Which trackday car??
Discussion
Hi
I know this has been done before and I have searched the forum to death but not really helped me much!!
I want a trackday only car but dont have a fortune to spend. Ive done a few trackdays in my M3 and 968CS but really dont want to do anymore in them. The budget is about £1000 then a trailer.
Im not really bothered whether its fwd or rwd but Im thinking the lighter the better with the most power possible....I understand a faster car isnt always a faster lap but would be looking at brakes, tyres and shocks/springs/arbs.
Im looking at a few on ebay and here at the moment
Rover Metro with VVC 150bhp
Clio 172
Pug 205 MI16
Corsa redtop
Saxo VTS
Xsara VTS
145 Cloverleaf
328 4 door
Lancer Evo1
Pug 306 gti6
A wide variety of cars and all possible for under my budget. Most front drive but the odd rear drive. Im not going to be a hardcore trackday driver but it might go somewhere however initially Im not concerned about caging, plexiglass etc.
I know this has been done before and I have searched the forum to death but not really helped me much!!
I want a trackday only car but dont have a fortune to spend. Ive done a few trackdays in my M3 and 968CS but really dont want to do anymore in them. The budget is about £1000 then a trailer.
Im not really bothered whether its fwd or rwd but Im thinking the lighter the better with the most power possible....I understand a faster car isnt always a faster lap but would be looking at brakes, tyres and shocks/springs/arbs.
Im looking at a few on ebay and here at the moment
Rover Metro with VVC 150bhp
Clio 172
Pug 205 MI16
Corsa redtop
Saxo VTS
Xsara VTS
145 Cloverleaf
328 4 door
Lancer Evo1
Pug 306 gti6
A wide variety of cars and all possible for under my budget. Most front drive but the odd rear drive. Im not going to be a hardcore trackday driver but it might go somewhere however initially Im not concerned about caging, plexiglass etc.
But even stripped they are a very heavy car - I'm not exactly sure what you could take out but presume around 100kilos which would still leave it around 1300kg?
Some of the others are around 7-800kg with only a small amount of bhp less (mi16 around 150-160 with 700ish kg)
Heavy e36 doesn't make sense unless I'm missing something.
Some of the others are around 7-800kg with only a small amount of bhp less (mi16 around 150-160 with 700ish kg)
Heavy e36 doesn't make sense unless I'm missing something.
falkster said:
Im not really bothered whether its fwd or rwd but Im thinking the lighter the better with the most power possible....
So you're primarily interested in straight-line speed rather than handling? Forget about track days and do some RWYB drag sessions instead 
Seriously, fun handling is a far more important factor for me in a track car than power. Which is why I will now recommend the standard PH cliche of an MX5
The bulk of the cars that you list above would be pretty ropey examples for £1000, I would consider spending more on your track car than a set of tyres would cost on your M3 or Porsche.
Also, most of them are going to be a lot closer to 1000kgs than 700 I'd have thought.
You've got the right idea with your list I think and would lean towards the Clio, 205, 306 and 328 as my preferred options but if you ask ten people you'll get ten different lists
. Might be worth considering an E30 beemer as well, quite a few nice track prepped ones out there.
Also, most of them are going to be a lot closer to 1000kgs than 700 I'd have thought.
You've got the right idea with your list I think and would lean towards the Clio, 205, 306 and 328 as my preferred options but if you ask ten people you'll get ten different lists
. Might be worth considering an E30 beemer as well, quite a few nice track prepped ones out there.just set a search on the classifieds for cars between £750 and £1000 and see what comes up. if you are only looking at the cars on your list you might miss some less obvious choices.
as i said on another thread, the rover 200vi is a great sleeper car, 150 bhp k-series and all the go faster parts from the mg zr fit.
as i said on another thread, the rover 200vi is a great sleeper car, 150 bhp k-series and all the go faster parts from the mg zr fit.
gtdc said:
How could you possibly downgrade from a 968CS to a £1k snotter?
My thoughts too. I find my E36 track car so utterly, tediously, boringly slow that I rarely ask my son to 'let his Dad have a go' anymore.I couldn't imagine for a moment thinking that a slower car would be in any way a good idea.
gtdc said:
A properly sorted 968CS is a joy. It can be driven very properly on trackdays.
Both the club sport and M3 are sorted but I don't like the idea of getting a bit head strong thinking Im nigel mansell then regretting it for the rest of my life.When I first got my M3 I tracked it quite a bit, fell in love with the car and made some sedate adjustments by which time it was too good and worth too much to track.
Ok there's people out there that track very expensive cars but I'm not minted and see mine as my dream cars so never want to be parted with them.
Naive or a div? I'm not sure!
Would you really want to be doing 70-80mph at the limit of tyre adhesion in something that cost a grand? The chances are bushes will be shagged, dampers will be tired, suspension mounting points will be weakened through corrosion.
You would be better off spending more and getting something better suited for track work - i.e. a seven type kit car, which cost beans to run on track, are a doddle to maintain, and are by the most fun on track.
Certainly, you do not want to be buying a £1k Evo.
You would be better off spending more and getting something better suited for track work - i.e. a seven type kit car, which cost beans to run on track, are a doddle to maintain, and are by the most fun on track.
Certainly, you do not want to be buying a £1k Evo.
I would advise against restricting yourself to a £1k purchase price. Anything you get will likely be very tired and probably need some decent money spent on it to fix/keep it running. You may end up throwing away the whole investment.
If you spend £5k you can always sell it again and probably get all/most your money back.
Unless you are a complete nutter behind the wheel and can't be trusted not to crash it I would try to go for a bigger outlay.
If you spend £5k you can always sell it again and probably get all/most your money back.
Unless you are a complete nutter behind the wheel and can't be trusted not to crash it I would try to go for a bigger outlay.
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