Anyone running a cheap track car?

[lynchy]

Clio cup 182 on 82k miles in racing blue.

Myself and the co-owner are into it for about £4K all in, the bulk of that is in the cage, exhaust and seats/harnesses. Car itself was only £1100 and would be great as is. Rest of the money is in suspension and tyres.

It's a cracking car and with incredible grip / traction that surprises a lot of bigger cars.
R
Plans for this year are 2x trips to Nurburgring, and continuous track days in the uk (last one 12/12/15 next one is next weekend!)

Cracking cars the Clios and very capable on track ! The cornering speeds are just insane

[RossDagley]

Just swapping out the front coilovers as ours were only 400lbs springs - need new shocks to support the 740lbs springs we're going for.

Also got slicks for it today so cornering should be even more mental...

[MartayMcFly]

A little late to this party, but knowing I'd be Audi-less for a while between selling the RS4 and the RS6 being delivered and with the intention of keeping me from modding the RS6, I picked up a 53-plate Mini Cooper S towards the end of last year and have slowly been trackifying it (that's a word, right?). It was a mate's Mum's runabout from new, so had good mileage and although most of the subframe etc is rusting, mechanically it's sound.

First step was brakes (AP 304mm 4-pots), and light wheels to bin the runflats (TD 1.2s, though now with winter rubber) then I started on power. I got an Airtec top-mount intercooler, a 17% reduction pulley on the charger, NGK colder plugs, Janspeed 4-1 manifold and decat and Milltek non-res system. I've also got the cat cut down to swap in should I need it for noise limits, MOT or possibly a bit more back pressure. It's currently putting out 208bhp at the fly, with the plan to get a camshaft and fit 550cc injectors to then get remapped towards the 240/250bhp mark. When I'm next home I've got Pole Positions and 6-point harnesses to fit and I'll gut most of the interior to leave it bearable on the street, but it'll only ever be a back-up away from the track so doesn't need most of the comforts. Once nice weather shows up again, I plan to step down to 16" wheels and something like r888 tyres.

Also, as I mentioned, most of the underside is flaky and brown so will be stripping it all off and getting the lot blasted and what's worth keeping will be coated (not sure about powdercoating vs just a rattle can of Hammerite yet). Then coilovers, adjustable arms, beefier ARBs etc etc will keep it settled.



edit - forgot to mention cost. I bought the car for £3300, and have about £2k in it already with I'd expect at least another £2k to go (and that's not including insurance or tax etc).

[marc1]

All your FWD cars are making me feel a little sick in the stomach at how much we have put into the old E36. It's a great car and has been built on a budget to a certain extent, but it all adds up!

[RossDagley]

Nice! Those are quite affordable now - didn't realise they were so cheap. Great base

[MartayMcFly]

All your FWD cars are making me feel a little sick in the stomach at how much we have put into the old E36. It's a great car and has been built on a budget to a certain extent, but it all adds up!

I did start by looking for a nice E36/46 to have some sideways fun, even considered the likes of an S2000 or maybe S14/15 but the rarity of the BMs and the cost of a decent RWD toy made me lean back towards FWD. The Mini is also simple enough that I've done all the work on it myself with zero background or training as a mechanic (with the exception of the Milltek which was fitted as part of the price). Next big task will be convincing myself I'm competent enough to fit an LSD. I'll outsource the media blasting just because I don't have the kit, and will get someone who knows what they're doing to do all the final set up once the suspension is all sorted.

[Siwilkie]

Im selling my mini cooper s which ive been preparing towards track use spent 4900 on mods id take 4k full car goes very well very capable car in deed

[Siwilkie]

running 230 hp plus very nice big jobs done ready to roll as is or invest a grand on brakes n suspension and one hell of a tool

[Siwilkie]

Sold subject to payment in morning

[marc1]

Sold subject to payment in morning

FaisalJ ?

[marc1]

Clio cup 182 on 82k miles in racing blue.

Myself and the co-owner are into it for about £4K all in, the bulk of that is in the cage, exhaust and seats/harnesses. Car itself was only £1100 and would be great as is. Rest of the money is in suspension and tyres.

It's a cracking car and with incredible grip / traction that surprises a lot of bigger cars.

Plans for this year are 2x trips to Nurburgring, and continuous track days in the uk (last one 12/12/15 next one is next weekend!)

What had been done to the Clio before you bought it? You must have spent more than £4k on it surely? The cage looks like a decent multi point weld in job. That must be c.£3k. Does it meet any competition regs? I am liking that very much. Good work.

[FaisalJ]

Sold subject to payment in morning

FaisalJ ?

Nope, looks like I missed it

Good shout though Martay and Siwilkie, I wouldn't have thought a cooper s would be anywhere close to budget!

Still favouring a clio though just because there seem to be lots of prepped ones about fairly cheap.

Good thread this, lots of ideas, thanks fellas!

[marc1]

Sold subject to payment in morning

FaisalJ ?

Nope, looks like I missed it

Good shout though Martay and Siwilkie, I wouldn't have thought a cooper s would be anywhere close to budget!

Still favouring a clio though just because there seem to be lots of prepped ones about fairly cheap.

Good thread this, lots of ideas, thanks fellas!

Arh, shame. Looked a good car, didn't it?! I quite like the mini's. PJC had a fully prepped car a few years ago and it was very quick on track.

As a sudden change in situations, the E36 may be up for sale. It will need a little elbow grease though so will go cheap. Either that or we'll go the full hog with it, currently discussing with Will, the joint owner.

If it might be something you are interested in, drop me a PM and I'll give you my number. It will be about the same as a new set of wheels for you I have a full break down of what it's had and what it could do with if you wanted to go all out.

[Siwilkie]

You tend to find the clio lads buying minis after a bit more power but they definitely are alot of fun for the money if my sale fails ill post up

[lynchy]

My R26 is great on track ! And cheap to run etc