When I purchased my 197, I wanted a good, quick little go-kart for a hobby car. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the 197, but following many meetings and runs against/with 172s/182s there's nothing in it around the twisties.
Following these meets, I thought about it long and hard and even made a thread on the 197 forum regarding my thoughts. But, I held off for a while and put it on the back burner. Then on May the 1st at a track day, mharvey let me drive his 172 Cup.
It felt more direct, more thorough and most of all - faster! It actually was like a go-kart!
And so, I was sold.
Originally and ultimately, my goal was to strip the 197 when I had cleared the finance, but I don't think I can wait for three years. Additionally, I had reservations over all the optional extras my car has and getting around them when stripping it out.
Another massive factor here is that 197's weigh so much and after all that stripping and hard work, I'd still be heavier than a FF 182.
So I thought about a 182 and changing the rear bumper/exhaust because I want more of a sleeper look and I don't like the look of the 182 rear ends.
However, even they're heavier than a 172 Cup! I figured that once I had stripped the 182 it would only weigh the same as a standard 172 Cup. So I figured I would start at the 172 Cup and take that down from there.
Finally, making a 172 a little track car is going to be loads cheaper than doing it on my 197.
I will not be buying until Christmas-ish, because I want to get 1 years NCB but I cannot wait already! I am already buying parts for my new car and plan on returning the 197 back to standard to become a daily runner after Christmas.
Just thought I would share that – in case anyone had anything they could add to help me. Like, whether it is actually worth getting a 182 over a 172, etc.
Here's my research for anyone who is interested:
Power to Weight Table by Tom Cash, on Flickr
I added the Type R for someone at work and for reference.
I got the majority of the weights from Parkers and some others from here.
Feel free to correct me where I am wrong.
Thanks for reading.
Following these meets, I thought about it long and hard and even made a thread on the 197 forum regarding my thoughts. But, I held off for a while and put it on the back burner. Then on May the 1st at a track day, mharvey let me drive his 172 Cup.
It felt more direct, more thorough and most of all - faster! It actually was like a go-kart!
And so, I was sold.
Originally and ultimately, my goal was to strip the 197 when I had cleared the finance, but I don't think I can wait for three years. Additionally, I had reservations over all the optional extras my car has and getting around them when stripping it out.
Another massive factor here is that 197's weigh so much and after all that stripping and hard work, I'd still be heavier than a FF 182.
So I thought about a 182 and changing the rear bumper/exhaust because I want more of a sleeper look and I don't like the look of the 182 rear ends.
However, even they're heavier than a 172 Cup! I figured that once I had stripped the 182 it would only weigh the same as a standard 172 Cup. So I figured I would start at the 172 Cup and take that down from there.
Finally, making a 172 a little track car is going to be loads cheaper than doing it on my 197.
I will not be buying until Christmas-ish, because I want to get 1 years NCB but I cannot wait already! I am already buying parts for my new car and plan on returning the 197 back to standard to become a daily runner after Christmas.
Just thought I would share that – in case anyone had anything they could add to help me. Like, whether it is actually worth getting a 182 over a 172, etc.
Here's my research for anyone who is interested:
Power to Weight Table by Tom Cash, on Flickr
I added the Type R for someone at work and for reference.
I got the majority of the weights from Parkers and some others from here.
Feel free to correct me where I am wrong.
Thanks for reading.
