Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

hi motorsport heads!

as seems to be a pretty common thing to do I went and bought a super clean GTR with all the fruit early in '09... I was intending to track it like my old 33GTSt but other priorities have gotten in the way and now I've grown attached to it I'm a bit gunshy about taking it out on the track... I've never been able to take a car out and treat it nicely, red mist descends and I always end up thrashing the thing to within an inch of its life (and often beyond)

sooo I want to keep the R as a street car... its a bit loud, thirsty, harsh and demonic for normal people on the street but I have something wrong with me so I enjoy driving it... even at the speed limit... yes I'm a little strange but my mum says I'm just special

I'm not really concerned with times, I just want to have some fun again but don't want to constantly worrying about 'what that noise is'... something I can use for autocross, motorkhana stuff as well as some track work... something that's easy on brakes and tyres and isn't too nice to be left on the street as we only have a 1 car garage

anyway enough drivel... I've narrowed it down to an early Mazda MX5 or an E30 325 BMW... both can be had for 5-7K and will let me throw some cash at setting it up for the track

(Your probably thinking why the girls cars, well its all about the corners!... 99% of cheap trackday thrashers are going to feel slow in a straight line after getting out of the R anyway)

I need your opinion peoples... which one?

I'm open to other suggestions as well but the criteria are:

sub 10K

RWD

N/A

light as fark

easy(ish) to work on

road registered

ps. does this make me gay?

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/332565-track-car-choice/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 124
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

yep of the 2 options I would go the MX5. more options for racing it around australia as they are a very popular club race car.

also look at some 80s alfa track cars around the place. lots of those around and they are great fun to drive.

ps, don't put the rotor in it. as cool and as fun as it would be the cost of owning and running the thing would just go right out the window and it would also make it ineligible for any class of racing that it would be competitive in. keep it cheap and simple with the original donk in it and you will have fun. not sure how much better the 1.8 is over the 1.6 but I seem to remember they are quite an improvement.

why not get a 33 or a 32 gtst ,can pick em up for under 5k easy these days in pretty good nick, another 5k for mods and your flying...also if you wanted, instead of buying brakes for it just take the gtr ones off and buy new ones for the gtr...etc etc...most of your bits are interchangeable..swat i'd be doin :worship:

MX5!!! I am currently hunting for a primo NA6 or NA8. For 10K you can get a decent NA6 with plenty of mods + cash left over. On the flip side, you would most prob be better off paying an extra $2K and get an NA8 with few mods for your 10K budget....

I dont know the difference in power between the 1.6 and 1.8 but i think they both would be just as enjoyable as each other. Having driven Evil Weevils NA8 i have to say i am a huge fan and enjoyed the it considering the power reduction coming from my S13 track car!

So in short for 10K budget racing NA8 is your answer :worship:

definitely no motor swaps on the cards... I was just wondering why its not more popular

Alfas are great but I'm just wary of them from a reliability point of view... my old man has had many over the years and they aren't cheap to fix... but then again would be no worse in that area than the E30

I thought about 32GTSt but everyone asks stupid prices for them or they have rubbish mods (or both) and at the end of the day its a turbo RWD so will go through tyres and I'll end up upping the boost or doing something silly with it

Had a 33GTSt and they're great but too heavy for what I want... I want sub 1200kgs... sub 1000kgs would be ideal

if I was to go turbo it would be an S14... but I don't want another turbo... I wanna have some n/a fun... I like AE86's too but the prices people want for them are hilarious

Of those two go the MX-5 Nick, but have you considered an NA S13? They are dirt cheap to buy and cost SFA to maintain. Being so simple they are also very easy to work on.

It might just be but I like the idea of something over my head, roll cage or not.

I know there are plenty of BMWs in motorsport but you will find a great community and a lot of resources surrounding the MX-5.

The cost different to service, repair, and modify would be notable too I'd reckon.

Still prefer to see you in a Nissan, even if it is NA.

Side bar, S15 Autech track only from auction? Cheap as chips... newest car you'd get in that price bracket?

S13 with n/a sr20 with quads?

problem also with 86 is the 4age its hard to get good power out of them. mate build a work 4ag with huge hks cams and major headwork (stock bottom end) and only push 145hp i think at the rears or maybe it was 170hp cant remember

i hate to say it buy if you want NA and lightweight honda is the go EG civic with a b18c or k20 will net you 200hp+ sub 1000kg and be very quick only problem is they are FF :worship:

Edited by Kaido_RR

the beauty of the MX5 over Silvias is there plenty of ones out there that have been reasonably well looked after...

I just showed my wife a pic of an MX5 andasked her what she thought... her reply was "its cute, is it fast"... me "not really"... her "well why do you want it then"... lol she may have a point...

the beauty of the MX5 over Silvias is there plenty of ones out there that have been reasonably well looked after...

I just showed my wife a pic of an MX5 andasked her what she thought... her reply was "its cute, is it fast"... me "not really"... her "well why do you want it then"... lol she may have a point...

