Track banger budget £1500. Ideas please.

[Arran_182]

Hi guys currently looking at getting myself a track warrior but only want to spend £1500.00 on the car to allow money for cage etc. My thoughts so far.

Metro GTI with the 1800 vvc
Alfa 145 cloverleaf
Fiat coupe 16v turbo
Rover tomcat 2.0 turbo

 

[n2x]

Fiat coupe = epic. 2.0T ftw

 

[Scrooge]

all good fun choices i think, maybe not the alfa for me though.

 

[Alex H]

XR2

 

[Matthew]

VTS?

 

[Nick_P]

ph1 172?!

 

[bendee]

106 rallye you wouldnt belive how cheap they are to mod etc and such good fun on a track with a 16v rather nippy but even the 1.3 in mine is a hoot.

 

[MarkCup]

You'd probably find a rough Ignis Sport for that money. They're outstanding on track.

 

[E11OOT]

XR2

this, used to love mine.

 

[172Ben]

Loved mine!

 

[saltyhair81]

mint^

1.8vvc metro - Rover should of jumped on it

 

[Savi]

Mk1 valver. £1k will get you a pretty clean one

 

[Jay Payne]

Whats wrong with using the 182 and spend the £1.5k on hookers??

 

[172Ben]

mint^

1.8vvc metro - Rover should of jumped on it

On ITB's as well

 

[StevenMc29]

Xsara VTS

 

[colm_gti]

Do you plan on getting competetive with racing? Or just looking for a track toy?

Either way you want something parts are cheap and plentiful for, that's moderately reliable and that's easy to work on, which go against all 4 you've mentioned

If you plan on getting competetive, steer clear of cars with torsion bar rear beams, I've heard they can be a nightmare to match with higher spring rates, which is very important when building race cars. Your best bet would be a redtop corsa, ph1 172, ford ka/fiesta/puma, honda civic/integra vtec, mazda mx3/mx5/mx6, bmw 325/328, something along those lines.

If you don't want to compete, then a mk1 1.8 16v clio, 106 gti, saxo vts, 306 gti, 205 gti would be great.

A chap I know has a 306 gti trackday car, bolt ons like decat and catback, induction kit, and a set of racing slicks. The 306 gti has a baffled sump as standard, so oil starvation isnt an issue when using slicks. It's a quick yoke around a tight track.

 

[Sir_Dave]

Dont buy a cheap turbo'd for track lol ... epic money pit!!

I was in your situation & bought a saxo vts, but i looked at the following:

e36 325i/328i
MX5
106 gti/rallye
306 gti6/rallye
xsara vts

They handle nicely out of the box & parts are cheap.

 

[mat-nos]

i would be looking for a 106 gti/rallye, saxo vts/vtr, 205 gti, xsara vts, 306 gti, ph1 172, clio 16v, mk1/2 golf 16v, ibiza gti 16v, b16 honda, 2.0 corsa/nova, fiesta zetec if you want fwd.

or mx5 1.8, e36 3 series coupe if you want rwd.....

 

[_Tom]

Cheap mx5. Job done..

 

[saltyhair81]

On ITB's as well

knowz

 

[midge]

Got to be a valver, you could get one for half the 1500, put it on coilovers and a good set of tyres, nothing FWD will touch it for less than 1500.

 

[Brett]

MX5 for me. RWD, light on consumables etc. Winner. Came 5th in Evo magazines track heros, 9th in best ever drivers car....

 

[BIFCAIDS]

S1 106 rallye
citroen AX Gti
MX-5
MK1 Clio

 

[kev182cup]

205gti and rally cross it, cheapest form of motorsport. Racing is better than just driving round a track.

 

[BIFCAIDS]

why didnt i think of a 205! totaly forgot they existed

 

[Gaz.]

Got to be a VVC'd Metro. Only downside is you'll constantly look at the Coolant Temp gauge waiting for the Head Gasket to go.

The newer head gaskets only work if liner heights are within very tight tolerances, and to build as strong a K series as possible costs £1000s, then tuning it isn't very cheap either. But, it's a lovely light engine in a very very light car, and there's plenty of Rovers/MGs to be getting new engines from should it die.

 

[Arran_182]

cheers for the feedback fellas, hmmm so many cars to choose from .

 

[Arran_182]

And no i dont want to use the clio as id be scared of smashing it up.

 

[MarcoB]

Cat D ph1?

 

[steven.m]

MX5. Preferably an import as they are already on Bilstein dampers as standard which are rather good

/thread

 

[MaLicE]

mx5 would be a good choice cheap to run cheap on parts and no job is really too hard to do on them tbh...

or a 200sx s13 would be my other choice.

 

[Charlie.]

106 GTi

 

[Jamie86]

Hmm I like the idea of MX5 and probably going to get one for the road but never actually met one on track that was anywhere near 172 pace..

Granted trackdays aren't about being the fastest but dont wanna be the slowest either

 

[therealMAtt]

Do you plan on getting competetive with racing? Or just looking for a track toy?

Either way you want something parts are cheap and plentiful for, that's moderately reliable and that's easy to work on, which go against all 4 you've mentioned

If you plan on getting competetive, steer clear of cars with torsion bar rear beams(because the mk1 clio really struggled when competing:dapproveI've heard they can be a nightmare to match with higher spring rates, which is very important when building race cars. Your best bet would be a redtop corsa(because they handle lovley):rasp:a civic/integra vtec, mazda x3/mx5/mx6, bmw 325/328

If you don't want to compete, then a mk1 1.8 16v clio, 106 gti, saxo vts, 306 gti, 205 gti would be great.(every single car you have mentioned here handles like a dream and would be the perfect track or competing weapon)
A chap I know has a 306 gti trackday car, bolt ons like decat and catback, induction kit, and a set of racing slicks. The 306 gti has a baffled sump as standard, so oil starvation isnt an issue when using slicks. It's a quick yoke around a tight track.

k

 

[steven.m]

MX5s aren't fast in a straight line, not at all, but hell of a lot of fun in the twists. Mine just sticks to the road.

 

[Greeny.]

Whats wrong with using the 182 and spend the £1.5k on hookers??

I like this idea

 

[Arran_182]

I like this idea

Yeah so do I, but its my daily driver. The idea is to have a car that is just dedicated to the track and something that i dont really care about smacking up if i come off the track.

 

[Jamie86]

MX5s aren't fast in a straight line, not at all, but hell of a lot of fun in the twists. Mine just sticks to the road.

Yeah true but even on chicanes on the track they just seemed a lot slower.. one was even a supercharged one

Maybe they just care more about their cars

 

[DazG]

MI16 engined 205 GTI
Citroen AX with VTS/GTI Lump
106 GTI
Fiat Uno Turbo
306 GTI-6/Rallye
E36 328
Mr2

 

[MarcoB]

Vr6 mk2 golf gti!