'Ring Weapon of Choice?

[MikeLenoch5]

Yeah - I judge the owner, but that poor Caprice had no say in the matter (not that I particularly like Caprices). No offense guys - but a lot of assholes drive BMWs, some of them E30s. I obviously don't discount Bimmers and E30s because of those owners. I don't know which assholes drive French Hot Hatches in Europe, but I do think those cars are awesome. I hope OP just goes and drives them, and then judges them on merit, before he brings it back here.

I also hope he takes tons of pictures.

Oh I learned that the hard way last month after thinking I was friends with a guy who could never return a favor even though I took off all the tints to his car (which took hours) and cut up a vert he was scrapping... all for free. I've never seen the kid work on anyone else's car. He manipulated everyone. And that's just not how I operate.

Ahem. And yes, I will take hundreds of pictures and probably make a new thread for it!

[MikeLenoch5]

Just get an E30 325i Trouing and some suspension, tires, PFC08 brake pads and do all the maintenance.

That I do want -- but I just wonder how hampered the M20 (or smaller yet) engine would be by the added weight.

Also -- have you driven an E30 touring yourself? How are they different in terms of handling from the coupes?

[word is bond]

I judged a car by it's owner the same way you think about a chevy caprice 4 feet off the ground with 30" wheels.

Yeah - I judge the owner, but that poor Caprice had no say in the matter (not that I particularly like Caprices). No offense guys - but a lot of assholes drive BMWs, some of them E30s. I obviously don't discount Bimmers and E30s because of those owners. I don't know which assholes drive French Hot Hatches in Europe, but I do think those cars are awesome. I hope OP just goes and drives them, and then judges them on merit, before he brings it back here.

I also hope he takes tons of pictures.

[Eric]

I read through your sig threads and I see that you had an E34 in Germany. Owning that big luxury sedan, with its large (for Europe) displacement motor didn't take too much of a toll on your bank account?

Also, say I get the E36 M3 you're telling me to. Is there enough demand for those there to sell it back within a month or so I can get the car I plan to import?

And on the hot hatch français, how can you judge a car by their owners?

My cars were registered under the SOFA agreement with Germany/NATO/USA so we did not pay the normal fee's for registration. Also I was rationed a certian amount of gas per month at the US national average price of a gallon of gas.


The tread on bf.c mentioned a MKII Golf GTi, which is also a great choice.


If priced right, there will always be demand.

I judged a car by it's owner the same way you think about a chevy caprice 4 feet off the ground with 30" wheels.

Military pay the US gas price.

exacarry

The same way we judge them for their ability to drop a rifle so quickly and easily.

[agent]

And on the hot hatch français, how can you judge a car by their owners?

The same way we judge them for their ability to drop a rifle so quickly and easily.

[10Toes]

I read through your sig threads and I see that you had an E34 in Germany. Owning that big luxury sedan, with its large (for Europe) displacement motor did take too much of a toll on your bank account?

Military pay the US gas price.

[10Toes]

Just get an E30 325i Trouing and some suspension, tires, PFC08 brake pads and do all the maintenance.

[MikeLenoch5]

a 1 diesel would be ok, but it runs out of steam pretty quickly. For the 2 hills where you wishing you had more grunt, you'll have 4 places you wish you had more gear. For instance my old MINI Clubman S ran out of gear through foxhole... 140mph was batshit crazy with the bumps, but I could go faster.

I have no personal experience driving those french hatch's, just that most of the owners of those cars were complete knobs.

If you've done NASA TT, then you've been signed off on HPDE4's so you know enough about performance driving to not act like an idiot. That is why I suggested the M3. 300hp on a 3,000lb car is good power, but it won't break any lap records. Just remember that the track covers so much land that you can have different weather conditions on one side of the track. The track gets super slippery when wet, and STAY OFF THE CURBS if it's rained!!!

Your desire to bring a car back is noble, but I think you'll be buying a lesser car to meet that goal. I'd buy a proper car for the job, then buy a different one to bring back with you when you finish the year out. Can you stay longer than july? The summer is fantastic, and I'd try an stay through september... end your year off with Oktoberfest in Munich! Even if you don't drink, it's an epic experience.

I read through your sig threads and I see that you had an E34 in Germany. Owning that big luxury sedan, with its large (for Europe) displacement motor didn't take too much of a toll on your bank account?

Also, say I get the E36 M3 you're telling me to. Is there enough demand for those there to sell it back within a month or so I can get the car I plan to import?

And on the hot hatch français, how can you judge a car by their owners?

[Eric]

A few clarifications (and not to be a dick about the first one): I am a fluent German speaker (German major, to you, mister! ;)) and the school year goes from October 2013 to July 2014.

Now with that said, I'm guessing I should not buy a Jahreskarte for 2013, given that I will have a month at the most before snow comes -- especially if as you say, you break even with 75 laps.

I'm in the process of talking to Mike Solo (of http://jalopnik.com/5892536/how-to-import-a-foreign-car-legally fame). He recommends I get a UK Peugeot 306 GTI-6 or a RenaultSport Clio 172/182/197 and then as for the car to bring back home, make that the 25-year-old car. Disappointing news, of course, but likely the smartest way to go about this.

As for climbing the hills, someone suggested to me to get a 1 Series diesel hatch because "you'll appreciate the fuel mileage and torque, plus it will teach you momentum and make you a better driver." What say you to that? Isn't an M3 the last thing I want as a total 'Ring noob?

And say I was to import a car that is younger than 25 years. Is that possible? Would that require I make modifications? I'm guessing it'd be more expensive than it would be worth my while, but learn me!

Thanks for giving me a taste of reality, I want more!

a 1 diesel would be ok, but it runs out of steam pretty quickly. For the 2 hills where you wishing you had more grunt, you'll have 4 places you wish you had more gear. For instance my old MINI Clubman S ran out of gear through foxhole... 140mph was batshit crazy with the bumps, but I could go faster.

I have no personal experience driving those french hatch's, just that most of the owners of those cars were complete knobs.

If you've done NASA TT, then you've been signed off on HPDE4's so you know enough about performance driving to not act like an idiot. That is why I suggested the M3. 300hp on a 3,000lb car is good power, but it won't break any lap records. Just remember that the track covers so much land that you can have different weather conditions on one side of the track. The track gets super slippery when wet, and STAY OFF THE CURBS if it's rained!!!

Your desire to bring a car back is noble, but I think you'll be buying a lesser car to meet that goal. I'd buy a proper car for the job, then buy a different one to bring back with you when you finish the year out. Can you stay longer than july? The summer is fantastic, and I'd try an stay through september... end your year off with Oktoberfest in Munich! Even if you don't drink, it's an epic experience.

[MikeLenoch5]

25 yrs is the hard part. I have a feeling that most euro-only cars at that age, that are also great on the ring will be pretty expensive. A Cosworth or a bonkers French hot hatch still gets my vote, so far.

Yeah, likewise. This car is out of my price range, but I love it enough to work overtime this summer leading into the school year!

http://www.autoscout24.de/Details.aspx?id=236091850&cd=635106388280000000&asrc=st|fs

This car thing, it's a disease...

[word is bond]

25 yrs is the hard part. I have a feeling that most euro-only cars at that age, that are also great on the ring will be pretty expensive. A Cosworth or a bonkers French hot hatch still gets my vote, so far.

[MikeLenoch5]

I have a little bit of experience with cars for the ring, so here is my 2¢.



You have some good goals, but I think it will be hard to find a good car that is over 25 years old, is fun on the ring and is under your budget. 7,000€ can get you a decent car, but unfortunate for your first post, I'm going to suggest a BMW. E36 m3 would get my vote as it has the power to climb the hills out of corners, but it's not 911 GT3 fast (still fast enough to wreck hard if your an idiot). Won't work for your importing idea, but it is the best smiles-for-miles car you can get with your budget.

Here is a nice E36 M3, with cool interior, and will leave some change in your pocket to get it up to snuff.

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/bmw-m3-3-0-coupe-18-zoll-service-neu-top-obrigheim/180212920.html?lang=en&pageNumber=1&__lp=2&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&makeModelVariant1.makeId=3500&makeModelVariant1.modelId=45&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&maxPrice=7001&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT

A few years ago when the english economy was booming, a company up near the ring was offering to build a turn key ring toy for 5,000€. They tried to use E30 318is as the base, but also used 325's. This included a nice rust free chassis, good suspension, cage, safety equipment and fire suppression. You could pretty much drive it on the street (would be a terrible ride, but legal) and enter it in VLN races on the weekend. This was 5 years ago so i'm not sure if prices have increased or not.

For the over 25 year old segment, I'd suggest a MtechII 325 with nice cloth interior. I bought one for 1,500€ and sold it almost a year later for more and did nothing to it. They are still out there for deals, but you have to be patient and I'd suggest looking now for your future purchase. Both autoscout and mobile.de can be converted to english, and google translate can do the rest.

Good luck man, I hope you get a good experience on the ring, but I'd caution that "every weekend" might be a bit optimistic. each lap is $34 now, a tank of gas is about $100 (6 laps a tank) and the drive from frankfurt to the ring is more than an hour. In the winter the ring is often closed due to weather, and the weekends that are nice are busy. The weekends that have back to back public days are packed with out of towners.



