Track Days and Car Tax +16v Golf
Discussion
Have posted this question earlier on Track Days forum but posting here for more info.
Now Ive developed my Chimaera500 to a point where it might make decent track day drive (chip,brakes,partial de-cat,wheels,exhaust,tyres etc) Ive just had the great idea of buying something like a Mk2 Golf GTi16V-cheap- stripping excess weight,fitting some decent tyres and using it for track day fun.
At the same time not risking trashing 25K worth of TVR supercar (leaving the tiv free for high days,holidays,TVRCC meets and PistonHead stuff).
Id get a decent old golf,tidy it up where needed and MOT it.
Question is, if I trailer it to the circuits and not use it on the road will it have to be road taxed to use on tracks only ?
Ta
Darren.
Now Ive developed my Chimaera500 to a point where it might make decent track day drive (chip,brakes,partial de-cat,wheels,exhaust,tyres etc) Ive just had the great idea of buying something like a Mk2 Golf GTi16V-cheap- stripping excess weight,fitting some decent tyres and using it for track day fun.
At the same time not risking trashing 25K worth of TVR supercar (leaving the tiv free for high days,holidays,TVRCC meets and PistonHead stuff).
Id get a decent old golf,tidy it up where needed and MOT it.
Question is, if I trailer it to the circuits and not use it on the road will it have to be road taxed to use on tracks only ?
Ta
Darren.
quote:
Have posted this question earlier on Track Days forum but posting here for more info.
Now Ive developed my Chimaera500 to a point where it might make decent track day drive (chip,brakes,partial de-cat,wheels,exhaust,tyres etc) Ive just had the great idea of buying something like a Mk2 Golf GTi16V-cheap- stripping excess weight,fitting some decent tyres and using it for track day fun.
At the same time not risking trashing 25K worth of TVR supercar (leaving the tiv free for high days,holidays,TVRCC meets and PistonHead stuff).
Id get a decent old golf,tidy it up where needed and MOT it.
Question is, if I trailer it to the circuits and not use it on the road will it have to be road taxed to use on tracks only ?
Ta
Darren.
Darren
Firstly - wouldn't the standard 500 make for a good drive on a track day - I was hoping to have some fun in mine sometime soon.
Second - you have the car chipped and a new exhaust - what differences have these mods made and if you don't mind me asking, what is the cost. I would consider making mods a some point in the future if I get used to the existing power.
Cheers
Paul
First off, ill have to admit here and now,that my track/trackday experience is absolutley Zero !
Matt, 3 litre Alfa 75 stripped out with uprated shocks and grippy tyres will probably be a lot of fun and the rear drive chassis would be a good place to start before i let myself loose in the 500.
Thought about 16V Golf though because
a)used to own a couple 10 years ago (tak'in it back to the old skool-as it were
).
b)front drive might be a less scary proposition on track.
c)Parts/upgrades relatively cheap (companies like German and Swedish etc)
d)theres a lot of used 16Vs about.
Paul,Im sure any Tiv from the past 30 years,standard or otherwise will provide tons of fun on the track.
My problem is that the thought of
Matt, 3 litre Alfa 75 stripped out with uprated shocks and grippy tyres will probably be a lot of fun and the rear drive chassis would be a good place to start before i let myself loose in the 500.
Thought about 16V Golf though because
a)used to own a couple 10 years ago (tak'in it back to the old skool-as it were
). b)front drive might be a less scary proposition on track.
c)Parts/upgrades relatively cheap (companies like German and Swedish etc)
d)theres a lot of used 16Vs about.
Paul,Im sure any Tiv from the past 30 years,standard or otherwise will provide tons of fun on the track.
My problem is that the thought of
Errrmmm
Aren't you missing the point here.
Let me get this striaght, you want to learn to drive on tracks using a FWD car with about 135bhp, so that you can then take round your £30k rwd 300bhp tail so tail happy it's silly, TVR.
Think you should save your cash and book yourself on a few TVR/advance driving courses that teach you how to drive RWD cars.
FWD cars are notoriously easier to handle, well that's imho.
BTW I own a modified Mk2 golf 16v, but will never take it on the track for the same reason, don't want my pride n joy pranged.
Aren't you missing the point here.
