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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Best Jap Car for track days?!


Claire Helen

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Hi all,

 

I am looking at doing some track days at events next year and wanted to know if anyone else does this and peoples opinions of the best cars to use!

 

I want something cheap so if anything happens I won't be too upset, I have my Supra as a daily and wouldn't want to take that on a track just incase!!

 

I also own a Celica GT 2.0 but not sure this would be great for a track, someone has suggested a MX5.

 

Any help appreciated :D

 

Also does anyone know any good track day events to go to in the UK? I know BHP Performance you can do up to 6 sessions for something like £30 each! Also Kleers Brandshatch are doing a November night time track session I believe.

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Im slightly biased....... another vote for MX5 :D

 

Here is mine at Castle Combe

image

 

And with the missus driving

image

 

Yes its slow, but the handling is great in these cars and they are just so much fun to chuck into corners with very little regard for the speed and whether it will exit the corner :D In all seriousness, its a great car on track, usually the slowest thing out there, but wow can it play catch up in the corners! Mel managed to overtake an MR2 at Castle Combe exiting Quarry :)

 

We visit Castle Combe (a little scary considering lack of run-off in places), but still a love track and Thruxton quite often (pop in if you are in the neighborhood). In fact we are at Thruxton tomorrow with the MX5 and the GTR. MX5 has only got coilovers, seats, harnesses, rear half cage, some minor brakes bits and wheels/tyres done. Still testing the suspension, pictures were road settings so still a fair bit of roll, but have some new settings to test for tomorrow which should get her cornering flat.

 

I enjoy driving the MX5 on track just as much as the GTR... GTR is great for the fast aspect and the MX5 is great for learning the track, RWD and to just have a bit of fun on track.

 

EDIT

Thruxton is £190 for the day open pit lane, fridays are usual empty and good fun

Castle Combe is £190 for the day open pit lan, but can get busy

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Another vote for an MX5 :thumbs:

 

I will also second Brands Hatch, a great circuit :thumbs:

 

Not driven it, been passenger a few times.... Want to do the full F1 circuit, but noise regs for GTR worry me :(

 

Thruxton, as above is a great little circuit, harsh on noisy cars again, Mazda passes easily at 80db and the GTR just makes it at 90db static. Lots of run-off and in the MX5 you are foot-flat for at least 1/2 the lap.

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Driven quite a few times and also had a few passenger rides, not driven the full circuit yet.

 

GTROC had a deal on the full circuit, but 92db limit on drive-by, so I was worried, everyone else knew they would not survive a lap. At least at Silverstone they are friendly and come have a chat about noise and ask you to short shift in certain areas. From what I have been told Brands is ruthless, black flag and go home.

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I have done a few track days by the way of corporate invites and by far the best was the Palmer Racing day, you get a full day or racing in various race cars including a single seater cosworth jag and you are pushed to your limits (any beyond in my case!) the V8 Ariel Atom is incredible, I also liked the Caterham

 

The day is fully recorded onto a memory card to take away and show your pals your skills or lack of them !

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My local is Brandshatch and yeah I've seen, as well as heard that they are quite strict with black flags. I know BHP at Lydden hill is quite easy to jump on and doesn't cost the earth, £30 a turn is cheap and its at an event so you can see other cars, that's what I am looking for really. Rather than doing whole days, attend an event and jump on for a session that isn't going to cost the earth. Again with the Kleers evening event (was Kleers Wednesdays) at Brandshatch Its like £20 a session.

 

Not going to Santa Pod so doesn't matter too much about speed, have heard MX5's are good. Do you need to kit them out with a roll cage, or extinguisher etc if you are only doing track days, not actual racing?

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My local is Brandshatch and yeah I've seen, as well as heard that they are quite strict with black flags. I know BHP at Lydden hill is quite easy to jump on and doesn't cost the earth, £30 a turn is cheap and its at an event so you can see other cars, that's what I am looking for really. Rather than doing whole days, attend an event and jump on for a session that isn't going to cost the earth. Again with the Kleers evening event (was Kleers Wednesdays) at Brandshatch Its like £20 a session.

 

Not going to Santa Pod so doesn't matter too much about speed, have heard MX5's are good. Do you need to kit them out with a roll cage, or extinguisher etc if you are only doing track days, not actual racing?

 

You want a rollbar at the least with an MX-5. I would not want to roll one!

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I want one still, S1600 or FRP body, RWD conversion with a Focus ST/RS 5pot engine would be incredible...

 

You can buy an Audi S2 for a fraction of the price, and they're easily converted to RWD. Plus the Audi 5 pot is in a different league to the Ford/Volvo one. (although they do share a common heritage)

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I still reckon the MX5 is a good buy ;) The FWD I think would be good to start with, but you would get board of it quickly. For me, if you are learning, it has to be RWD...

 

I did look at a Honda CRX, cheap and Clio cups, mini coopers and Suzuki Swifts can be bloody quick once they are setup correctly.

 

Can do half day sessions at CC and Thruxton I think.

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The RX-7 FD had one of the best production chassis for track days ever, they are a work of art. Buy a spare engine or two though, and jerry cans in bulk, for the fuel ;)

 

 

MX-5 for fun on the cheap though. Having had various serious race series run around them the knowledge is already there to make them work well on a track, and they are simple and cheap to run.

 

 

Forget FWD, difficult to work on, and always a compromise, no serious competition car designer would want to be hamstrung by FWD. They only do well in Touring Cars because the rules are designed to flatter them, and the makers have few RWD cars to show piece.

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