My Rx8 Track Car - First video

[marzman]

So after torturing myself for the last few months over what car to get next... this week im feeling like i'll put things off for 12 months or so and get myself a cheap track car instead.

 

At the moment im thinking road legal, not particularly fast, must be RWD, and under £2.5k. Im leaning towards a mk3 MX5 (maybe CAT C or D for my budget) or an RX8 - but the reliability is quite off putting as i could be buying a lemon.

 

Other options could be an e30 BMW but they seem hard to find at that budget these days (unless you want a 316 auto), or occasionally a Porsche 924 or 944 comes up around that budget.

 

I had considered an IS200 as they're RWD and was briefly tempted by Tarmac's for sale at the moment, but i want something a bit more fun to drive.

 

Longer term i may buy a trailer to tow it to track days but not right now.

 

Reviews on the mk3 MX5 say its not great and not as good as previous gen cars... but surely for RWD fun it's got to be right up there hasnt it??

Edited June 24, 2017 by marzman

[Paddy78]

I think the mk3 might be a bit lardy compared to the mk2. Incidentally, why not the mk2 or a mk3 mr2 as that is mid engine and rear drive?

Edited April 20, 2017 by Paddy78

[marzman]

Yeah thats my understanding too. I wanted something a bit newer. I think the mk2's and the MR2's look a bit too dated now. I know this is a pointless consideration for a track car, but its what im thinking.

[Wendy]

The MZ5 are supossed to be great fun and cheap running.

 

There are MK5 Club Track DAy events and race series I believe.

Certainly was a few years back when I was looking at the Race Series.

 

Have to say I am loving driving a Rear wheel drive on track. It seems so much more natural to me.

[brillomaster]

*ahem* BMW 330ci *ahem

 

fast, sounds good, lots of weight to strip out, and if you keep it on standard road tyres its the sweetest drift machine you'll ever drive, just dances through corners.

 

or go a bit more serious, £2.5k would get you a decent car, £400 on tyres, £200 on brakes and £400 on suspension, then you've have a very well sorted machine.

[Ekona]

MR2 mk3, easy. Engine in the right place, cheap as chips to buy, cheaper to run, better to drive than anything else you've mentioned.

 

And yes, the mk3 MX5 is as bad as they say. I felt it was numb and flat, neither of which applied to the mk1 I owned. RX8 is awesome, but budget for a few upgrades immediately (Sohn adaptor, Corvette coilpacks, tanker full of two stroke etc) above the regular stuff.

 

 

Honest, out of the box the MR2 will be way more fun than anything else. Ask Docwra, he'll tell you just how awesome they are on track.

[un1eash]

I would of said mk3 MR2, a few mods and stripped out makes a very good track car.

[The Bounty Bar Kid]

When you say the mx5 mk2 is dated. Do you mean the mk 2 or 2.5? The mk2 looks awesome in my opinion. 2.5 looks a bit poo imo.

Edited April 20, 2017 by The Bounty Bar Kid

[LukeA]

I had an Rx8 but never tracked it. The handling was crazy good even on standard suspension, I would have loved to track it. The only thing to let it down is torque and you won't get any gains in Bhp unless you charge it. I had full exhaust inc decat and uprated ignition coils and it made all of 10bhp aha

Im even thinking about getting one just to track it as there cheap and I'm biased towards them as for reliability just get it rotary compression tested and you'll know if it's good from that.

[GMballistic]

You didn't mention mileage if that's a concern.

Tbh I'd just put your budget into Autotrader with your drivetrain selection, gearbox selection and a 0-60 time selection (I'm assuming under 8secs), ...loads of choices pop up.

 

Then maybe list some of the possibles you like which you've seen.

[TT350]

Apart from the niggles my Focus ST170 has, which are due to neglect from previous owners, it's a good car and the engine really shines. The Focus chassis was always good and the ST improves on it.

 

I absolutely THRASH mine every day and the engine just wants more. The gears are good but between 1st and 2nd it could do with being a little closer.

 

200hp can be had with Jenvey throttle bodies. Throw in some hot cams and headwords and you're looking at 210-220.

 

Stripped out and we'll set up I'd absolutely relish it as a track car.

[Diggerman]

8ve had two rx8s and they are so good on handling from stock let alone with mods! I'm looking out for another just for track work, if you've got a 2.5k budget you can get a dud for couple hundred quid and get a rebuild for that and then you know you've got a solid engine, only reliability issues arise from poor maintenance simple as that. And as for working on them there a piece of ****, engine can be pulled rebuild and refitted in no time at all and everything else is a doddle

[Strudul]

I'll just leave this here

 

[The Bounty Bar Kid]

You can get one of those for under 2.5k? Tell me where

[Jetpilot]

I dont think you would have any less fun in any of them although I would prefer an older variant mx5. I would also imagine if your into tinkering and improving you will find far more availability for upgrades with the mx5 judging by the time I spend on mxnutz.

