Race Car

Indubitable

Hi,

I was going to buy a car to race on the track for fun and perhaps competitively. It will never go on a public road, just from the garage and then carried to the track. Does a car like this need to get an NCT? Also, do I need to pay tax? I was thinking of getting something along the lines of a Nissan Skyline or Subaru Impreza and modifying its performance for those of you that need/want to know.

tossy

kingofthe3rdyrs wrote: »

Hi,

I was going to buy a car to race on the track for fun and perhaps competitively. It will never go on a public road, just from the garage and then carried to the track. Does a car like this need to get an NCT? Also, do I need to pay tax? I was thinking of getting something along the lines of a Nissan Skyline or Subaru Impreza and modifying its performance for those of you that need/want to know.

Looking into this myself in a big way,you don't need to pay VRT,tax or have an NCT once its trailered to the track and stored on private property.

The no VRT opens up the whole UK market and the choice is endless.

If you are planing to race it though the car will need to reach a certain standard i.e Cage,sets.harness plumbed fire extinguisher.

Indubitable

Thanks for that. Must start looking at importing a car.

Midnight_EG

If you're starting out, I'd look at something reliable and cheap to knock around a track in, once you get the knack of it move onto something bigger. You don't wanna go buying a Skyline, then lumping it into the ArmCo and having it written off because you were a total novice and didn't know how to handle the car.

Just remember a car handles differently on the track as opposed to the street, you'll be more focused on wanting to brake and stick to your line, then you have to concentrate on your gearing and watching the meters for oil and water etc.

You don't want this to turn into an expensive hobby, buy a Civic or a Starlet, even a Saxo or a 106 or something and get the hang of the track, learn how to control yourself and the car and then move onto bigger projects once you feel that you're capable.



I want to do it soon too

Indubitable

I heard that the parts for civics are cheap. So if it got a few knocks I could repair it without burning too much of a hole in my pocket. Are civics cheap to upgrade performance wise? I don't want much of an increase. I might just do a remap and a few other bits and pieces and then get turbochargers etc. when I move into a more serious car and standard.

Midnight_EG

There's always parts available for Civics, I'd call them the easiest car to turn into a cheap track day car tbh.

JimmyCrackCorn

On DtdIrl someone has a SkylineGTS for sale as a track car.


I bought a Civic for track days and a daily driver due to cost/availibilty of parts/reliabilty

In the space of a month iv sourced half of the bits i need second hand at a nice saving.

If your not paying VRT on the car or road tax your options open up dramatically.

Graham_B18C

Upgrading a Civic is big money I thought? Breaking the 200hp barrier can be expensive and to get much over that you'd need a turbo.

I would of recommended something like a Pug 106 GTI for a first Track Day car. Super handling makes it very capable of keeping up with much higher powered cars and you can get them dirt cheap

JimmyCrackCorn

Graham_B18C wrote: »

Upgrading a Civic is big money I thought? Breaking the 200hp barrier can be expensive and to get much over that you'd need a turbo.

I would of recommended something like a Pug 106 GTI for a first Track Day car. Super handling makes it very capable of keeping up with much higher powered cars and you can get them dirt cheap

Second that. A great little car. Fantastic shell.


But if the op wants a skyline the op wants a skyline. Cost wasnt mentioned as a factor in the first post.

Graham_B18C

JimmyCrackCorn wrote: »

Second that. A great little car. Fantastic shell.


But if the op wants a skyline the op wants a skyline. Cost wasnt mentioned as a factor in the first post.

Very true, if he's young and only getting into it then a skyline would be crazy! I would love to get into doing something like this. Would never have the space to keep the car though and I wouldn't be handy enough to be able to fix anything major that went wrong

Indubitable

I am 22. I might get another car to learn in and get a skyline or evo in 2-3 years. The options are almost limitless without paying VRT or tax. I want this as a hobby on the side. Maybe race with friends etc. a few times every few months. Cost isn't a huge factor for now. I think I am reasonably stable in the financial side of things. In 2-3 years I would have about 25,000 to spend on car + tuning.

