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

[Justinas]

Samjeev said:

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?

caelite said:

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

I feel this would never end. Ok, for once I'll try to follow your logic - there is nothing wrong with daily driving a bike with 1 seat. Buy an Yamaha R6 and you will have way more fun on track than driving any of these cars for £2K. Want more power, more speed? No problem, grab a Suzuki GSXR1000. 160 bhp, 0 - 60 3 seconds, top speed 180mph.

Let's end this discussion here. Should you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

[Justinas]

C70R said:

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.

A 325ti is cheap to buy, difficult to sell. Ugly looking and as heavy as the 4 door / coupe versions. I would rather go for an E36 323Ti, get the right toys (M52B30 + M54B30 + Schrick camshaf + M50 manifold = 230 - 240 bhp), install coilovers and E46 330i brakes with decent pads. This should not exceed £2K.

[loggyboy]

None of these extras are gonna keep you in the OPs budget of your not spanner capable. Pointless throwing in cars that are within budget but need double the budget to make them track capable.
As mentioned plenty of times, by plenty of people, you will struggle to beat the Clio for budget, off the shelf track performance and everyday practicality.

[C70R]

Justinas said:

C70R said:

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.

A 325ti is cheap to buy, difficult to sell. Ugly looking and as heavy as the 4 door / coupe versions. I would rather go for an E36 323Ti, get the right toys (M52B30 + M54B30 + Schrick camshaf + M50 manifold = 230 - 240 bhp), install coilovers and E46 330i brakes with decent pads. This should not exceed £2K.

Erm... they didn't make the 323ti for the UK market, unless I'm mistaken. And that list of parts is going to cost you over £2k alone.

[Justinas]

loggyboy said:

None of these extras are gonna keep you in the OPs budget of your not spanner capable. Pointless throwing in cars that are within budget but need double the budget to make them track capable.
As mentioned plenty of times, by plenty of people, you will struggle to beat the Clio for budget, off the shelf track performance and everyday practicality.

I understand why you are pushing the Clio so hard, but it is not the best allround daily-track car for £2K. The ep3 beats the Clio in every aspect. More hp, less kg, better handling, more comfortable etc etc.

[C70R]

Justinas said:

loggyboy said:

None of these extras are gonna keep you in the OPs budget of your not spanner capable. Pointless throwing in cars that are within budget but need double the budget to make them track capable.
As mentioned plenty of times, by plenty of people, you will struggle to beat the Clio for budget, off the shelf track performance and everyday practicality.

I understand why you are pushing the Clio so hard, but it is not the best allround daily-track car for £2K. The ep3 beats the Clio in every aspect. More hp, less kg, better handling, more comfortable etc etc.

Did you just make that up?

The EP3 is heavier than the Clio.
The Clio has a better power:weight ratio.
The Clio does a quicker quarter mile.
The Clio handles better out of the box.
The Clio is going to be better condition at your budget.

I don't like the Clio's driving position, but that doesn't stop it being a bloody impressive car.

[Furyblade_Lee]

As a track car but daily too, every time I would probably go for a Clio 172 / 182 Cup. A good one with the cam belt and dephaser done, AD08R tyres and just add fuel. You can dip them under 60 seconds around Brands ( just )

I drove a friends BMW 325Ci around Brands Hatch last year, it was tragic. I suspect to get a Beemer to handle well ( nee fun ) you either need to strip some weight out or beef up the suspension to cope, and that costs money and would probably make it tiresome on the road.

RX8 ( ours is a PZ ) is awesome on track but will bankrupt you with £500 road tax and 15mpg .

Saying that, if 2 seats are fine then you will not go far wrong with a Mazda Eunos MK1. £1,500 should get you a good one, and a £300 TR Lane roll bar to protect you.

I have a few cool cars but I honestly have as much FUN in my Eunos as any of them, you can drive it 10/10ths the whole time and it has refused to break in 5 years!!!!

Edited by Furyblade_Lee on Tuesday 25th July 08:48

[Furyblade_Lee]

C70R said:

Justinas said:

loggyboy said:

None of these extras are gonna keep you in the OPs budget of your not spanner capable. Pointless throwing in cars that are within budget but need double the budget to make them track capable.
As mentioned plenty of times, by plenty of people, you will struggle to beat the Clio for budget, off the shelf track performance and everyday practicality.

I understand why you are pushing the Clio so hard, but it is not the best allround daily-track car for £2K. The ep3 beats the Clio in every aspect. More hp, less kg, better handling, more comfortable etc etc.

Did you just make that up?

The EP3 is heavier than the Clio.
The Clio has a better power:weight ratio.
The Clio does a quicker quarter mile.
The Clio handles better out of the box.
The Clio is going to be better condition at your budget.

I don't like the Clio's driving position, but that doesn't stop it being a bloody impressive car.

In our experience of sprinting in the 2.0 production class for several years, The Civic Type R is not as quick as the Clio Cups, 100% standard. The Integra Type Rs are, even the 1.8 DC2, so I suspect the Civic is just a little heavy.

[C70R]

Furyblade_Lee said:

C70R said:

Justinas said:

loggyboy said:

None of these extras are gonna keep you in the OPs budget of your not spanner capable. Pointless throwing in cars that are within budget but need double the budget to make them track capable.
As mentioned plenty of times, by plenty of people, you will struggle to beat the Clio for budget, off the shelf track performance and everyday practicality.

I understand why you are pushing the Clio so hard, but it is not the best allround daily-track car for £2K. The ep3 beats the Clio in every aspect. More hp, less kg, better handling, more comfortable etc etc.

Did you just make that up?

The EP3 is heavier than the Clio.
The Clio has a better power:weight ratio.
The Clio does a quicker quarter mile.
The Clio handles better out of the box.
The Clio is going to be better condition at your budget.

I don't like the Clio's driving position, but that doesn't stop it being a bloody impressive car.

In our experience of sprinting in the 2.0 production class for several years, The Civic Type R is not as quick as the Clio Cups, 100% standard. The Integra Type Rs are, even the 1.8 DC2, so I suspect the Civic is just a little heavy.

Agreed. I can see plenty of reasons not to like a Clio (build quality, ergonomics), but for outright pace with 4 seats there's no substitute at this level.

[loggyboy]

Sorry to dig up, but just wanted to add to the practicality argument



Thats a fair few Kilos of timber, the 2400mm stuff even fits inside!

[GezG]

I run a stripped out Puma 1.7 (road legal) but solely used for track days - cheap to buy & run but many have fallen foul of the tin worm!

[jassihayre]

You don't really see many but the Accord Type R made 210bhp, weighed 1300kg and can be found for £1k and 306 gti6 still make a good daily and track car.

Edited by jassihayre on Monday 25th September 23:54