Track days in supercars?

[brillomaster]

Random one, does anyone regularly do trackdays in a supercar, and if so, what are supercars like as a track day car?

I appreciate supercars are actually pretty heavy things, so will be very expensive on consumables and tyres, but... if you do try and regularly track, say, a v8 ferrari or an audi r8, can they witstand some abuse, or are they very fragile, and need constant maintenance? Or constantly overheat when pushed?

And will they actually be fun to drive on a track? Im used to front engined, rear wheel drive, modest power - which can really be thrashed pretty hard. Would upgrading to mid engined, big power actually be driveable? Normally when theres a supercar on a track like bedford, theyre generally being driven quite gingerly... but can you actually properly use a supercar, on the limit?

[brillomaster]

Say it is a warm, dry, relatively open track like bedford, donington, silverstone or snetterton. On a normal day i could do 200 on track miles, and then drive home afterwards... could a supercar manage that? Or would it vaporise tyres and brake pads, and then go into limp home mode?

Or are they like all other cars, ie keep an eye on temps, not slide around too much, and they'll be ok?

[brillomaster]

To be honest i was thinking a nice audi r8, v8 manual. Thats gotta be on 18s, 19s at best, so tyres no more expensive than most bmw 3 series really.

But try and avoid ceramic brakes, fancy magneto dampers or complicated gearboxes... just steel brakes, plain suspension and a clutch. And hopefully a reliable audi engine.

And yes, even the cheapest r8 at 35grand would be insured. A £3k beemer i dont bother with insurance, but £35k is a big step up!

Edited by brillomaster on Monday 14th December 20:12

[brillomaster]

Trackdayer said:

What's your goal on a trackday OP?

To be the fastest?
To have the most fun?
To not spend a lot of money?
To not take big risks?

If it's any of those, a supercar probably isn't your best bet.

If the badge is the overiding factor in doing a trackday then of course, only a supercar will do.

ha, its not to necessarily be the fastest - as mentioned around most tracks that'd either be a quick caterham, an atom or maybe a radical... or a lotus/vx220, but none of those really appeal to me, and can really only be used for trackdays (never get the wife in one for a weekend away)

and its not to not spend a lot of money - done that route already with a cheap BMW.

the goal is really, to drive something partway exotic... sure a lighter, cheaper 4 cylinder car would be arguably better, but... its the lure of really opening the taps on a big power, V8 or V10 engined car, ideally manual, on a track. Sure it wouldnt be the fastest thing through the corners, but by gum it'd be the most fun down the straights. i'd love a go in a proper GT3 racecar, but sadly, i dont have rich enough parents for that.

i guess cheaper options that would perhaps still fit the bill would be more sports GT cars - nissan 370z, porsche 911s, BMW E92 M3 (the one with the V8...), maybe a V10 engined M6.

[brillomaster]

Ha sadly not... if i could afford to buy a mega money supercar, i could probably afford to replace the tyres and brakes every trackday too.

with regards to the audi R8, i've seen this video and it looks... lively! and at the risk of stating the obvious, it also looks noticeably faster than cars with 250bhp - 300bhp (BMW 130i, Porsche Cayman S) it even makes a BMW E92 M3 look pedestrian. And thats only the V8, cant imagine how fast the V10 would be! Does look gorgeous inside, proper experience with the manual... hmm...