4RE Leather Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Please move down South and start this thread again Great idea and good luck - just a bit to far away You got me thinking again Chris! Sorry mate did not want to give you a headache I have 02 to combat headaches Chris. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Id love to do somethng like this, was going to start with a friend of mine, plan was to buy an mx5 and have some fun on track days but he had to move away Live down south though, although parents are in the midlands..... It can work really well. A mate of mine does this with a race prepared scooby wrx. They share all the running / repair costs and have loads of fun. Im in the midlands and would love to do something like this, but just havent got the spare time these days. Maybe when I retire! Track days are great fun. I used to supervise them at Rockingham Racetrack and we`d see all sorts of cars go around there. Everything from millionaires with Ferrari`s to people who had just bought a £100 MOT failure in order to thrash it around the track. The local "Budget" car rental place used to do a cracking trade with people hiring cars just to thrash around the track until they realised these cars were coming back with bald tyres.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Just out of interest from those with experience, what sort of costs are involved with this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 (edited) the trackday organisers i use are normally £100 - £140 for the first driver, and then £20 for additional drivers (hence why makes sense to share driving). Can go up to maybe £300-400 a day for premium tracks like silverstone and spa, but im happy with airfield days which are a lot cheaper. And then you'd probably use a full tank of petrol doing the driving, depending on how much time you spend on track. Helmet hire is normally £10 if you havent got your own ( i bought a relatively cheap one off ebay for £50). and then as for the car - you could simply buy a car and use it as is, but i was kind of expecting to have to change the oil every couple of trackdays, new tyres every half dozen trackdays (depending on the surface and how aggressive/sliding you are) new brake pads every couple of trackdays as well. The best thing is to buy a car that is light on tires and brakes, and then they last longer - caterhams and the like are easy on brakes as theres less mass to decelerate, and the tires are tiny 15s. its for this reason a zed is an expensive track car, as high levels of torque and 18" wheels mean tyre replacement is expensive, and 1600kg to brake will get through pads quickly. and then obviously once you've got into it, you'll want to modify your car... so bucket seats (£50 ebay jobbies up to £1000 Brides) harnesses (£50-£200), rollcage (more essential on an open top) slick tyres (£80 up depending on size) and so on, and so on... But id be looking to do things on the cheap - if money was no object i'd have a GT3 RS, but im more likely to start slow and upgrade things when parts wear out. Another thing to consider is insurance... there is no third party liability on trackdays, so if you want to protect your car, you insure it. if you have a colision with someone on track, then your insurance pays for your car, and their insurance pays for their car - regardless of who might be at fault. When we ran a BMW we did not insure it - we took the view that if it all went pear shaped then we'd just lose the £400 each we had invested. However, if your car was worth a grand or more, might want to consider insurance. As has been said, it is a great way of spending a day - probably one of the best days of my life was razzing an oversteering BMW round an airfield all day in the middle of summer - its a way better way of spending £100 than getting maybe three laps in a ferrari with an instructor telling you to slow down. Edited January 4, 2013 by brillomaster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 ps as rabbitstew mentioned, theres no requirement for a car to be taxed or tested to go on track, as its private ground. TDOs normally ask that the car is roadworthy, but doesnt necessary have an mot - we trailered our BMW to events as it was not taxed or MOTed, and a lot of trailered cars would not pass an MOT anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 I was considering this as had a track bike but I think I'd enjoy a car more as it feels a lot safer. Was considering dropping an engine into frame or buying one that someone had built. I'm in Norwich which might be too far away. Feel free to PM me if you wanna discuss further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 4, 2013 Author Share Posted January 4, 2013 ahh thats too bad, Norwich is indeed a bit far from me, but good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 MX-5s are the way to go. Got mine for £900, strip it out and add seat £120, harness £50, and roll bar £200, and you're there. Anything else is just adding performance if you want to, but for sub-£1500 you've got a perfect trackday car that's incredibly cheap to run as it's so light. No point in track insurance for something that cheap, just consider it expendable. Even if you wrote it off you'd be able to salvage something to use in the next one, and if you can't then you're probably dead :wink: I've done loads of trackdays by myself, 'tis a good laugh and you meet loads of new people that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 +1 on an MX5, cheap and a good laugh to drive. They make an ideal track car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I remember going on an airfield activity day with darren in his supercharged mx-5, hell that was fun, spent most of it going sideways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 alrighty, might well have a plan in place! am very excited already, but early days yet, not buying a car till the spring. will keep you updated with progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will370z Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Spill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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