Weekend car / track car

[Tigspeed]

Massive newbie to the whole car tuning thing but recently bought a house with a huge garage so wanting a weekend car / track car that I can keep in the garage and completely strip out fixed bucket seats no rear seats etc. and tune up.

My short list is not so short so after some advice on easiest to tune and best car really my budget is around £1500-2000 for the car then can tune bit by bit

Clio 182
Civic type r
Mr2
Focus st170
FTO
Impreza wrx
Megane 225 (top end budget + )

Open to other suggestions my knowledge of tuning the cars isn't great but pretty handy on google and have a good set of mechanic mates who can always help

Thanks for the help!!

[Matt UK]

When in your position I went for a Mk1 MX5.

Oil service, plugs and leads, GazGold coilovers, Toyo T1R tyres, full geo, s/s exhaust, OEM discs, greenstuff pads, braided hoses and fluid.

Then do track days.

I had a go in one which was totally stripped out and on R888 tyres - it really was quickler than expected and a lot of fun.

[V8RX7]

Personally I'd only consider a RWD track car as they are much more fun.

At your price range I'd suggest:

MX5
E36 328
E30 325
Compact 318 / 325
Kitcar

TBH the easiest way is to find one already done / part built on here / Ebay etc and just see what comes up.

[Synchromesh]

Your thread is here:

Trackday Car- Mk2 or Mk3 MR2? - Pistonheads

[sparkyhx]

when you say Tune - what do you mean?

Engine Tuning a NA car is expensive with minimal gain
Engine Tuning forced induction is cheap by comparison

If you are after more powaaa the only realistic option is turbo cars

If its supension etc then any of those mentioned would do.

[GravelBen]

Matt UK said:

When in your position I went for a Mk1 MX5.

Me too. A standard-ish one first, then a 250rwhp turbo one. Both were great.

[CDP]

Kit car

Very easy to work on and cheap bits. Cheap to insure too and easy on tyres. With the right chassis and engine few production cars will get near you.

[adsvx220]

Soon I will have my nova track/race car up for sale. Could be of intrest to you. Although not road legal but could be a project.

Red top maybe??

Adam

[vrsmxtb]

If it's just a track car, I think light and RWD surely must be the most fun. What about an entry level Caterham?
That list of cars strikes me as a track-friendly car that would be liveable with for daily use too.

[V8RX7]

vrsmxtb said:

If it's just a track car, I think light and RWD surely must be the most fun. What about an entry level Caterham?

A Caterham for £2k ????

[vrsmxtb]

V8RX7 said:

A Caterham for £2k ????

Ok, skim read guilty! Didn't see the budget. A well modded MX5 or MR2 is a good call in that case. Surely more fun than a FWD hatch?

[CDP]

V8RX7 said:

vrsmxtb said:

If it's just a track car, I think light and RWD surely must be the most fun. What about an entry level Caterham?

A Caterham for £2k ????

Could probably manage a Locost, tatty Westfield or similar. The nice thing about 7's is they're very easy to smarten up for very little money.

[5RedLights]

If you were looking at FWD (although I'd echo the MX5 suggestions), stay away from the ST170. It's a fine enough car if you want a daily driver with a bit of speed, but as a track/all out fun car it doesn't work. The long gearing in 1st and 2nd is horrible, and it doesn't feel fast at all.

Your best choice would be the 182 or the FTO (go for the mivec). You can also get a 206 GTI 180 within that budget, but that really depends on your preference towards them as they are a bit of a marmite car.

When you say tune up, you'd bet better off spending the money on things like brakes, suspension, tyres and anything to stabilise the car better. Removing any weight from the car, like seats, is a much cheaper way to speed the car up than any engine tuning, which would be very expensive for minimal gain.

Edited by 5RedLights on Tuesday 17th September 13:14

[dapearson]

Are S2000s down that low yet?

Just stumbled over this great vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5FNEhF3b7I

[Tigspeed]

Id love a nearly finished kit car but for 2k is that realistic cant seem to find any anywhere

[300bhp/ton]

Tigspeed said:

Id love a nearly finished kit car but for 2k is that realistic cant seem to find any anywhere

You might struggle at that price, but they are about, just often the less pretty looking ones. Sometimes you'll get a RobinHood 2B for that money.

How about a classic of some kind? £2k is just about MGB money or maybe a Spitfire. Not going to be as quick as the modern stuff in stock trim. But plenty of options to mod and a lot of fun to drive.

[CDP]

300bhp/ton said:

Tigspeed said:

Id love a nearly finished kit car but for 2k is that realistic cant seem to find any anywhere

You might struggle at that price, but they are about, just often the less pretty looking ones. Sometimes you'll get a RobinHood 2B for that money.

How about a classic of some kind? £2k is just about MGB money or maybe a Spitfire. Not going to be as quick as the modern stuff in stock trim. But plenty of options to mod and a lot of fun to drive.

Trouble is a two grand MGB might be as rusty as an MX5...

[anonymous-user]

Something like this would fit the bill but possibly too nice to track http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1...

Or this for a laugh, at least you wouldn't cry too much if you stuffed it http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1...

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 17th September 14:47

[CDP]

rovermorris999 said:

Something like this would fit the bill but possibly too nice to track http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1...

Or this for a laugh, at least you wouldn't cry too much if you stuffed it http://www.mx5nutz.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1...

Edited by rovermorris999 on Tuesday 17th September 14:47

Could do worse.

[Dakkon]

Two weeks ago I bought a '94 Revision 3 MR2 Turbo for £1,900 for exactly this purpose, car will be fully serviced by the end of the month and ready for a track at Brands on the 29th October.