I’m thinking P71. It needs to be family-friendly ie: no C4’s, no Miata’s unfortunately.
Is it as simple as whatever you’re driving at the time? I’m simply toying with the idea of attempting some track days with whatever I’ll purchase after I give my truck to my son next year.
(I’d love a rwd manual but I know that REALLY narrows down the choices)
BTW, I’ve been reading GRM’s article on your first track day .
4-door e46 330i? I see them all the time around here for under $5k in good shape, often with manual transmission....
ex: https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/nva/cto/d/2001-bmw-330i-5spd-manual/6547362082.html
Protege. Cheapest rustfree one you can find.
I’ve had my eyes on G35’s for a while now. I’m not sure if the “under-braked-ness” is real though. Or if so, can it be easily overcome?
In reply to ebonyandivory :
Same brakes as the z33 right? I'm pretty sure there's solutions.
Define "family friendly"?
You can pretty much track any car you have if you're taking the appropriate precautions. I'm assuming we're talking HPDE or similar here?
In reply to BoxheadCougarTim :
Yes. Well, not a two seater and one preferably that has the potential for 5 people. P71, G35, Accord. No subcompacts, I’m 6’-3” 240lbs.
The problem with the e46 is the amount of preventative maintenance it needs before tracking (coolant refresh, bushings, VANOS seals, reinforcements...). If I followed just the recommended maintenance, my (new to me) $3500 E46 330i would easily pass the $5000 mark and that's just playing catchup. Add in some performance oriented rubber and suspension and we've doubled the price of the car.
It is a great option if you can pull it off. If you could buy one from an enthusiast where all that work has been done already, that'd be the way to go.
Maybe E36, non M3? take what you saved on car and spend on those mods we were talking about?
1st gen Mini Coopers are surprisingly spacious inside, and they're fun on the track. Won't seat five people, though. I've had four in mine, and three of us are about the same height - 5'10-6'. Might be a little small for your requirements.
You can find an E34 with a stick in your budget, and they're spacious and still pretty fun to drive.
You know what? I think the answer is Swedish.
Manual Turbo Brick for the RWD option. Manual Saab 9-3 2.0 turbo for the FWD option.
Both could be had for pennies on the dollar, both have a good enthusiast following, and both have go-fast aftermarket support.
In reply to Hungary Bill :
Interesting! (Plus I’m Swedish myself!)
I loved my wife's saab 9-3 Aero. It was very respectable in almost every aspect. (all stock). I bet GRM could get a lot out of that car without breaking a sweat.
M4ff3w had a manual swapped volvo wagon on home-brew coilovers that was BLISTERINGly fast through the twisties. I'd be very happy driving either at an HPDE or Auto-x
also:
Lots of good suggestions already. Among cars I've personally owned (or spent a lot of time driving) and taken to the track...
Various BMW models from the '90s and early '00s would work. An E36 or E46 3'er is the obvious choice. But E34 and maybe E39 5'ers would also work. Try to find an inline-6 example rather than a V8; they're cheaper and easier to work on.
The Protege and Mazda3 are also excellent. Great handing for a FWD car. I'd add the Ford Focus as well. As far as I know, the Focus and Mazda3 are pretty similar.
I had a student with a 2003 Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V at Tremblant. Some of the ergos were a little off (for me): the seating position was too high and the shifter was vague. But it was quick and handled well.
In reply to Hungary Bill :
Used to be my screensaver!
Just a note on Protégés; I had a 2001 ES and used it for an instructor training day but on sticky tires they're know oil to suffer from starvation issues on occasion. If your home track has long high G sweepers it's something to be mindful of. With that said they are a great handling car.
No as your genetic handicap precludes certain cars I'd say an older BMW is a good pick. I'm a Japanese car go so I'd go with the aforementioned Protege, Mazda 3 or Sentra SE-R. A Subaru Imprezza RS would work well also.
My next track car is going to be an Accord V6.
In reply to Woody :
That’s one of the cars what I had in mind in my op. Care to elaborate?
Have a 09 P71 I am thinking of selling. It has an INDICATED 128K on it, but about a year ago the rear axle was swapped for a NON police car axle: 279-1 vs 327-1 , so currently no speed demon. Tires have 3K on them, General Altimaxxes. As near as I can tell it will need a battery in future (current one is "good", just no idea when it was installed. )
Cons? Paint has peeled back off roof, so a largish rusty looking patch. No other big problem areas, but about 6-7 nickel-sized areas where paint was....removed to get graphics removed. Does not appear to have ever been crashed.
In reply to Woody :
Never mind! https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/accord-6-speed-v6-coupe-as-a-track-car/105810/page1/
ebonyandivory said:In reply to Woody :
That’s one of the cars what I had in mind in my op. Care to elaborate?
I've had three V6 Accords, all bought new, 2004, 2010, 2014.
I'm debating between another 2003-2007 (double wishbones and optional six speed in the sedan for 06-07, 240-ish hp), and a 2008-2012 (struts and auto only in the sedans, but 271-hp and much nicer inside).
The 2004 was wrecked by my daughter and she now owns the 2010. I liked the 2004, but I almost completely love the 2010. The only thing that I don't like in the 2010 is that they have a variable ratio steering. You can feel the ratio change when the steering wheel gets to around the eleven and one o'clock positions. It's annoying. That started in 2008. Otherwise, the car is a comfortable rocket ship.
ebonyandivory said:In reply to Woody :
Never mind! https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/accord-6-speed-v6-coupe-as-a-track-car/105810/page1/
Except now I really need another sedan. I can live with the automatic if I have to. The 2008-2012 automatic is better than the 2003-2007.
2006.5 or newer GTI. Brake pads and fluid and you are doing track days. (And maybe some Audi TTRS brake cooling ducts).
Also, how do you think a P71 Crown Vic is a good track car candidate? Automatic, very heavy and you will need huge expensive brakes to slow it down.
The problem with using a regular car at a track day is that the other track day cars have gotten so fast. Use to be there were a few fast cars, and lots of daily driver types. Now it seems everything is either really fast in stock form or its something so insanely over the top that it can't run in SCCA events.
4dr accord 4cyl 5sp, specifically the 03-07 ones with the k series. The v6 is nice, I love it in my Odyssey, but the car will be significantly heavier, and are almost exclusively automatics. Reliable as gravity, and cheap to repair.
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