Cheap track day car

mickdw

Looking at buying a cheap track day toy.
Looking at mini, celica, ford puma mostly.
The Hondas seem to be nuts pricewise.
Any other ideas? Or anyone know of a prepped car for sale.

bazz26

BMW E46?

mickdw

Ya. They are an option too. Probably want a 325 but they are not too plentiful with manual box at right money.

Philb76

Mazda mx5

mickdw

Not a huge fan of the mx5.
A bit too small for my build.

bazz26

A Mk4 Fiesta 1.6 Zetec S if you can find one with not too much rust.

RootX

Toyota MR2, despite the looks it's a pretty capable and fun car to track.

ShadowHearth

I would give my vote to mx5 too. I owned one myself and if I would be lucky enough to have a track day toy, it would be mx5.
It has a massive support for parts and modifications in UK. So getting it track ready and fun, would be easier and cheaper. That's on top of car it self being so much fun to drive and I can only imagine how much fun it would be on the track.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

There are three classic answers to this.

If you want to spend a little get a Mx5.
If you want to spend more get a e46 m3.
If your super serious get a lotus Elise / VX220

For Mondello the Mx5 is hard to beat, parts are cheap, nice light car and quick to change direction.

I have had a lot of fun in a mini cooper s too.

mickdw

Hailee Muscular Sash wrote: »

There are three classic answers to this.

If you want to spend a little get a Mx5.
If you want to spend more get a e46 m3.
If your super serious get a lotus Elise / VX220

For Mondello the Mx5 is hard to beat, parts are cheap, nice light car and quick to change direction.

I have had a lot of fun in a mini cooper s too.

Elise and M3 are way out of budget.
Cooper S is one of my own choices and might offer the best value. Don't know how reliable they are.
Don't like mx5. Maybe ive just seen them driven badly on track but they never appear to be too quick

Irishcrx

Alfa Romeo 156 2 Liter twin spark , strip her down and replacement parts are generally cheap.

mickdw

Interesting.
Had a 2.0L alfa 166. It was 150 bhp if I remember right. Same engine I'm sure. I wonder if those engines would take the track work?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

mickdw wrote: »

Elise and M3 are way out of budget.
Cooper S is one of my own choices and might offer the best value. Don't know how reliable they are.
Don't like mx5. Maybe ive just seen them driven badly on track but they never appear to be too quick

Where are you planning on driving the most....Mondello?

homer90

Focus ST / Mk5 GTi / WRX

All put on a weight loss program





.

farna_boy

Audi TT 225?

They can be bought for next to nothing at the moment and with some relatively minor tuning could be transformed into a good track car

Henry Ford III

bazz26 wrote:

A Mk4 Fiesta 1.6 Zetec S if you can find one with not too much rust.

I had one of these. Nice little cars but more zippy than fast. Would need a good bit more power for track use imho. The handled pretty well though.

mickdw

Hailee Muscular Sash wrote: »

mickdw wrote: »

Elise and M3 are way out of budget.
Cooper S is one of my own choices and might offer the best value. Don't know how reliable they are.
Don't like mx5. Maybe ive just seen them driven badly on track but they never appear to be too quick

Where are you planning on driving the most....Mondello?

Mondello only.

selectamatic

mickdw wrote: »

Mondello only.

For mondello a190Vvtli celica.
Stripped and good track spec 16" tyres.
Best bang for buck by a mile.

There's a maroon-ish one that does a good few track days up there and it goes very well for a completely standard drivetrain car.

mickdw

Ya I think you are right.
I've seen them go well myself.
What's the story with suspension on them. Some are on superstrut that I believe is silly money to keep right with track use / abuse.

selectamatic

mickdw wrote: »

Ya I think you are right.
I've seen them go well myself.
What's the story with suspension on them. Some are on superstrut that I believe is silly money to keep right with track use / abuse.

Some jap ones (ss-II) would be superstrut. The uk/irish ones are normal McPherson strut. superstrut while softer wearing is the better suspension for track use. That said the normal ones are plenty good enough so I wouldn't have it as a requirement.

btkm8unsl0w5r4

mickdw wrote: »

Mondello only.

Well get something small and light. I get passed by Mx5's there all the time ( I am a **** driver ).

mickdw

I don't know. There were 2 of them going around the last time I was there and they were slower than the sh1t box of a puma I was in.
What do you take to Mondello?

btkm8unsl0w5r4

e46 m3....its all about the driver, the Mx5's I see are rapid, and one is supercharged and a flyer.

mickdw

Hailee Muscular Sash wrote: »

e46 m3....its all about the driver, the Mx5's I see are rapid, and one is supercharged and a flyer.

I've seen the supercharged one alright. That sounds great and is super quick.

mickdw

I've seen a black e46 M3 there a couple of times. I can't recall any other e46. White e92 m3 also.
Both too nice for your average trackday really.

mickdw

homer90 wrote: »

Focus ST / Mk5 GTi / WRX

All put on a weight loss program

.

Sorry didn't see a couple of the posts here.
Ya. You always see a gti or two at trackdays. Some are getting cheap too.
Don't know a whole pile about focus st. Fiesta st 150 are good around there.

jeepcj

you'd pick up a bmw z3 cheap enough

Notch000

jeepcj wrote: »

you'd pick up a bmw z3 cheap enough

cause there rubbish

Notch000

Clio 172/182/197 would be my call, or a cheap mk5 GTI on a diet + remap

What would you call cheap ?? most cars would need track tyres, brake upgrades, cooling and suspension work ontop of purchase prices to be fun and reliable for trackwork

mickdw

Around 1 to 1.5k I suppose with build costs after