Thinking of swapping M3 for Elise/Exige

[mpit]

Hi!

I currently have an E92 M3 with upgraded suspension, brakes, bucket seats etc. which is predominantly used for track.

I've fast realised as I've gotten more and more into track days that running such a car on track is pretty expensive - I regularly do £100-150 in fuel per track day, £300 set of pads last 4 days, tyres in 5 days and that's before considering the cost of insurance!

I've always been more into a car that handles and as my track usage increases something like an Elise/Exige catches my eye more and more, I just have some questions;

I have a total budget of around 30k -the lower the better, but that's ultimately the most I want to spend.

Would I be better off finding an S2 Elise with say a K20 conversion, hope it has all the right upgrades I'd like for track.

Or perhaps stump up for the Exige? Will the Exige do what I want out of the box on track? How track focussed is it? Is it still suitable for a Sunday Morning B-road hoon?

My gut feeling is that while I may spend more on the Exige, the total cost of ownership has the potential to be lower and I should enjoy some degree of "get in and drive".

The obvious appeal of an Elise is that perhaps it could be done much cheaper and, well, K20.

My only concern is that I don't want to end up in something significantly slower than the M3 - with the brakes and intrax suspension it's proved to be quite a formidable car on track. My car is around 294bhp/tonne and I was more than happy with it at a point when it was ~265bhp/tonne, so I figure I'd like to stay somewhere close to 250bhp/tonne, is that realistic or even necessary?

Any thoughts/advice would be most appreciated.

[blueg33]

Might also be worth looking at Ginetta G40

[dunc_sx]

blueg33 said:

Might also be worth looking at Ginetta G40

I considered a ginetta for a while but with the exception of the cage it doesn't really do much an exige can't do, plus it's harder to get hold of. Was close to ordering one but got told it would be approx 6 months till I got it which wasn't suitable for me. Then did some reading up and saw some faults owners were having and increased order lead times, that was enough to put me off.

With the elise/exige you get mid-engined, similar performance and easy enough to get hold of one.

I'm not too sure what the power to weight is for lotus but if you compare that then consider slightly better braking and possibly handling then you'll get a fair idea. The higher speed performance and sound from your BMW will be far superior though.

Rear toe links are important consideration for tracked elise/exiges.

Hope this helps a bit.

Dunc.

[Smokin Donut]

I'm in exactly the same position, (except I don't have an M3 ). I considered the G40 and there are 2 good ones listed at the moment. Both around £24K. 795kg/175bhp = 220 bhp/tonne.
http://www.mole-valley.co.uk/ginetta-g40r-in-dorki...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/g...

As for the k20 S1 elise: 725kg+25kgK20 = 750kg/220bhp = 293. Both of the below have way more than 220bhp and have all the track goodies. I recon thats the way to go, consumables will be cheaper than the M3's. For a road and track car I can't see why you'd want a s2 elise (more weight and comfort)? Plus the s1's residuals are rock solid.
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...
http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/l...

Or you could go mad and get this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272183335761?_trksid=p20...

The above may not be 100% but its where my head has been going over the past months. I just need to make up my mind and pull the trigger on one. I just missed out on a K20 Exige that a dealer snapped up.....ggggggrrrrrr.

I took a 991 turbo S out on the Porsche experience track the other day, what a mind bending piece of kit that is! But the fun soon reduces as you realise the car is doing 80% of the work. Brutal though!