Dynamic Turtle

Bought my new track weapon at the weekend; a 150ps diesel with auto slushbox and 2,000 litres of luggage space.

Good career hedge in that I can always use it as a taxi if my business fails. Seriously though I had to cover the practicality base with my wife before getting a beater for the track, the BMW 1 series is only viable for very short families.

Only a Miltek and panel filter away from 8 minutes BTG

Scuffed one of my Nismo alloys quite badly at the weekend - not a deep chunk just half a mill of rim scratches across the circumference with attendant paint loss. Colour matching these is a nightmare and I need someone who can do a good job.

Also might want them to repaint the horrid bright silver alloys on my new skoda a darker shade of anthracite or titanium, they look a bit too chinese at the moment...

That Clio looks like it's just finished the Paris Dakar!

Mate, ALL used cars are expensive at the moment, it's ridiculous.

Please do.

Ekona is you MR2 listed somewhere? Might take a look.

I'm so going off you, first it CD's and now FWD I think I am one of the only few who loves FWD. So love understeer and playing with the throttle, feeling it slide, feeding the throttle and unwinding the steering. I know, I'm on losing battle with this one being on a 350z forum. Hate it when the Elise start moving about at the rear

 

No-one 'loves' understeer, it's the spawn of Satan! To me, FWD will always feel inferior to any RWD setup, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a good FWD.

 

 

Just as a thought Mr Turtle, how about a turbocharged mk3 MR2? I know of one for sale for £4K, fully track prepped and will be quicker than anything else on that list.

Funnily enough my broski had a MkIII MR2 before the ST. GI appreciate it's a great steer but....just something about it that simply doesn't excite me. A bit like the MX5.

That they are. I hated our one, only car I've been glad to see the back of.

 

 

Depends on what you want it for, I suppose. Now me, I'm a proper RWD fan, but that doesn't mean I don't love thrashing our 182 whenever I get the chance. That said, as a track car I wouldn't ever dream of having a FWD one. I'd be bored, and as great as the hatches you've mentioned are I know I'd always be having more fun getting the tail sliding and moving the balance around. Even if I was ultimately slower.

 

One of those fun cars I've ever tracked was an S2000 on mixed tyres at Anglesey. An engine that good is born for the track, and given a Stook is twitchy enough anyway it was such a handful but in a really positive, fun way. If you can get one in budget, then I wouldn't look any further at all.

I'm pretty agnostic about RWD/FWD but given that zed is heavy and RWD I'd prefer a lightweight FWD car just for guano & giggles. The 370 covers me for GT duties but I also want something for epic 20 minute milk runs. My brother's ST mountune is hilarious torque-steering chuckable fun and a completely different experience to the Zed. I really liked the Integra chassis and Abarth 595's overall character (if not the woeful electric steering).

I also want something cheap and low maintenance that I can chuck around a track without worrying too much about writing it off or expensive consumables.

DT

Just thought of another option. Slightly different but could be an interesting choice. How about a Mini Cooper S? Ok, so they are rather girly but could be good. I've never driven one on track but have driven a few on the roads and they seem quick and handle like a go kart. Still might be pants on track but then again.

BMW era Minis are absolutely hateful in every possible way and I want to take a hammer to them all.

Just horrid, horrid things.

As you know, I have a DC5 which I track and I was just about to say, you should be able to get an early one within budget but after just looking, geez, you are right, they have shot up in price Real shame as they are incredible track slags

 

A Clio 172/182 are also superb cars for track. With your budget, I would get a decent condition 182 and then spend some money on getting it setup and running nice. That would be easy to do for a £4k-£5k budget. If you can, get either a 172 Cup or a 182 full fat. The hard part would be to find a nice low mile one but it's possible. Make sure it has had the cam belt and other bits done or factor that in to the price. Just remember, it won't be stupid quick but great on the corners. Another option is the 182 Trophy but just be aware that the Sach suspension needs regular rebuilds.

 

The S2000 is actually a very capable track car. Very underrated but the early ones are a handful. They can have some adjust done yo make it more predictable, however, trying to find one in budget is going to be tricky. Possible for sure but limited.

 

If it's going to be purely a track slag, then you know what your best bet would be, an EP3. Great out of the box, Honda reliability, cheap to buy, plenty available, very easy to mod and with a decent tyres, exhaust, induction, brake pads, springs and remap, you would have a very capable and fun track car. Easily within budget with all the mods and you could even afford the premier edition and get the Recaro's. Mine was great on track and never missed a beat.

