Track/play car

Tbh track should be where the RX-8 is most at home. I say should as I don't know but they are at least reasonable fun to drive at 7/10ths on the road
 
I will be charged for the price of the parts needed. No labour costs.

Anyway that car has had a new door and a slightly noticeable spray job. Unrecorded knock I am guessing. Will leave it for now.

Back to the RX8, anyone know what these are like on track? How strong is the gearbox? I know the engine is a ticking time bomb.

There's a reason why they're cheap.
 
I would agree with other comments, for your budget look for a decent 172 rather than a potentially problematic 182. Maybe even go back as far as a phase 1 172.
 
Mr2 is out of the question. My knees are always hitting the indicators, granted it was a import I drove, but I am guessing this made no difference except for the sticks being the wrong way round.

Milky, always said I should have never got rid of the Fiesta ST, didn't have the space for it at the old house though.

I am 6ft 3 and fit in a mk1 mx5. The fit is not that good, but 1 inch off the seat foam (google 'foamectomy mx5') would make it absolutely fine.
For your money I would look at a 172 or a MK1 MX5.
I found that the MX5 feels quicker than it actually is. Only when directly next to other cars will it feel underpowered. I find mine immense fun and am very glad I bought it.
 
Very true, but a ford focus is very slow also :p

I see what you're saying, but I don't consider the 328 to be a fast car either, not when I'm getting out dragged by Clios down the straight anyway :p

Who? Where? When? How? I've never been harassed by a Clio on the track and your car was much faster than mine.

A sorted 328 is a good shout, but then I would say that. It will be double the budget at least though.
 
Clio vs Focus ST vs S2000 vs MX5

We weren't racing, Mr Marshall sir, honest :p

Of a Clio, MX5 or something like a 328, the Clio will require the least amount of work doing to it before being fun on track, meaning you can spend the money saved on actually booking track days :)
 
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Of a Clio, MX5 or something like a 328, the Clio will require the least amount of work doing to it before being fun on track, meaning you can spend the money saved on actually booking track days :)

********. An mx5 willl be more fun to start with and with an e36 just ripping the interior out looses loads of weight and is completely free. Simple rwd without electronic aids is always more fun than fwd, if not any quicker.

A n/a mk2 mr2 would be fun though as they steer nicely and unlike on the road they fact that they only really get going at 5k rpm wouldn't be an issue. They're cheap and easy to work on too.
 
I have/just sold an E36 328i with M3 Evo LSD. I full stripped it, caged it etc etc. Was great fun on track! However insurance was a expensive for something I barely used and fuel was a bit harsh on a weekend blast as well. Recommend it 100% though
 
Who said Impreza.. Hahahahahahahaha

The guy said cheap, not something that's going to **** itself every third race :D


Personal experience of many a fast cars and it has to be without doubt.. an E36 that has been the most fun of everything I've owned.

Bog standard engined 325i here that I bought for £320 off Ebay...
 
********. An mx5 willl be more fun to start with and with an e36 just ripping the interior out looses loads of weight and is completely free. Simple rwd without electronic aids is always more fun than fwd, if not any quicker.

Well, we almost made it 2 pages before the RWD snobs turned up. :rolleyes:
 
The complete dismissal of anything fwd just because it's fwd.

An MX5 would be great, I agree. I actually wish I was smaller so could fit in them. But a £1000 MX5 is going to be what, 50% rust? 45% if you find a good one? And that stuff ain't cheap to fix.

When working with a freer budget rwd will obviously top the list. But when looking for something cheap you simply can't just ignore anything fwd just "cos its fwd".
 
You can, because it sucks and understeers everywhere ;)

You can buy a solid MX5 for £500 if you are lucky. E36 don't really rust apart from the rear arches, can be had within budget.

A track car really needs..
Bucket seat
Good setup, that means fully adjustable, hard enough in terms of spring/damper/bushes to keep geo in check under high G loads.
Sticky tyres
Good LSD

No standard car this side of lol££££ comes with all this stuff, so budget for it regardless of base car. If you aren't particularly into it and just want a few lolz for pennies then I guess a Clio is bang on, BMW and MX5 are IMO not track ready at all in stock form.
 
Why is your level of being "into it" defined by how much you spend on the car?

I first tracked my Clio with nothing more than updated front brake pads, and it was great fun, which is what the OP is looking for after all. I could have spent £2000 extra on fitting all your "really needs" bits to be considered more "into it" by the likes of you before taking it to a track, but it didn't, I did 5 track days with the money instead.
 
Different strokes and all that. Most people will not be satisfied with a standard car for long though and will start modifying before too long. It's understandable why too, each of the things I listed will have a hugely profound effect.
 
Do you not think that saying anything that doesn't have fully adjustable suspension, an LSD, RWD and a stripped bucket seated interior simply wont cut it in a thread where the budget is £1500 for some fun is somewhat missing the point?

I love your Clio alexisonfire, but some of the costs make my eyes water :eek:
 
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Personally I think the whole idea of a budget track car is delusional, doing trackdays is a very expensive hobby really.

Oh, I never said anything about stripped interior. If the car won't be used daily then waste no time on it though, worth it ++++++++++++++++++ especially on a boat e36.
 
All the mods to make it a better track car can be done over time. Until then just keep pulling more and more weight out of it. :D

The single most expensive things I've bolted to mine were the tyres..
Advan A048R £920
Second most expensive thing, the one bucket Seat..
Recaro Profi SPG £450
Third, AST Coil overs (£200 out the back door :D )

Everything else pales into insignificance really.
Brake discs (Tarox F2000)
Brake pads (Pagid Blacks)
Brake lines (Goodridge)
Sway bars (Eibach)
Poly bushes (Powerflex)
That's it. That makes it extremely competent on track and better prepped than some pure track only cars I've seen come through the doors at work :eek:
 
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