5 door track friendly car....

[Babw]

I want to be awkward and buy a practical yet quick + fun track friendly car. Shortlist looks something like this at the moment -

E90 M3 - heart over head decision, a bit heavy and thirsty on track. Brakes are not great but that engine.

M135i with LSD - as quick as an M3 but steering not great and anodyne looks. Frugal compared to M3.

FK2 civic - fast and fun but the looks....

Mitsubishi evo - fast and in my dream infinite car garage but old/rusty/unreliable

I like the thought of a rwd car to pull some slides and have fun but the front wheel drive options like the civic are more pointy. I feel like the M135i is the best compromise but feel like I’d regret not getting the V8!!

Anything else I shoulder consider?

[rallycross]

130i is a cheaper answer, 265 bhp, around £5k.

[Babw]

rallycross said:

130i is a cheaper answer, 265 bhp, around £5k.

I used to own one and it was a fun car but after lsd, suspension, brakes etc it’ll be pushing 10k and 12-14k I can get a much newer, faster and near stock M135i with features such as the adaptive suspension which will aid daily/track crossover in use.

I’m also leaning towards auto/dct in both beemers. (I have a stripped and caged track car but unwilling to tow to Spa and the ring hence looking for an occasional but fulfilling track car).

Edited by Babw on Saturday 11th January 00:36

[smiles1]

Babw said:

M135i with LSD - as quick as an M3 but steering not great and anodyne looks. Frugal compared to M3.

Did they come with an LSD as an option from the factory or would it need to be fitted aftermarket?

Outside option to add to the list - Monaro?

[Babw]

smiles1 said:

Babw said:

M135i with LSD - as quick as an M3 but steering not great and anodyne looks. Frugal compared to M3.

Did they come with an LSD as an option from the factory or would it need to be fitted aftermarket?

Outside option to add to the list - Monaro?

BMW offer an LSD option, which is a drive in drive out and it’s a plated type designed for track use.

It is tempting me but I really want a V8 back in my life however E90’s are few and far between compared to an E92.

[TheMuu]

Golf R? Ok no power slides but nice chassis and plenty of go with a choice of gearbox

[PGNSagaris]

rallycross said:

130i is a cheaper answer, 265 bhp, around £5k.

Totally agree. I paid £3k for a 57 plate, 5 door 129k miler. Spent another £3.5k going through the car (v long list) and all that I’m planning next is a diff which will be around £2k. Bought it to do a road trip, SPA and the Ring last year and was going to sell after but ... it’s got right under my skin. For me it also helps driving something on track that is similar’ish to the cars I race when I can’t be bothered to trailer stuff.

It can take all the family if I needed to, it passes all noise tests at tracks and for me is the magic formula of n/a, 6 cylinder, rwd and a biggish displacement. Plus AMD do a tune to take it 291bhp for £450+vat

Here it is at Silverstone in November.

[Rob_R]

I track my E90 fairly regularly and I absolutely love it.

It is quite heavy on fuel but so is every car when you track them. It's worth it for the engine.

Everybody comments on the engine. It's that bloody good.

[E-bmw]

Yeah, forget about MPG when on track in anything more than an MX5 or a small engine Caterfield!

I once measured MPG over a day at Cadwell in my previous 328...….. 8MPG!!!!!

Never did it again.

[git-r]

A M135i would fit the bill, it’s weighted in favour of road stuff but once fitted with LSD they’re huge fun on track, just not the sharpest handling. That said, I put some decent tyres on mine and it did the same lap time as Evo magazine managed in an M4 comp so can still be quick if that bothers you. They have all the right ingredients; good brakes, nice balance, great engine and the auto box is very impressive.
If you want RWD you don’t really have much choice.

https://youtu.be/jkfdzRaqWg0

[nickfrog]

Really depends on budget. My trackable daily is a Megane 280 Cup and it's brilliant. Powerslides are not exactly tolerated on track days anyway and the Meg does slide on turn in more than the M135i and 125i which I also tracked. It's all about the set up.

[braddo]

A bit leftfield but a late Mazda RX8 R3 is a good option for a RWD that can be used on track as is.


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

[UTH]

I've had an Evo as my daily driver (living in London I don't really need to drive it everyday, but you know what I mean) and my track car for years. On the track it is usually one of the quickest things there, and even more fun on a wet track when most other people are hiding in the garages!
4 doors, fairly big boot.....ticks most boxes.
Mine, however, has been very unreliable over the years....but then nothing on it is standard. If you can find yourself one that hasn't been messed around with, I think they can be pretty bullet proof.

[Z4MCSL]

PGNSagaris said:

Totally agree. I paid £3k for a 57 plate, 5 door 129k miler. Spent another £3.5k going through the car (v long list) and all that I’m planning next is a diff which will be around £2k. Bought it to do a road trip, SPA and the Ring last year and was going to sell after but ... it’s got right under my skin. For me it also helps driving something on track that is similar’ish to the cars I race when I can’t be bothered to trailer stuff.

It can take all the family if I needed to, it passes all noise tests at tracks and for me is the magic formula of n/a, 6 cylinder, rwd and a biggish displacement. Plus AMD do a tune to take it 291bhp for £450+vat

Here it is at Silverstone in November.

Hang about...you're saying AMD do a remap on the N52 that they claim gets to 290hp?

Am I getting confused here...that's the same engine as in the z4 3.0si right....

[PGNSagaris]

Not sure if the same engine but that’s what he told me. Also on their website.

http://www.dmsautomotive.com/upgrades/bmw-130i-e81...

It’s actually 294bhp !


He did say they were unusual in the extra gains you could get from the n/a in them.

[nick_dastardly]

I'm considering an i30N fastback

275 PS, LSD, adaptive dampers, room for 5...

Octavia vRS also looks pretty good value, especially compared with golf R etc.

[quick Nick]

I'd say a Renaultsport Megane is worth considering, FWD but it does well with it!

[Babw]

I’ve gone back to the drawing board with my track car plans, I think I’m going to sell my caged SORN’d track car and buy something I can daily but still have fun at the track with however not limiting to 5 doors.

Cayman is high on the list.

[captain_tripping]

Lightweight > power

Probably an unpopular opinion on here.

[TREMAiNE]

braddo said:

A bit leftfield but a late Mazda RX8 R3 is a good option for a RWD that can be used on track as is.


https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202...

Good call.

Mine did me for 3x years, 25k miles and around 30 track days.

Truly wonderful car and cost me nothing but general maintenance - obviously more maintenance than normal with that many track days. But nothing broke on it and compression was still solid when I sold it.

One of the best cars I ever owned. MT09JYJ, I wonder where you are now!?