trackday machine..thoughts??

[Craig Gillingham]

Race Cars : Reynard 2KQ Carbon Fibre Bodied Supercharged Sport

looks quite a tool new for the money.....but any thoughts on this car for trackdays....unproven?....better cars out there for the money?...(junos ligier top end radical etc etc)...not sure where its legible to race and would it be competative....??

 

[Keith]

What a tool... fantastic piece of engineering, however, I wouldn't have thought that you could use it at many track days - more like "test days"...

Insurance? MOT? Road tyres?

No? Bugger! :cry:

 

[Brian Hamilton]

In my opinion, why spend £45,000 on that when you can buy one of Fran's SL-R's for $16,000 USD and put any engine you want in the back of it? You can get a direct injected, turbocharged, all aluminum 2.2L GM Ecotech engine with 5 speed LSD transaxle in that thing with custom intercooler, stand alone ECU, custom exhaust, boost controller, etc. and make over 350 WHP and weigh in at about 1,300 lbs. and end up costing less than that thing. I dont' know what that weight is in Kilograms, but still pretty friggin light. OR, a turbocharged Hyabusa engine in the SL-R. I'm pretty sure you can get Fran to build you a turnkey with either engine for about the same or less than the cost of that thing. It is a beautiful car though.

But that's my opinion. You already have an SL-C, why not complete the collection. hahaha

Laters,

Brian

 

[Paul Thompson 'Hooligan']

Nice piece of machinery and I guess a LOT of man hours and exotic materials add up to the price...

BUT

Whilst Hayabusa's are stout motors, I can't help thinking that supercharging to 300+BHP will lead to some monumental rebuild/running costs.

No doubt there are a few other cars about that would offer a similar performance for similar money with probably more long term reliability but maybe not quite such a piece of art.

A bit like bikes - When I tried a friend's Desmosedici RR earlier this year it was amazing, I'd never do it justice but at a cost, a FAT £40K (then $70K!)... And as he pointed out after I tried his Fireblade, the Blade did 98% of what the Ducati would do, but at £30K less cost...

Still, if you've got the money......

 

[Craig Gillingham]

cheers for the thoughts guys.... sort of echo mine....but as we know in the UK it seems to be a buyers market in general...and any discount from the advertised price would seem to make it a snip (for the engineering and components envolved)
I am after just a trackday car to take over to portugal as we are a couple of miles from the new circuit.

I would like a juno with K20a power but they are more expensive than this..

Wonder if fran could knock up something like this in his "spare time" with bike power of course....

 

[Craig Gillingham]

A bit like bikes - When I tried a friend's Desmosedici RR earlier this year it was amazing, I'd never do it justice but at a cost, a FAT £40K (then $70K!)... And as he pointed out after I tried his Fireblade, the Blade did 98% of what the Ducati would do, but at £30K less cost...

Still, if you've got the money......

good point 3rd of money gets you one of these..

racecarsdirect.com (Race Cars For Sale) RADICAL PRO SPORT 1300 HYABUSA

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Radical's are awesome track cars. If you can get one of those relatively cheap, I'd go for that as a track car or one of these...

D I A S I O | Car Company

 

[Malcolm]

If you are looking for a track day car, I would suggest you choose one that doesn't have the running costs of a race car. This car looks like it has the potential.....to be awesome ..... to be jolly expensive when things go wrong. If you go to the web site racecarsdirect.com you will see great track day cars there. As well as the Juno's, Ligiers etc. These cars often have crews to support them even at track days. I looked at the Radicals before I bought my Prosport 3000, old technology by comparison but it was quicker than the SR3's and 4s everywhere and the SR8's were only quicker on the straights. But all these cars are race pedigree so come with cost attachments. And if you get a soft one so you can get cheaper running costs you will be disappointed even on a track day.

Moving away from sports racers such as these you discuss here, IMHO track day weapon of choice now would be an ex racing BMW E36 or E46 or a 996 GT3. All very attainable for £40K or less (sometimes a lot less) plus you can get massive reliability and big service intervals. And you can get road legal versions to drive to and from the track. Lotus Elise and Exige are popular too but not for me. GT40 replicas are great for track days (no surprise there) but one I am enjoying hugely right now is my MX5 race car. May have a rubbish top speed but big grin cornering ability, and in UK where it rains every other minute, the wetter the better. Cheap to buy and cheap to run, just fabulous especially in these recessionary times.

 

[Malcolm]

Craig

Just had a look at your blog. Like it! And yes I agree SLC over Ultima. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it in due course.

 

[Craig Gillingham]

cheers for the link brian...never seen that one before....had a radical up until recently (avatar) but sold it due to good(ish) money being offered... sort of wish i hadnt now so at least i know what you get with a radical....but then spotted the reynard sport....

Malcolm also sold an ExigeS and that is being replaced with the SL-C...will definately let you know how it goes and welcome to come up and have a look...

just thought that although £45k the reynard sport certainly looks a tool????

 

[Mike Pass]

Hi Malcolm,
I have just picked up a cheap MX5. What needs doing for trackday special as it it does not seem to have any power at all! Maybe because it's a 1.6?
Cheers
Mike

 

[Malcolm]

Lose weight....the car not you! Our car is not road legal, so that helps a lot in stripping off weight. We are 860 kgs with the addition of a full roll cage. I think there could be another 50 kg to go but that is now getting drastic and potentially expensive! However less weight is crucial over power (although power does help) as if you don't have to slow for corners you really make up time. Give your car maximum negative camber and get decent dampers and stiffen the springs a bit. Adjustable anti roll bars are worth it too. Then get some softer grippy tyres such as Toyos R888s or Yoko A008s. Dunlop do a track day sticky too. Don't go too soft as going too soft can over do it and kill a lap time. On the toyo's we were recommended to go with the soft tyre not the super soft. We went super soft but will be going just soft next time! Weird but true.

