To buy or not to buy..... clio cup track car

[daniel jephcott]

Hello all,
So from later on today i should have hopefully sold my mk1 golf gti cabriolet, a much loved car which i rarely use. The plan is to buy a car which will be purely used on track however needs to be road legal.

Ive never actually driven on a track however i have been to the track with a friend and these little clios are quite impressive. i start looking online and then to my surprise they are properly cheap... bonus.

anyway i have seen this car on eBay and wanting to go and have a look tomorrow. it looks great and has been nicely stripped however i would want to upgrade a couple of bits before using it on track.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Renault-C...806522?hash=item1a36b254fa:g:F18AAOSwec9ZsQyW

First of all it would be great to have your thoughts and what kind of things i should be looking at. i have been told that the tyres are new but are budget (there going in the bin) the discs and pads are standard dealer parts and not sure where the cambelt was done. i was told that using a specialist is normally a good thing.

secondly if i bought this car i would have about £1000 which i could spend on it straight away and then i will just slowly add to the parts as and when.

I was thinking in doing the following:

new tyres - probably ns-r
new discs and pads - probably the brembo hc grooved with some ds1.1 i think there called, rears will be brembo hc with ds1.1 pads
add some air ducks for the brakes
rear antiroll bar - whiteline?
-2 degree metal shims on rear and eibach camber bolts for the from running -1.5

not sure about suspension, i believe the cup shocks and lowering springs are quite good however would coilovers be better?

anyway thats the plan so far and gives me something to play with over winter but hopefully i can get a track day in end of october if i buy this car.

let me know you thoughts and advice would be great.

thanks
dan

 

[JB21]

Car looks good, and the 172 cup is defo the best choice for a track car. Just find out where the belts have been done, get some decent pads for the front DS1.11 like you mention are pretty much the best IMO, leave the rears OE and decent rubber and you're away, mod as you go were you think the car needs it. No need to spend a grand just pads and tyres, the rest on track days and more importantly as you've never been on track...tuition.

 

[Goodj]

Since you've never driven on track before, just take a car, any car, in whatever condition.

You'll soon start finding what mods you NEED, instead of pouring money into internet snake oil.

Remember, track days aren't races, being 2s per lap quicker around Brands GP doesn't win you anything. On top of this, the things that make better track cars will, consequently, make for a worse road car. Rock solid suspension may give you 3ph apex speed at Coram, but will leave you needing a new spine after you've driven home.

 

[daniel jephcott]

thanks for the info. i understand the idea of going to the track first and then deciding what you need but you guys have been doing this long enough to atleast know what essentials allow to be competitive. i know its not a race however its always nice to be able to out brake, corner and hopefully after a tuition or 3 out drive the car in front.

hard suspension is something i was familiar with as the golf one its last set of coilovers were rock solid.

 

[Goodj]

thanks for the info. i understand the idea of going to the track first and then deciding what you need but you guys have been doing this long enough to atleast know what essentials allow to be competitive. i know its not a race however its always nice to be able to out brake, corner and hopefully after a tuition or 3 out drive the car in front.

hard suspension is something i was familiar with as the golf one its last set of coilovers were rock solid.

:expressionless:
You're not competing.
So other than willy-waving rights to people who don't actually care, you gain nothing.

So long as it's got fluids, some rubber on the tyres and some meat in the brakes, just go, get some lessons...they'll get you lapping faster, quicker than any set of semi-slicks

 

[Budgie]

^ This. All the gear, no idea comes to mind.

Get on track, improve your technique, then worry about upgrades.

 

[Peperami]

It's good that you want to be fast and have fun, but the quickest way to do this is definitely to learn to drive. And a cup is a fantastic idea as a track car.

If you want to outbrake people, you just need brakes that'll last the day without cooking. The brembo/ ds2500 on the front will sort that. Then take the car as it is. And get some tuition from Palmer or similar. Outbraking and accelerating others is about smoothness, nothing else. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.

I wouldn't worry about tyres yet, or any suspension/ roll bars/ shims. Just replace stuff as it wears out. Your tyres will die after a few track days, and slipperier road tyres are a much better way to learn to be smooth.

Be overskilled and undercarred, not the other way around


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