good track day car ideas
Discussion
a mate and I live near a good racing circuit which puts on lots of track days; we'd like to buy a car to have a bit of fun there with,
we don't need the car to be driven on the road, we have a decent mechanic to help maintain the car, don't worry too much about 'it depends how much you have to spend', please just give us your ideas, thanks
we don't need the car to be driven on the road, we have a decent mechanic to help maintain the car, don't worry too much about 'it depends how much you have to spend', please just give us your ideas, thanks
What track is it? If your only using it at one track then you could get a good technical car or one thats going to be more suited to a fast circuit depending where its going to be made.
IMO you cant get wrong with an Impreza STI, plenty of power and grip, lots of cheap tuning goodies available and forged internals means you can thrash it all day long and it should last if looked after.
If its a very technical track id want something with a short wheel base like an Exige.
IMO you cant get wrong with an Impreza STI, plenty of power and grip, lots of cheap tuning goodies available and forged internals means you can thrash it all day long and it should last if looked after.
If its a very technical track id want something with a short wheel base like an Exige.
Edited by LeeThePeople on Friday 29th May 08:59
If it's only going to be used on track I'd have something completely different to a "normal" road car, so an Atom, a KTM X-Bow, a Radical or an Ultima for examples.
Edit: Whatever you choose I'd go for something that doesn't have loads of electronic driver aids. Modern cars that we drive every day take much of the involvement of driving away from us. Having a dedicated track car gives you the opportunity to drive a car where everything it does is entirely down to the position of your hands and feet, no computer involved deciding you're braking too hard or sliding too much or giving it too much throttle. So what if it isn't quite as fast as it could be? Entertainment, fun and involvement are more important IMO.
A classic as 300bhp/ton suggests is another good idea.
Edit: Whatever you choose I'd go for something that doesn't have loads of electronic driver aids. Modern cars that we drive every day take much of the involvement of driving away from us. Having a dedicated track car gives you the opportunity to drive a car where everything it does is entirely down to the position of your hands and feet, no computer involved deciding you're braking too hard or sliding too much or giving it too much throttle. So what if it isn't quite as fast as it could be? Entertainment, fun and involvement are more important IMO.
A classic as 300bhp/ton suggests is another good idea.
Edited by ewenm on Friday 29th May 09:17
sunman said:
a mate and I live near a good racing circuit which puts on lots of track days; we'd like to buy a car to have a bit of fun there with,
we don't need the car to be driven on the road, we have a decent mechanic to help maintain the car, don't worry too much about 'it depends how much you have to spend', please just give us your ideas, thanks
cost still plays a major factor. Some ball park figure would help??we don't need the car to be driven on the road, we have a decent mechanic to help maintain the car, don't worry too much about 'it depends how much you have to spend', please just give us your ideas, thanks
If it's £1k then a hatch is probably a good bet.
If it's £50k then a Caterham superlight or similar
If it's more than that then an Ex works GT car???
However I'd also take a different slant on it.
1. A track day is not a race, so you don't need a car that is the fastest round the track. What you want is something that will be a lot of fun!!!
I'd be looking at RWD cars and probably something from yesteryear. Something that can be more involving and promote the classic drift style cornering steering the car on the throttle more. Such cars can still be very quick machines, but the sight, sound and feel of them are probably a lot more enjoyable.
With this in mind I'd start looking at a TR7 V8 and then work back thru the years to things like E-Types and Cobra's.
If you have any doubts on these cars abilities try a search on Youtube. There's a V12 E-Type GT racer that upsets McLaren F1's and the like and the TR7 V8 was once banned from the SCCA Trans Am race series as it was too quick, it was also (at the time) one of the last privateer entrtants to Le Mans running a Janspeed twin turbo V8.
Why be the same as everyone else??
If you are looking for a small, light, fun, cheap track day car I would suggest
RWD: Mk1 MX5 or MR2
FWD: Pug 205 GTI or an early Golf GTI
All of these cars are fun straight out of the box. But all of them can be made quiet quick if you are prepared to strip them out and tweak 'em a bit.
As someone has said, without an idea on budget it's tough to know what you are aiming for.
If the budget is higher, I'd be heading in a Caterfield type direction. If you want to go quickly, lightness is the key IMO.
RWD: Mk1 MX5 or MR2
FWD: Pug 205 GTI or an early Golf GTI
All of these cars are fun straight out of the box. But all of them can be made quiet quick if you are prepared to strip them out and tweak 'em a bit.
As someone has said, without an idea on budget it's tough to know what you are aiming for.
If the budget is higher, I'd be heading in a Caterfield type direction. If you want to go quickly, lightness is the key IMO.
I'm building a bike engined caterham clone for track use.
It'll have cost me £5k by the time it's finished, is very very light and nimble, will have 300bhp/ton with me on board, be geared correctly to hit top revs in top gear on most tracks, and will barely wear its brakes and tyres.
Add a sequential gearbox, immediate responses and cheap consumables, and I can't think of a better track-only car for the price.
Tintops are so compromised in terms of weight and suspension design that if you possibly can, something spaceframed and lightweight is the best possible choice.
It'll have cost me £5k by the time it's finished, is very very light and nimble, will have 300bhp/ton with me on board, be geared correctly to hit top revs in top gear on most tracks, and will barely wear its brakes and tyres.
Add a sequential gearbox, immediate responses and cheap consumables, and I can't think of a better track-only car for the price.
Tintops are so compromised in terms of weight and suspension design that if you possibly can, something spaceframed and lightweight is the best possible choice.
300bhp/ton said:
However I'd also take a different slant on it.
1. A track day is not a race, so you don't need a car that is the fastest round the track. What you want is something that will be a lot of fun!!!
agree 100%1. A track day is not a race, so you don't need a car that is the fastest round the track. What you want is something that will be a lot of fun!!!
some years ago when the cost of running the Cerbera on track days was just getting too much I bought a Westfield Megablade for track days. Instantly I was running faster, and able to reel in exotica lap after lap...and go home afterwards with the satisfaction that the tyres would probably last me half a dozen more sessions and the brakes were good for the rest of the season.
But very soon I realised that being quick in an easy-to-drive car wasn't actually as much fun as hustling something far more unmanageable round! Not that the westle wasn't great fun, but the real challange would be down to the minutae of lap times (and timing not allowed!).
I bought/rebuilt the tuscan as a result. It's a challenge just to get round at a reasonable pace and even now I guess I'm running no quicker than the Westie could do, but the satisfaction of challenging the beast and coming out on top is far greater than lap times and passing folks alone.
So, if you're going to get your kicks by just being track gods and passing everything out there then a souped up scoob, evo, quick 911, exige, atom or even a radical.
If you want fun on a budget with great on track performance then a bike-engined 7 is hard to beat.
But of you want the maximum adrenaline rush then I think something with a big V8 and waaaay too much power for the chassis is the way to go...so an Ultima, GD T70, track-spec Cobra clone, GT40 replica, retired Tuscan racer
500bhp/ton
tvrolet said:
But of you want the maximum adrenaline rush then I think something with a big V8 and waaaay too much power for the chassis is the way to go...so an Ultima, GD T70, track-spec Cobra clone, GT40 replica, retired Tuscan racer
500bhp/ton
I'm with this all they way. For me FUN is way more important than outright pace.500bhp/ton
Its the sense of achievement you get doing it that I love
crofty1984 said:
Bike engined Fisher Fury
I thought you'd have trouble with the noise limits at quite a few UK tracks with a typical BEC installation? I know there's a whole can of worms here, but I'm not convined a car with a modern high-ish specific output engine like a Duratec, suitably tuned, wouldn't have the measure of a standard CBR900 powered car.
you could buy yourself a tried and tested crime fighting machine!
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/1063715.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/1063715.htm
tvrolet said:
300bhp/ton said:
However I'd also take a different slant on it.
