Looking for a track car

mrelussive

Hi,

I am looking for a track/autocross car with a $25K budget. I have narrowed down my options to mainly a few cars; my top choice is the 07 MINI Cooper S, with the 07 Subaru Impreza WRX and the 07 Honda Civic Si right behind it. I basically want a performance car for autocrosses that is fun to drive and has a very predictable feel as I am a total newbie. Also, I want the car to be able to grow with me so a healthy aftermarket is important as well. The 07 MINI is new but I am shaky about the modability of a twin-scroll turbocharger. The car is not my daily driver so practicality is not an issue. Roadsters such as the Mazda Miata and the Saturn Sky look nice but those two do not seem to have much of an aftermarket; mostly I am betting because they are new cars.

Any suggestions, comments, input is greatly appreciated. I am also considering used but I would really prefer new.

Thanks,
MrElussive

starrow68

I am surprised that you don't see the Miata having much of
an aftermarket. It is the single most tracked car around,
at least from four years of driving on track. Do you know
GrassrootsMotorsports? Great mag and on target to what you
are trying to accomplish.

As for personal preference it is hard to beat a WRX or Evo
but they both are reputed to not be good starter cars. Too
easy to drive. In other words you get going faster than you
develop talent, which seems to be true of most high HP cars
on track. If you want to learn, take classes at a track in
real race cars. If you want to mess around and have fun
then anything more powerful than a Miata should be good.

As to new vs. used, partly depends on if you like to work on
cars or just want to drive. New will keep you on track with
what should be very little effort. Used will probably go
faster and take some work to keep running. One of the editors
at GRM Mag just recently got a used C5 Corvette to see what
they could do stock and it has been reviewed some. Good Luck!
It is addicting to some ...
Randy

mrelussive

Randy,

Thanks for the response. I really just want to go new to keep maintenance down and so that I have the car from day one.

I REALLY like the WRX because it is 4WD and is a great starter car right out of the box. I know the power is high on the WRX; I've seen the countless "WRX crash" type videos on the INternet from people over-driving the car and getting into trouble. But I currently have an 06 G35C 6MT so I am used to having a decent amount of power.

It seems like the WRX would really be my best bet, especially with the 2008 models rolling around, I could pickup a brand-new 07 for a good deal.

Thanks,
MrElussive

paisan

I'm bias toward AWD as I race and have tracked cars a lot.

A few notes though on tracking your car...

o Run the stock tires or street tires, less grip means you'll learn to be smoother

o Don't add any power or handling mods as this will also not help the learning curve

o Don't take anything to the track you can't afford to loose, as your insurance generally WON'T COVER it if there is an accident at the track, State Farm used to but has started to exclude it from it's policies.

I started with my SVX on track and then switched to an Impreza L 2.2L with an Automatic. I learned to be very smooth because of the low amount of power in it. Eventually I caged and raced the car a bit. Then I tracked my 94 Legacy Turbo and last year converted it over to a race car. Feel free to e-mail me or post up with any other questions!

-mike

deskman

I have visited Nurbug since 1985 ,I have lapped the Old course in everything from a Smart to GT2 porsche.
I would like to start a discussen about the experinces people have had visiting the local Villages and driving the Track.

Favorite cars for the Ring

2005 Sti ( keeps you out of trouble)

any Viper ( teaches you respect)

Favorite hotel

The Dorint( because of the view)

Favorite bar

Josephes( until you drink german moonshine with the factory test drivers while wearing a white glove you have not lived)

Favorite rental company for not inspecting on drop off.

Avis

paisan

Wow, I only wish I could get there someday.

I only lap Watkins Glen, Limerock, Pocono, Summit Point and VIR.

-mike

starrow68

Well, from even further away, it is more like a dream to get there. I have enjoyed
some video of laps and it is an amazing opportunity, if you can try it out.

As for local, I get to Sears Point (Infineon), Laguna Seca, Thunderhill, Buttonwillow,
Reno-Fernley and Spring Mountain. They are all from 2.5 to 4 miles long so with
experience you can learn one of them in a day or less and be up to reasonable
speed pretty quickly. As I have found, you can then spend years continuing to
improve as they are all challenging.

If you ever get to the SF Bay Area, east of the hills, try Pete's in Danville as they
have 20 - 24 micro brews on tap that change regularly. If you hang around long
enough you can have the dubious honor of getting your name on the wall. BTDT
Randy

BTW, as for STi keeping you out of trouble, it seems to be the most highly rolled
car at track days I attend.

paisan

BTW, as for STi keeping you out of trouble, it seems to be the most highly rolled
car at track days I attend.

Yeah me too, actually the EVO rolls more out East here. But the kids that roll em are usually the kids who have more $ than brains....

-mike

deskman

i to have seen a few sti that have been balled up here in florida.

i guess it comes down to drivers from the playstaion generation that forget in real life there is no reset button.

paisan

Then again I can't afford to track an STi due to the loss potential. At anytime on the track you can ball up your car due to driver error or due to anything like slick track condition or another driver. Always take something you can afford to live without if something does happen to it at the track.

-mike