Track day's ??

Mr. May

Mr. May

Mr. May

Soldato
Joined
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Derby
I am seriously considering track days now, But have a few questions.....


What car would you consider a good track day car for say around £1000?

The three i have been thinking of are clio 172, MX5 or 328i

Ive been looking at the old clio 172 seeing as i own DCI 100 clio and done a bit of work. (ie cleaning EGR sorting the brake's and had all the interior out) I am used to the handling as well. So i thought this would be a good starting point ?

I also want to learn about motors stripping and rebuild the engine and really getting my hands drity. whats a good car for a noob?

The car I will get will be SORN and not used on the road as it can be kept off road. As I have a large trailer I can transport it on. Is there any problems with this ?

What bits are a must for Track days ? from what I have looked at across the web I need a roll cage, Engine cut off switch and fire extinguisher. Am i missing anything ?

My next road car is going to be e46 330ci (It has been my dream for the last 5 years) So i was thinking would it be better for me to get a 328i with LSD for track days?

Is a 328i hard to work on ? and i assume these will cost a lot more to tune and get 'race' ready but by how much ?


Thanks for your time and reading this.

Sorry if I come across as abit noobie but I must start somewhere.
 
A 328i would be fine, but I imagine you'd be quite hands on pretty much immediately with the suspension as it'll most likely be poop on track due to age.

MX5 won't really break on you, although of course it won't be the speediest of cars, but it'll handle great.

Clio is FWD, so I won't bother commenting on it as I just don't like FWD cars :)
 
How do you intend to to get the car to the track? Something like a 328i on a trailer will be over the permitted towing weight of most cars with the exception of large 4x4's. What car are you going to tow with?
 
Mr. May said:
What bits are a must for Track days ? from what I have looked at across the web I need a roll cage, Engine cut off switch and fire extinguisher. Am i missing anything ?
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Uh, what? Who told you that.

All you need for a track day is a driving license and a car.

An MX5, 172, or a 328 are all popular choices for track cars. There's quite a few people on here with each.

Fox makes a good point about towing though. Its a bit overkill if your just getting into it too. Just get something cheap and drive it to and from the track to start with. If you step it up in the future then you might move up to towing the car.

Have a scout around the classified for any of those cars and find a good deal, then just get on a track and have fun, and take it from there.

A word of warning, its addictive :)
 
[TW]Fox;22554859 said:
How do you intend to to get the car to the track? Something like a 328i on a trailer will be over the permitted towing weight of most cars with the exception of large 4x4's. What car are you going to tow with?
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280 D4D Hi- ace itsbeen used to take heavy modified vitras for off roading and is a massive trailer.
 
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Skeeter said:
Uh, what? Who told you that.

All you need for a track day is a driving license and a car.

An MX5, 172, or a 328 are all popular choices for track cars. There's quite a few people on here with each.

Fox makes a good point about towing though. Its a bit overkill if your just getting into it too. Just get something cheap and drive it to and from the track to start with. If you step it up in the future then you might move up to towing the car.

Have a scout around the classified for any of those cars and find a good deal, then just get on a track and have fun, and take it from there.

A word of warning, its addictive :)
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I dont want to be paying two sets of insurance and tax when my DCI is perfect for road use.and the stuff to transport the car is all ready there at my dads.

In order to take the car to these type of track days whould it need it to be Road legal?
 
acemastr said:
A 328i would be fine, but I imagine you'd be quite hands on pretty much immediately with the suspension as it'll most likely be poop on track due to age.

MX5 won't really break on you, although of course it won't be the speediest of cars, but it'll handle great.

Clio is FWD, so I won't bother commenting on it as I just don't like FWD cars :)
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I also what RWD car but it maybe tomuch to start with learning ect ect.

How are 328i's for upkeep and modified parts price wise?
 
Mr. May said:
In order to take the car to these type of track days whould it need it to be Road legal?
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Nope. Most places will ask that the car is MOT worthy, but it doesn't have to be road legal. So long as its not go open wheels and passes the noise tests its fine.

If you've got the towing kit then no insurance is fine.

Don't listen to all this FWD hater rubbish either :). I love my 172 and its great fun on track. Perfectly able to get the rear end out too (or spin, in my case) :p.
 
Well before i get it on the track hopefully i would off full serviced the engine ie fuel air and oil filter, change the oil, head gasket and spark plugs and new brakes and rubber all round.

So it should be road worthy all be it with nothing inside lol.

Also though FWD would be better for a novice.
 
I run a stripped out 328 and it's hilarious. Absolutely great fun on track, plenty of power without being dangerous, insane traction, great handling even with lolebay suspension, and looks and sounds the part too.

Clios are fast. They will happily give me a good run for my money on track, so perhaps also worth considering from a towing point of view too?

For a first trackday I'd recommend blyton park - summer days are available for under £150, open pitlane too. There is plenty of run off and very little in the way of things to hit.

Here's my 328 on blyton back in May (I think):


Skip to around a minute in to get to the action.
 
Mr. May said:
Also though FWD would be better for a novice.
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I spun at about 80mph on my first track day in the Clio :).

For £1000 any of your choices are going to come with potential issue, but the fact that at pretty much any trackday ever there is always some Clios and some MX5s plus some sort of older BMWs means any of them will be a good choice.

Bedford is epic for a first day. Nothing to hit, plenty of space to go off into, and over 4 miles of track per lap!
 
Genuine Sports are either expensive or absolutely ruined. You don't need a genuine Sport with a bodykit and nice seats for trackday work so don't waste your time running the gauntlet trying to find one that doesnt suck when an SE is better, especially as you'll probably end up changing the suspension anyway.
 
[TW]Fox;22555114 said:
Genuine Sports are either expensive or absolutely ruined. You don't need a genuine Sport with a bodykit and nice seats for trackday work so don't waste your time running the gauntlet trying to find one that doesnt suck when an SE is better, especially as you'll probably end up changing the suspension anyway.
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Just though it would be good to recoupe some of the cost. Body work looks well looked after. The stereo would be worth at least £250 as i've not long bought 10" version of that sub and a mono block alpine amp for £240, let alone the head unit other amp and after market componant and coax speakers.

Also its under £1000 and the third cheapest on autotrader.

Doesnt it have to be a sport version to get the LSD ?
 
You can't tell if its any good from an autotrader advert - the fact its £999 should be enough to tell you it isn't, if that doesnt do it then the mods should.

LSD's are only common on the very very first Sport models - the MY95 ones. Later ones had ASC as standard not an LSD.
 
[TW]Fox;22555183 said:
You can't tell if its any good from an autotrader advert - the fact its £999 should be enough to tell you it isn't, if that doesnt do it then the mods should.

LSD's are only common on the very very first Sport models - the MY95 ones. Later ones had ASC as standard not an LSD.
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But wouldnt chavved up/Cheap ebay parts be better than old rusty parts ?

I take it this is a MY95

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-328i-...7734275?pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item3a77c88983
 
Mr. May said:
But wouldnt chavved up/Cheap ebay parts be better than old rusty parts ?
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In terms of what? Suspension bits? Probably not.

For the Clio it has decent suspension to start with so cheap ebay coilovers are widely considered to be worse than just sticking with standard. I don't know what the situation would be like for BMWs, but I imagine its the same. Cheap suspension is for lowering for people who just want the look.
 
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