Track day car, stick or twist?

[Too Late]

Hi all

I have a 2ltr zetec Westfield which is road registered and putting around 215 horses out at the wheels. Having owned it for 5years now I am considering selling it for something but I am not sure what.

Having 2 young kids who also love cars, if I do twist, it needs to be a road registered so I get the most out of it.

I tend to do 3 to 4 track days a year. This year, I have had a hankering for a BEC. Never had the opportunity to drive one but seeing an Arion S2 and Radical at the track this year it has got me me thinking about swapping mine.

I have around a 20k budget.

Alternatively, I stick with what I have and work on getting some experience on the track. Tinker with what I have. I want to hard wire a go pro in and do some small bits to it

I was looking at a Westfield XTR with a busa engine or a older duratec caterham with a sequental.box.

[Steve H]

First thoughts are that you surely won’t get a sequential Dura Caterham for £20k (?) and the vast majority of becs I have been in have been a disappointment.

If you want to stay lightweight then tweaking what you’ve got is probably the answer…….

[anonymous-user]

I’m assuming an Arion, Radical or XTR2 will need a trailer although you may already trailer the Westfield. The major benefit of any one of those over the Westfield/Caterham is downforce and that makes a huge difference. The only issue is being them not being road legal or if they were legal, being something you’d want to drove on the road for long.

Personally, I’d do an ARDS test, get a Radical and do some proper test days using slicks too, the tyres and downforce will be a game changer as far as track driving is concerned. £20k gets a nice prosport or even an early SR1.

I guess it depends on the age of the kids really, would you take them on a track day? Is it just a fun car for occasional days out or a daily driver?if it absolutely has to be a four seater road legal car, I’d go 996.

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 26th August 20:18

[QBee]

Watching track days is akin to paint drying.
Passengering has a 14year minimum age limit I believe (or is it 16?).
Steve H will probably know

[Steve H]

I think 16 for most but maybe there are some that allow 14.

Personally I wouldn’t recommend anyone to bother getting a race licence unless they were going racing and test days are often sessioned and with plenty of stoppages. If you want a more next-level track experience try RMA where the overtaking rules are broader.

[1781cc]

If you already have a car suitable for the job but only do 4 days a year, I’d say, imagine how fast you could be if you concentrated on spending some of that £20k on proper tuition from an experienced ex-racer/tutor and more seat time.

Someone like Marc Kemp who will turn up with a Vbox, analyze your driving, point out improvements and explain where you are doing things wrong, I think with some time doing this you’ll have more fun in your existing machinery.

£20k on something you use a handful of times a year with skills only you have developed (and mistakes) seems insane to me.

[QBee]

I will say it because he is too modest, but Steve H also gives tuition at track days when he's not campaignming his Cayman around the race tracks of the UK

[Steve H]

QBee said:

I will say it because he is too modest, but Steve H also gives tuition at track days

Very rare I get called that

[wioifoiee]

Too Late said:

Hi all

I have a 2ltr zetec Westfield which is road registered and putting around 215 horses out at the wheels. Having owned it for 5years now I am considering selling it for something but I am not sure what.

Having 2 young kids who also love cars, if I do twist, it needs to be a road registered so I get the most out of it.

I tend to do 3 to 4 track days a year. This year, I have had a hankering for a BEC. Never had the opportunity to drive one but seeing an Arion S2 and Radical at the track this year it has got me me thinking about swapping mine.

I have around a 20k budget.

Alternatively, I stick with what I have and work on getting some experience on the track. Tinker with what I have. I want to hard wire a go pro in and do some small bits to it

I was looking at a Westfield XTR with a busa engine or a older duratec caterham with a sequental.box.

Radical is out of the question as you won't find one road registered which are super rare and will easily cost north of £35k.
I don't see anything else for sub £20k that would be as quick as what you currently have. Road registered Caterham with a sequential box, good luck finding that for less than £20k.
Westfield with a busa engine wouldn't output anymore than what you already have unless it was turbo'd.

you wouldn't want to go back to some tank road car after driving about in a westfied, would be a major dissappointment.

therefore your only solution is to stick. job done.

