Good Track Car

I'd start off with a Miata,

then buy a nice Cayman (S), and make that your "keeper" track car.

Its really a wonderful car for the job, you can pick one up relatively cheap, they're mid-engined (perfect for a track car), rock-solid reliability, and relatively cheap service costs (though not nearly as cheap as the Miata).

It may sound stupid, but for me, I like the idea of having a Cayman then say a CS, I don;t know why, its weird.

Steve

 

+1. There's a huge a difference between being able to afford a car and being able to track it! Even the Elise guys drive Miatas at the track. You can't cover your mistakes with throttle, but then you learn not to make mistakes, quick. The current gen MX5s (with suspension upgrades) also make excellent track toys.

I'd throw C6 Corvettes in with the Cayman. They seem to be rock solid and repairs are within reason. Tend to eat rear tires quickly though.

 

Get a Lotus. Much quicker than a Miata with the same low consumable costs.

 

And what was his point?

The way this reads to me is 95spiderman was advocating towing a car damaged on the track to a off site location and then lying about it. But, I guess I could be wrong.

I'm not trying to get holier than thou, but I have always thought that you should assume responsibilities for your actions. You take a car to the track and wreck it. You fix it. If you had the foresight to buy track insurance, great. If you had the foresight to check with your insurance carrier, far out. If you thought about checking with the dealer, looking good.

Bottom line, you wreck it, you pay it.

Dale

 

I have a Nissan 350Z for the track. It's cheap, it's quite fast (0-60 in 6sec, 280HP) and has RWD. 2004 350Z's can't be more than 15k$ in the usa?

 

348 or 355 Challenge. You can do your rally with it one day and the next day take it to the track.

 

a friend of mine who has plenty of ferraris and other exotica, has a Z06 as his track car, and he currently holds the amateur record at nurnburgring....

i have been pndering this question for a while, hence my longstanding thread in the challenge page. but if that doesnt work out, i would get the Z06.

 

The great thing about the Z is there are tons of mods available and you can make them VERY fast

I just ordered a carbon fiber driveshaft and a new racing rear diff for mine

A lot of these parts are just unobtainable for F's unless you are willing to pay crazy $ to have them custom made

 

Exactly. As a car enthusiast (of all kinds) I find the upgrade paths to be a major part of the fun of tracking. Between the Miata, Z and S2000, the opportunity to find real speed and explore the potential of the platform as your skills improve is a ton of fun.

 

Get a Miata and dress it up like this See how they are smiling?


I personally think that the joy of tracking increases significantly when you know a crash isn't a big deal and you can upgrade the car without robbing yourself. Then you only think about having fun. Giving your car a present or two every once in a while is huge fun too (new bucket seats, new tires, new suspension, upgrade the brakes etc) and you can keep that going quite a while for a cheap car like Miata. And, if you get used to the speed and power, you can get 400 hp out of those tiny engines with forced induction and then my friend you will have have higher hp/ton rating than most sportscars on sale today

My friends Miata has a supercharger kit, which gives him around 200 hp, but the car weighs under a ton and handles so good he'll pass Porsche 911's all day long. The reason of course isn't just power. It's because he's so used to his car and has grown so well with it, that he can give 10/10 on the track while most people go nowhere beyond 7/10 on the tracks...

There's nothing cooler than a Ferrari on the track and good for you if you can afford to run one, but IMHO most people will be more than happy with a regular stripped out roadsters or coupes.


As for me, I'd get a Caterham after a Miata. Track ready and I just wouldn't care if I crashed it - the crashing part is much worse when you spend many, many hours in perfecting your normal car in to a mighty track toy...
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my objection to going further down the ladder to miatas or caterham's is safety. if you wrap either of those around some armco, you may not walk away from it. whereas a hardtop with a full roll cage etc, is going to give you a better chance. just my 2 cts.

 

Lots of options for just about every price range.

Very cheap: Nissan 240sx, Mazda RX7, Civic hatchback, Miata
Little Higher: Nissan Skyline, Mazda RX8, Subaru WRX, Honda S2000, Nissan 350Z, BMW
Up there: Porsche, Lotus, BMW M3, Audi S series etc

Lots of options where to start from all depends if are open to racing a 15 year old car and your budget.

Either way enjoy it.

 

Check you tube. A Miata will a full roll cage has got to be one of the safest race cars around.

However, it you really want crash protection, check out a spec racer ford. A buddy put one straight into a wall at about 50 mph or so. He walked away. But he did say he was sure glad he had six-point belts instead of five-points.

Dale

 

i posted this in another similar thread because I thought it was this thread...


so i copied and pasted




he other thing to keep in mind by starting out with a lesser expensive car is if you have never done it before, DO NOT BUY A FERRARI.

There is a deceiving romance of "racing."

The reality is, it is hugely time consuming, hugely expensive, highly stressful, and potentially hazardous to your health.

Each person deals with the above differently.

You have to be able to take time to go to the track. Take the time to set up the car, take the time to get the car, trailer, and tow rig to the track. time to register, stay updated on your license, time to load and unload. time to bug friends to help you at the track. Time to make the lunches, order spares etc... Time to work on the car at the track... time to explain to the wife why you are doing what you are doing... time to buy the above mentioned stuff...

then you have to pay for all of the above...

then you have to take car of all of the above mentioned stuff...

and all of this before you ever complete your first lap. then after you are done at the track you have to do all of this stuff again but in reverse.

The moment you have a minor wreck, it gets very expensive, we are talking 5k plus.

There is so much to racing that most people don't even recognize its not even funny. Plus, you may not like it if you are not competitive, and you won't be your first year or so...

Racing is a huge commitment and like Roger Penske said... the only way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with an even bigger one

I highly recommend renting or help someone who is already going to the track. Help them load the cars and prepare for the weekend... then go to the track stay there all weekend and help them unload at the end of the weekend. That will give you a good idea as to what goes into it all before writing the check.

MINI N. Scottsdale, had or has a great program where they do everything. They built spec minis, prep and bring to the track and provide food, mechanics, spares etc... all you have to do is show up and drive. It wasn't cheap but was a well run local program.

 

My 2000 Boxster S retails for about $12000 these days. A removable hard top will cost another grand, and you are set to go on a relatively small budget (sorry about the quality of my buddy's camera phone) :
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A used C6 Z for around $40 + another $40 in mods will whip an Enzo

 

True-but it will still be a Corvette when leaving the track!

 

yes but racers typically don't care about what there car is leaving the track. What matters is when they cross the finish line. If you are concerned with your "image" perhaps the track is not the place for you (not you in particular) ... Egos are often quickly deflated at the track. Afterall, those "Corvettes" have dominated that little race called LeMans in recent years, and years and years ago the real "Enzo" was just a loser when ford/shebly decided to run that very same french race.

 

details please?