Kraziekatz1 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Sorry not a romantic gossip thread lol I'm going for my National B racing licence in a few weeks and have been getting lots of seat time in preparation for my test. My zed is not ready for racing yet, no insurance, roll cage, up rated brakes, etc., so I've been hiring track cars & getting lots of instructor tuition (can't recommend the tuition part enough for any budding racing drivers out there!). This week I had a Lotus Exige. Not driven a Lotus before & never had much interest in them. But OMG, did it suit my driving down to the ground and 2 laps in I was completely at home in the car. I have been thinking lately that the zed might not be the best car for me on the circuits & I just appreciated the lightness and pointedness of the Lotus around the chicanes and bends. Knowing my zed inside out I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have performed as well through the corners even though it's much faster down the straights. However, big problem. I can't afford a Lotus. Also, I wouldn't want one for general road driving. I was more than happy to jump back into my zed for the drive home. Anyone who knows me, knows how much my zed means to me so it would take a very special car to make me part with it. So, now I'm not sure what to do about a track car. I don't want to throw money at the zed if it's not the right car for me, but if I'm looking at a 'track only' car then the budget is going to be a big issue. I'm in no rush to make a decision but just wondered what other people have found in terms of best cars to track? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Loved my VX220 and agreed as above, puts pretty much any other car on the road to shame in the bends. The low slung racing position behind the wheel is pretty much up there in terms of best driving experience I have had - I sat in and experienced two supercharged VX220s and they would have blown away a zed on the straights, and some. Jetpilot only recently bought one. I have driven a mk1 MX5 which is more comfy (easier to get in and out of!) and offers a similar low down racing position with lightweight feel. You could pick up a supercharged one which is probably good for 180-200bhp for a few grand. Similarly a charged MR2 mk3 might give you the same feel (sure Ekona had one). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) A stripped out Honda Intergal Type R makes a perfect cheap track day car. We ran this for a few years as a track day car , it came from the Malaysian Touring Car Championship with full works Mugen lump. Edited October 29, 2016 by Bandit 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Dammit I only came to this thread for some romantic gossip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I've looked into this before and I've also driven a Lotus in anger around a circuit. I drove a Lotus Elise around Silverstone circuit and it was an amazing car for definite. The prices of them though, even for older Elises is still pretty high, the Exige is £20K all day long still I'm sure. Have you thought about the VX220 or VX220 Turbo? Basically is a Lotus underneath from what I read and can be had for around £10K. If that's too much still what about an MX5? Great one for sale here: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/112360-track-car-mx5-mk25-supercharged/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) Vx220 are the same tub as a v2 Elise, the vx220 has a slightly wider track and runs 17's all around, most people seem to swap the 17" front to the same as Elises 16". Ok so the vx220 i bought was a step further and running 355hp and it is a proper weapon on track, but a good stage 2 charged at circa 250hp would be a very very fast track car and can be bought for £10-£12k, for that kind of money, there really isnt much that will touch it and if you want to have a Lotus badge on the front with the same speed, look at spending twice as much. If you want just a 2.2 na, £8k will get you into one. Whilst the civic are very fine to drive, they are wrong wheel drive. P.s The national b race licence is nothing about speed or pace, the track part is just to demonstrate you are aware of racing lines and your surroundings, i.e other cars on track, you will not be asked to drive at speed, it was the easiest part of the test, we did ours in a Skoda Yeti Edited October 29, 2016 by Jetpilot 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 A stripped out Honda Intergal Type R makes a perfect cheap track day car. We ran this for a few years as a track day car , it came from the Malaysian Touring Car Championship with full works Mugen lump. Did you buy that from a guy called John? An ex-member on here (Will) had a friend of his selling that exact car I'm sure. No pics left in the advert but I'm certain it's the same car. eBay advert: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Integra-Type-R-dc5-Race-Track-Car-/301262362471?