Tin Top RWD Track Day Car - £2-3k?

Tin Top RWD Track Day Car - £2-3k?

Author
Discussion

rossyl

Original Poster:

1,110 posts

166 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
Hi All,

I have an MX5 and do Sprints running in the road-going class. But the trips too and from the track are tiresome, noisy, too warm. Ideally what I'd like is an MX5 with a tin top and air con!

I'm after a relatively standard car that's good for the track without changing too much. Any thoughts?

Here's what I'm after:
- £2-3k
- RWD
- Tin Top
- Cheap to repair (cheap parts, cheap labour)
- Simple under the hood (not too many electrical gremlins etc)

I'm concerned BMW parts might be far too expensive.

RX8, having read Seiben's thread, the RX8, whilst it can take a pasting, it does through its toys out of the pram. Flooding the engine, throwing codes, being upset if you spin backwards and the engine revolves the wrong way etc...

Cheap to run is hugely important. Tin top for comfort and safety.

So...recommendations please

Thanks
R

CABC

5,529 posts

100 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
Eunos with working AC.
hardtop (ok it's not tin, but lighter than soft hood. roll bar for safety, better than a roof)

rossyl

Original Poster:

1,110 posts

166 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
What about a roll bar and a rear shunt on the motorway, when I'm not wearing a helmet. I always felt that was more unsafe.

CABC

5,529 posts

100 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
rossyl said:
What about a roll bar and a rear shunt on the motorway, when I'm not wearing a helmet. I always felt that was more unsafe.
headrest.
roll bar fine for road use. full roll cage is something else.
are you sprinting mx5 without roll bar?

rossyl

Original Poster:

1,110 posts

166 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
I've read numerous times of people hitting their head on a roll a bar. It seems fairly risky to me.

The "solution" is to pad it, which in my mind isn't a solution. If I pad a cricket bat and hit you with it....it's still going to do a hell of a lot of damage.

Example: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=245980


I think let's leave that debate...back to the topic....!! smile

RWD ,tin tops that are cheap to run and fix please.

iguana

7,025 posts

259 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
Sold it yesterday, could have been ideal.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/motorsport...

Ps generally parts aren't more expensive on old (non M) BMWs any more than old mx5s

rossyl

Original Poster:

1,110 posts

166 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
iguana said:
Sold it yesterday, could have been ideal.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/motorsport...

Ps generally parts aren't more expensive on old (non M) BMWs any more than old mx5s
Thanks, how often did you get through tyres? Also, generally how often did it break...from big things to little

Welsh_Meat

47 posts

71 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
you should consider 350z GT (UK spec)... likely 2003/04 given your budget

CABC

5,529 posts

100 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
rossyl said:
I've read numerous times of people hitting their head on a roll a bar. It seems fairly risky to me.

The "solution" is to pad it, which in my mind isn't a solution. If I pad a cricket bat and hit you with it....it's still going to do a hell of a lot of damage.

Example: https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=245980
interesting read...
i guess with a bucket seat and harness you'll be ok, the head can't move so much in an offset rear-ending. not good for movement though.

E-bmw

9,105 posts

151 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
rossyl said:
iguana said:
Sold it yesterday, could have been ideal.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/motorsport...

Ps generally parts aren't more expensive on old (non M) BMWs any more than old mx5s
Thanks, how often did you get through tyres? Also, generally how often did it break...from big things to little
Alex bought my previous e36, which he is currently still using.

Previous to that I also had another 325 & pretty much all I have been through is consumables & items that I decided to upgrade.

Apart from consumables I only went through 1 x coil pack and a couple of rear wheel bearings and a couple of abs sensors in over 9 years and 2 cars in that time.

iguana

7,025 posts

259 months

Friday 20th July 2018
quotequote all
rossyl said:
Thanks, how often did you get through tyres? Also, generally how often did it break...from big things to little
Tyres, well depending on track miles etc & some folks inc me have done 80- 100 mile trackdays, or if I've been in an on it mood & it's cool weather day up to 230 miles.

Heat of day & track makes huge difference hot at thruxton with it's sandpaper surface & big corner speeds I've done 3 tyres, Vs cool day at Cadwell hardly any wear same car same tyres, ring pretty easy on them too.

Also what rubber? All wear differently & quick driver Vs leisurely & sessions length etc.

But in answer to most good neg camber front saves outer edges as does hard spring rates.