[Jay84]

Mk3 mr2 are more stable than the mk2 I've always found but there isn't much you can do to improve power unless you get hold of a t sport or compressor engine to put in. But timing chain and an engine that is OK being thrashed. Rx8s feel pretty well balanced. Not had the chance to track an mx5.

 

I know, not the most helpful.

Edited April 21, 2017 by Jay84

[Ekona]

I'll just leave this here

Well done for picking the least suitable track car ever, and a car that is well out of the OP's budget. Might as well have suggested a P1 GTR, be just as useful.

 

Mk3 mr2 are more stable than the mk2 I've always found but there isn't much you can do to improve power unless you get hold of a t sport or compressor engine to put in. But timing chain and an engine that is OK being thrashed.

It's only on the power tracks you'd want for more power on the mk3, stuff like Spa and Silverstone. All other tracks are absolutely fine with the 140bhp, bearing in mind it weighs less than a ton.

[docwra]

Ask Docwra, he'll tell you just how awesome they are on track.

 

Ill tell you one thing, they are awesome on track

 

The balance, the steering and brakes are as good as anything this side of an Elise (arguably better), they drift beautifully and give great feedback to the driver. Reeling in a well driven but much faster car due to your braking and corner speed advantages is one of the most rewarding experiences youll have on track. Ill tend to use mine over my BMW these days as its just as much fun but immeasurably cheaper (especially when inevitable wall interface occurs)

 

Sure, they are a bit slow on the straight bits but the corners make up for it, 4 perfectly neutral 4 wheel drifts at 100mph in a standard car isnt something you get every day.

 

Id add that FWD can be fun on a new track but youll have it mastered by lunchtime, if youre not keen on the MR2 then RX8 or earler MX5 would be exactly where Id be looking too

[Zeezeebaba]

My money would be on a Mk2 MX5, cheap and a plethora of parts about should you need them.

 

[brillomaster]

Kinda depends what you want from a track car as to what is best, and also the tracks you'll likely be driving at.

 

if you want light, nimble and frequent smaller tighter tracks like cadwell park and blyton park, then I'd go mx5 or MR2.

 

if you want a bit more straight line speed and drive more power circuits like donnington or snetterton, I'd go for some kind of beemer.

 

personally I like a bit more power and a front engined, rwd chassis with a relatively long wheelbase for ease of driving, even in the wet. sure we're not so good through chicanes, but fast flowing stuff is great.

 

but quite frankly, anything is entertaining when driven on a track... even the worst handling fwd POS can be made to rotate with aggressive use of the steering and brakes.

[brillomaster]

On another note, where are all the people on here who do trackdays! I do pretty one trackday a month in the beemer, usually on weekends, and I very rarely bump into anyone else on the forum who does trackdays! would love to see how cars compare.

 

tell you what, it was mega satisfying reeling in a Porsche Cayman at Bedford the other week, despite a major power and handling deficit!

[docwra]

tell you what, it was mega satisfying reeling in a Porsche Cayman at Bedford the other week, despite a major power and handling deficit!

 

Try an E46 M3 in 138hp of MR2

 

Time is my biggest enemy, Id love to do more (Bedford and Snetterton are both within an hour, Rockingham, Silverstone, Blyton, Brands, Donny within 2) but its a struggle, I travel a lot with work and when Im here I usually need to be in office. I need to take the BMW somewhere fast in the near future but at the moment its looking like at least a couple of months, if not more

 

We have a trackday group on FB that works well though, theres about 80 members so if anyone books anything a few more will jump on, we usually get a discount if theres 5 or more of us going somewhere and have had a few days where theres 20 or so of us, thats awesome banter

 

Will be at Spa and Nur in October though, get involved

[grahamc]

What would be your regular tracks?

 

Having had a standard MX5 MK2.5, I found it painfully slow on some of the faster tracks (Thruxton, Castle Combe, Goodwood - ok maybe all of them). However, with a supercharger it was a different animal altogether. I have been looking at RX8s for some time now as a replacement, since I had to sell the MX5 - I am just not sure on the reliability front.

 

The GTR is just too expensive on track! Tyres, brakes and fuel are just silly......... but the car is also too fast! At a recent Thruxton day, nothing came close and I spent a lot of time scaring people just because of the approach speed when I caught them. So I have a plan for a new track car, old, no ABs, no powersteering, etc but will keep it underwraps until I can confirm

[Ekona]

Combe should be ideal for low power cars, you can just keep your foot in with no fear of actually doing any harm. I remember doing a day there in an R300 and by the end I was 100% throttle and reaching the limit of the gearing, that was an ace day

[grahamc]

Combe should be ideal for low power cars, you can just keep your foot in with no fear of actually doing any harm. I remember doing a day there in an R300 and by the end I was 100% throttle and reaching the limit of the gearing, that was an ace day

 

The problem with Combe is all the exits of the corners are just straight lines, so could never get passed anything and then they just slowed me in the corners. No one every let me passed in the MX5 either, so maybe the experience is more related to how the trackday was run.

 

Foot flat everywhere is a little boring need to have some variation!