RICHARDA Posted December 12, 2005 Share Posted December 12, 2005 Hi all Got bored and started looking at autotrader as you do. When I finish my course in June and start full time work again I will consider purchasing a used road legal track day / fun car. I would be looking at spending no more than £10k tops, this is what I have listed so far: 1) Tattyish J-spec TT Supra - stripped and caged. 2) Lotus Elise MK1 3) Westfield Seight 3.9 V8 4) Ginetta G20 5) Dax Rush 3.5 V8 6) TVR Chimera 400/450/500 Any thoughts? Have I missed any gems, any of them lemons. Especially as some of you have had experience with running some of the more focused track day machinery. All input welcome, pros, cons, and ownership experience etc many thanks Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attilauk Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 as much as i love the supe and as good as it is on track i wouldn't suggest that you get one as a track car. the main problem being the cost of parts WHEN you stuff it. the same goes for the TVR although thats just as likely to go bang as you are to crash it. from the list the best car for track use imo is the Dax but i seriously doubt you will be able to find a good condition one for less than £10k the Ginetta would be great fun and for me would be a serious contender. tbh i dont rate the V8 kit cars unless they are using yank V8's. imo you are better off looking for one with a Vauxhall 2 litre 16v Red top lump or one with the toyota 4AGE 20 valve unit, they are both smaller, lighter and can produce as much power if you tweak them properly if you still would like a fairly sizeable jap car then you can import a stockish R32 GTR for around the £5k mark, strip it cage it and do a few brake, suspension and power tweaks and you are looking at a serious track tool. im will looking for something in a similar vein to replace my supe in the spring, i am looking for an MK Indy, a Tiger (of some sort) or a Luego Xtreme which i will be replacing the engine with the 4AGE 20 Valve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I'd opt for the Elise out of those, cheap to run, good club scene, excellent fun on track and looks nice too. Some aren't as well glued together as others but if you can pick up a cheap one and stick a proper engine in you are laughing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJI Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 suppose it all depends on what level of comfort to race car like characteristics you want to go for. The Westfield or the Dax Rush out of those on your list will be the best race car like driving experience you'll get. The Elise is a bit more friendlier for an everyday type of car. The Supra and TVR will definitely cost more in terms of tyres and parts, although those two would be the most comfy and east to drive on track, but not as quick as the dedicated track cars. You'd have to pump the Supra upto well over 400bhp to keep up with a Dax Rush or a Westfield on track. And even then if you didn't have full slicks you'd find it near impossible to keep the same corner speed. My choice out of those would be the Westfiel SEight, only because I've driven one round Croft and found it to be a great handling car with plenty of power. I've also driven an Elise round Croft but found it to be lacking in power on the straights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
black cat Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 love to have roof but in this case ill go for dax rush. power to weight and all that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Terry S Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Hi all Got bored and started looking at autotrader as you do. When I finish my course in June and start full time work again I will consider purchasing a used road legal track day / fun car. I would be looking at spending no more than £10k tops, this is what I have listed so far: 1) Tattyish J-spec TT Supra - stripped and caged. 2) Lotus Elise MK1 3) Westfield Seight 3.9 V8 4) Ginetta G20 5) Dax Rush 3.5 V8 6) TVR Chimera 400/450/500 Any thoughts? Have I missed any gems, any of them lemons. Especially as some of you have had experience with running some of the more focused track day machinery. All input welcome, pros, cons, and ownership experience etc many thanks Rich Probably a Raw Striker if it was purely a Track Day car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 tbh i dont rate the V8 kit cars unless they are using yank V8's. imo you are better off looking for one with a Vauxhall 2 litre 16v Red top lump or one with the toyota 4AGE 20 valve unit, they are both smaller, lighter and can produce as much power if you tweak them properly im will looking for something in a similar vein to replace my supe in the spring, i am looking for an MK Indy, a Tiger (of some sort) or a Luego Xtreme which i will be replacing the engine with the 4AGE 20 Valve I agree, Rover V8s don't really cut the mustard. SEight are very rapid, but a little heavy for that kind of car IMHO. Westfield are extremely accomodating and will take you out in one if you visit them and show interest. I don't like Vaux, but the red top is a good choice as is the 4AGE - great little revvy engine. I fancy the idea of a Honda S2000 engine, but that's relatively unknown terratory at the moment. Chris Wilson is building an R33 for track day fun at the moment so he can tell you all about those. There's some fine machinery here to look at on an old website I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lust2luv Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Surely an RX7 would be a better bet than a Supe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RICHARDA Posted December 13, 2005 Author Share Posted December 13, 2005 Good informative replies folks thanks very much. I realise the V8 kits are going to be particularily nose heavy but really want to own a V8 at some point (love the noise). The Elise also seems good but as my nearest track is Goodwood motor racing circuit (only 10 miles) the general opinion from the instructors there is that they run out of puff on the two long straights. This also confirms what I have read on the track day forums. Really as I will be new to this I want one ready to go without any engine swaps etc. To those that have owned or seen most of these, is there much difference in the build quality of these fibreglass cars ie is Lotus better built than TVR/Westfield/Dax etc? Thanks all. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyJawa Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Caterfield of some description without a doubt for a dedicated track car! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Stripped out S13 or Mr2 Turbo... Both engines are good for big power, I'd guess the S13 was better for donor parts from it's bigger siblings, ie the GTR's Brembo's. I'd spend upto 5k on the car and reserve the rest for sorting it out inc buying suspension, tyres and brakes. EDIT - Actually you could get a heavily modded S13 for 5k....MR2 Rev 1's were I think the best for the track as they we're more lively...it got progressively more tamed (that's not slower just more catchable/better damped) with the different revisions...but you don't need to waste the money on a high revision number if you're going to sort the handling out seperately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Elise MK1 and bung in a Honda Type R engine. I believe the type R engine fits. Should be a lively little track car with plenty of go-go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Elise MK1 and bung in a Honda Type R engine. I believe the type R engine fits. Should be a lively little track car with plenty of go-go. That would be cool. Might blow the budget though. http://www.brooke-kensington.co.uk/phond5.htm and http://www.blinkmotorsport.com/ (They must've been listening to me about the S2k engine as they're putting one in a Caterham) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Westield with s2k engine: http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1344/article.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Track toys advertised on bookatrack http://www.bookatrack.com/-pC?1614 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attilauk Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Elise MK1 and bung in a Honda Type R engine. I believe the type R engine fits. Should be a lively little track car with plenty of go-go. i have heard of that conversion, sounds like a right chuckle, i've also seen a few with the VAG 1.8 Turbo engine in them To those that have owned or seen most of these, is there much difference in the build quality of these fibreglass cars ie is Lotus better built than TVR/Westfield/Dax etc? that really depends on who built the car, if its a factory built kit car then they tend to be very well put together but some enthusiast built cars are even better, they can be quite badly built too. if you do decide on a caterham / dax / westfield etc type car then it would be a very good idea to get someone who knows their way around them to go and see it with you. as for the elise then the ones i have seen do seem to be screwed together very well although i have heard that some of the early ones were a little more fragile. good luck with the hunt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 I would think it's possible. Elise MK 1 @ 8 to 8.5k and a Type R lump at a couple of grand. Not unachievable me thinks. Lots of hassle factor maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attilauk Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 Westield with s2k engine: http://autospeed.drive.com.au/cms/A_1344/article.html that is gorgeous:yes: i was chatting to the guys at Luego at the kit car show in Exeter a couple of weeks ago and they are planning a factory s2k engine package atm:ecstatic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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