So I am looking for some opinions on what makes up the ideal track day car. I currently own an 06 Evo IX, and have done a few track days, and sadly have had to pay dearly for them. (Stuff broke, and the wear parts I went through were not cheap)

I recently picked up a MK I Eunos Roadster (MX-5) for the fiancee to drive and learn to race in as those are cheap and perfect to learn to drive/race in.

Today I got a chance to drive in a Caterham Supersport.

All these things bring me to my question. What vehicle would make the perfect track day car? A vehicle that is:

Fast
Can turn left (and right)
Can stop
Does not explode or break at its every convenience
Is cheap to run (tires, brake pads, fluids, gasoline)
Does not need to be street legal or be daily driven.

I personally am considering stripping out the evo and making it a pure race vehicle, or doing the same to a MX-5, but would money be better spent purchasing a track day toy like a Caterham or an Ariel Atom?

(Also I am considering them all on a pseudo level playing field, each built to a performance spec that would equal if not similar lap times, similar amounts of fun)

Here's the ideal track day car

Other than the shifter Kart, The EVO is the perfect track car

Mike

This quote is well beyond me, but w/out knowing more details, the perfect track car is an illusive question to answer IMO

Im my opinion, its all based on personal wealth & the willingness to spend it on your hobby.
Recently a young friend of mine sold a track day EVOX & rolled into a very inexpensive Miata, & now tracks 2X per month. Beats on the Miata & it just keeps running strong

^^^ that - I track (or at least did in the summer NW months) 2x a month my evo. It's not as bad as a GTR, 911, Corvette, etc... but is probably 2x the cost of tracking a Miata, EG/EK Civic, s2000, etc...

After buying the actual car, assuming no big repairs, your costs are going to be brakes, tires, gas and oil. As the car gets bigger and more powerful, the more you'll run through those items.

A spec Miata, on Hoosiers or equivalent and a good driver will be faster or just as quick as mildly modified Evo with a decent driver. The "spec" part means it will be cheap to maintain and run.

It all boils down to how FAST you want to go. Because going faster is expensive. It's that simple.

Going faster requires more wear items like tires, brakes, fuel etc...

I agree with gannieevo9, best bang for the buck track car is probably a Spec Miata. It's very cheap to field, and can be fast. An Evo, GT-R, Corvette, 911 etc are all going to be really fast, but the cost to run is drastically higher. I don't think people realize just how expensive it is to track an Evo until they start doing it. GT-R's are even worse.

Bac Mono

So much truth here. A great quote from Mad Max;

"Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go?"

Everyone raves about how fun a Miata is, there's always tons of them at any racing venue I've attended.

However, Evo's have as much potential as any other car that shows up at a track day, be an Atom, or a $200k supercar. Bang for the buck taken into account, I don't think you can do much better than one. I've seen dozens of Subi's leave by towtruck now (Even at the track day I attended Thursday.)

Just so we are not confused. I am not looking for advice on what it will cost to track an evo. Or what kind of costs can be expected with taking an evo to the track.

More thoughts on whether best to put a chunk of change:

Evo 9 (the car) 20K and then mods and replacement parts out to the 40K point

Or Miata 5-10K car and then mods/replacement parts/track time out to a similar point

Or a track day car like an ariel atom, caterham r300, ect which would be nearer to 40K just to purchase.

A fourth option that makes sense would go here if i could think of it...

And I've seen some seriously quick turbo'd miata's at the track that I think would give just about anybody a good run...

I found the Evo to be the perfect track car , 1/4, and fun factor. The evo's handling is great and the turbo gives it a perfect push out of the corners. Buy a salavage evo gut it out and bam!!! a race car that would give GTR's a run for their money.

Vehicles that fit your requirements have to be LIGHT. Evo will never be cheap to run on the track..
For me, the best option would be a used Formula Ford, or something similar... Those can be found cheap (at least in Europe, I do not know the situation in the US).

apart from that... Caterham/westfield is a great choice, and a track prepared miata is a no brainer too..

Try buying a used race car, or something that someone has allready done all the development work and spent some serious cash that can not be returned trough the sale..

It depends on your driving ability and how hard you push the car. You could DD an Evo and track it at the same time. I did that for a few years until my car was paid off. Typically it was 2 sets fo pads/year (race only, street pads lasted years) 2 sets of tires. Front rotor replacement yearly, rears every two years. Fluid/maintenence would be around $1,000/year using stock fluids assuming you change fluids EVERY event (which I don't). That'd put it around $4-5k/year with about 8 track days/year. From there, speed costs money. If you want better suspension, etc. It'll cost about the same as every other car. Used market is probably better on a Miata, but new for new it's about a wash.

A Formula Ford would be tons of fun. At my last hillclimb I talked to an owner of one for awhile, sat in the car and played, etc. He said it's about $12 - $14k to get into one. To be competitive though, he said you're talking a new engine every event if you're racing for points, they can get immensely expensive really quick if you want to be a points leader.

The E36 M3 is a fantastic track car. They are decent bone-stock and can be as fast as you want it to be. They have a lot of aftermarket performance support and parts are not too bad in comparison to the Evo.