So. With all that said, what would I do if I was only going to be there for a year? I'd buy an E36 M3, either german, or an english one as they are consistently cheaper for no more than 5k. I'd buy a year pass, and save the rest for fuel. You break even at about 75 laps when buying a year pass; if nothing breaks, 20 laps in a weekend is doable but absolutely exhausting. If your arriving in a normal school schedule, then obviously buying a year pass for the last 3-4 months of the year would be idiotic.

A few clarifications (and not to be a dick about the first one): I am a fluent German speaker (German major, to you, mister! ;)) and the school year goes from October 2013 to July 2014.

Now with that said, I'm guessing I should not buy a Jahreskarte for 2013, given that I will have a month at the most before snow comes -- especially if as you say, you break even with 75 laps.

I'm in the process of talking to Mike Solo (of http://jalopnik.com/5892536/how-to-import-a-foreign-car-legally fame). He recommends I get a UK Peugeot 306 GTI-6 or a RenaultSport Clio 172/182/197 and then as for the car to bring back home, make that the 25-year-old car. Disappointing news, of course, but likely the smartest way to go about this.

As for climbing the hills, someone suggested to me to get a 1 Series diesel hatch because "you'll appreciate the fuel mileage and torque, plus it will teach you momentum and make you a better driver." What say you to that? Isn't an M3 the last thing I want as a total 'Ring noob?

And say I was to import a car that is younger than 25 years. Is that possible? Would that require I make modifications? I'm guessing it'd be more expensive than it would be worth my while, but learn me!

Thanks for giving me a taste of reality, I want more!

[Eric]

I have a little bit of experience with cars for the ring, so here is my 2¢.



You have some good goals, but I think it will be hard to find a good car that is over 25 years old, is fun on the ring and is under your budget. 7,000€ can get you a decent car, but unfortunate for your first post, I'm going to suggest a BMW. E36 m3 would get my vote as it has the power to climb the hills out of corners, but it's not 911 GT3 fast (still fast enough to wreck hard if your an idiot). Won't work for your importing idea, but it is the best smiles-for-miles car you can get with your budget.

Here is a nice E36 M3, with cool interior, and will leave some change in your pocket to get it up to snuff.

http://suchen.mobile.de/auto-inserat/bmw-m3-3-0-coupe-18-zoll-service-neu-top-obrigheim/180212920.html?lang=en&pageNumber=1&__lp=2&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=searchNetGrossPrice&makeModelVariant1.makeId=3500&makeModelVariant1.modelId=45&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&maxPrice=7001&damageUnrepaired=ALSO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=ALSO_EXPORT

A few years ago when the english economy was booming, a company up near the ring was offering to build a turn key ring toy for 5,000€. They tried to use E30 318is as the base, but also used 325's. This included a nice rust free chassis, good suspension, cage, safety equipment and fire suppression. You could pretty much drive it on the street (would be a terrible ride, but legal) and enter it in VLN races on the weekend. This was 5 years ago so i'm not sure if prices have increased or not.

For the over 25 year old segment, I'd suggest a MtechII 325 with nice cloth interior. I bought one for 1,500€ and sold it almost a year later for more and did nothing to it. They are still out there for deals, but you have to be patient and I'd suggest looking now for your future purchase. Both autoscout and mobile.de can be converted to english, and google translate can do the rest.

Good luck man, I hope you get a good experience on the ring, but I'd caution that "every weekend" might be a bit optimistic. each lap is $34 now, a tank of gas is about $100 (6 laps a tank) and the drive from frankfurt to the ring is more than an hour. In the winter the ring is often closed due to weather, and the weekends that are nice are busy. The weekends that have back to back public days are packed with out of towners.



So. With all that said, what would I do if I was only going to be there for a year? I'd buy an E36 M3, either german, or an english one as they are consistently cheaper for no more than 5k. I'd buy a year pass, and save the rest for fuel. You break even at about 75 laps when buying a year pass; if nothing breaks, 20 laps in a weekend is doable but absolutely exhausting. If your arriving in a normal school schedule, then obviously buying a year pass for the last 3-4 months of the year would be idiotic.

[obrian]

Three door Ford Sierra cosworth, rear wheel drive,cosworth built 2.0 turbo. Banned from touring car series, couldn't be beat. Kinda cheap, maybee.

[2mAn]

As many BJs as I'd get in the parking lot of any VW meet, I want some money left over so I can spend it on upgrades, maintenance, repairs, etc.

that particular Rallye has been for sale since I got back from Germany 3 months ago. Im sure you can get it for a lot less. Enough to ditch those gawd awful wheels. the 8v motor are very easy to maintain. Its the supercharger thats the bitch.