1. A track day is not a race, so you don't need a car that is the fastest round the track. What you want is something that will be a lot of fun!!!
agree 100%1. A track day is not a race, so you don't need a car that is the fastest round the track. What you want is something that will be a lot of fun!!!
some years ago when the cost of running the Cerbera on track days was just getting too much I bought a Westfield Megablade for track days. Instantly I was running faster, and able to reel in exotica lap after lap...and go home afterwards with the satisfaction that the tyres would probably last me half a dozen more sessions and the brakes were good for the rest of the season.
But very soon I realised that being quick in an easy-to-drive car wasn't actually as much fun as hustling something far more unmanageable round! Not that the westle wasn't great fun, but the real challange would be down to the minutae of lap times (and timing not allowed!).
I bought/rebuilt the tuscan as a result. It's a challenge just to get round at a reasonable pace and even now I guess I'm running no quicker than the Westie could do, but the satisfaction of challenging the beast and coming out on top is far greater than lap times and passing folks alone.
So, if you're going to get your kicks by just being track gods and passing everything out there then a souped up scoob, evo, quick 911, exige, atom or even a radical.
If you want fun on a budget with great on track performance then a bike-engined 7 is hard to beat.
But of you want the maximum adrenaline rush then I think something with a big V8 and waaaay too much power for the chassis is the way to go...so an Ultima, GD T70, track-spec Cobra clone, GT40 replica, retired Tuscan racer
500bhp/ton
mattdaniels said:
Chris71 said:
crofty1984 said:
Bike engined Fisher Fury
I thought you'd have trouble with the noise limits at quite a few UK tracks with a typical BEC installation?Should be Italy. But I raced it in the UK. They Don't like kit cars here so I have to sell
Wasn't especially loud, about 87Db(A) I think. Never had any trouble. Want to buy it anyone?!
I've driven and raced lots of different cars on track, and I'd say the key to what the OP wants to do is to have fun.
As a final thought, the OP might want to look into how many test days this circuit does. On a test day you can overtake on corners and time yourself (which for me is far more fun). Plus you can buy an ex race car that isn't road legal, perhaps even a single seater - Formula Fords go for £3-5k and Formula Renaults £5k to £10k. Either car will outlap the fastest road cars (R500, 911 GT3 etc), and be cheap to run for the reasons given above.
- Get something lightweight. Light cars are generally much more fun to drive round a track, and they cost an awful lot less to run too.
- Have a look for something race prepped. Firstly, road suspension, brakes, tyres and setups don't really excel on a race track. Secondly, race prepped cars are usually cheaper than their road going equivalents. Thirdly, a race prepped car will likely have a full cage and bucket seats and will be a lot safer than a road car. That last point is quite a serious one - if you go onto the grass and roll with a three point belt and no cage it won't be pretty. With a cage and a six point harness you'll probably walk away.
As a final thought, the OP might want to look into how many test days this circuit does. On a test day you can overtake on corners and time yourself (which for me is far more fun). Plus you can buy an ex race car that isn't road legal, perhaps even a single seater - Formula Fords go for £3-5k and Formula Renaults £5k to £10k. Either car will outlap the fastest road cars (R500, 911 GT3 etc), and be cheap to run for the reasons given above.
Edited by RobM77 on Friday 29th May 11:31
crofty1984 said:
mattdaniels said:
Chris71 said:
crofty1984 said:
Bike engined Fisher Fury
I thought you'd have trouble with the noise limits at quite a few UK tracks with a typical BEC installation?Should be Italy. But I raced it in the UK. They Don't like kit cars here so I have to sell
Wasn't especially loud, about 87Db(A) I think. Never had any trouble. Want to buy it anyone?!
I got the impression that finding something bike engined that would pass the 98Db test at Bedford (3/4 max revs, 1 metre at 45 degrees from the outlet) was virtually impossible?
Only hearsay - I'm hardly an expert in the subject and, being in a similar dilemma to the OP myself, I'm happy to be proved wrong.
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