Indubitable

If I were to go down the route of getting a road legal race car with NCT etc. how would I be fixed with insurance on a heavily performance modified car in a few years time. If it were possible, I would expect to be robbed. It would be handy as I would not need another car for use around the house and would not need to go to the hassle of towing the car on a trailer to the track.

lotus01

http://www.kuzajdreamcars.pl/

http://www.sttracing.com/

Graham_B18C

If you want to get competetive with the whole thing then using a road legal car would be pointless because you'd need a weld in cage etc on the track car, and it'll only have one or two seats in it so it wouldn't exactly be practical.

If you're just getting a fast car for everyday use (Type R, Evo, Skyline etc.) and want to go on the odd track day then you could do some mods to make it a weapon on the track but still usable everyday. Keep your seats and dash and air con!

If you have the space and money then a dedicated track car is the way to go though as you don't need to worry if you blow it up, you can still get to work tomorrow!!!

JimmyCrackCorn

kingofthe3rdyrs wrote: »

I am 22. I might get another car to learn in and get a skyline or evo in 2-3 years. The options are almost limitless without paying VRT or tax. I want this as a hobby on the side. Maybe race with friends etc. a few times every few months. Cost isn't a huge factor for now. I think I am reasonably stable in the financial side of things. In 2-3 years I would have about 25,000 to spend on car + tuning.

Depending on budget have a look though the cars available on Irish rally, Dtdirl and Donedeal.

Find something that suits your budget and doesnt scare you and get a few track days under your belt.


Few links:
http://www.irishtimeattack.ie/info.htm
http://www.dtdirl.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=81
http://www.rallyforums.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=12


track days will be run by various clubs and also mondello.

Also look at the boards motor sport section


Best of luck.

challengemaster

Being completely honest here, if you want a skyline as a track car, get a R33 GTR

The r33 GTS mentioned earlier, wouldn't really make a great track car - they've only got the RB20E (2.0) engine in them, which has 130bhp stock. Aside from that, they're a very long, heavy car. I've been driving one for the last week, while the acceleration is alright, it's nothing amazing. Also, the arse will kick very easily in the wet...;) A GTST would be a hell of a lot better, RB25DET (2.5) turbo, loads more power, but both of those are RWD, what you want for a competitive track car, is NOT for the arse end to kick out while going at speed around a corner. And generally, there's quite a lot of cornering on tracks... moreso than straights, which tends to be why FWD's dominate the scene.

The GTR is AWD afaik, making it a lot less likely to spin on a turn... It's also a RB26DETT (2.6) twin turbo, so it will eat more fuel than you can imagine...

If money isn't a problem, get the R33 GTR. It's about the only one that will make a decent track car. The main problem you'll have is the weight, overall it's a very heavy car anyway, and you need to bring it up to spec (roll cage, etc)... so replacing parts with CF might be the way to go.

As for what Midnight_EG said about wrapping it around a piece of armco straight away...well... it's always going to be an issue when bringing a car on the track, but tbh, i can't see wasting money on a small starlet turbo or pugeot 106 helping at all in perparing you for driving a car with 2-3 times the power, and with either RWD or AWD. The best option would be, to go straight for the car you can grow into - don't let the adrenaline get the best of you the first few times you take it out on track. Learn the cars limits over a few trackdays, non-competitive, and no pressure to make times.

The most powerful GTR in Ireland was rebuilt by TDP afaik, unknown amounts of money gone into it.... Owner goes by r33line on most fora, so he'd be the best to ask about it. Aside from that, if you're genuinely sure about getting a skyline, my only other advice would be get onto a skyline owners forum and ask the advice of people on there. Quite a few would have track cars... So all your questions should be easily answered.

It's all the advice I can really offer... hope it helps, and good luck with the whole thing

Richie_c

When are you looking to buy something? If its not in the very near future wait until the end of the Tima Attach & ITTC seasons and see what comes on offer from there.

@ Challengemaster the R33GTR you're talking about isnt the most powerful GTR in the country but it isnt far off. There's an R34gtr nurspec that I think has more power at this stage and then TDP's skyline is even more powerful on top of that. However it is an amazing car!!

challengemaster

Richie_c wrote: »

When are you looking to buy something? If its not in the very near future wait until the end of the Tima Attach & ITTC seasons and see what comes on offer from there.

@ Challengemaster the R33GTR you're talking about isnt the most powerful GTR in the country but it isnt far off. There's an R34gtr nurspec that I think has more power at this stage and then TDP's skyline is even more powerful on top of that. However it is an amazing car!!

