Track Cars.. On a Budget.

[caliprep]

There are only two cars I'll never be caught dead in...That is a Miata and a Beetle.

I would doing nothing less than a E36 M3 and a S2K. Possibly an e36 325i

[Dave-ROR]

Old beetles are awesome. Cali people...

[Frost]

Toyota Paseo. Parts are interchangeable with a Tercel, Echo and Yaris.

Rally peeps love that car. Reliable, easily fixed, dirt cheap and parts are STILL being made from Toyota's parts bin.

Sure, slow as hell but gutted and properly prepped means you're probably not going to need to brake... much.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by ZDan

Abnormal? Obviously I've been doing it wrong for the past 8 years!
Pad material is a big player. In my experience Carbotech XP8 and XP10 pads have lasted a long time and been very easy on rotors. Totally adequate for my totes stock S2000 on semi-serious track tires (R888, etc)

Just got the XP10's dropped in today and literally just came off bedding them. Track day on the 10th. Looking forward to that.

Have you had rotor overheating issues?

[jdmblood]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

I agree.

id probably trade my brz for a crx no problem

[Vracer111]

Originally Posted by pushrod

Unless
you
are
over
six
feet
tall

I drove a spec miata onto a trailer for some older gentleman I use to autocross with (He brought the car to an event to test something on it.) He was about 6'3", I'm 6'2...Fit perfectly in that car with more headroom than the FRS... because racecar with racecar seats and gutted permanently mounted hardtop. Someone 6'2" can easily fit comfortably in a properly prepared track miata...

For me there are two options I'd go with for an inexpensive track car that is a hoot to drive:

NA Mazda Miata or an Acura Integra RS... I had a 2nd Gen Integra RS that was a riot to drive and had slight oversteer tendancies.... that B18 motor makes nice sounds too. I'd prefer the miata due to RWD and liking going through the gears way better than with the Honda's - I've never liked the Integra's or CRX's shifting feel...just yuck...

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Vracer111

I've never liked the Integra's or CRX's shifting feel...just yuck...

It is a bit of a hot dog in a hallway I'll give you that.

Or maybe a broomstick in a bucket of gravel.

[Carlysh]

this thread is good i been looking around for a dedicated track car, although the Frs with simple mods can be fun but i am looking for something that if it break i can leave it in the garage and take the Frs to work

Good info in here

[why?]

good place for ideas for dirt cheap track cars is grassroots motorsports.

[Carlysh]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Top choice: Miata

Heard a story a few weeks back about a guy competing in some amateur series, he always did ok, middle of the pack fighting to break into the top, he took a year off, bought an NA Miata and got as much seat time as he could, came back and was a force to be reckoned with. The Miata teaches you like some Yoda Initial D shit, your mistakes are obvious, the car can take the punishment, there will always be an answer to your problem/question because the community is so long standing, and it can blow the doors off a bad driver in any car if you're on your shit. Spec Miata record at Laguna Seca is 1:45 (cheating notwithstanding), that's a ~$10k build with nearly stock power levels (130hp or less) if you're smart, toss some power into the equation and go check the Motor Trend Drivers Car of the Year lap times.

Edit: I now dream of the double wishbone fully adjustable off the showroom floor suspension in a Miata after spending a thousand bucks and counting on my 86's alignment.

Here's a couple options I would personally do in no particular order, be forewarned, all of these would be project cars, they'll have bugs to work out, they are old and parts are hard to find, they would never be perfect but should be fun to toss around for not a lot of money. The miata is objectively better but these have a bit more character and charm imo. I also would budget no less than $5k to hit the track and plan on spending up to $10k to get everything dialed in, safe, reliable, and tuned to my liking.

E30 (just to pile on, E30 M3's are $30k+ for non rust buckets), ideally get a 325i and beat on it, 160hp and ~2,400 lbs isn't too shabby and swapping into an E36 M3 motor has been done a thousand times if you want to dump money into it, good for ~240 horses there's a pretty serious one locally that's badass.
Edit: E36 M3 could also contend, also maybe a Z3 Coupe? The M Coupe is up around S2k and used 86 pricing so that's a no go but that's also on my shortlist.

MR2, mid-engined goodness, Toyota reliability if you're smart, personal preference is AW11 (MK1) but the MK3 is probably the best for most purposes, and lots of people love the SW20 (MK2), I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

RX-7, FC/FB, not a lot of power but Mazda sold a fuckton of them because they were great sport coupes for the time, a naturally aspirated 12A/13B is proven to be stout and durable and respond well to bolt ons, what other engines need an expensive camshaft to accomplish a rotary can gain with a dremel tool. I've heard the FC has great suspension that stacks up well to this day, the FB however has an archaic live axle, it can definitely be effective but lacking compared to a true independent setup.

