$5k track car

[einhander]

Matt Farah of The smoking tire has an interesting fox body build going on.

Thanks for the headsup.

[M-technik-3]

E36 cheap and known shortcomings easily fixed. Fox bodies are now feeling the drift tax in popularity but they have a good series with American Thunder.

[GAbOS]

Based on your list it's the Fox. They swap to SN suspension like we do with the E36. They are too easy to find parts for.

[jalopi]

I voted Fox, but if I had to do it all over again I'd get a mullet-style camaro... you know, the ones that were super popular in the late eighties. Aka the third gen or whatever.

Seriously. They can be had for a reasonable price (though finding one in stick will take you a little while) and after a few grand for a decent set of heads, cam and intake you'll easily be putting down 380 wheel, minimum.

Race/track springs and shocks are also stupidly cheap. Sure some of the smaller cars might be able to pull 5-10mph faster through the turns than you, but once you hit a straight it's GG.

[mr2peak]

MR2 will teach you way more about driving dynamics than any of the other choices. Insanely helpful community with lots of extremely talented drivers. It will bite you if you don't pay attention, but isn't that the point of a track car anyway?

Go to Mr2oc.org super helpful no-bs forum

[einhander]

MR2 and Jalopi - thanks for the input.

I do like the MR2 and have always had a soft spot for the 1LE.

[TimbyMaTombo]

I vote MR2 partly because I really want one myself.

[Ray Smoodiver]

Mr2.

[mr2peak]

MR2.

Here's why. Steve Hoelscher winning the 2010 DP Nationals Autox..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aZWUY7HQiE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbWMxSZrvQ

That said,
Why don't you have Miata as a choice?

It's one of the most heavily track supported cars of all time, with amazing potential and more spare parts available than all of the other choices combined. Mazda will give you parts discounts if you show them you race it. Yeah it's a "girls car", but put a cage in it and it's a different story.


As far as the Fox. Have you looked at how much a decent independent rear suspension will cost? Hint: a lot. As in, a whole Miata. It's an easy straight-line car and drifter, but not a corner-carver. Also, power = consumables. Gas, tires, pads, etc will be expensive with a mildly built 5.0



Also, here's an old thread of mine from Grassrootsmotorsports.com

Mr2 vs Miata

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/the-great-mk1-mr2-or-miata-debate/26101/page1/

And after all that, here's my solution: (not me in the video!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz03sQeX02c

Ninja 250, newest purchase. It will definitely see some track time soon. I have $680 into the bike so far, and track gear will cost me ~$1k
It's the Miata of motorcycles. Cheap, well raced, and very capable in the right hands.

[kway]

Also miata. I have one, chick/ car stigma attached but get you a hardtop, rip out the softtop and frame (because track car) and get over it. You won't regret it.

[gtdragon980]

Lamborghini Aventador




Actually I would probably go for the EG Civic.

[jalopi]

I had two miatas during my 'omg everyone says this is a great track car!' phase. I also went through a SW20 (turbo), AW11 and ZZW30 (in that order). Before I go on my rant, I'd like to point out how the non-turbo SW20 used to dominate its class in most events. Not sure if this still stands true, though I'd bet it still does. Out of the three I enjoyed the SW20 the most - I felt like an 80's dude driving the future in that thing, lol. Good power with a boost controller... real quick off the line.

So here's my gripe with these cars and their respective quirks:

1. Miata - not a lot of power, can't fit a decent amount of rubber without flares/ridiculous fenders (this is if you add power), SMALL/cramped inside, limited events unless you buy a hardtop that costs almost as much as what you paid for the car (NA obviously), must have a support/tow vehicle unless you want to look like an asshole going down the highway with tires & tools & shit poking out of your car / pulling a trailer bigger than your car. Not the best stability at high speeds, relatively little cargo capacity.

2. MR2's - unless it's a turbo SW20, no power stock. Prone to understeer, extremely prone to retard understeer if it's even remotely wet outside. Also, asshole oversteer. Surprisingly decent cargo capacity with the SW20, laughable cargo capacity with both other models. They're all sort of twitchy at the limit IMO. Hard to find an AW11 that isn't a complete rust bucket. SW20's are overpriced. ZZW's... you REALLY have to convince people you aren't a gay hairdresser with that car. They most likely won't believe you.



Don't get me wrong though - they're all reasonably quick, nimble cars and can be fast if you throw some power at them. But IMO 'Murican v8 cars are better since fitting big ass tires isn't an issue and the whole power thing has already been covered. Unless you're only doing autocross events in a very tiny parking lot, 'Murica has the upper hand in the hands of a good driver.

[FredK]

$5K E36 M3

:giggle:

[ThatOneEuroE30]

Miata's are just glorified go karts lol

[Cephas]

I went e30. Parts are cheap, they are easy to work on, and I love driving a slow car fast rather than a fast car slow!