Ah, apologies, Thought it was with all the stuff that's been done to it

Anyway, as I said, most powerful by TDP anyway

Graham_B18C

Challangemaster, you're telling him to go straight for a GTR, he's looking for something to go on a track a few times a year and maybe get competetive in future. A GTR would be a crazy investment if he has no track experience. He's 22, I'm 23 with 5 years driving and I don't think I'd trust myself with a GTR.

A small tunable car is the way to go if he wants to get into racing IMO, not high power super (Jap) cars.

copeyhagen

if its only a track car then just buy a civic or somethin here. or go to the uk and buy a accord type r. you wont have to vrt it or anything!

or even a saxo vts or something. if it has to be a turbo get somehtin like a glanza v, with a few suspension mods they can handle well.

if its a ta car thats a total different ctory

challengemaster

Graham_B18C wrote: »

Challangemaster, you're telling him to go straight for a GTR, he's looking for something to go on a track a few times a year and maybe get competetive in future. A GTR would be a crazy investment if he has no track experience. He's 22, I'm 23 with 5 years driving and I don't think I'd trust myself with a GTR.

A small tunable car is the way to go if he wants to get into racing IMO, not high power super (Jap) cars.

I'm telling him if he's set on a skyline, the GTR is the one to get.

Everyones different dude, if he thinks he can handle it... I don't see any reason to waste money on other cars before bumping up to what was coming from the start.... and can spend the time learning to drive the GTR properly. No other cars are going to give him the experience to handle a GTR on track, taking one out and experimenting... will... Sure, it'll be a steeper learning curve, but imo it seems the better route, if he's sure it'll be where he's heading anyway.

paddy147

Crash or blow up a small car like a 106 or a civic and its not too dear to fix and put right.
Crash or blow up a GTR and its gonna cost you alot to fix and put right.

Choice is solely down to the OP and what he wants.

My advice would be of the following.......................If you say that you will have upwards of 25,000 euro of a budget,then go and buy a small and cheap trackday car off the likes of done deal or any other car forum for around 800-1,000 euro,do a couple of trackdays to get a feel for being out on track and get a feel for driving hard and fast with other cars around you.

Then when you have done this and feel happy and comfortable,go and buy whatever track car you want,whether its a Civic or a full blown GTR.

For the sake of spending out around 1000 euro 1st,it would be well worth it,in the long run.

copeyhagen

gtrs are too expensive, although i would take an rb26 over a rb25 any day.

if it has to be a skyline (bad choice for a track car - moneypit) then go for a cheap 95 gtst r33.

i have a nice honda eg for sale with a b16 bottem end with teg cams, gearbox, fd ect. would suit ya down to the ground

Flyer1

Having not bothered to read through this thread i'd say just get yourself a little EG6 civic, decent suspension setup, good 98 spec teg box with 96 spec 4th + 5th.

Sorted ! Loads of fun and you won't break it.

Pdfile

Graham_B18C wrote: »

Upgrading a Civic is big money I thought? Breaking the 200hp barrier can be expensive and to get much over that you'd need a turbo.

I would of recommended something like a Pug 106 GTI for a first Track Day car. Super handling makes it very capable of keeping up with much higher powered cars and you can get them dirt cheap

205 gti is king imho....


IT looks drives and feels like a true pug should, i like the 106 but its a tiny bit too small, but stangely the 205 feels Alot bigger...

plus... a 1.9 gti lump and tortion rear suspention + english companys specialising in great tuning packages...


Honestly, thats my pref and their cheap enough... but in the world of racing... always remember rule 34 " if it moves, its a race car "

anything and everything has been raced and chances are its up for sale atm.

lotus01

also :

- http://www.racecarsforsale.com/

- http://www.rallycarsforsale.net/

- http://sport.dytko.pl/

good luck !

salis

copeyhagen

Flyer1 wrote: »

Having not bothered to read through this thread i'd say just get yourself a little EG6 civic, decent suspension setup, good 98 spec teg box with 96 spec 4th + 5th.

Sorted ! Loads of fun and you won't break it.

thats pretty much wot i have for sale

Plug

Splash the cash and get an M3 CSL!:D