Another what car thread...?

Another what car thread...?

Author
Discussion

solamanda

Original Poster:

25 posts

119 months

Tuesday 30th May 2023
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Hi, I've decided to switch from motorbike track days to cars. My car track experience is a day in a NB MX5, Caterham experience and my E63 once. Of those three, the MX5 seemed a great choice and I can see why they're so popular. Really I want something I can beat on like a motorbike but not blow up or cost a fortune to run. My budget is £8-12k, top choices seem to be a ND MX5 2.0l or GT86. I've seen VX220's near that but are they going to be much less reliable given their age and I can only afford a poor example? What else can I look at? It doesn't need to be practical but I want to use it in winter, so Caterham style kit cars are not an option.

Kswap

191 posts

48 months

Tuesday 30th May 2023
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S2000?

bumskins

1,928 posts

22 months

Tuesday 30th May 2023
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Kswap said:
S2000?
Not a bad shout, although i'd definitely budget for some different suspension. The 2 standard road cars I drove weren't great at speed down bumpy roads, although aside from that the remainder of the ingredients do make for a compelling package - providing you can find a solid car within the budget.

JoeyMc

75 posts

174 months

Tuesday 30th May 2023
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DC2 or an EP3 type R. Very solid engines and endless amount of upgrade options available. I’d go for the DC2 personally they come with a really good LSD as standard and handle better than any front wheel drive car ever made. It revs like a motorbike too.

thelostboy

4,681 posts

232 months

Tuesday 30th May 2023
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If you can find a VX220 for £12k, let me know!

I would never go for FWD as a regular track car. I do love a good hot hatch, but they are one-dimensional and I'd argue that after a few track days you'd get bored. However, if you've not been to many circuits, or done that much in generally, perhaps one would be OK for a year or so.


solamanda

Original Poster:

25 posts

119 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
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I'm definitely looking for a RWD car for track use, especially as I don't need it to be a hatchback to be practical.

braddo

11,253 posts

195 months

Wednesday 31st May 2023
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It is a shame that the ND mx5 has very numb steering apparently. So i would go for a NC mx5 and get BBR to get it up to 200hp.

And lots of rustproofing!

Ja5

94 posts

192 months

Thursday 1st June 2023
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I'd stick to a MX5. Either NA or NB with FI or NC with the BBR 225 throttle body conversion!

nismo48

4,440 posts

214 months

Wednesday 14th June 2023
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thelostboy said:
If you can find a VX220 for £12k, let me know!

I would never go for FWD as a regular track car. I do love a good hot hatch, but they are one-dimensional and I'd argue that after a few track days you'd get bored. However, if you've not been to many circuits, or done that much in generally, perhaps one would be OK for a year or so.
+1 With you on that one, VX220's not cheap for a good one

LondonTom

89 posts

221 months

Saturday 24th June 2023
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E36 328, with the right mods/weight reduction, it's a brilliant package.


Nickp82

3,405 posts

100 months

Sunday 25th June 2023
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£5-7k on a good NC Mx-5 then spend another £2-3k on some upgrades and you have a capable track car that is likely to take the abuse without much issue. Personally, I bought a lightly damaged one for £2k and am probably £3.5k in to upgrades - some are easy and cheap like brakes and roll bars from an RX-8. It’s already proving to be quite handy and I’ve barely touched the engine… yet.

reggie747

137 posts

134 months

Sunday 2nd July 2023
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Nickp82 said:
£5-7k on a good NC Mx-5 then spend another £2-3k on some upgrades and you have a capable track car that is likely to take the abuse without much issue. Personally, I bought a lightly damaged one for £2k and am probably £3.5k in to upgrades - some are easy and cheap like brakes and roll bars from an RX-8. It’s already proving to be quite handy and I’ve barely touched the engine… yet.
^^^^^This, all day...