182 Trophy prices have also been on the up for a while and I think it would be more economical to buy the Sachs independently and bolt them on a Cup instead. £8-9k for well maintained examples is a bit stiff...

Noted re S2000, they seem to feature heavily in Nurburgring crash videos

Honda EP3 is a great shout but...they just look so monumentally sh*te. Proper bell-end car!

Dc2 is a great shout.

 

I run an r26r megane and used to use my r26 on track before getting the r26r, very very capable track cars with minimal mods.

 

I found the 197 a little flat, the weight compared to the 172 and 182s makes a big difference.

 

S2000 is also a great car with a bit of money spent.

There are 172/182s around for £2-4k and good point about the weight - just checked and the 172 has virtually the same power-to-weight ratio as the 200.

R26R is £18k+ and too much. The R26 seems like a warmed up Megane 225 also turbocharged, aesthetically challenging and, basically not their finest hour in terms of build. My friends 225 spent most of its life in a renault garage. Not heard anywhere near the same level of problems with the 2007+ clio.

2006+ S2000s have £480 tax IIRC which would be a dealbreaker. Would need to be an old one.

Was warned off the DC2 by none other than TGM who said it's simply not worth the hassle with rust, DC5 a better all rounder and lower maintenance. Big fan of the DC5 but prices are getting silly and finding an un-barry'd arctic blue with graphite alloys is tough.

Interested to hear from people with experience tracking any of the above. Need a cheap beater for circuit work, Budget £6-7k. Had a 350z DE and currently have a 370ZN so no interest there, trying to keep things under 2 litre displacement with emphasis on light weight (<1150kg). High maintenance cars like E36 M3 not really of interest.

Was initially interested in the Integra DC5 but prices has risen rapidly in the last six months (+£2-3k) and many are now north of £10k which is stiff money for a ten year old imported honda.

RS Clio is looking like a good bet around this price range but not driven one yet, would appreciate guidance on the 197s.

VX220 mostly out of budget but it seems like good value and wouldn't need any additional modification.

Abarth 595 on the list (mostly £10k+) because they're small, quick and silly fun. Expensive parts and servicing putting me off, along with seemingly chocolate build quality.

Suzuki SS might be warm rather than a hot hatch but having hired a track prepped one at the nurburgring am now fully aware of what they can do with slicks!

S2000 because of that engine and no stability control but appreciate it's not really designed for track work.

Cheers,

DT

Sports cats or OEMs, if only because of MOT issues. Berk HFCs will he very loud and raspy but take the edge off...

Anyone recognise this particular autobot? Owner must have a sense of humour (even if he didn't smile back)...

Had Miltek/Berk combo on my old 350 and it was very good, you really need to rip the stock cats off to let it breathe...

That jag changes gear seriously quick!

Lovely pic, where is that?

Plain and simple

They look great, but why do tuning forks always remind me of BMW?

Nissan dealership fitted my cobra lol. They did say that any problems directly attributed to it would not be covered under the warranty. I believe they're more generous when it comes to GTR mods as its virtually a given that they'll all be barry'd. 370 powertrain is super reliable in general so I wouldn't worry to much. I would advise you get some HFCs on it while fitting the exhaust, makes a world of difference and hugely antisocial

Votes for nicest (as in understated but cool) alloys on the GTR? The OEM jobbies look very unprepossessing...

Plus it'll be three grand.

Nice but trying to mimic Tesla is not cool. Musk should be looking to retrofit revmatch onto his P85D...

That's quite a nasty shunt up the arse, never fun being on the receiving end. The car looks like a write off and trust me once the airbags have gone off its a nightmare to put them right again (crashed on track last year). Time to try a 370?

Thanks all . Yes my zed is a very very tidy example .....'and I think I've spent around 14k on it ! That's not including the car cost!

 

Will be the r35 or gt4 ..... Or r8 !

 

Speaking to h-dev tomorrow about removing everything from the car and selling separate . But would rather sell to someone who wants a charged zed . Would save themselves a fortune !

Mad not to get the GT4, it could double in value every ten years.

Spent a couple of hours in a an E63S around brooklands last year. Monster engine, monster torque, but monster electronics spoiling the fun. Great if you want a car that requires a PhD to operate, great bahnstormer though. Friend gave up on his F10 due to fuel consumption and the SMG (and got a C63 instead)! 13mpg apparently...