A tracked M12

[sweetafton]

Hi guys. Buying a M12 that has been tracked most of it life, is it a good idea or not? I know to look out for damage of course. How long does the engine last before it needs a rebuild?
I don't think I would be tracking it so do you think I should look for one that's had an easier life?

[StreetDragster]

I would have thought a track car would have had more rigorous maintenance and would be a decent buy. Wouldn't put me off vs a dedicated road car.

No idea on engine life story, I guess it's how long is a piece of string, my road only car needed a rebuild at ~28k due to burnt valves

Thanks
Matt

[sweetafton]

Hi Matt. Thanks for replying. What did the rebuild set you back if it's not to personal? I know yours in a M400. Why did yours need the rebuild?

[sweetafton]

Sorry retread. How did that happen to your engine?

[TuxMan]

I suppose as long as it's been maintained correctly whether it's been tracked or not is not important .

[StreetDragster]

sweetafton said:

Hi Matt. Thanks for replying. What did the rebuild set you back if it's not to personal? I know yours in a M400. Why did yours need the rebuild?

Mine is a 3R, and the build was the thick end of £10k iirc.
Just one of those things that can happen. Not a noble specific problem. Burnt valves caused a rich mixture which over time took out the piston rings, when the issue was discovered it was too late and both the top and bottom end needed rebuilding to correct it.

Don't let it out you off, these cars are awesome and rebuilt engines are uncommon

Thanks
Matt

[mgbond]

Assuming it's a 2.5. What's the mileage and power output. Is it on std 5 spd open diff does it have a track day sump and is it on std turbos.

Basically I think we need a lot more info before making an informed decision.

[arabian]

To my mind its the same with any car - a good car regularly tracked, driven well and regularly serviced/maintained is always going to be better than a road only car ragged within an inch of its life, poorly maintained and driven by a tw@t.

What i can say is that during the track days i have been on, i have never seen noble owners thrashing their cars beyond the limits, being insensitive or driving like tw@ts. I cant say the same for the idiot in an M3 at Castle Combe recently who clearly didnt understand the concept of not over taking 2 cars going into a chicane, but that's another story...

[AMG Merc]

I'd expect the only difference against a non-tracked car is that suspension components and tyres will wear a lot faster so assuming these are all checked/replaced as needed, and that any bodywork has been corrected properly, it should be fine. Being a picky fekker myself - I'd personally check any tracked car out very, very carefully.

Think about the Ferrari 250GTO that sold for a world record £26.4M last year - it will have been tracked to death and back again many times over since the early 1960s and yet it still made that money because it was looked after properly.

Good luck

[dave sutton]

StreetDragster said:

I would have thought a track car would have had more rigorous maintenance and would be a decent buy. Wouldn't put me off vs a dedicated road car.

+1

It rather depends on what you are wanting. A car that has been on track has been well 'stress tested', any weak points will have been discovered and fixed, probably with uprated parts. Agreed, the consumables will have had more use, but they are likely to have been regularly replaced and uprated too.

So, if you want to actually use the car as it was designed to be, then a tracked car is likely to be more reliable than a low mileage one that has spent hardly any time at proper working temperature. On the other-hand, if you want one to polish and show, then presumably you want one as near showroom condition as possible.