alternative to rx8 for track toy

[e46m3c]

After some ideas.

I was going to get a boxster s for a bit of track/country fun.

But i thought wouldnt it be great to let my mates drive it too.

So whats good upto say 3k? so if they write it off i wont be mad.

1.8 mx5 mk3?
rx8
350z

Needs to be able to drift to some degree for drift days.

mx5 sounds good as not too heavy on consumables

I cant be arsed to trailer again so has to be road worthy & tolerable - am getting old.

[Actus Reus]

Some sort of E36 BMW Coupe would be on my list with those I think.

[SlowAndDull]

The RX8 is fun on track, if not blisteringly fast. It will however bankrupt you in fuel costs! I’d recommend the MX5 for running costs and upgrade ability. Nothing else touches it for the money in my opinion!

[e46m3c]

i know zero about mx5. What to go for? Do they have lsd stock? can they take track abuse stock?

Had an rx8 for track a while ago and it was crap i thought. But the thought of 1k investment is hard to beat.

[Actus Reus]

Most Eunos imports have lsd stock. They rust like buggery though so watch the sills. (Mk 2's rust round the chassis rails, which are part of the crash structure - these are harder to inspect too, so I spend £2k on a good Mk.I and loved it).

Downside is that they feel VERY slow on a track day. A Mk.I 1.8 is 125hp or so.

ETA: 2 different kinds of lsd - the viscous ones tend to decay and become open diffs. I seem to recall that 1.8s tended to have TorSen diffs which keep going. Beware drift cars with welded diffs.

Edited by Actus Reus on Thursday 13th December 14:51

[kaveney]

MR2 Mk3

[e46m3c]

Can an mr2 be used on drift days? I doubt it has enough power?

[untakenname]

SlowAndDull said:

The RX8 is fun on track, if not blisteringly fast. It will however bankrupt you in fuel costs! I’d recommend the MX5 for running costs and upgrade ability. Nothing else touches it for the money in my opinion!

Poor mpg on the road but on track I've found the RX8 gets better MPG than most other cars.

[daveco]

e46m3c said:

Can an mr2 be used on drift days? I doubt it has enough power?

Absolutely. The more technical the track the more they will keep up with much more powerful metal.

Strip one out and in 1.8 guise, you have a very rapid 146hp, 950kg track car.

[rallycross]

daveco said:

e46m3c said:

Can an mr2 be used on drift days? I doubt it has enough power?

Absolutely. The more technical the track the more they will keep up with much more powerful metal.

Strip one out and in 1.8 guise, you have a very rapid 146hp, 950kg track car.

I've had a few of these and driven them on track, yes can be good on track, but NO, its not going to be any use for drifting due to not enough go and they are tricky to hold long slides due to mid engine layout and more grip than go.

[e46m3c]

Z3 3.0 se. Would need a diff tho.

Might have to be another rx8

[e46m3c]

986 boxster with a diff?

[kin quick]

After 15 years of Impreza's I started looking for an early 3.0 Z4 for fun and trackday's, the downsides I found are they are fairly heavy, need uprated brakes and don't come with an LSD.

I ended up buying a 2.0 Mk3 MX5 instead, loads of fun, loads of mods available, around 1100kg depending who you ask, all 2.0's have LSD and the standard callipers are used in the Mx5 racing series so just need uprated pads, disks and fluid. Most mods are pretty cheap, it's a nice fun car on the road and loads of fun on track.

[SlowAndDull]

untakenname said:

Poor mpg on the road but on track I've found the RX8 gets better MPG than most other cars.

I averaged 8mpg on the track in mine!

[braddo]

SlowAndDull said:

untakenname said:

Poor mpg on the road but on track I've found the RX8 gets better MPG than most other cars.

I averaged 8mpg on the track in mine!

Track mpg is only ever around 5-12 mpg, so at either end it's barely a consideration compared to the overall cost of track days! Well, I guess the true lightweights like Caterhams use so little of consumables that their biggest cost is fuel. And driver sanity getting home to track and back.

[braddo]

e46m3c said:

i
Had an rx8 for track a while ago and it was crap i thought.

Interested to hear your thoughts about using a RX8 as a track-day car.

[rallycross]

I've not tried an RX8 on track but have been using this 350z recently on track and its far better than it should be with all that weight it still does a good job on track, and feels genuinely quick (not just in a straight line).

[e46m3c]

130i with a diff?

135?

[Ahbefive]

For the price of an RX8? £3k?

For the money the rx8 is a bargain and although not the fastest is a good track car with good balance.

Edited by Ahbefive on Saturday 15th December 09:55

[e30m3Mark]

Any six pot E36 or E46 BMW.

Obviously you'd want a diff but bother of the above can be bough cheaply.

BMW 325ti are great fun and far better drivers than may people realise, hence their having a strong following.

This one is well under budget so you could get some decent suspension or a diff.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bmw-325ti-compact-2001-...f:0

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RSX729-SPAX-RSX-COILOVE...f:0