unless you are planning on doing some real competition with it.
Rockingham 2010
This is what I use as a weekend car and a track hag, can just about reach 150 down the back straight at Snetterton and then the next weekend cruise down through France to Le Mans with a CD playing and the air con keeping every thing nice and cool.
Great fun.
On the way to the Le Mans Classic 2010.
This is what I use as a weekend car and a track hag, can just about reach 150 down the back straight at Snetterton and then the next weekend cruise down through France to Le Mans with a CD playing and the air con keeping every thing nice and cool.
Great fun.
On the way to the Le Mans Classic 2010.
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