Daily-Track Day Car for £2K Lap times, weight, power + more

[Justinas]

300bhp/ton said:

Interesting thread.

Apart from being 'on track' I struggle to see the potential 'fun' factor of things like an Audi S3.

And I'm also unsure the relevance of 'lap times' on a track day???

I've used an Audi S4 as my daily driver - what a car! Expensive to track - heavy, thirsty, destroys tires, but fun (especially on snow).

[Justinas]

caelite said:

Find me a track setup MX5 that doesn't have a rollbar on it , its like the 2nd or 3rd mod for any owner with more than 3 braincells to rub together (Tyres, Coils/Geo, Bar).

"Daily-Track Day Car for £2K Lap times, weight, power + more"

[Justinas]

loggyboy said:

That is true, to an extent. But IME uts quite easy to reach the limits of a 'lower end of the spectrum' car, even if its s track oriented car like a clio or an mx5, and the second cheapest is to progress that car, before leaping to a car thats a lot faster - it will also teach about how the varibles can effect characteristics of a car. Alot will depend on the driver, it was only 3-4 track days before i choose to take an instructor out, and he said i was largely on the limit of what my car could do in its current form. So i chose the only route my budget would allow, mod the car a few parts (and therefore a few quid) at a time. Now im proud me and my car are knocking on the door of very respectable race car times, which i wouldn't be if it was standard, and i would have no clue of what to compare to, as there arent many (any?) pure road spec race series. Even comparing to my old times its no clue to real pace.

Great attitude. A lot of new drivers spend hundreds / thousands modding cars, but do not invest in driving skills / tuition. Ideally, the learning process should be this - start with a track oriented car, learn to drive, reach the limits, mod it, learn to drive, reach the limits, get a better car, start the process all over again.

[CDP]

I wouldn't bother with a TT on track. My wife had a MK1 Quattro 180bhp and it wasn't much fun round Cadwell Park. Power wasn't the issue, it was dull steering and terrible understeer; probably as a result of the high kerbweight. The Audi is a fantastic (unrivalled?) mini GT and it did so well on the tour of Scotland which really suited it including the bumpy Applecross Pass and the long A1 drives up and down.

I've not driven the Golf MK4 but I doubt that would be any better. The MK5 turns in more eagerly than the TT and you can get an FSI 150 for shed money, you might get a cat C/D GTI for around your budget. How about the Polo GTI with the 1.8 turbo?

The MG owners club used to lend out ZRs as courtesy cars. Only the 1.4 but they really hang on in the corners and don't seem to understeer, a VVC 160 might be a good bet.

Personally I'd want rear wheel drive which means (at that price) Lexus or BMW.

Of course the best bet would be to find a cheap MX5/MG TF/MR2/Boxster/Z3 on a classic or multicar policy. Then run a regular car as your daily, if you start chasing lap times you will break the car at least you will have something to run while you fix it.

[Justinas]

loggyboy said:

Its seats arent made out of spikes!

Of course it's not

[Justinas]

Chaps, your input is greatly appreciated, thank you.

In order to avoid arguments such as what a daily car is or who drives what, the first message of this topic has been updated - "more than 2 seats", which means no more MR2/MX5s. Let's focus on other options.

Edited by Justinas on Thursday 20th July 21:47

[andburg]

No idea what they're like but a Mitsubishi colt 1.5czt can be had from 1500, lightweight, turbocharged with I'd guess easy bolt on upgrades from the ralliart version

[HugoFastmann]

SonicShadow said:

The biggest advantage of a 325ti is it's cheaper.

I've also just heard from a friend with a 325ti he's had his dyno'd at 204bhp, and it's bone stock standard. Much better than the 190bhp claimed!

[Samjeev]

Justinas said:

Chaps, your input is greatly appreciated, thank you.

In order to avoid arguments such as what a daily car is or who drives what, the first message of this topic has been updated - "more than 2 seats", which means no more MR2/MX5s. Let's focus on other options.

Edited by Justinas on Thursday 20th July 21:47

Entire thread is now nuill and void, good job!

Also feel free to correct me if im wrong but does an Audi TT seriously have rear seats?

Theres nothing wrong with daily driving a car with 2 seats, why would you need any more when daily driving implies you just drive to work and back in it?

[C70R]

HugoFastmann said:

SonicShadow said:

The biggest advantage of a 325ti is it's cheaper.

I've also just heard from a friend with a 325ti he's had his dyno'd at 204bhp, and it's bone stock standard. Much better than the 190bhp claimed!

That still makes it slower than things like a Civic type r, Clio 182 and Leon Cupra, as well as being significantly heavier than all three.

Can we please just accept that an underpowered 1.5 tonne hatchback isn't the best track car for £2k?