On that one tyre wear wasn't V long, but it did run a lot on tiny A048 2O5-15s in an M compound, so bit small for 12OOkg & a H compound more suited, but i got stacks of those tyres as in an unfashionable size (6O) barely used for nowt so I'd have been mad not to run them, 17 inch slick in a 24O worked well too, not mega life but depending on how worn when bought, swapping around could see s tyre having done

Yeh stuff breaks, old cars & not quite mk1 & 2 mx5 bullet proof, (i know nowt ref mk3s on) but if you build & prep one well you can get a couple of seasons in with just regular maintenance.


T0MMY

1,558 posts

175 months

Saturday 21st July 2018
quotequote all
For that budget there aren't many RWD options really. BMWs seem too heavy to me as I wouldn't want a trackcar to weigh much more than a tonne. You could look at MR2s, I'd rather a mk3 but obviously a mk2 would be tin top (or targa). Only ever driven one mk2 so maybe not a fair assessment but it felt very stodgy handling wise compared to the Eunos I had at the time. You might just about get a mk3 MX5 for 3K which would presumably be more comfortable than your mk1, albeit probably not as good to drive. I was considering getting one for winter trackdays when my kitcar isn't practical; with a handful of cheapish mods to get it to similar spec as the Supercup cars (coilovers, geo and ex. manifold with remap for 180bhp or so) I'm sure it would make a decent track car.

Edited by T0MMY on Saturday 21st July 12:19

griffchris

166 posts

269 months

Saturday 21st July 2018
quotequote all
What about trailering to and from the track, keep your well sorted MX5?

Steve H

5,224 posts

194 months

Sunday 22nd July 2018
quotequote all
E36 is the obvious choice, probably 328. Loads of bits available, pretty reliable, can be made fairly light, fun to drive.

Humour

297 posts

150 months

Friday 3rd August 2018
quotequote all
Steve H said:
E36 is the obvious choice, probably 328. Loads of bits available, pretty reliable, can be made fairly light, fun to drive.
I think the OPs budget is too small for an e36, unless he buys an already prepped track car and even then, pads and discs will be consumed at a much higher rate than an mx5.

Based on the OPs very specific criteria I would advise to stick with your mx5 and add a roof as has been suggested. Nothing else seems to match your criteria of cheap/easy to work on/rwd/etc.

Jon Doe

76 posts

177 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
The wrong answer is a 944 or 924s as the parts can be expensve, its the car you describe. Bit more weight, a bit more power (depending on models- S2 would be a great mx5!

T0MMY

1,558 posts

175 months

Thursday 23rd August 2018
quotequote all
Jon Doe said:
The wrong answer is a 944 or 924s as the parts can be expensve, its the car you describe. Bit more weight, a bit more power (depending on models- S2 would be a great mx5!
I thought the days of bargain bucket 944s had gone? Last time I looked they seemed to start at £5k but I didn't look very hard.

I still can't help thinking that given the limited choice at OPs budget, the best equivalent of a tintop MX5 with a/c is to get an MX5 with hardtop and a/c! What sort of prices do the Japanese playstation generation cars fetch these days? Thinking 200SX, Supra, 300ZX type thing. Not going to be cheap to run though, and not great trackcars as standard.

Edited by T0MMY on Thursday 23 August 21:55

C70R

17,596 posts

103 months

Friday 24th August 2018
quotequote all
Steve H said:
E36 is the obvious choice, probably 328. Loads of bits available, pretty reliable, can be made fairly light, fun to drive.
Can people stop perpetuating this myth that the E36 328 is "light", please? It's a 1400kg car, which is not "light" by any sensible definition.

While I'm sure they can be made to handle well, they are certainly not a "light" car.

E-bmw

9,105 posts

151 months

Friday 24th August 2018
quotequote all
C70R said:
Steve H said:
E36 is the obvious choice, probably 328. Loads of bits available, pretty reliable, can be made fairly light, fun to drive.
Can people stop perpetuating this myth that the E36 328 is "light", please? It's a 1400kg car, which is not "light" by any sensible definition.

While I'm sure they can be made to handle well, they are certainly not a "light" car.
Build a bridge & gerroverit, he didn't actually say they were light wink

I think IIRC mine ended up at 1270kg with full liquids & me in it, & me & petrol is 180kg.

JB!

5,254 posts

179 months

Tuesday 28th August 2018
quotequote all
I'm in the same dilemma.

E36/E46 328 or 330i, or 350Z are the readily available options.

Neither of them massively light, but both have a lot of good suspension options and other tuning parts.