Mid 20's crisis!?

[nathanH]

In short, im move back to the rents in december and will have a bit more money to myself. I want to start getting into the whole track day scene but finances havnt allowed me to do so in the past year.
Do I:

A) Use the Trophy which is more than capable to have loads of fun in (the usual brake upgrade and some decent tyres) I also own the Trophy outright so will only cost me running costs each month. So this is the cheaper option.

or

B) have fun and spend a bit more building a mk1 for the sole purpose of doing track days in. (I have the garage space, tools and know how) but this will mean running two road legal cars and the cost of building the car, not a massive issue but extra cost none the less.

Advice and ownage welcome

 

[theduck]

Do you need the Trophy everyday? If the answer is no, then go with option a.

 

[devfuse]

B!

 

[nathanH]

I use the Trophy for work/daily car etc

 

[JonC]

If you needed a daily car, keep the Trophy and go for option B. But rather than get a MK1 for track use only, go for something RWD like a MK1 MX5, cheap to run and maintain and huge amount of aftermarket performance parts that make it very easy to up the performance as your skill increase.

 

[123stevevw]

A

 

[Fletcher]

Id keep the trophy, wack on some AP racing 4-pots, and some proper buckets.

 

[Monaco Sean]

I'd go for B.
That way, if you do bin it on track you still have the trophy.
Also, you'll get a bit more sense of occasion if you have a pure track car!

 

[nathanH]

Yeah, that’s the thing you see, I don’t want to deter from the fact that a track day is about having fun and the Trophy is just one of those cars where you can literally drive it on the road and track but have just as much fun without it being ridiculously uncomfortable on a day to day basis.

But

I miss building a car and all that shizzle. I purchased a mk1 over a year ago now to build a car for fun etc but finances killed that… and the rust…
AP’s! YES! Or a set of 197 calipers and have a bracket made up, but then £800 on brakes is fairly decent valver money.

 

[Sarah]

B, you only live once, and before u know it u will b tided down with mortgage, gf, kid etc. do it

 

[Bazzon]

Really depends on how serious youy are about doing trackdays, it is a expensive hobby.

Have you done any track days?

If you plan to do 2 or 3 over the summer just use the trophy, If you plan to do it seriously get a project car over the winter.

To many people seem to buy "track" cars spend a fortune getting them ready for track then they never see track for 1 reason or another.

Our track car is currently SORN, we do this over the winter to save some cash and do work on the car.

We bought a seperate car to track, because both me and carl wanted to track our cars, so we both bought a car between us and split the cost on everything.

ps, you dont really need to spend 800quid on brakes if you decide to track it.

 

[nathanH]

Is that an offer Sarah

Ive done 2 Track days so far and never had so much fun. I would plan on doing a handfull over the summer tbh.

 

[Poopensharten]

Why dont you buy a 106 GTi or a Saxo VTS and save yourself a fair wad, and meaning you can have fun on track without the worry of sending the Trophy into the Armco/Kitty litter>?

 

[Reyes]

Poll tbh..
I'd go A.

 

[nathanH]

not sure how to change it to a poll!?

I dont get on with the odd pedal arrangement in saxo/106’s tbh… plus I like the clio for its extras.

 

[f0xy]

I guess B.....but if you wanted a valver track car you just have to decide how far you want to go with it.

Would you want to keep the F7P? if not ££ to upgrade....
Would you want a cage? ££ for a decent weld in job....
Then Suspension? ££ for shocks/coilovers and then you might want widetrack...
Then brakes/wheels/tyres for it ££....
Then trackdays next year ££.....

All money money money, and really all depends how much you want to spend and go into it really. When I did mine I started out with it in my head that I wanted it to be a 2.0, and have good handling (suspension + widetrack), and have a cage incase I rolled it, I didnt really want to trust a stripped out 15 yr old car without some sort of protection!

BUT....it was all worth it, having done around 10 trackdays so far this year (with 2 still to go) its all good fun. If you keep an eye out for cheap days its not at all expensive TBH, like the deal easytrack had on, any 5 days for £500 next year, a few of us snapped that up as its an absolute bargin! So the main outlay would be building the valver in the first place I guess.

I say B, but if I wanted to choose A, id get another car as a daily (cheapy old diesel) and keep the trophy as a weekend and track car. That way, if something goes wrong on track and it needs repairing, you've always got your daily to get you about!

 

[Monaco Sean]

Would you really relax and totally commit the trophy on track.!?

Im not saying it wouldnt be fun, but Id rather throw a Saxo VTS (£1500) around a track than my £8000 pride and joy.

 

[Waitey]

Sell trophy and buy something RWD.

 

[Poopensharten]

not sure how to change it to a poll!?

I dont get on with the odd pedal arrangement in saxo/106’s tbh… plus I like the clio for its extras.

If its going to be a fettled track car what exactly is good about having air-con etc? Surley the "extras" would be coming out anyway...?

 

[Steve]

A, just uprate pads & discs/lines.
Get some 15's & r888's & enjoy.
I did at least 6 full trackdays every year in mine





OR,

Sell trophy and buy something RWD.

 

[Darren S]

If you needed a daily car, keep the Trophy and go for option B. But rather than get a MK1 for track use only, go for something RWD like a MK1 MX5, cheap to run and maintain and huge amount of aftermarket performance parts that make it very easy to up the performance as your skill increase.

Definitely. A bit like that what they have in Evo magazine. The car only cost £800 iirc. Ok, so then you have the initial 'hit' of probably replacing the brakes, fluids and tyres before hitting the track - not forgetting road tax and insurance.

But you could get both of the latter for 6 months only and spend the colder months getting the MX5 to be the kind of track car you would want it to be. As you sound quite keen on getting stuck in with a toolbox and some time to kill, that sounds like a good compromise - leaving you to enjoy the Trophy on a daily basis.

Just my 10p worth.

D.

 

[Sarah]

Is that an offer Sarah

lol....nope coz i have the kid bit...

 

[nathanH]

Cheers for your input Foxy

I dont mind tracking the Trophy as I do drive pretty hard on the road so I dont mind using it on track... plus theres less to 'run into' on track so dare I say less chance to stack it!?

Mx 5 does sound like a fun idea tho! but feel as if I should stick to what I know.

Danny - I have no intention of stripping the Trophy out as I use it every day.

 

[JonC]

Mx 5 does sound like a fun idea tho! but feel as if I should stick to what I know.

Variety is the spice of life....as they say... Plus there is a huge user community if you ever get stuck!

 

[cliosportcraig]

You could put together a nice F4R valver for 2-3k

 

[Paddy_g46]

You could put together a nice F4R valver for 2-3k

You could put together a nice track day valver for alot less then that!

 

[Peperami]

A.

Get a set of spare wheels with r888's on, and use your daily driver. Its fine, you dont need fancy buckets/ cages or any of that, you'll have just as much fun without on track.

Will save you a shed load of cash, and you can get back on your feet towards moving out again.

 

[Martin_172]

Evo 9 FQ360

 

[Whiteley]

Has your run out in mine brought this on? If so, I'm sorry

 

[nathanH]

Yes...