Most durable budget 4dr track car.

Ok, first one to say "body kit" gets banned.

I'm thinking of ditching my MX 5 for something a bit more er...pedestrian. We have a new road course opening and I see myself doing considerably more track days. I'd like something I can beat on, then pick up the ankle biters if need be without having to go home and switch cars. I have an Outback for a daily.

Now obviously some of the cheaper ones may or may not be that durable, but take into consideration cheap consumables as well. For instance, Dodge Neon. Sure they die a fair bit, but my local pick n pull is full of them, so cheap to fix when something does grenade.

Some of the others I'm tossing around are the 2002-05 Nissan Spec V, motor issues for sure, but if you find one with the cat cut out they seem to hold up pretty well.

Civic sedan of multiple generations seems a no brainer.

Ford Focus / Mazda 3, these would be older, higher miles units to fit within a reasonable budget. Let's say sub 4 k as a price marker.

I used to have a 1996 Legacy wagon with the 2.2/5sp and Sti stuts with prodrive springs swapped in. Turned ok, just the getting going and a slowing down part was a little weak. Sadly, a guy asleep in a 4x4 shortened it by about 18 inches at a set of lights.

Anyways, you get the idea.

BP-Powered Protege. Integra.

You can get a really solid Focus for under $4k. Go below that for something a bit more used up and you'll have plenty of room in the budget for upgrades.

A '00 ZX3 stripper with an auto has been in my family since new with a nearly-abusive maintenance schedule at points, and it has been incredibly reliable. I can count on one finger the number of times something has gone wrong to leave it stranded. Almost 200k miles now and still going strong. I put SVT suspension on it about five years back (which needs freshening by now), which I think is about perfect for a street car. And the SVT kit is a bargain. You may want to get a bit more serious for track work, though.

Great aftermarket, good community support, too.

RX-8

E30, slaaaaam'D with maybe a fixie on the roof!

Awwwwww, yeyuh.

Note: body kit was not mentioned so I slide on a technicality

Like bgkast said, an RX8 is a great car. You can pick up an early Grand Touring now for under $7k! A new engine is preferable.

The Saab 92X is also an undervalued car. With the money you save over a WRX, you have a lot left over to spend on mods plus the interior is much nicer.

Ultimately, it really depends on what your budget is, how often you plan to track it and on what track.

My serious answer is the E36 328i if you can't find a 1998 M3 sedan in your price range.

+1 on the E36 328i. I picked up a 97 a few weeks ago, 1 owner, dealer maintained its entire life, 132,000 miles, $1000. What a great ride.

Alfa Milanos are decent too, if they are kept in good shape (proper maintenance) they are pretty tough as far as track day type of use.

+1 on the E36 328i or the M3/4(dr)/5(spd)

4 door Integra (see avatar). Huge aftermarket, you can always find go-fast parts on CL, junkyards are full of 'em. Every once in a while I look for a 4 door RS (no sunroof), but they didn't sell a lot of them in the DC body style.

Is the 328 really that durable? I have no practical experience with that platform. I understand it seems silly to say after stating that, but they "seem" fragile for track duty.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: E30, slaaaaam'D with maybe a fixie on the roof! Awwwwww, yeyuh. Note: body kit was not mentioned so I slide on a technicality

Hahahaha....mad tight!

colaboy wrote: Is the 328 really that durable? I have no practical experience with that platform. I understand it seems silly to say after stating that, but they "seem" fragile for track duty.

Do tell, how do they "seem" fragile?

Eurotuner even had one as a track day project: http://www.eurotuner.com/techarticles/eurp_1104_budget_track_day_car/viewall.html

Civic.

Travis_K wrote: Alfa Milanos are decent too, if they are kept in good shape (proper maintenance) they are pretty tough as far as track day type of use.

The Milano reliable???? Maybe if you replace every single rubber part on it and you baby the slow gearbox. I had a 87 Milano, and I would not call that car tough by any definition. Lovely handling, glorious engine, ugly as heck, but reliable? I know they've had success in chump/lemons, but my personnal experience differs.

It's hard to not recommend an E36 in this case.

For the OP, I vote spec v if you want something that's fast, if not necessarily precise. It goes about the business of going fast like a sledgehammer. Not subtle, but efficient. The fussy engine, means they are dirt cheap around here.

BP-protege are very nice, but since you come from Canada, good luck finding one that's not rusted back to dust,

Focus are not as fast as a spec v, but they are nicer to drive. Early cars have the same problem as the Protege: rust.

Wishbone front civic.

SlickDizzy wrote:

colaboy wrote: Is the 328 really that durable? I have no practical experience with that platform. I understand it seems silly to say after stating that, but they "seem" fragile for track duty.

Do tell, how do they "seem" fragile? Eurotuner even had one as a track day project: http://www.eurotuner.com/techarticles/eurp_1104_budget_track_day_car/viewall.html

Honestly anybody I know who has owned a late 90's 3 series, save the M3, has been a POS. Don't get me wrong, I love most BMW's, just my personal experience. Mind you, most 3 series around here are bought by kids who can just scrape the 5k together and don't exactly follow the maintenance schedule.

How much faith should I put in a higher mileage BMW six?

colaboy wrote: Honestly anybody I know who has owned a late 90's 3 series, save the M3, has been a POS. Don't get me wrong, I love most BMW's, just my personal experience. Mind you, most 3 series around here are bought by kids who can just scrape the 5k together and don't exactly follow the maintenance schedule. How much faith should I put in a higher mileage BMW six?

That is mostly because E36s are cheap enough now for the tuner crowd to buy and destroy...they are great if kept up.

My dad's E39 528i has 224k on the original engine; my E34 525i was sold at 210k and running great, my E28 528i has 240k when it was totalled, and my E36 325i was sold with 202k. And these are all timing chain motors, so there weren't 3-4 PITA timing belt changes in that mileage.

BMW sixes will go forever if you keep them up; the stock cooling system tends to be their only weakness (plastic impellers and end caps), but the aftermarket solved that issue long ago.

fanfoy wrote:

Travis_K wrote: Alfa Milanos are decent too, if they are kept in good shape (proper maintenance) they are pretty tough as far as track day type of use.

The Milano reliable???? Maybe if you replace every single rubber part on it and you baby the slow gearbox. I had a 87 Milano, and I would not call that car tough by any definition. Lovely handling, glorious engine, ugly as heck, but reliable? I know they've had success in chump/lemons, but my personnal experience differs.

I put 50k miles on one that wasn't even a particularly good example, and it only had one actual mechanical failure that made it not drivable during that whole time. I thought it was a pretty durable car as far as the mechanical stuff goes. Now if you want to complain about having no ground clearance, the awful headlights, less than outstanding interior materials, etc then yes I would agree. Once you get used to the gearbox they are fine if not too damaged/worn out.

Civic or Integra.

Protege5. Turns good, stops good. Could use a few more cc's but its definitely under $4k

colaboy wrote:

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: E30, slaaaaam'D with maybe a fixie on the roof! Awwwwww, yeyuh. Note: body kit was not mentioned so I slide on a technicality

Hahahaha....mad tight!

You spelled tyte wrong brosef