If she thinks it is cute and likes it then there is no way you can get it... in my experience, the more they hate it the cooler it is. Like when I had my 240Z and my missus would not step foot in it!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Nice, thanks for sharing your progress....that's a pretty long list you are putting into it!
    • Decided to upgrade my pressurised plastic coolant expansion tank for a fancy pants alloy version The OEM versions can get brittle, even the new plastic one I got when I first got the car is a starting to show signs of "stress" I wasn't cheap, but it is basically unbreakable
    • Morning all, I have an RB25DET Neo that's in need of a rebuild. Will need new pistons etc due to detonation damage. Would anyone be able to recommend a shop in Southeast Queensland who I could bring my long motor to for a rebuild? Just want someone who knows RBs and whos built a bunch of them before. TLDR - recommended engine shops for RB rebuild.
    • Gday Thought it was about time I started a build thread! As expected this project has snowballed into a huge financial liability, but unless you’re strong willed and responsible, it’s not a surprise. Background -  My first turbo car was an R32 GTS-4, got my full license and then totalled my Au Falcon a week later, so while trying to sell my RMZ450 dirtbike to buy another car a bloke offered to swap the R32 which at the time I felt like I was ripped off but looking back and seeing prices of those now ($40kish) it was a good deal, I didn’t know enough about these cars to appreciate what I had so sold it before the RB20 blew up. Between here and there, out of 12 cars I’ve owned the note worthy ones are a V8 Lexus SC400 (soarer), a couple of XR6 Turbos and my beloved S15 which I had for about 3 years, picked it up for $12500, repairable write off but she was fine, gun metal grey/pewter and bone stock/unmolested until I got my hands on it. Ended up spending about the value of the car and 280kw, 2 demerit points by the time I got defected and sold it for $14500 (also $40kish in today’s market, rip) Fast forward to the present day, I’m in a much better position financially and daily an MQ Triton (great cars, pipe down Ranger Bois), I cruised marketplace and car sales for a few months looking for another R32, the best deal I could find was an absolute rust bucket half finished project for $12000, until this R33 popped up in Port Macquarie for $18k - unregistered and barely running but decent shape, kept an eye on it for a few weeks and the price steadily dropped, $16k then $15k then $14k, that was the point where I was like shit someone’s gonna snatch this up! It was owned by a young bloke who had big plans but him and his missus just had a baby so smartest move financially for them but big gain for me. So 2 days later I’m towing a car trailer to pick this thing up. Roughly 2 weeks and $3500 later I’m cruising around Newcastle in my beat up R33 all smiles and dose noises! It only needed some basic shit to get it going, coil packs and air flow meter, electrical stuff and all fluids changed, 158k kms and running pretty good, nice smooth engine after oil and coolant flush - when I say coolant I mean it had been filled up with tap water, every gallery and heater element was filled with rust, 8-9 flushes later and still had brown liquid coming out but she’ll be right. The car was painted R34 Bayside Blue at some point but whether it was a cheap job or just not looked after is anyone’s guess, clear coat flaking like sausage roll.  Was rethinking my choices and contemplating life, had it up for sale for $22k - still cheaper than any registered R33 but got little interest, next minute I had an opportunity at work - 6 months overseas for good money, so that was a no brainer, fast forward again and here we are with a 50% finished project. Current Mods - 200ish KW according to butt dyno Was tuned with Apexi PowerFC EBC (old school Greddy Profec)  Stock turbo (more shaft play than a Tinder date gone right) 3inch turbo back Varex muffler  Aftermarket injectors of mystery size, Power FC showed 36% duty cycle at full boost so not behd good size Someone had good intentions but stuck with the stock R33 MAF so we had misfires at 6000rpm due to the MAF hitting 5.2V So far I’ve redone the entire interior with carpet form Car Mats Direct, new Seats and steering wheel from Autotechnica, also sound system by Autobarn (mainly Kicker) Also MCA pro comfort coil overs - Hands down best purchase yet, worlds of improvement over the tired 30yrold shocks Goals - 450kw/600hp on flex tune New paint job - Midnight Purple 2 Engine is at the shop getting rebuilt with forged rods a pistons, new valves and springs, ATI Harmonic balancer, Aeroflow 7.5L sump, rear head drain and oil restrictors as per oil control thread* and cam covers modded for larger breathers, other stuff I can’t recall of the top of my head Parts purchased and to be installed once the engine is done -  Engine loom from Wiring Specialties including these options: Haltech Nexus S3 R35 Coil pack conversion  PRP Dual Trigger kit Fan controller  Other Parts -  262 Kelford Cams Turbo - Hypergear ATR43SS3-ProS with T51R mod (whistly boi) 6 boost manifold (high mount) 50mm Turbosmart Pro gate (plumbed back for legal reasons) HKS Super Turbo Exhaust with High Flow Cat Custom 3.5inch dump and front pipe 1500cc Bosch injectors  Fuel Pump walbro 525 Haltech MAP and IAT sensors Haltech Flex Sensor Fenix Radiator with dual thermo fans LS1 Alternator Kit Oil Filter Relocation from EFI solutions and Cooling pro oil cooler Many other things sitting in my garage waiting for that engine to come back. Progress pics to follow -  
    • Losses have to be less with DC coupling. Provided the battery inverter has decent MPP tracking ability - which really shouldn't be a problem. It's not 2005 any more.
×
×
  • Create New...