Best Track Day Car??

[Big T]

Chaps, sorry if this has already been discussed many times but I need some PH help

I've decided to start the hobby I've always wanted to and that's to get a car specifically for track use. I am favouring towards a Radical for that purpose only cos of the good write ups on them and popularity but there are so many other different options.

I really don't know where to start and what's best to buy, single seater? TVR Tuscan (race car)? Lotus Exige? Westfield? Caterham? Radical? Running costs for each type? Reliability? Easy to work on?

Is there any advice someone could give me and any resources to find out info on the cars, what I need to do, accessories, trailer etc etc??? Any help would be great....Thx..T

[jleroux]

there is no such thing as the ideal track day car - as it depends on personal circumstances amongst other things. in order to make a better assessment we'd need to know:-

1) Budget (both capital and annual)
2) Storage/logistics (ie room for a trailer, suitable tow-car & capacity)
3) Number of track days planned per year
4) Future ambitions - do you want to sprint/race the car at some stage?
5) Technical expertise - are you going to be fixing & prepping the car yourself?
6) Location - where abouts in the country are you?
7) Road legal? Do you want to be doing weekend runs in the car, too?
8) Social interaction - some single make forums have a buzzing social side which many rate as highly as the track experience itself.

For example, if you were on a tight budget and wanted a car to get to work in as well - a MK1 MR2 is a great choice. If you've got unlimited budget and can fettle the car yourself then obviously a Radical SR4/SR8 or Juno is going to be just about the quickest you'd ever need/want for track days.

If you're not mechanically minded i'd seriously consider location of the factory (or nearest specialist) as there's nothing more annoying that losing hours of your week driving around the country getting the car prepped.

If you've not done any/many track days before there is absolutely *no* point getting a "serious" track day car until you've done a few in something more sensible, like an MX-5 or elise etc.

My best advice would be to pop along to a track day and talk to a few owners frankly about your position (financially and logistically) and get some hints from those with real world experience.

Alternatively, i'm happy to chat to you about this further if you like - just call me on the BaT office number any time (0870 7441635).

cheers,

Jonny
BaT

[iguana]

Big T said:

Chaps, sorry if this has already been discussed many times but I need some PH help

I've decided to start the hobby I've always wanted to and that's to get a car specifically for track use. I am favouring towards a Radical for that purpose only cos of the good write ups on them and popularity but there are so many other different options.

I really don't know where to start and what's best to buy, single seater? TVR Tuscan (race car)? Lotus Exige? Westfield? Caterham? Radical? Running costs for each type? Reliability? Easy to work on?

Is there any advice someone could give me and any resources to find out info on the cars, what I need to do, accessories, trailer etc etc??? Any help would be great....Thx..T

Blimey now there is a question!

Well you've not mentioned budget, but from the above list im guessing its not too restricted

Basiclly there is no right or wrong answer to this, just opinions.

Radicals I personally consdider too fast for many regular track days & must be frustrating to be held up all the time, you also look a tit if you are a novice as all & sundry will pass you but the quick cars at F3 car pace dont really mix happily with the old hatchbacks slow caterhams & saloons etc.

Single seater- you can't do regular trackdays with almost any UK orgaiser.

For fun, speed, low running costs & not cheap but not daftly silly purcace price runnning costs a Caterham takes some beating & IMHO an SLR/R400 spec is perhaps the pick of the bunch.

Trailering, hmm personally I prefer to drive to & from events more fun for me, trailers a faff & more dificult to park at B&Bs etc for far away tracks & slower on road etc, advantage is can take lots of spares & easy to get home if you break somat, but in my cars can fit all spares & anotherset of wheels so not an issue, trailers are a very stolen item too.

If you want to do some road miles too or driving to spa & ring etc when a caterham etc isnt much fun on the rain, an RS Porsche- 964RS,993RS, or GT3 is built for the job, will track hard for years & not break, do takea heck of a lot of practice to drive properly tho, or indeed a M3 properly sorted e30/36/46 take yr pick,, but with that budget even tho I love the above I'd personally be very tempted by an Exige S, only tracked one briefly but it had a heck of an impression, not a regular Exige2 tho, that left me rather cold, or indeed a properly sorted Honda'd Elise, lotus so much lighter & lither than the porkers- circa 1/2 a tonne less than a GT3!

So a plethora of options, not many are wrong all depends what you are after, but tongue in cheek here-what ever you are after if you are a total track novice please please purchace something new & very expensive & get a new race suit too, as its lots of fun for the regulars in battered old track hacks worth less than the tyres on the flash wagon to lap you each session

Edited by iguana on Sunday 22 July 11:05

[Big T]

jleroux said:

there is no such thing as the ideal track day car - as it depends on personal circumstances amongst other things. in order to make a better assessment we'd need to know:-

1) Budget (both capital and annual)
2) Storage/logistics (ie room for a trailer, suitable tow-car & capacity)
3) Number of track days planned per year
4) Future ambitions - do you want to sprint/race the car at some stage?
5) Technical expertise - are you going to be fixing & prepping the car yourself?
6) Location - where abouts in the country are you?
7) Road legal? Do you want to be doing weekend runs in the car, too?
8) Social interaction - some single make forums have a buzzing social side which many rate as highly as the track experience itself.