[matt5964]

QBee said:

I will say it because he is too modest, but Steve H also gives tuition at track days when he's not campaignming his Cayman around the race tracks of the UK

I can definitely vouch for Steve’s advice and tuition,

both myself and wife have spent several mornings with Steve braving the passenger seat in our Elise, easily the best pound for pound improvement to confidence, ability and enjoyment I have spent

(Just don’t tell Esther that the bits I keep buying for the car don’t do as much… man maths for sure)

Making something go quicker or buying something quicker does not always equal more enjoyment
Having the skill to extract more from what you have… now that’s a totally different ball game fore sure
Neve got the obsession of must be quickest , unless it’s racing of course

Edited by matt5964 on Wednesday 30th August 19:57

[braddo]

wioifoiee said:

...
I don't see anything else for sub £20k that would be as quick as what you currently have.

you wouldn't want to go back to some tank road car after driving about in a westfied, would be a major dissappointment.

therefore your only solution is to stick. job done.

My thoughts too.

[brillomaster]

if its road registered, does that mean its running grooved, trackday tyres?

get a second set of wheels, and put some proper slick tyres on?

[dunc_sx]

A Westfield XTR wouldn't be any improvement over what you already have imo, you'd really be after an older radical for a decent step in improvement but you're unlikely to get a road registered one for that money. I don't know anything about Arion's but they certainly look cool

I bought a radical clubsport for a smidge under £10k about 15 years ago and never looked back. The dynamics of Radicals are a step beyond and it takes something ballistic to beat them in pace terms too. I'd recommend a Radical prosport or clubsport to get started with for your budget

No one uses grooved tyres on rads, slicks all day. Here's my old clubsport with some prosport upgrades (any excuse!)

Edited by dunc_sx on Friday 1st September 23:45

[wioifoiee]

dunc_sx said:

A Westfield XTR wouldn't be any improvement over what you already have imo, you'd really be after an older radical for a decent step in improvement but you're unlikely to get a road registered one for that money. I don't know anything about Arion's but they certainly look cool

I bought a radical clubsport for a smidge under £10k about 15 years ago and never looked back. The dynamics of Radicals are a step beyond and it takes something ballistic to beat them in pace terms too. I'd recommend a Radical prosport or clubsport to get started with for your budget

No one uses grooved tyres on rads, slicks all day. Here's my old clubsport with some prosport upgrades (any excuse!)

Edited by dunc_sx on Friday 1st September 23:45

OP said it needs to be road registered.........so radicals are not an option.

[edoverheels]

My limited experience of BECs is that if you want to use them on the road the novelty quickly wears off. I love convertibles and don't need comfort but I found it tiresome. Have not driven in, or been in one on track but would imagine that this is where they come into their own.

[dunc_sx]

wioifoiee said:

OP said it needs to be road registered.........so radicals are not an option.

OP also said he's looking at Westfield XTR's which is in a similar vein to radicals. Both can be road legal but are more suited to track than road.

Cheers,
Dunc.

[1781cc]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/67737856...

[QBee]

1781cc said:

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/67737856...

Note the space behind the seats for a decent amount of shopping from taking the Mrs to Sainsburys in it.

[RichieG1]

You need to stick. The only thing mentioned that's a significant upgrade is a Caterham R400 / 420R, and that's going to set you back at least £35k with a sequential. And it's not that different. I tracked my R400 for 4 years before I caught the racing bug, and I have just as much extracting the last few tenths from my 270R race car now.....you just can't beat Seven's as track cars, low consumable expenses, and if you can drive you're usually the fastest thing on track.

[fred bloggs]

Bike engines are designed to pull about 200 KG with 85 ish kg rider . They become unreliable when asked to pull 5-600 kg. Its equivalent to doubling the torque through the clutch /gearbox.