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choice of track car

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choice of track car

bulldog5046

bulldog5046

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Howdee,

i'm keen to build a track car so i dont stack the marea before her time, i have norrowed it down to a choice of 2 cars/projects that i think are suitable so would appreciate any opinions/input/experience people have.

my first choice was an S1 106 Rallye, just to be stripped out, caged and the usual stuff.

the second is to build a Tipo Turbo, i like this idea because it would be fun to build and could be done on quite a small budget as the tipo's are going cheap as well as the 16v turbo coop's, i'm not phased by the building of the project just wonder if it is a suitable car for track use or if it will be too much of a handful?

i've been driving the Marea for some 2 years and she has been out around castle combe on a number of occasions and i love how she drives but i'm scared of trashing her, a second marea isnt an option as they are just too expensive on maintainence and general up-keep - i know a tipo turbo wont be cheap but its just a bit more interesting so i would foot the bills

Thanks,
Ry
 
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Go for the S1 Rallye, or maybe an S2, but S1 are more hard core. Dont change the engine though, keep that sexy 1.3 8ver, its a pretty damn good mental engine :D

Stripped, caged, buckets, harness and all that fancy crap and some nice track tyres and a pugsport and your a winnner :D
 
if your after a donor tipo i have one lol. its basically the same as the marea as you know so you got a bit of knowledge on it already! really though your best bet would probably be the 106 as stripped out it'd be significantly lighter. but obviously not as powerful.

ask sedicirich as he's got the tipo race car, and would be able to give you plenty of advice as to whether its what you're after.

or an alfa 155. saloon tipo and often go quite cheaply too, you can get a front splitter for £25ish, choice of rear spoilers, including the silverstone one with jacking kit. and look stunning as well as suspension kits designed for them. lower drag coefficient than tipo but more weight.
 
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As much as it pains me to recommend a French car :)yuck:) over a gorgeous Italian, if you want a razor sharp handling track weapon with proven pedigree for peanuts then a Peugeot 205 GTi can't be beat.

1.6 models are plenty fast enough with a chassis that has limits way beyond most people, and the 1.9 models are rather quick to say the least. If you want to go bonkers then an Mi16 engine (I think that's the one?) will swap in fairly easily and give you stupid amounts of performance.

A Tipo Turbo would be fun but do remember that a turbo can be a bit of a handful on a track. Get the boost kicking in mid corner and prepare to go sideways! A n/a engine would be somewhat more controllable.

Another car worth looking at if you can find one that hasn't disintegrated is a Citroen AX GT. Amazing handling for a car of its size, and the Saxo VTR engines will swap in. You could probably get the 106 Rallye engine in as well (I think it's based on the same 8v 1360 lump?) Problem is most AX GT's fell to bits as soon as they hit 70K...

Anyway, good luck with whatever you choose (y)
 
Mazda MX5. Was on a track day last Thursday, best handling, fastest car there. Was a modded Jap import. And you know what the jap's do with cars.

Or the 106 Rally
 
i had thought about a pug 205 and there are some big advantages, they are so common that parts and advice shouldnt be a problem.

i keep getting told to use a 1.9 engine with a 1.6 box, i guess it would shift.

but you know me, i like to be different.

does the S1 106 come with the same engine in any other models to save to pulling all the exterior trim off to save weight? :p

i'm at the moment leaning towards the 106 but this isnt really a project i will be starting for another year or so as i have too much on at present.

we will see.....
 
look at what track racing is available in your local area because there is no point getting a car that you wont be able to use competitively; unless you only plan to go to open track days, in which case it doesnt really matter what you get.
 
Big factor with getting on track is cost. If you look at any racing series you're going to be looking at thousands to get it through the scruiteneers.

Track days are obviously much cheaper but you don't get the thrill of being able to race.
 
A track prepared Alfa 156 2.0L Twinspark :slayer:. Engine race prepared (new cams, exhaust, port tuning etc as well as counterbalance shaft removed).

As said racing in even the most amateur leagues is very expensive usually in the region of £12k-£15k for entry. Your best off banger racing which is really cheap in comparison.
 
i wont be entering any races, just using it for trackdays.

my local tracks are Castle Combe and Llandow both of which are just big ovals really.....

i'm thinking a fast car is for the best but i will travel to tracks further afield so bound to be more technical places to go.
 
hehe, caterams & westfield type cars CAN BE BLINDING QUICK.

however, driving them anywhere near the edge is as scary as you like, and th fact it was bolted/welded together by a shifting looking guy in a shed = you won't want to go near the edge. and thanks to their low weigh/hi grip/hi power per tonne THEY ARE UBER TWITCHY, not like a fwd eurohatch where you can lift off oversteer till the cows come home, one wrong throttle response and you've got a super fast spin on your hands that no amount of steering lock + throttle will sort out.

believe me I've tried :D


A much better car would be my uno turbo ;)*

*shameless plug:):):):):):):):)
 
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