For example, if you were on a tight budget and wanted a car to get to work in as well - a MK1 MR2 is a great choice. If you've got unlimited budget and can fettle the car yourself then obviously a Radical SR4/SR8 or Juno is going to be just about the quickest you'd ever need/want for track days.

If you're not mechanically minded i'd seriously consider location of the factory (or nearest specialist) as there's nothing more annoying that losing hours of your week driving around the country getting the car prepped.

If you've not done any/many track days before there is absolutely *no* point getting a "serious" track day car until you've done a few in something more sensible, like an MX-5 or elise etc.

My best advice would be to pop along to a track day and talk to a few owners frankly about your position (financially and logistically) and get some hints from those with real world experience.

Alternatively, i'm happy to chat to you about this further if you like - just call me on the BaT office number any time (0870 7441635).

cheers,

Jonny
BaT

Hi Jonny, many thanks for the post. Yeah I understand that the question is somewhat vague and inpossible without more info

Answers to the questions are;

1) I Dont really wanna spend more than £25k for the car and hopefully a second hand trailer if I need one and I reckon I can get away with approx £1k per month on the hobby but still have reserves for any unforseen big bills that maybe needed.

2) I will be looking for a local lockup/garage for storage of the car and big enough to move around in to do any work I can myself. I already have room for the trailer and I will be picking up my new car soon, Bentley Arnage RL, that I may use to tow the trailer (if that is wise or possible??) but depending on what I get I may not need a trailer. I also have access to other vehicles that def can take a trailer.

3) I don't intend on taking this up seriously so I will prob try and do around 2-3 track days per month depending on time. hopefully more!!

4). Depending on money and time and more importantly if I have any skills I may do something like that in the future but no plans as yet. I've done some trak days before but not many. I think I can say that I am a good driver and will prob go for some extra track training.

5). I can do some stuff myself and understand quite a bit, also the person I will prob be sharing this hobby with can help out on this side of things. I may want to take up a course too to get some more knowledge. But yeah like you said about being near a factory etc, I didn't think of that if I go for a specialist car like a Radical or TVR. I will have to factor this in.

6). I am based in East London, E18.

7). I don't intend on using the car on the road, however I am not fussed. I do prefer something totally track based though.

Thanks for the offer of calling you, I'll do that some point next week if you don't mind. Is this your field or expertise???

Thanks again...T.

[Big T]

iguana said:

Well you've not mentioned budget, but from the above list im guessing its not too restricted

Hi Iguana, thanks for the post. Re budget, see my reply above to Jonny.

iguana said:

Radicals I personally consdider too fast for many regular track days & must be frustrating to be held up all the time, you also look a tit if you are a novice as all & sundry will pass you but the quick cars at F3 car pace dont really mix happily with the old hatchbacks slow caterhams & saloons etc.

Yeah, I didn't think about that. But to be honest I don't really care that much. Thi hobby is for me to have fun and enjoy myself and take a quick car around a track. I used to do a lot of karting many many years ago and got the hang of that quite well and have done a couple track days a few years ago. I reckon with a bit more experience and some extra track training I should be OK.

iguana said:

Single seater- you can't do regular trackdays with almost any UK orgaiser.

Didn't realise that, thanks.

iguana said:

For fun, speed, low running costs & not cheap but not daftly silly purcace price runnning costs a Caterham takes some beating & IMHO an SLR/R400 spec is perhaps the pick of the bunch.

Those would do fine, I'm gonna do some reserach on the net.

iguana said:

Trailering, hmm personally I prefer to drive to & from events more fun for me, trailers a faff & more dificult to park at B&Bs etc for far away tracks & slower on road etc, advantage is can take lots of spares & easy to get home if you break somat, but in my cars can fit all spares & anotherset of wheels so not an issue, trailers are a very stolen item too.

I don't really mind what I do, but I just have it in my mind to get something totally track based

iguana said:

regulars in battered old track hacks worth less than the tyres on the flash wagon to lap you each session

That ain't gonna happen

Thanks alot for the advice. I did look at the Porsches but they are quite pricey to buy and I don't want something that's gonna cost me like my 360 did when it goes wrong!!!!!

[Big T]

Now, what are these puppies like??? Out of budget range though

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/182746.htm

[trackdemon]

Fella, get yerself into a mid range Caterham: epic to drive, cheap(ish) to run, reliable & retain value like diamonds.

(Failing that, MkII Exige....)