Porsche 944 (924 maybe), probably the most expensive to get to the track but also the most rewarding, a big boy Miata if you get a non-base engine, and even with a base engine should be more than capable. If you can find a late 944 S2 it's basically an 86 with an I4, hatch, Porsche parts prices, and more displacement, ~2,800 lbs and 200hp NA.

Mk2 or Mk3 Supra might also be a contender but never really looked at them in depth.

FWD often gets overlooked but can be a blast on a budget: Integra, Civic, CRX, RSX, Prelude, maybe even Del Sol for Honda, Celica for Toyota, always GTI, and recently new Mini's have caught my eye, R53's have a cult following now and the R56 is just dipping into 'cheap' territory.

And if it wasn't painfully obvious yet, I love momentum cars, no ungainly V8's for me, give me agility any day of the week, I'd rather loose 4 car lengths on the straight and gain 4.1 in the corners any day of the week, hell even less and wait to capitalize on a mistake.

/armchair quarterbacking

Edit: S2k is expensive imo, wouldn't budget any less than $15k based on what I've seen locally, and ideally I'd budget up to $20k. Can buy an 86 at that point which only needs brakes and alignment to hit the track (vs. the unknowns of a 5-15 year old sports car sold at a low price for a reason), ideally some camber and eventually tires for the 86, which in OEM size aren't bad at ~$600 a set.

What about the Evos still pricey?
Man Fc Rx-7 or Fd looks so good and are good for the track but people say they are unreliable but I think most of the people haven't own one, I would love to build one in the future

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Carlysh

What about the Evos still pricey?
Man Fc Rx-7 or Fd looks so good and are good for the track but people say they are unreliable but I think most of the people haven't own one, I would love to build one in the future

Can't speak to evos, avoid the FD as a track car, that's a bare minimum $20k to $30k setup and from what I hear it is constant work to keep one of those in top shape.

As I already posted naturally aspirated should be very reliable you'll be worried about electrical issues on an NA FC but I think the turbo can be made to work out OK, go read tons of rx7club and don't expect it to be a free ride.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by Carlysh

What about the Evos still pricey?
Man Fc Rx-7 or Fd looks so good and are good for the track but people say they are unreliable but I think most of the people haven't own one, I would love to build one in the future

Evo's are great on track. People love them, it's just getting into one is a little pricey compared to other options. Getting anything that isn't beat to hell and littered with modifications will cost you about as much as a new WRX.

The ones that are a bit cheaper typically have a bunch of miles and are modified. First thing I think of when I see a used high mileage Evo is how long will it be before I need to replace the transfer case on it.

[synchromesh]

I wish I were still in my 20's and had an extra parking spot for a sub 10g track-ready vehicle. I don't really judge in any circumstance anyways.


If one tracks an e30 M3, don't be surprised it will cost as much as a 2009 M3 to keep in tip-top shape. If I saw one on the track, honestly would respect the e30 more than a 2015, though.


You might want to avoid the MR-2. Convinced even the lightest of contact with someone on the track will result in an uncorrectable spinout. Almost bought an showroom N/A one ten years ago for like 4 thousand bucks.


Strange to not see any mk1 GTI's on the road anymore.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Carlysh

this thread is good i been looking around for a dedicated track car, although the Frs with simple mods can be fun but i am looking for something that if it break i can leave it in the garage and take the Frs to work

Good info in here

If you can afford a "dedicated track car" then consider buying a used race car. That way if you want to go racing you can and since it's dedicated you can set it up specifically for track without having to make any concessions regarding streetability in your setup. Meaning you can go super stiff or in the case of a FWD car (if you went that route) you can setup to be suuuuper loose which is dangerous on the street but fast on the track and very rewarding to "get right".

The other part to consider, since it will be dedicated to the track, is safety. Buying a used race car means you get a race seat, 5pt/6pt belts and a cage so you're safe in the event you ball it up. Also, since it's a used race car it has ultra low resale value so you can get into something fun, fast and is also affordable to "ball it up" vs anything else.

CRX:
http://classifieds.racerconnect.com/details.php?id=474

E46:
http://nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=129883

Civic: (formerly raced by Shea Holbrook)
http://nasaforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=129961

NASA National Championship Car:
http://classifieds.racerconnect.com/...c/details.html

ITS Prepped 240sx:
http://classifieds.racerconnect.com/...-/details.html