Let me get this striaght, you want to learn to drive on tracks using a FWD car with about 135bhp, so that you can then take round your £30k rwd 300bhp tail so tail happy it's silly, TVR.
Think you should save your cash and book yourself on a few TVR/advance driving courses that teach you how to drive RWD cars.
FWD cars are notoriously easier to handle, well that's imho.
BTW I own a modified Mk2 golf 16v, but will never take it on the track for the same reason, don't want my pride n joy pranged.
No, don't take the Cebera on a track unless your confident. 2people with v.nice Mk1 modified golfs have written them off at tracks in the last few months, and they were only finished recently.
Why not take a few courses at John Palmer Msport etc to build your confidence. Then go watch a few TVR track days, see if you think you could cope, see how many crashes there are, whether people are driving sensibly etc.
That's what I'm doing actually.
Why not take a few courses at John Palmer Msport etc to build your confidence. Then go watch a few TVR track days, see if you think you could cope, see how many crashes there are, whether people are driving sensibly etc.
That's what I'm doing actually.
Wouldn't say you're being over cautious about risking the Chimaera - I feel the same about mine. I know my limitations and wouldn't want to trash my p&j on a track. It's not just about being able to handle a powerful rear-wheel drive car, it's dealing with all the other cars out there too - noticing when a faster car wants to overtake, avoiding other cars if they get into difficulties etc etc. It'd be a different matter if you had the track to yourself but that's unlikely to happen. I'd go down the route david_h suggests - get some track experience in something expendable and maybe have a go in the Chimaera when you feel more confident. Probably start off with an airfield too, somewhere like Bedford which has a good surface and masses of run-off. I've only done the one track day to date - in an MGF, Brands in the wet in December, so not the easiest of starts, but just enough to know that I wouldn't do it in the Chimaera - yet.
Or maybe I'm just a girly wuss!!
All the best,
Alex.
Or maybe I'm just a girly wuss!!
All the best,
Alex.
My advice would be get something cheap so that you wouldn't be too pissed off if you stuffed it into a tyre wall. Strip it out to lose some weight. Fit a bucket seat (or two) second hand of course! Pop in a roll cage for safety and away you go 
If you feel like it uprate the brakes and/or suspension.
The reason I suggested the Alfa was 1. They are cheap 2. they've got a bit of poke and 3. They are very very tail happy therefore lots of fun and it will teach you about RWD driving dynamics.
Oh and I'd also suggest getting as much instruction as you can because you'll be amased just how much you don't know! I was when I first got on track.
Final bit of advice: HAVE FUN!!!!
If you feel like it uprate the brakes and/or suspension. The reason I suggested the Alfa was 1. They are cheap 2. they've got a bit of poke and 3. They are very very tail happy therefore lots of fun and it will teach you about RWD driving dynamics.
Oh and I'd also suggest getting as much instruction as you can because you'll be amased just how much you don't know! I was when I first got on track.
Final bit of advice: HAVE FUN!!!!
Track days are all about having fun, but investing in a second car is a serious proposition. Therefore my suggestion is that you pay for some driving instruction (there are various threads on here about this). The instruction can begin on the roads and progress to airfields where you have lots of room to practise power oversteer to your heart's content without worryiong about meeting armco's, walls of tyres etc. The amount of money you'd need to buy a second car and kit it out would be far more than learning handle your chimp and become a swift driver.
I took my Griff to Bentwaters (airfield) to throw it around and learn the limits (and beyond) without fretting about anything more than a road cone. Great fun too! If you do take the chimp to a track, then take the first session with an instructor so you can learn the lines for that circuit. It will make you safer and faster.
It seems like a simple choice for me! The only question I'd have is that track days wear your car very quickly. You might want to consider a track day special becuase of this. Besides, you can insure the TVR on a track day, so if the worst happens.....
Oh, and before you do any of this, try one of the hire and drive track day companies to see if you actually enjoy it. Yes, a spirited drive in the country is one thing but some people actually find they don't enjoy track days (strange but true!).
Andy
I took my Griff to Bentwaters (airfield) to throw it around and learn the limits (and beyond) without fretting about anything more than a road cone. Great fun too! If you do take the chimp to a track, then take the first session with an instructor so you can learn the lines for that circuit. It will make you safer and faster.
