What would you do? I sold my Elise to upgrade to a Cali T and planned on buying a Palatov D4 but lost my lease and am now buying a new building for my company so I'm trying to keep it under 10k. Currently looking at an E36 M3 but they don't leave much money for upgrades. An older Miata for 4K and then putting 6k in upgrades into it or???
Get a '95 E36 M3 if that's what you're looking for. The S50, compared to the S52, is still OBD1 and there are LOADS of extra mod options for them for that reason. If you want my true opinion, nothing will ever beat an E30. You can find a clean one for between 3 and 6k and they only "need" 2k-ish to be the best feeling car. Ideally, get a 325iS or find a 325i with the LSD either swapped in or run the VIN through a site called bimmer.work to see if it was ordered with the LSD. Absolute requirements for them, especially for a track build, would be Bilstein's and HR Race springs, that's what Spec E30 runs, PFC 08 pads, UUC lightweight clutch/flywheel and short shifter kit for those Miata-like short and snappy changes and ideally, A Sparco EVO 2 seat. Best seat in the known universe. Definitely do a cooling system overhaul, I'd recommend the Miller PSIK and free up the exhaust a bit with some more flow-y headers and cats and maybe get the WAR chip from Miller and they can send you it with a free exhaust tune. E30's have endless possibilities and there's a reason I've owned 4 of them in 1.5 years. They are the best car I've ever driven and I own an E36 M3.
Buy one already built. I bought my 95 M3 track car for 11k with a new head done. Was it perfect...no. Sold it 6 yrs later for the same price. They are out there in your price range.
what do you want? if you had an Elise and were attracted to a Palatov, maybe a Radical, Stohr, Wolf, Spec Ford, etc? Miata is always the answer as well if you want some badge appeal, E30/36 BMW or Porsche 944. I'd stay away from the Boxster but that's just me. if you want crude but fast in a straight line, Mustang or Camaro. try to find an old A-Sedan SCCA car (or Thunder series NASA car) that hasn't been beat to crap. check out www.racingjunk.com, lots of good ideas over there. Racer magazine has a nice classifieds section on their website too: Cars for Sale - Cars For Sale
I would start by asking where and with which organizations would you track your car with? How many tracks are within your acceptable distance to travel to? Then which organizations offer the most event opportunities, and do they have any exclusions as to which cars can participate? Shopping for a track car is fun, but make sure it will be accepted with where and with whom you will be tracking with. Good luck.
Especially if money is a driving factor (even to a degree if it weren't), I think it's got to be Miata, especially if you can find one already converted for the track. Friend of mine did that - about 5K got a track prepped car that he took a little further with some additional modifications. When he decided to get a Z06, it sold in one day for what he put into it. Repairs and tires are cheap too. And everyone I know who tracks them has a blast
$5K bought this plus an extra set of wheels. Slow as all get-out (may have something to do with drivers as well) but plenty of fun. No way you could duplicate it for twice the price if you started with a street car. [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-jX8e9jXhw[/ame] Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
So ironic I just found this thread! my typical track cars are gtr, gt3, etc. My motto is more hp, tire footprint, the better. Until yesterday, that is. spent track day driving an old bmw 3 series race car. Under 2000lbs, 150 hp, street tires. Sooo much fun to drive. Perfect braking and handling. Not much acceleration but able to extract most of what was there. and no stress over wear and tear, paint, etc. track beater might be way to go for hpde
+1 and what are the class participation sizes. If there is not competition you are just driving around in circles.
Carson, Where is the best bimmer racing forum? Surprisingly bimmerforums is pretty light and not every in depth in discussions. Best so far is rennlist for porsches and vette forum for corvettes.
In the world of track driving 10K is not a lot so there are some considerations you should take into account when making your decision: 1. DO NOT BUILD YOUR OWN CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot stress this enough. There are tons of cars out there already done that will fill your needs in every way possible. There is NOTHING to be saved in doing it yourself and you WILL spend more money in the end. I have been doing this for over 20 years and it ALWAYS costs more and takes more time than even the most conservative estimates. Built cars can be bought for pennies on the dollar and you will always get more for your money. The only time building your car makes sense is if you are racing to a rule book that requires/helps cars that are new (ie. IMSA Continental Challenge) 2. Look at the whole spectrum of running costs beyond just the purchase of the car. A C4 Corvette can look attractive until you start pricing out brakes and tires on a regular basis. 3. Weight is everything so look at whatever you can drive that is as light as possible. With these considerations and 10K to spend I would look to a 2nd generation Miata. These cars are light, super cheap to run, disposable if crashed and use small and cheap tires. Yes they are slow in a straight line but if really hustled they corner amazing. Parts are as cheap as they come and you have Japanese reliability. Just resist the urge to modify and spend your money on maintenance and save up for something faster when your skill and finances grow. E30's and 944's are cool but the reality is that there is more nostalgia there than performance. Both cars are quite old and cost more than a Miata with little if anything extra to justify the expense. Hard to beat a Miata for your price point. Good luck.
I build and maintain a number of DE 944s for customers, easily spend 10K for a fully prepped car with full safety equipment to build, most trade in the 6-7 range as people outgrow the speed/appeal. These, M3s or Miatas are about it. The Maxda option is cheaper if one destroys an engine though.
I've contemplated this question too and as cool it is to have an old BMW or Porsche, the Miata always wins after a bit more thought. It's not fast in a straight line but it will teach you how to drive properly. Not to mention parts are cheap and plentiful!
Went with a Miata, I pick it up when I get back from vacation. 1999 with new 2002 bottom end and heads were just redone. Full spec Miata coil over suspension, exhaust and beefier sway bars. Car has two racing seats with 6 point harness and full roll bar and hard top. Mechanically a very sound car. I am only keeping the car for this season, as I planned on getting a palatov after 5 years of tracking my Lotus and two years before that of a Subaru STi. Even though I have a truck and trailer I can still drive the Miata to the tracking I want. I have four tracks within 3 hours of me so very fortunate there. Here is the Cali T on track at the ridge, unfortunately the only lap that recorded was my cool down lap. I also couldn't drive the race line through the dip because the car scraped. http://youtu.be/46mU308gwcI Best time of the day was a 2:04.6 which is slower than I expected but I did not drive the car 10/10ths. My lotus could do high 1:58s at the track
Too expensive to keep alive. BMW E30, Miata can both be done for less and have $ left for ? EDIT; Nice choice
+1 Miata +1 don't build it, but it Go to a NASA or SCCA events lots of cars for sale that meet class rules. Do you own PPI on a lift after talking to a few guys w the same car, let them show u the problems to look for. Do some hands on research and get back on track. Sorry to hear about the budget...you will become a better driver w a year in a momentum car.
+1 I never wanted a momentum car but now that I have one, its so much fun and really learn how to drive vs just hang on for the ride
More than 10K but complete package: car, trailer, spares, tools..... http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/other-cars/487986-2003-stohr-race-car.html 2003 Stohr in For Sale: Cars Forum
$15K for a Factory Five 818. Probably add on $10K of personal sweat equity and you have something that can punch above it's class. I have seen a few videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti_v00vig6s