[avenger286]

andburg said:

No idea what they're like but a Mitsubishi colt 1.5czt can be had from 1500, lightweight, turbocharged with I'd guess easy bolt on upgrades from the ralliart version

They are the same car the name just changed from czt to ralliart when the car was face-lift. But a good shout. No one talked about Pumas yet!

[Flibble]

avenger286 said:

They are the same car the name just changed from czt to ralliart when the car was face-lift. But a good shout. No one talked about Pumas yet!

Why no pumas?

[E-bmw]

CDP said:

I wouldn't bother with a TT on track. My wife had a MK1 Quattro 180bhp and it wasn't much fun round Cadwell Park. Power wasn't the issue, it was dull steering and terrible understeer.

But then it is an Audi, so you shouldn't be too surprised there then.

[caelite]

Flibble said:

avenger286 said:

They are the same car the name just changed from czt to ralliart when the car was face-lift. But a good shout. No one talked about Pumas yet!

Why no pumas?

Hey, you pay £20+k to Lotus for that much chassis lightening, On the Puma it comes free of charge, "Just add water!".

Also, again on the, MX5, does fitting a bar really affect its ability as a Daily? If anything it makes it better, safety plus you can easily rig a wee pulley strap on it making it easier to yank the roof up at red lights, and with a bit of mesh serves as a great wind break. A 5 is relative lightweight and low CoG mean you can be fairly liberal with the suspension setup allowing for a much softer, but still capable setup than a lot of more top heavy hatches allow, yes it only has 2 seats but they are far less compromised in the comfort vs handling than any hatchback.

Edited by caelite on Friday 21st July 10:09

[SonicShadow]

C70R said:

HugoFastmann said:

SonicShadow said:

The biggest advantage of a 325ti is it's cheaper.

I've also just heard from a friend with a 325ti he's had his dyno'd at 204bhp, and it's bone stock standard. Much better than the 190bhp claimed!

That still makes it slower than things like a Civic type r, Clio 182 and Leon Cupra, as well as being significantly heavier than all three.

Can we please just accept that an underpowered 1.5 tonne hatchback isn't the best track car for £2k?

Weld the diff up and it's a great budget skidder though.

[HugoFastmann]

C70R said:

That still makes it slower than things like a Civic type r, Clio 182 and Leon Cupra, as well as being significantly heavier than all three.

Can we please just accept that an underpowered 1.5 tonne hatchback isn't the best track car for £2k?

At least it's driving the right wheels.

But yes I do agree it could be a whole load lighter and there are better track car options. It still makes a good, affordable, and fun track day car which doubles as a comfortable and reliable daily.

[C70R]

HugoFastmann said:

C70R said:

That still makes it slower than things like a Civic type r, Clio 182 and Leon Cupra, as well as being significantly heavier than all three.

Can we please just accept that an underpowered 1.5 tonne hatchback isn't the best track car for £2k?

At least it's driving the right wheels.

But yes I do agree it could be a whole load lighter and there are better track car options. It still makes a good, affordable, and fun track day car which doubles as a comfortable and reliable daily.

Judging by the number of Clios I see on trackdays (and my own experience with a 206 GTi), RWD isn't a prerequisite for having great fun on track. If you want to go as fast as possible, you might want to start with a lightweight RWD car - but trackdays aren't about being the fastest guy out there.

[C70R]

SonicShadow said:

C70R said:

HugoFastmann said:

SonicShadow said:

The biggest advantage of a 325ti is it's cheaper.

I've also just heard from a friend with a 325ti he's had his dyno'd at 204bhp, and it's bone stock standard. Much better than the 190bhp claimed!

That still makes it slower than things like a Civic type r, Clio 182 and Leon Cupra, as well as being significantly heavier than all three.

Can we please just accept that an underpowered 1.5 tonne hatchback isn't the best track car for £2k?

Weld the diff up and it's a great budget skidder though.

Agreed, but a E46 328i is cheaper/more plentiful and has a similar power/weight ratio.

[SonicShadow]

C70R said:

HugoFastmann said:

C70R said:

That still makes it slower than things like a Civic type r, Clio 182 and Leon Cupra, as well as being significantly heavier than all three.

Can we please just accept that an underpowered 1.5 tonne hatchback isn't the best track car for £2k?

At least it's driving the right wheels.

But yes I do agree it could be a whole load lighter and there are better track car options. It still makes a good, affordable, and fun track day car which doubles as a comfortable and reliable daily.

Judging by the number of Clios I see on trackdays (and my own experience with a 206 GTi), RWD isn't a prerequisite for having great fun on track. If you want to go as fast as possible, you might want to start with a lightweight RWD car - but trackdays aren't about being the fastest guy out there.

Indeed, it's above the budget for this thread but the likes of a DC2 Integra Type R are great fun on track. Can be properly quick too in the right hands / with choice mods.

[avenger286]

Flibble said:

Why no pumas?

Mx5 rust just as much!