Best used track car for about 7500$ and small amounts of dd

[daiheadjai]

Fair enough - but OP only wanted something cheap, light and rwd.. On second thought, the lightweight part might have disqualified the cressida already...

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by Atropine

Good point...

A 2JZ engine in a tercel would not be a sports car...and neither would a 2JZ in a Tundra or a 4Runner.

Some cars do blur the lines nicely (IS300 for example). They can ride really nice, and they can be tuned to be sporty.

Yes! The IS300 is probably the best of everything. Good cargo, good looking, 4 doors, great tunability, and not terribly heavy. They're gas hogs if you're going to DD one though.

For a track slut, I'll still take the MR-S. Miata's are blehhhhhhhhhh.

Seriously though, if you're not opposed to FWD, $7500 can find you a shit ton of FWD Honda stuff that'll whoop a lot of ass. I do understand why people go the Honda route. It's cheap as fuck. Then again, sporty car... not sports car.

[rice_classic]

The last person who asked me for advice for "Track car on a budget" got the reply... "if you're asking that question then the track itself might be out of your budget".

However, I not only started tracking on a budget, but also racing on a budget... really racing on a budget like as a bartender, renting a tow vehicle and borrowing the neighbor's trailer!

But your budget and desires (which IMHO are a bit myopic but whatever) give you very limited options to:
-Old (American, MR2, Nissan.. yada yada)
-Gay-ish (and probably your best option, you know you want to)
-German (E30, 944, E36 maybe E46)

Or maybe a combination of the 3.

But here's the kicker... purchasing the car is the cheap part.

So keep that in mind when making a decision. The running costs, track entry fees, wear items add up and FAST. Pads/rotors/wheel bearings/hubs/ball joints/tie rods/bushings... Those things, if you track enough could all need regular replacement.. annually for some, every few weekends for others. So also take into account facilities to work on the car.

I could go buy a fully built, turn-key spec miata right now for $5k and then spend $20k playing with it at the track this year just for one example.

Good luck.

[pushrod]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

I could go buy a fully built, turn-key spec miata right now for $5k and then spend $20k playing with it at the track this year just for one example.

I realized this last spring, and said $5k + $20k = brand new car.

Of course, that doesn't cover fuel or entry fees.

[f0rge]

My motivation for getting a "cheap" track car is not the cost of going to a track, it's that I don't want to put a car that I still owe $20k on into the wall. I'd rather keep my "nice" car safe and sound in the driveway.

Those costs you talk about more or less apply to any car.

[Sideways&Smiling]

I repeat 240sx. It's the perfect car to put into walls.

:P

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by hmong337

Yes! The IS300 is probably the best of everything. Good cargo, good looking, 4 doors, great tunability, and not terribly heavy. They're gas hogs if you're going to DD one though.

For a track slut, I'll still take the MR-S. Miata's are blehhhhhhhhhh.

Seriously though, if you're not opposed to FWD, $7500 can find you a shit ton of FWD Honda stuff that'll whoop a lot of ass. I do understand why people go the Honda route. It's cheap as fuck. Then again, sporty car... not sports car.

I wonder if anyone has been crazy enough in North America to ditch the 2JZ-GE for the 3SGE BEAMS engine of the RS200?

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by f0rge

I'm having a similar dilemma, the FRS is going back at the end of the year and I'm not loving it as a DD. So getting something a little nicer for the long haul drives and something I can track without worrying too much about it.

My problem is that I don't want a convertible. I have a similar budget (under $10k) and I'm seriously leaning towards an e36 M3. Struggling to find other cars that fit my criteria as well.

E36 M3's are cheap to buy, but I hear can get expensive to track. In terms of reliability, there are lots of guys using these as track cars, so most of the issues should be sorted. The cooling system seems to be a universal weak point from guys I know who track E36 M3's. Not sure what else.

@Dave-ROR has one, maybe he can chime in.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Sideways&Smiling

I repeat 240sx. It's the perfect car to put into walls.

:P

Yeah but when you end up in a wall you kind of want it to be due to your own decisions, not the previous owners.

:P

[Sideways&Smiling]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Yeah but when you end up in a wall you kind of want it to be due to your own decisions, not the previous owners.

:P

So, buy a good one and/or prepare it for the track before going to the track.

[DAEMANO]

Originally Posted by Sideways&Smiling

So, buy a good one and/or prepare it for the track before going to the track.

Good ones?

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Sideways&Smiling

So, buy a good one and/or prepare it for the track before going to the track.

I didn't believe there were any good ones but you're right there are some I would go check out. Thing is they're usually in the $4-$5k and stock or with some unknown engine and a huge list of replacement bits (probably cause the owner blew the last one up with a turbo), and be sure to dodge the automatics, it's a tough sell for most.

[Sideways&Smiling]

Hate on them all you want, but there still is nothing comparable for the money that will be faster around a track than a well sorted mildly modded sr20det-powered 240sx. The only other cars I'd look at would be a miata or an MR-2 but both will be significantly slower outside of an autocross environment.

Sure, there's tons of riced out examples out there with shitty chinese/korean parts, but the same is already happening with the FR-S/BRZ and will continue to be true of the FR-S/BRZ in the future. The difference is the 240sx is much, much, much cheaper, and the SR is much, much easier/cheaper to get power out of than the FA20.

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by daiheadjai

I wonder if anyone has been crazy enough in North America to ditch the 2JZ-GE for the 3SGE BEAMS engine of the RS200?

Good question. However, I don't think anybody would be that crazy LOL. Checking google, the rs200 is still a 3000lbs car. With only 200hp and not so much tq, it would be a serious downgrade even to the 2jzge. And even if you turbo the BEAMS, you're still only looking at sub 300hp levels. Whereas the 2jzge can do over 400hp with a single and the right components. I know if I went with a IS300, I'd just turbo the 2jzge then save for a v160 conversion. Sky's the limit with the 2jz motor as we all know. The OP wants something light though. This car is more on the heavy side.

How about an AW11 MR2 for the OP? Swap in a 20valve 4age and it should be plenty fast. Problem is finding a decent one. 20+ year-old sports cars...

Here's an AW11 20v laying the smack down on a bunch of frs/brz.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knzk-HeaH50"]AW11 AE86 FRS Battle at Auto Club Speedway - YouTube[/ame]