Wich one to choose as a trackday car.

[JRzwevegem]

Hi,

I'm thinking of buying a sports car in the near future but I'm still not very sure what to choose.
The car will also be used as a track day car. About 10 times a year. I want to know if these cars have any technical issues and if they need any changes to make it a safe reliable track day car. And how would they compare to each other in terms of track speed ( lap times ). I hope you guys can make the choice a little bit easier for me.

These are the nominees :

- 986 Porsche boxster S
- Mitsubishi EVO 7
- BMW E46 M3
- 996 Porsche Carrera
- Corvette C5

[shaun fulcrum]

Without any indepth knowledge of any of the options, I would be inclined to choose the boxster. Mainly as there is a dedicated race series and with that will come a lot of forum knowledge (somewhere) to make it track reliable.

Although your car and ultimately your choice

Other opinions please.

[RenesisEvo]

JRzwevegem said:

And how would they compare to each other in terms of track speed ( lap times ).

I would have thought to begin with the lap times will be far more dependent on your skill and experience, than the car itself. Also, why fixate on laps times - you're not racing (yet...)? Choose the car which you find more FUN to drive.

[GreigM]

For serious trackday use I'd have a different list. I'm a big fan of the Pork, especially the boxster, but have no faith in the M96/7 engines for track use (have destroyed one myself on track).

Did the M3 not have engine issues also (vanos etc)? If not it may be the one to go for.

I know nothing of the corvette except you will eat parts on track and are they easy to get hold of?

You may be better with an older BMW, or elise/exige/vx220 - if a roof isn't needed you should be in caterham/westfield. Also consider a 968 clubsport?

[shaun fulcrum]

Google says:

986 Boxter S - Nordschleife 8.23
Evo 7 - Nordschleife 8.25
E46 M3 - Nordschleife 8.22
996 Carrera - Nordschleife 8.17
Corvette C5 - Nordschleife 8.40

Although personally unless you aim to race. FUN is more important than time

[GreigM]

thinking about it more - older pork, 964 etc or even an old 3.2 carrera in race trim could be very quick and frighten a lot more recent metal...just got to be careful of noise, I'm seeing more and more people sent home from track days for noise than ever before.

[shaun fulcrum]

Greigm has it right, good track cars don't tend to be the car you will always want. A lot of sports cars are very good road cars, the transition from road to track is just too much for some. This is why a lot of track cars end up being the same.

Saying that it all comes down to how deep people's pockets are and how many times they are willing to repair/replace things.

[Cavey]

I know little about the Corvette, other than reputation for handling not wonderful so may not be the best track choice unless you like going sideways more than forwards (which some do!).

Both the Porsches will work well on track, the 911 needing a slightly more unusual technique. The Boxster has lovely neutral handling, ideal for anyone new to track.

The M3 will also be good on track, classic front-engined rear-drive set up. However, you may find you need to upgrade the brakes once you get a bit quicker as these are a known M3/M5 achilles heel on track.

Both the Porsches and the BM are potentially very expensive if the engines go wrong, and with hard track use (10 days a year is quite a lot) this is not unheard of. (It's not unheard of with no track use...) Worth having some spare budget for repairs just in case.

Not well versed in Evos I'm afriad

[JRzwevegem]

Thanks for the information.
Don't understand me wrong i'm really not fixating on lap times.
But i don't want it to be an extreme difference to.
And yes the bmw M3 E46 had some bearing problems but BMW replaced the bad ones for good ones for free.

[iguana]

Of that list the M3, yes to be a decent tracker will need brakes, suspension, & to loose some lard, plus the host of other odds & sods needed to turn any lardy road car into a competent track hack, but that applies to all of them.

If you are a novice, then proper pads & fluid would see you for a bit then as you learn a bit you can upgrade.

E36 will do much the same but cost a lot less to buy, cost less to mod & will weigh less however.

[_Leg_]

Tracking any of them 10 times a year will mean a fair bit of expense on tyres, brakes and other bits and bobs. Having run one of my road cars as a track car I gave that up as it just gets daft (plus no insurance) and bought a specific car for track.

Personally I would buy a lightweight for £5-7500 and then a road car for road use if I were you. You can really enjoy the track days then.

[JRzwevegem]

_Leg_ said:

Personally I would buy a lightweight for £5-7500 and then a road car for road use if I were you. You can really enjoy the track days then.

That is no problem because I have a pug GTI as a daily car. The sports car is only for track days and special occasions.

Edited by JRzwevegem on Tuesday 13th December 06:49

[Steve H]

In which case think about Elise/Caterham/Westfield. Fun on the road but not practical which is fine for you and compared to your list the money you save on tyres, brakes and fuel over ten trackdays will pay for another half a dozen days on circuit.

They are also the best fun to drive on track.

[Porkie]

Get a Lotus Elise or if budget allows an Exige.

Sooooooooo much cheaper to run on track than all the others. Purer and more fun as well.

I've owned and tracked everything apart from the Corvette on your list.

Get a Lotus. OR if you don't need any practicality really... get a Caterham.

The S2 Toyota engined Loti are stronger and more reliable in my opinion than the earlier cars.

Edited by Porkie on Tuesday 13th December 08:22

[chris7676]

Boxster should be great fun - I personally prefer it to the Elise as it's much more fluid around the limit. It's also just fast enough at any reasonable speed you are likely to do. Of course it won't be quite cheap to run but none of the cars from your lists would be.

[JRzwevegem]

Porkie said:

Get a Lotus Elise or if budget allows an Exige.

Sooooooooo much cheaper to run on track than all the others. Purer and more fun as well.

I've owned and tracked everything apart from the Corvette on your list.

Get a Lotus. OR if you don't need any practicality really... get a Caterham.

The S2 Toyota engined Loti are stronger and more reliable in my opinion than the earlier cars.

Edited by Porkie on Tuesday 13th December 08:22

I know a elise would be very good. But here in Belgium they are almost twice the price of an E46 M3.

[JRzwevegem]

Porkie said:

Get a Lotus Elise or if budget allows an Exige.

Sooooooooo much cheaper to run on track than all the others. Purer and more fun as well.

I've owned and tracked everything apart from the Corvette on your list.

Get a Lotus. OR if you don't need any practicality really... get a Caterham.

The S2 Toyota engined Loti are stronger and more reliable in my opinion than the earlier cars.

Edited by Porkie on Tuesday 13th December 08:22

Wich one of the the list that you owned or used did you enjoyed the most?
And wich one do you think would be suited the most for my situation?

[Classic Grad 98]

A moderately hot caterham will be cheaper to buy, maintain and run, and more fun in my opinion. They are superb trackday cars straight out of the box.

[paulmoonraker]

Classic Grad 98 said:

A moderately hot caterham will be cheaper to buy, maintain and run, and more fun in my opinion. They are superb trackday cars straight out of the box.

I have a 2005 STi which I track and my mate has a Caterham 7. His running costs are insignificant compared to mine. Don't underestimate the costs of tracking a big heavy saloon car (pads, tyres, FUEL, oil)

I love it though ...

[spyderman8]

To the OP: I think a key factor is how much comfort, storage, practicality you need off-track? If you want lots, pick the Boxster, if you don't really need those things, consider an Elise.