Track Car dilemma

[JackD]

I'm currently toying with the idea of buying a car solely for track days. Will most likely stay road legal and be driven to tracks though. I have two other cars, though I may sell one in reality, but it's not like I'll be driving it as a daily in any case.

The two main candidates are a Clio 1*2, preferably track prepped or an Mx5. Ideally would spend around £2000 but could spend a bit more if needed.

What would people recommend? I'm a newbie to track days as have only done 2 previously. I'm not after setting the fastest possible times, just want to get some track experience and enjoy myself.

I've had 3 Clios before so the familiarity is appealing, but the mx5 has the bonus of being rwd. How do they fair compare reliability wise? Will rust be a big problem with a mx5?

 

[alistairolsen]

Finding a cheap rust free MX5 is hard, whereas finding a cheap 172 is easy. i also found that plenty of clios come at least partially track prepped, whereas finding an mx5 with a cage is rare unless it's been prepped for a one make series.

I wound up with a clio, which was £2500 with new brakes with proper pads, fluid and lines, spherical topmounts and rear beam bushes and poly elsewhere with some cheap coilovers, a spare set of wheels and used A048s, cage, one bucket and a harness, momo wheel, strut braces and the interior stripped.

Since then I've fitted a BMS shifter, sold the rear brace and swapped the wheel for a suede dished OMP one, added a poly engine mount, and bought another set of wheels and put rainsports on them.

It owes me less than 3k, has done 5 trackdays so far and a few thousand road miles. Hard to get on track for less imho.

 

[massiveCoRbyn]

Clio all the way.

Cheap to buy, don't rust nearly as badly as the Mazda and millions of new and used tuning bits out there. My boggo 172 Cup seems to make mincemeat of most MX-5s on track too, so surely it's worth it on pointless ego boost alone.

 

[Budgie]

Want a white 172? With cage etc? (;

Will probably be more than £2k though.

 

[JackD]

Want a white 172? With cage, warranty, track day pit services etc? (;

Will probably be less than £2k as well.

Tempting mate!

 

[Budgie]

Haha. I'm now following this thread, because i know full well it'll be me that has to fix the thing. lol

 

[JackD]

Haha. I'm now following this thread, because i know full well it'll be me that has to fix the thing. lol

That's true actually...

Edit: Reliability isn't the end of the world as I have a dedicated mechanic to sort any problems out.

 

[JB21]

I'm in the exact same boat as the OP here, 2 other cars and the Clio is a track/weekend car. Found a 182 FF and have modded it to light track spec for under £2500 (15" light weight wheels & track tyres, 16" OE wheels with rain tyres, 4 pot brakes, new OMP suede steering wheel, fatty induction, Scorpion exhaust..) As above the Clio will destroy (in the right hands) any MX5 unless its SC'd or TC'd as they're pretty slow (but fun) in standard guise.

 

[JackD]

Looks like Clio is probably the better bet then! Will see what happens with my work but if the right car comes up I'll have to go take a look. There's a couple for sale at the moment which seem OK.

 

[Bunta]

2k will get you a very good mk2 mr2, or an mx5... if your after fun go for one of these... the clio will be faster though

 

[Flam686]

I have both and started with an MX5 or Eunos Mk1 then got 2 track Clio's. Still love my 5. They are both different and both rewarding in their own way to drive. I paid £2500 for my 1st Clio with cage & safety bits already in there, but paid £500 for my Mx5 and spent a further £1500 putting decent suspension & tyres on it & roll hoop etc. Like anything, see if you can get along to a track day and have a go in both.

My ownership experience has been:

1) Mx5 is more reliable from an electrical point of view. Mine has Never not started on 1st turn of key
2) Mx5 's are old cars and do rust, although replacement quarter panels and scuttle panels are cheaply available if you can weld / paint etc. Easy to check before buying. worst places are arches and rear sill area in front of rear arch. Make sure sill drain holes are kept clear etc.
3) Clio is faster and more responsive as standard (obvious, but true), however you can supercharge or turbo the Mx5, but you'll need a few quid to do it
4) There are roll hoops available for the Mx5 relatively cheaply (around £350 plus fitting) but a cage is always better. The Safety devices cage is the one used in the race series. about £1200ish to buy plus fitting. Ex Mk1 race cars tend to start around £3.5 to £4kish to buy, but wont have a lid so be prepared to get wet if it rains.
5) Spares are equally available for both cars cheaply
6) Giggle factor - I would say pretty much equal. The Clio is great fun, faster & sounds better and is probably more forgiving on the edge, but the 5 goes round corners on rails if set up well, just a bit under powered as standard for most people.

Hope that helps

 

[mikey4410]

Myself I would go for a clio. Lots of parts available and soooo much fun to drive

 

[JackD]

Been looking at a few Clios, there's one local to me with most track prep work done already so will go see that soon. Just keep stalling as it'll mean the M3 has to go!

 

[JackD]

What are people's opinions on these two

http://www.cliosport.net/threads/2001-clio-mk2-172-cup-road-legal-track-car-new-price-£2300.789271/

This one has an eBay style cage which I'm not too sure on, but won't need much doing to it. Maybe a few new bushes and solid engine mounts.

http://www.cliosport.net/threads/172-cup-track-car-£1750-with-pics.791277/

This ones cheaper but needs more work doing, rear window, cambelt, cage and buckets. It has had susp bush refresh though.