It seems like a simple choice for me! The only question I'd have is that track days wear your car very quickly. You might want to consider a track day special becuase of this. Besides, you can insure the TVR on a track day, so if the worst happens.....
Oh, and before you do any of this, try one of the hire and drive track day companies to see if you actually enjoy it. Yes, a spirited drive in the country is one thing but some people actually find they don't enjoy track days (strange but true!).
Andy
If you already own a high-performance car, you will struggle to make a track-special cost effective. You will need to spend a fair amount to match the performance of your Tiv (even allowing for weight reduction, track-specific parts/tyres etc). It should cost much less to run (especially if you have any minor offs), but it will take many events before that effect pays for the project.
The main drawback with using your pride'n'joy is pranging it. I honestly believe that if you take a bit of time to learn the basics and get up to speed (maybe including instruction), your chances of a serious off are very low. Of course there is _A_ chance, so make sure you have adequate insurance (remember this will be cheap if you take a huge excess - just make sure you will be able to fix the worse if it happens).
If you really can't face the idea of fixing up a big smash, or of writing off the car and taking away a big cheque, then obviously you shouldn't take the thing on the track. Otherwise, do it, maybe on an airfield first.
For people with a fairly sensible road car, I think the track special route makes much more economic sense.
The main drawback with using your pride'n'joy is pranging it. I honestly believe that if you take a bit of time to learn the basics and get up to speed (maybe including instruction), your chances of a serious off are very low. Of course there is _A_ chance, so make sure you have adequate insurance (remember this will be cheap if you take a huge excess - just make sure you will be able to fix the worse if it happens).
If you really can't face the idea of fixing up a big smash, or of writing off the car and taking away a big cheque, then obviously you shouldn't take the thing on the track. Otherwise, do it, maybe on an airfield first.
For people with a fairly sensible road car, I think the track special route makes much more economic sense.
Always keen to encourage more people into Alfas (and onto a track)
Take a look at: www.aroc-uk.com/classifieds.htm
You'll see usable Alfa 75's from £800, and in the Competition section £2500 buys you a full race prepped car....
Take a look at: www.aroc-uk.com/classifieds.htm
You'll see usable Alfa 75's from £800, and in the Competition section £2500 buys you a full race prepped car....
Warning, Mk2 Golf's are getting long in the tooth now. Many with original engines have been played with "tuned" by owners/back street garages who don't know what the hell they're doing.
I spent ages looking for mine, and though I don't like the colour, it was mechanically standard and owned by a Volvo mechanic.
Since then I've had it completely overhauled by a company that regularly wins the VW Cup, and the owner was on Sky this w/end winning against much more powerful cars.
Don't assume they're all like that. I drove several different 16valves, and got in the one I bought and thought my God this is fast, it should just scream round to the limiter, but doesn't take off until 4000 rpm.
Also, the key thing with them is the handling, it's not that great standard, you need good Koni shocks. A bit of advice, go buy a Mk2 Jetta, if I was after a track car this is what I'd do:-
1.) They are about half the price of similar speced Golfs.
2.) They have a boot, which makest the weight distribution more even, and thus they handle so much better.
3.) Ask someof the VW nuts who do track days, all of them run old Jetta's. Don't look as good as the Golf, but that's not why they bought them.
I spent ages looking for mine, and though I don't like the colour, it was mechanically standard and owned by a Volvo mechanic.
Since then I've had it completely overhauled by a company that regularly wins the VW Cup, and the owner was on Sky this w/end winning against much more powerful cars.
Don't assume they're all like that. I drove several different 16valves, and got in the one I bought and thought my God this is fast, it should just scream round to the limiter, but doesn't take off until 4000 rpm.
Also, the key thing with them is the handling, it's not that great standard, you need good Koni shocks. A bit of advice, go buy a Mk2 Jetta, if I was after a track car this is what I'd do:-
1.) They are about half the price of similar speced Golfs.
2.) They have a boot, which makest the weight distribution more even, and thus they handle so much better.
3.) Ask someof the VW nuts who do track days, all of them run old Jetta's. Don't look as good as the Golf, but that's not why they bought them.
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