Awd, fwd or rwd track day car?

[TheAngryDog]

Looking at replacements for my E39 M5, and I want to use whatever it is on track days as well. The car will be used as a weekend car as well.

Budget is around £10k

What would the suggestions be out of the different drive types? Kind of leaning towards something turbocharged as well.

Cheers.

[Steve H]

There's pros and cons for both front and rear whee drive on track cars, a good AWD tends to be impressive but uninspiring in my experience.

[HustleRussell]

Caterham.

[EvoIV NL]

I went from fwd, to awd, to rwd. Fwd (EG Civic) was fun but I found it to be a bit 'safe' on the limit although it was not a well developed track car (just some basic brake and suspension upgrades) but a good entry point in to track day cars. Awd (Mitsi Evo) was quick around a lap even in the wet, handled very well but it was a little soul-less perhaps because it was a little too easy to drive, this was very much track dedicated. Rwd (BMW E30 M3), also road legal track dedicated but I was surprised as to how much grip it had despite being rwd and no aids whatsoever. Fun and rewarding to drive and felt that as a driver I could learn more from this car than any of the others.

[Altrezia]

Lotus/Caterham imho.

Personally I wouldn't go forced induction on a trackday car - in my experience things get hotter and that causes more problems. (I know there are plenty of forced induction cars that do well on track.)

[Camoradi]

Having spent some track time in a turbocharged hayabusa Westfield on Saturday, I would say definitely RWD and lightweight, with forced induction optional (but also essential )

[Craikeybaby]

RWD, but more crucially - lightweight!

[LaSource]

Have recently developed a trackable E46 M3.
Took it to the ring last week. Was surprisingly good. Only 10sec off 996 GT3 pace...that delta will probably grow at a traditional racing circuit.

To make the E46 track friendly you do need: suspension (coilover with adjustable front top mounts, a couple of adjustable rear camber arms) and uprated brakes. After that the items are optional: bucket seats, some weight reduction (but need not be a butchered car - I take out before a track day and replace afterwards).
I was looking for the car to be road useable as well as track friendly.

I did buy the bits and pieces on top so it would break your budget. However, if you find a car that has already had this work done then may be a good route...

[nickfrog]

EvoIV NL said:

Rwd (BMW E30 M3), also road legal track dedicated but I was surprised as to how much grip it had despite being rwd and no aids whatsoever.

The aids don't add grip anyway, nor the number of wheels driven (4wd helps traction, RWD is second and FWD third in this area). It gets its lat grip from its relative light weight, good distribution and decent suspension kinematics. And it's super fun to boot !

I would prefer RWD too but my current Megane's rear is quite a lot more playful than many RWD cars...

[NJH]

Another dimension is the likely weather when you are going to be driving the car. This is one area where fwd tin tops have a distinct advantage, you don't get wet and many of them perform very well in the wet conditions.

[anonymous-user]

I would avoid getting hugely hung up on drive layout, there are playful FWD cars and inert RWD cars, it's about the whole package.

Ask yourself what you really enjoy on track and go from there. If you're not sure get yourself something like a track prepped Clio 172/182 or an MX-5 for way under your budget and use it to work out what direction you want to take. There's no right and wrong and you may find your preferences evolve over time in a direction you weren't expecting.