[Big T]

trackdemon said:

Fella, get yerself into a mid range Caterham: epic to drive, cheap(ish) to run, reliable & retain value like diamonds.

(Failing that, MkII Exige....)

Thanks Steve. I'm not keen on the Caterham shape even though I know how good these are. I am thinking now of Radical / Westfield XTR or Exige II / Exige S.

[trackdemon]

Big T said:

trackdemon said:

Fella, get yerself into a mid range Caterham: epic to drive, cheap(ish) to run, reliable & retain value like diamonds.

(Failing that, MkII Exige....)

Thanks Steve. I'm not keen on the Caterham shape even though I know how good these are. I am thinking now of Radical / Westfield XTR or Exige II / Exige S.

trackdemon said:

(Failing that, MkII Exige....)

[Birdthom]

Big T

I can't believe no-one else has suggested it yet, but give Jonny a call and spend your money on hiring one of the BaT caterhams for a few track days until you've decided what you want to do. They're faster than you'll ever need them to be and there's zero hassle involved. You may decide to just stick with them and not bother buying your own car.

Cheers

Tom (no connection to BaT)

[nicedude1976]

"hire a caterham until you decide what you like", it's like saying "you can have anything as long as it's a caterham". already rejected that beast in one of his posts. plus it would probably be cheaper to buy it and then sell afterwards than hire it for a good few days. reagards.

[twiggie]

I have tried most options in cars and methods of transport on diffrent budgets, I have settled on S1 Elise 111s,
1. Cheap to buy
2. cheap to maintain
3. cheap to repair
4. cheap on rubber
5. little or no depreciation
6. cheap to tune
7. roof comes off ( unlike Exige )
8. practical ( can travel accross europe unlike caterham etc )
9. cheap to insure
10.Reliable ( touch wood )
11.doesn't intimidate novices and still tests the experts.
This has been my experience of 15 years track / fun driving, I dont think you can go too far wrong with the Elise even if used as platform to find what you want from the trackday race scene.

Twiggy

[neilrallying]

Totally different alternative to the usual suspects;-

www.adrenalinemotorsport.co.uk

Track day specific car fully built at well under 900kgs, 4wd, turbo charged, within price range, reliable running gear, relatively cheap maintenance, limitless further tuning options as the hunger for more performace grows.

I can pretty much guarantee that this will leave you smiling as we are yet to have a single person who has not wanted one after sampling the driving experience (AMS is my company-see my profile). Most have bought/left deposits or are selling current toys to fund one!

I would suggest drawing up a shortlist of cars which interest you and then arranging a drive in all of them as there is such a range now available which offer such a variety of driving experiences. This is the only way that you will be able to differentiate the products properly and decide which will give you the most smiles per mile/per pound spent which is the critical formula with any track day toy.

Neil.

[Bebs]

[Plotloss]

Caterham R400 or an Atom 220/290

Anything with ground effects, Radical, XTR2 etc will just frustrate you when you come up against slower traffic.

[LocoBlade]

An XTR2 isnt that much quicker than an equivalent BEC Caterfield, they certainly dont generate a huge amount of downforce and so aren't in the more recent Radical league of performance (SR3 / SR8 etc).

I do agree with others though regarding Radicals etc being too fast and frustrating on most track days, even with my Locost R1 BEC which is maybe 10% slower than a Radical per lap on an average circuit, I often find it a bit frustrating not getting more than a few clear corners before coming up behind someone again, and at a recent Cadwell trackday I reviewed the footage and didnt find a single complete clear lap all day!

Having said that, if you're willing to pay for them, there are more "exclusive" trackdays where there's only a few of you out at any one time where running more exotic track machinery (even old F1 cars) can be accommodated.

[benyeats]

Might get an Atom 220 for that kind of money. Since you will be using a trailer so practicality does not matter it has to be the one to go for.

Ben

[BertBert]

I have a radical clubsport which I dont find frustrating at all! Maybe I am just a slow driver, but I have plenty of fun in the faster sessions. It is a fabulous fun track car, but it is more effort than something like a caterfield. You need to do more things on the day (checking and lubing between each session), take more stuff (slicks and wets) etc. I love it though.

Bert

[Phil. S.]

If you're not keen on 7s then a Honda powered S1 Elise or Exige would be superb as a track day toy.

[kaivaksdal]

Hi,

If I could also make a little suggestion that if your previous experience runs to karting, perhaps an amount of on-track education might also make a lot of sense? Just so that you get into the whole track day thing.

You would be amazed at the number of people who throw lots of money at a track day car (whatever it is, usually can be fast...) but don't know how to drive iot properly.

I am not making assumptions (honest!), just suggesting that a well driven 'hack' in capable hands can be as fast - an more importantly FUN - as a super-expensive, super-fast track car.

Personally, I would find a cheaper track car first, do some track days and get some experience and training - THEN spend all that money on something you really want.

Whatever you do, good luck and enjoy!!