Cheap track car for noobie
- Thread starter DannyW
- Start date
Agreed, my 328i was superb, was a factory LSD model which was nice. Only did basic mods on it HSD coilovers, m3 sway bars, x brace, purple tag rack, e30 arms, bucket seat. Never bothered with the M50 manifold/remap, I had friends that did and there was almost no difference at all in pace. It was a pricey thing to do at the time and nowadays they change hands for a stupid price, not worth bothering imo.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122537604053
Is this a fair price for it's spec
Only thing is I can't go until next week
Is this a fair price for it's spec
Only thing is I can't go until next week
Caporegime
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Better alternative although the mod scene is not as good.
The best choice to be honest but because all 328's have been bought up and turned into drift/track cars the few that are left are going for big money. Hense why i suggested the IS200 as they can be picked up for a grand. Leaving plenty for basic track mods.
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Soldato
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Ah. I was thinking more like £30 a day or something. How much does it cost to race on a track?
Soldato
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£200-300 track fee
£50-100 petrol
Brake wear
Tyre wear
Then you may opt to insure it, you may opt to increase oil change frequency, you'll have a higher rate of wear on some components. It quickly adds up!
Caporegime
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I wish I go through at least two tanks of petrol. That's £160 straight away but includes driving there and back.
For me £160 in fuel
Track fee £200 (Cadwell and Blyton are relatively cheap)
Wear and tear £150.
Soldato
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I assumed as he's a novice and getting a fairly low powered car £100 would cover it, but easy to go over that.
I normally arrive with a full tank and 5x20L jerry cans for every track day. It was worse in my last car but I can get through a whole day now without having to go off-site.
Oh yeah, engine oil after every trackday for sure. Gearbox and diff I tend to use for a full year.
Cost also doesn't include mechanical failures. I blew an engine one time and that left me 2k out of pocket for example. Upgrades are also a big expense, you're always going to come out of a trackday frustrated with some aspect of the car and then go out and spend on upgrades for next time. It's a ferociously expensive hobby tbh, that's why I don't really participate any more. It stopped being fun so I gave it a rest. You're going to come to a point where your driving skill is up, and you've built a fast car, then find that 95% of others become a road block. When you do a day and only manage to get in 1 or 2 clean hot laps all day, and you can't find another car running the same pace to lap with then it kind of sucks. Lot of people go on into racing at this point, but that's a lot more money again.
In this sense, a 328i is great, enough speed to get your thrills, not too fast or too slow to be annoying, super cheap to fix.
Mk3 MR2 is a good shout. I own one and it handles nicely and the face lift model comes with LSD as standard. I doubt a face lift would be in budget for you unfortunately.
Always wounder about insurance, how does that work? If I crashed into someone's 100k Porsche is it just tough **** or could they sue me?
Please fully star out all swearing in future. Thank you.
Please fully star out all swearing in future. Thank you.
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Track days are at your own risk.
Everyone signs a waiver which removes any liability from other drivers and the track owners. He should have his own track day insurance, if not too bad.
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Soldato
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Holy brown stuff.
How is that do-able as a hobby for anyone not earning enough money that it doesn't matter what you spend it on. There is just no opportunity to get into anything fun anymore.
If you want to do cheaper then you'll probably just have to do it on a PC
still fun (obviously not as fun but then it's not as expensive either). Or split the costs/driving in half with a friend you can trust.
Associate
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Common misunderstanding, all uk cars has the torsen limited slip diff regardless of pre or post facelift.
In my opinion - whilst the necessity for an LSD on the road is debatable, for the track it is essential.
Personally I would look at both FWD and RWD, both can be very quick and you'll be amazed at the speeds FWD hot hatches can fly around the track, leaving older RWD 328i's for dead. I very much rate my R53 Mini Cooper S on the track and had many compliments about how quick it is. It's forced induction so getting more power is easy, not at all expensive to upgrade/replace parts, is lightweight before you even strip it out and handles like a go kart. You won't get one on a £500 budget though, and i'd hazard a guess that you won't get anything that will take the stress of a trackday for £500. Generally if you can find a car that has an MOT and an engine which starts for £500 you're doing well, let alone one which is going to be worth owning.
Personally I would look at both FWD and RWD, both can be very quick and you'll be amazed at the speeds FWD hot hatches can fly around the track, leaving older RWD 328i's for dead. I very much rate my R53 Mini Cooper S on the track and had many compliments about how quick it is. It's forced induction so getting more power is easy, not at all expensive to upgrade/replace parts, is lightweight before you even strip it out and handles like a go kart. You won't get one on a £500 budget though, and i'd hazard a guess that you won't get anything that will take the stress of a trackday for £500. Generally if you can find a car that has an MOT and an engine which starts for £500 you're doing well, let alone one which is going to be worth owning.
Caporegime
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If you go for the smaller circuits it is cheaper. Blyton Park & Cadwell are less than 200 and sometimes even less than 150. Factor in £80 in fuel and D.I.Y oil change and that's around the £250 mark for one day. When you think some people can quite easily blow £100-150 on a night out it doesn't seem too bad. Especially when you are getting a decent 6-7 hours.
A cheaper alternative to track days is Sprints & Hillclimbs. 90% of the prep and gear needed is the same as it world be for track days except you get some actual competition. "Track time" is a lot lower than a track day but then so is the cost.