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESINDXX%3AIT&nma=true&si=bJGEDuPfY1S1U28DGrX8xuGILGc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 A stripped out Honda Intergal Type R makes a perfect cheap track day car. We ran this for a few years as a track day car , it came from the Malaysian Touring Car Championship with full works Mugen lump. Did you buy that from a guy called John? An ex-member on here (Will) had a friend of his selling that exact car I'm sure. No pics left in the advert but I'm certain it's the same car. eBay advert: http://www.ebay.co.u...cvip=true&rt=nc Small world yes the car came from Blaze Motorsport in Maidstone John Hewitt. That's not the car in the advert in the link you posted though. Think we paid about £10,5k for it. Sold it on at a track day to a rich kid who fell in love with it and made an offer we couldn't refuse, didn't replace it yet so not been out tracking for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 A stripped out Honda Intergal Type R makes a perfect cheap track day car. We ran this for a few years as a track day car , it came from the Malaysian Touring Car Championship with full works Mugen lump. Did you buy that from a guy called John? An ex-member on here (Will) had a friend of his selling that exact car I'm sure. No pics left in the advert but I'm certain it's the same car. eBay advert: http://www.ebay.co.u...cvip=true&rt=nc Small world yes the car came from Blaze Motorsport in Maidstone John Hewitt. That's not the car in the advert in the link you posted though. Think we paid about £10,5k for it. Sold it on at a track day to a rich kid who fell in love with it and made an offer we couldn't refuse, didn't replace it yet so not been out tracking for a while. The car pictured isn't the car I know as that's just something similar that eBay links you too as the original listing has ended. It's the original advert for the car if you scroll down and read it though, ...although all the pictures are missing now. Great car though I bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Sorry for going off topic Kraziekatz. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) A stripped out Honda Intergal Type R makes a perfect cheap track day car. We ran this for a few years as a track day car , it came from the Malaysian Touring Car Championship with full works Mugen lump. Did you buy that from a guy called John? An ex-member on here (Will) had a friend of his selling that exact car I'm sure. No pics left in the advert but I'm certain it's the same car. eBay advert: http://www.ebay.co.u...cvip=true&rt=nc Small world yes the car came from Blaze Motorsport in Maidstone John Hewitt. That's not the car in the advert in the link you posted though. Think we paid about £10,5k for it. Sold it on at a track day to a rich kid who fell in love with it and made an offer we couldn't refuse, didn't replace it yet so not been out tracking for a while. The car pictured isn't the car I know as that's just something similar that eBay links you too as the original listing has ended. It's the original advert for the car if you scroll down and read it though, ...although all the pictures are missing now. Great car though I bet. Yes the advert is for the car from Blaze but not the pics. Did the member on here Will work for Blaze Motorsport. ?. Amazing you found the advert. Yes is was a lovely track car, not a lot out there to touch it, frightened a few supercar owners in it. It was running about 320 bhp with a proper lightened and strengthened shell and running with Sachs fully rose jointed set up, and 6 speed sequential box, and the biggest set of AP 4 pot you could find. Edited October 29, 2016 by Bandit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 As a fellow Lotus fan, I know exactly where you're coming from. And which is why you need to go buy yourself an MR2. Pick an early one up for £1200-£1500, strip everything out of it, put a decent seat in it with a pair of harnesses and you're done. It will give you 80% of the Lotus for 20% of the cost, and be considerably more reliable. For cheap MR fun, there's really no better place to look. You can easily disconnect the ABS and power steering too, if you want it to be even more Lotus-lite. Plus, performance bits are a lot cheaper too... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Be quick though, the numbers of MR2s for sale dropping fast and good un's becoming harder to find. Could see them going up in price soon... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 That's the best thing about a track one, the bodywork and interior can be battered to hell, and the roof can be held together with duct tape 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Just got back from ebay...a quick MR2 search turns up a 75k mile blue one with a bundle of TTE extras (including TTE exhaust) and some bodywork scratches for £1295. Bargain! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus01 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Sorry not a romantic gossip thread lol I'm going for my National B racing licence in a few weeks and have been getting lots of seat time in preparation for my test. My zed is not ready for racing yet, no insurance, roll cage, up rated brakes, etc., so I've been hiring track cars & getting lots of instructor tuition (can't recommend the tuition part enough for any budding racing drivers out there!). This week I had a Lotus Exige. Not driven a Lotus before & never had much interest in them. But OMG, did it suit my driving down to the ground and 2 laps in I was completely at home in the car. I have been thinking lately that the zed might not be the best car for me on the circuits & I just appreciated the lightness and pointedness of the Lotus around the chicanes and bends. Knowing my zed inside out I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have performed as well through the corners even though it's much faster down the straights. However, big problem. I can't afford a Lotus. Also, I wouldn't want one for general road driving. I was more than happy to jump back into my zed for the drive home. Anyone who knows me, knows how much my zed means to me so it would take a very special car to make me part with it. So, now I'm not sure what to do about a track car. I don't want to throw money at the zed if it's not the right car for me, but if I'm looking at a 'track only' car then the budget is going to be a big issue. I'm in no rush to make a decision but just wondered what other people have found in terms of best cars to track? I am presuming you want to race as you are taking your National B test. Most 1 make championships have cars available to rent for a race weekends or trackday tests. Mx5s, Mr2s, Compact cup, Lotus cup etc. I have contacts in all of these formulas if you are interested. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 My old 350z was track ready (no roll cage) and still street legal, they are quick but they are heavy so the cornering is different to something like the lotus or VX220, still incredible fun and very quick but you do get through tyres. brakes and fuel very quickly! I decided to switch to the 2 car option 1 for road and one for track, Of course you usually have to add in a trailer and towing vehicle to the budget if you don't have something already (luckily I had a pickup and now a van) but if the budget allows it is they way to go. I have been out in Jetpilots SC VX220 on track as well as a few fully sorted lotus's and they are very impressive, I was lucky enough to stumble across a Radical at the right money so I snapped that up but if that had not come up I would be looking at the VX220 just because it is cheaper than the Lotus. If you want to race though you need to pick a class or championship and follow that approach. Gotta get some pics in I wish you all the best with it 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 That Radical a serious bit of kit, Which one is it ?. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 (edited) That Radical a serious bit of kit, Which one is it ?. It is an SR3 No 68 off the production line Hayabusa Gen1 stroked to 1500cc 275HP (when new) through a Quaife diff top speed 155mph (according to the spec sheet) Corners like it on rails mate : Here ya go Edited October 29, 2016 by Keyser 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Nice set up. Great Vid, Quick circuit Combe and not much run off if you get it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Yes the advert is for the car from Blaze but not the pics. Did the member on here Will work for Blaze Motorsport. ?. Amazing you found the advert. Yes is was a lovely track car, not a lot out there to touch it, frightened a few supercar owners in it. It was running about 320 bhp with a proper lightened and strengthened shell and running with Sachs fully rose jointed set up, and 6 speed sequential box, and the biggest set of AP 4 pot you could find. Not as far as I know. Apparently it was his friends car and he mentioned it on here in case anyone wanted to buy it. Soon as I saw the pics coupled with you mentioning it was from the Malaysian Touring Cars I remembered it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan350Z Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 If you're looking for a lighter rear wheel drive car that's still practical enough to be on the road I'm surprised no ones suggested a gt86. Perhaps still too new to be within budget but with FI surely it's the best of all worlds 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longsh07 Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 I'm going for my National B racing licence in a few weeks and have been getting lots of seat time in preparation for my test. Good luck. I got my National B a few years ago at Silverstone. If you've already done some track days and you know your flags you'll have no problems with it. I just decided one day it would be cool thing to have, I'd only driven on track once before and I managed just fine 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandit Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Yes the advert is for the car from Blaze but not the pics. Did the member on here Will work for Blaze Motorsport. ?. Amazing you found the advert. Yes is was a lovely track car, not a lot out there to touch it, frightened a few supercar owners in it. It was running about 320 bhp with a proper lightened and strengthened shell and running with Sachs fully rose jointed set up, and 6 speed sequential box, and the biggest set of AP 4 pot you could find. Not as far as I know. Apparently it was his friends car and he mentioned it on here in case anyone wanted to buy it. Soon as I saw the pics coupled with you mentioning it was from the Malaysian Touring Cars I remembered it. Thanks GM. Ye think Blaze had a problem shifting it to start with, we got a proper engine for it as it only had a fairly standard 2 liter lump in it which was a waste of all the other good bits and with only 210 BHP wasn't all that quick. I'm amazed you remembered the car, must have made an impression on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted October 29, 2016 Share Posted October 29, 2016 Yes the advert is for the car from Blaze but not the pics. Did the member on here Will work for Blaze Motorsport. ?. Amazing you found the advert. Yes is was a lovely track car, not a lot out there to touch it, frightened a few supercar owners in it. It was running about 320 bhp with a proper lightened and strengthened shell and running with Sachs fully rose jointed set up, and 6 speed sequential box, and the biggest set of AP 4 pot you could find. Not as far as I know. Apparently it was his friends car and he mentioned it on here in case anyone wanted to buy it. Soon as I saw the pics coupled with you mentioning it was from the Malaysian Touring Cars I remembered it. Thanks GM. Ye think Blaze had a problem shifting it to start with, we got a proper engine for it as it only had a fairly standard 2 liter lump in it which was a waste of all the other good bits and with only 210 BHP wasn't all that quick. I'm amazed you remembered the car, must have made an impression on you. It was a great looking track ready weapon, ...I've got a pretty good memory nowadays though so I just tend to remember random stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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