Evora 400 as a road & track day car

[Diablos-666]

Hi,

I'm new to these parts of PH, I'm usually lurking around the Pork section ...

I recently went on a track day at Brands (have also been to Spa) and got the track-day bug however, I wasn't particularity impressed with my car (996 c4s) , it just felt too heavy and it didn't have a lot of steering feedback.

I was considering getting a dedicated road legal track day car (Track modified Megane 225 F1) but after some thought I couldn't really justify the expense of a 2nd car considering the mileage I do. I'd be surprised if I drive more than 5k miles a year.

I then started looking at Evora's as a two trick pony, I was never keen on the rear of the series 1 Evora's but the 400 is much improved, in my eyes.

I have been reading reviews / watching YouTube videos about them and it seemed like the perfect choice for me. Sell the Porsche and get the Lotus.

After doing some more research it seems that the 400 will fail most tracks db limits, the dealer I'm in contact with has suggested getting a track friendly exhaust fitted which would be another £1.5k.

Is there easy track-day bolt-on option available for the 400, I don't really want to shell out for a new exhaust straight after getting the car, unlike most of these YouTube vloggers.

[gashead1105]

No. You need a new silencer - I have a 2bular on mine and it's (apparently) just quiet enough to pass a 105db day, although I haven't tested it in anger myself yet.

It's definitely quieter than my mate's OE one (he's been black flagged at Silverstone before).

[Diablos-666]

That is a bit disappointing. Didn’t really want to spend a 4 figure sum to change the exhaust just to get on track

[gashead1105]

Go to your dealer and drive one - and an Elise and a V6 Exige - and then you will know if its worth it to you or not. Love mine.

[CTE]

Go to Hangar 111, they do a trackday silencer which is not so expensive and is fully homologated.

[cypriot]

the noise issue is annoying, but to help you along the man maths side of things, that is literally the only modification you need to do to the car to track it. If you had a porker (non GT) you would most likely need to spend more than the cost of the silencer in getting the porker track ready. And thats without the discussion on consumables. Yes, its annoying that the evora is too loud, but as a track car that still supremely dailiable, its very hard to beat. The evora is also very soft on its brakes and tyres. I have done 5 track days in it, and the tryres and brakes have still got plenty of life in them (verified by my dealer, not me!).

[Diablos-666]

Man-maths is working overdrive at the moment.

I have been weighing up the pros and cons of keeping my current car and adding a dedicated track-day car.

Scenario 1 – Keep the C4S and buy a track car

Pros
Get to keep the C4S – it’s a car me and the Mrs both like, it’s reliable and I wouldn’t have the hassle of selling it
Dedicated track car for relatively low cost, not such an issue if I bin it on track
Won’t have to borrow any money

Cons
Additional insurance, tax, MOT, servicing costs of owning an additional car
Storage – Don’t have a garage and would be tight parking on the drive along with the C4S
Other than track days, which I haven’t done many of so far, the car would get very little use.


Scenario 2 – Sell the C4S and buy the Evora 400

Pros
Having only one car that can be used on track and the road
No additional running costs of owning a second car
Cheaper to run that the C4S

Cons
Having to sell the C4S
Having to finance a portion of the purchase price. I value the C4S at £20k, I have £20k in savings and don’t want to borrow any more than £15k – Total £55k (not in a rush to buy the car now winter is here so have time to save some more – Cheapest on the market is £58k atm)
Tracking an expensive car that has finance on
Depreciation
Having to buy a new exhaust system so the Evora can go on track (£1 – 1.5k)

[Tucko]

Seriously,try a v6 exige.quieter,just as quick and start in the high 30k mark?

[cypriot]

I agree with all your pros and cons, apart from the depreciation of the 400. They level off at around the 60K, and never really dropped below that. Not saying they won't, but its not like the 400 will depreciate hugely.

[Sumsion]

To reduce the cost you may want to consider a S1 Evora . Exhaust should be ok for track days .

[Diablos-666]

Not keen on the S1 Evora.
I’m actually considering an Exige V6 either S IPS or 350 auto.

Price seem £10k lower than than the Evora 400.

Obviously the Exige will be more compromised on the road than the Evora.

[gareth h]

If you're going for a one car solution the 400 fits the bill, I fitted the hanger 111 exhaust to mine, it's a shame you have to because the stock exhaust sounds epic.
Before the 400 I had a 350 exige, it was better suited to track work, you could definitely feel the extra weight of the Evora, but it tramlined on the road and the headlights were crap (Evora had xenons which were what you would expect from a modern car).

[Niftynoo]

Have also got the Hanger 111 QT exhaust so can now fully appreciate the 400's track ability. You can still refit the original exhaust when and if the time comes.