There are adjustments you can do to the afm and advance the timing so you are on full fuel flow. Our engine came with all this done so not sure exactly how it is done as never done it. Better and colder air flow into engine helps too.

Also consider buying a 2000 to 2004 Mk2 1.8 Sport and transplanting all engine and drive train and supsension and braking systems over. Bigger and better everything there. We got a donor car for £1500 with all parts ready to swap over. You may have to pay a little bit more now.

We are considering minimalistic fibre glass doors. If of interest PM me so I can let you know what is what should we go forward with it.

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Pretty easy equation for racing that I've found. Holds true for any type of racing. You guys wanna know it?

Less Weight = Go Faster!

That's it. :thumbsup:

 

[Malcolm]

Which, getting back to the original thread is what these sports racers that Craig was discussing are all about, except that some have buckets of power too. Once you have driven one, it is hard to go back to a heavy car.

 

[Brian Hamilton]

Yeah, you're right. For my money, I'd go with one of RCR's SL-R's.

Also, the MX-5 Miatas are friggin fantastic. They're cheap to obtain, cheap to maintain, and there's a great aftermarket for them. If you're looking for a great car to grab and turn into a race car and not have it break the bank, there you go.

It all depends on how much you want to spend and what you want. Do you want doors & an actual body, or do you want the ultimate light weight monster?

 

[Ardern Cars]

Were offering turn key Vintage GT Track Cars that are hard to beat. Modern Engineering, Classic Styling priced in the same range as the motorcycle engine cars. They're in the 2009 NASA rulebook and are approved for competition.
Chris
Vintage GT Coupes

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Here are some early shots of a spec track car we are developing with help from Al Fernandez from NASA...with drivers ed. and budget racing in mind.

Stock Suzuki Hayabusa 1300cc power 185hp.
Target weight is 1100lbs with thin wall DOM.chassis.
6'4" driver compatible..
Mark(pictured) is 6'3" tall and long legged...I am only 5'8" and have no legs basically...short ass syndrome..
On track target price with stock donor engine included $20k
LSD with enclosed chain drive, electric reverse.
Paddle shift.

Bodywork renderings coming very soon from the same guys that did the SL-R upgrade . http://www.gt40s.com/forum/rcr-forum-rcr40-rcr70-p4-mkiv/26377-new-renderings.html
The spirit of the bodywork will echo the modern sportbikes with simplistic edgy lines ..four cycle fenders for open track use and track day compliance ...

We already have pre-orders for two driving schools that have purchased SL-R's as drivers Education cars and the SL-Nemesis(single seater) will then be their school car...

 

[Brian Hamilton]

:stupid:

There ya go Craig!! And for half the price, well, less in your weird looking european monopoly money... :thumbsup:

 

[Craig Gillingham]

sounds better the more i think of it actually..... hopefully ZZR1100 choice a simple trade.... if it goes bang i would keep a stock of 2or3 in the garage from ebay £300 each..
dry sump so number3 lasts abit longer... only sacraficing 20bhp over standard busa (lost a stone over the last month so made that up) hehehehe...design it around 13" wheels and then the cost becomes even better (for me).....FBMW...Frenault...all decent scrubbed tyres within a few miles here.....

actually the more i am typing the better it sounds....whats the trackday rules in the UK for single seater type car with wheel arches.....acceptable...??... mind you i would take it to portugal anyways.....

should be coming to detroit in a couple of months..hopefuly so we will have to have a look......ermmmmmmmmm!

mind you theres still no deniying the £45k reynard still looks the bollocks...

 

[Brian Hamilton]

sounds better the more i think of it actually..... hopefully ZZR1100 choice a simple trade.... if it goes bang i would keep a stock of 2or3 in the garage from ebay £300 each..
dry sump so number3 lasts abit longer... only sacraficing 20bhp over standard busa (lost a stone over the last month so made that up) hehehehe...design it around 13" wheels and then the cost becomes even better (for me).....FBMW...Frenault...all decent scrubbed tyres within a few miles here.....

actually the more i am typing the better it sounds....whats the trackday rules in the UK for single seater type car with wheel arches.....acceptable...??... mind you i would take it to portugal anyways.....

should be coming to detroit in a couple of months..hopefuly so we will have to have a look......ermmmmmmmmm!

mind you theres still no deniying the £45k reynard still looks the bollocks...

True, the Reynard looks killer, but at $20k USD vs. £45k weird looking european money, the money saved would really put it in the "cheap" racer category. Also, with the world of aftermarket 'Busa parts available, power upgrades are pretty available. Wait, you said ZZR1100 engine right? Ah well, you can still turbocharge it and make all the power you'd need for a track car. This is the ultimate in Less weight = Go faster!!

Seriously though, both cars are "tits" as you say in England. The final choice is ultimately up to you, but with the exchange rate, I'd go for the SL-Nemesis for a track car. Both cars are really powered by the same engine, so fuel savings isn't a factor, brakes are probably very similar, weights as well, so it really comes down to which you like better.

Anyway, I'm not much help I guess, but either way, you're going to have a super time on the track with whichever you choose. You must post video of your track time. :thumbsup: