So earlier this year I bought myself an RSX-S to be my track car cause I came across a good deal. and cause of the good deal I didn't even consider anything else... well 5-6 track days and an autox later, and going on some ride alongs, I'm thinking maybe I don't want FWD for my track car.

I know this is an evo forum, and I've had an evo X before (sadly never tracked it, only autox), but try to remain impartial

my max is about 15k but I'd prefer to stay under 10k.
needs to be rwd or awd
turbo acceptable only in awd (SC ok with either)
doesn't need to be powerful, in fact I prefer not very powerful
needs to be reliable and not need a ton of work to get it track ready. I want a car to drive, not to work on.
while this won't by my daily, I don't want it to be a stripped out track only car. I will drive it on the street also.

cars I'm considering. if you have any tracking experience / knowledge about these, please chime in with whats required to make these track reliable (oil cooler, etc) other than the obvious tires and brakes. for the older cars, what needs to be refreshed. anything else worth considering


FRS/BRZ - would most likely buy this one at a salvage auction

S2000

Miata - if I find a good deal on a SC'd one. I don't really want to have to deal with SC'ing it myself, and NA they're just too slow. so this factor puts it in the unlikely list

E46 330 - but kinda scared after reading vorshlag's thread on a build they did and all of the worn BMW crap on it. this one is pretty low on my list (http://www.vorshlag.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8400)

Evo 8/9 (really 8 at my price point) - I'd have a low power track tune for it, somewhere between 250-280 whp

open to other suggestions also


cars that are out
STi
350Z - this would actually be perfect if it wasn't for a hot engine that ate oil and crappy tranny and flimsy uprights and the list goes on...


and a pic of me in action for bonus points


if anyone is curious about the RSX, most of the stuff I did to it and some review can be found here
http://forums.clubrsx.com/showthread...354&highlight=

 

Z + oil cooler would be a good option..

rsx-s is potentially very good for autox actually, in STF. I love fwd for autox. set the car up loose and go!

 

I know you are not looking to replace your evo, but here are some things on track weapon discussion:

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...tside-evo.html

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/lo...xt-merged.html

You can get a turboed mazdaspeed Miata that's like 205hp, too.

 

I couldn't own a Miata. But that's just me.


I see an Evo 8 in that price range being a basket case car, no thanks.


Rebuilt frs or brz would be good as long as you knew the frame was properly straightened or repaired as needed.

 

My issue with going into a car with less power is that it might not "feel" as fun when I unwind the throttle.

Go kart handling is great, but not having the power of my evo makes it underwhelming in the straights.

 

I had a Z before, a lot of issues creep up once you start tracking them... not really gonna work for me

the way a car feels when driven hard is more important to me then all out speed or time. I really hated the RSX at autox. Track is pretty decent with how I have it set up right now... but I wanna move away from fwd.

I actually don't have an evo right now. I read both of those threads as they were developing. everything brought up there is either too expensive or requires a lot more work than I wanna put in.

I actually looked into a MS Miata. turns out they're not that great for tracking. somehow they don't come on boost till almost 5k rpm, they have over heating issues, they really need a stand alone to run properly and I have to pass emissions every 2 years, so thats more or less out (although if I get a PNP unit I can plug in the stock ecu when I go in for inspection). really needs about 5k worth of crap before its a decent track car

care to elaborate on the basket case part? Having owned an evo (albeit an X) but never tracked it, I never really looked into what it needs to be a reliable track car. anything you know off the top of your head?

yeah, thats kinda what I'm thinking with the FRS/BRZ. I've bought salvaged cars before so thats not an issue. I wouldn't buy one that has frame damage, its usually fairly obvious from pics. anyone know anything about if it needs anything to be a reliable track car? how does the stock radiator handle the heat, does it need an oil cooler?

 

Consider an E36 M3

 

I would, and I love the car, but as far as track car, its kinda the same deal as the 330, except more BMWness cause its older...

 

My friend has an FR-S he runs. The only thing you need to do prior to tracking the car is upgrade the brakes. It needs pads, lines, fluid and front calipers. You will roast them your first track day 100%.

 

How about an LS swapped 3rd Gen RX7? http://www.norotors.com/

 

even calipers? really? it has bigger rotors than my rsx and race pads/fluid/lines is enough in that... and the RSX is faster than a stock FRS and about the same weight...

 

awesome in theory, but its a lot of non oem parts... which in reality means lots of tinkering

also a lot faster than what I want... an no ABS... being still somewhat of a n00b, I like to have the safety net of ABS for those oh sh*t moments

 

This might be a bit far out there, but is it possible for you to source a salvage title EVO 8 shell and build from there the way you want? You can source a cheap 4G64 or 4G69 block for $600, get a used EVO 8 head for about $650-900, then start building. You don't need huge power, so you might get away with buying a lot of used OEM parts.

EVO shell - aim for $3,000, salvage title or theft recovery is fine if it's just your track build
4G64/9 block - $600
head (used) - $900
valvetrain (new) - $500 (throw in some nice valves/springs/seals)
cams (new) - $500 (gsc s1, s2 etc...)
gaskets (new) - $400
pistons (new) - $450
rods (eagle, new) - $320
crank (used) - $200 (a stock 4G64 should suffice, can probably get cheaper or just buy with the block)
oil pump (new) - $230 [i'd recommend going new, it's a known bottle neck]

5spd transmission (used) - $1000
t-case (used) - $1000
rear diff - $800

clutch (new) - $500

with the shell you can probably get the axles, driveshaft, subframes, possibly stock suspension/linkage

at this point you're up to about $9900 with a built engine, new clutch...

Turbo is really up to you. FP Green or the like is a good extra few thousand. Finding a used stock frame setup would be less.

This assumes you can do a lot yourself, though. Machine shop costs might be around $500-1000 depending on what you need done and where you live.

If your budget is $15k, you still have a few thousand leftover to address any other areas of the car you want configured for a track car - suspension, brakes, roll bar etc...

All in all, you'll get a car tailored for your needs, with some performance parts bought new and it will be less than that of any complete EVO 8 you'll find.

Would be a major commitment and lots of researching deals online or locally, but I'm sure you can pull it off and still be under $15k.

 

The 3rd gens had ABS. You can even update the ABS http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=2737.0 Most of the parts are bulletproof, as long as its built correctly it shouldn't require much "tinkering"

 

while both of these would be awesome projects, they'd be just that, projects. I want a driver that I can modify slowly as I track it... one or 2 mods at a time.. I don't something that I need to spend months to years building

and theft recovery evo's are pretty rare, typically if they're stripped, then literally everything is stripped. it'd end up costing a lot more than 10k. although I'd be open to buying an evo with a blown engine for the right price...