Small fun track car

[Wee_Billy_92]

Me and a mate of mine have been having a think and want to get into track days. None of us have ever had any experience in this and i have only ever done one lap round a track (knockhill)

To get us into it we were thinking of building our own " Novice track car"

Ideas we have came up with are.
Either a 1.2 16v, 1.4 16v or 1.6 16v clio
Strip it out so only the top part of dash is left
Full Fia approved cage
Decent seats and harnesses
upgraded brakes (discs and pads)
upgraded suspension
decent track tyres
lighter wheels
decent exhaust system and maybe some other weight reduction here and their.

Any thoughts ,Opinions feel free to mention as that's why im putting this up. Also any tips ect.

 

[Daniel]

Buy a 1.7 puma, fit some focus ST170 brakes, sticky tyres and away you go. Awesome little track car all done for under a grand.

 

[banther]

MX5?

Can be had for peanuts (you can have mine for £300)

 

[Advikaz]

MX5 is a great shout!

Cheap 172 ?

No point getting a 1.2 mate, you'll get overtaken by wild life.

 

[Tullyvernon]

Don't waste your time and money tracking a 1. anything clio!!!
Why not buy a standard renaultsport, or even a valver which will have better brakes and suspension as standard.

Just take it easy to start with, even loosen off the throttle or put something under the pedal if you are worried about getting carried away

 

[Tullyvernon]

Just to add, a decent 1.2 could cost more to buy than some of the renaultsports iv seen for sale!

 

[Wee_Billy_92]

Wow this took off to a good start. Thanks for the comments.

Im kind of wanting to stick with a Clio for a track car as i have had a couple and so has my mate and basically we have learnt a good amount about them.

I was thinking about a cheap 172 but was then worried about any repair costs or that to actually get it track ready. We would want to spend a good amount of time getting it all perfect for its first outing but its just the risk potentially buying a bad example in the first place.

We were also looking at a valver but they seem to hard to come across and also i would end up keeping it as a daily.

 

[Djw Dave]

I'd say 172. Go for a ph1, many can be had for under a K. As for getting it 'spot on' before heading out I'd suggest doing exactly the opposite. Get it out on track as a standard car and improve from there. A standard renault sport on decent tyres is fantastic fun around Knockhill, and can be improved on as you go along.

There are a fair few of us that break 1*2's around you so parts supply shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Tullyvernon]

If its a Clio you want I don't think you could get better than a ph1 172 if you are on a budget.
Its not going to be any less reliable than a 1.2 thrashed within an inch of its life around a track

 

[JackJack]

You don't need to spend ££££ to get "track ready"

 

[Wee_Billy_92]

Really thinking about a Ph1 now. Hopefully after the new year me and my mate will have a fair amount saved up as it will be a shared project.

So ill be on the lookout from now for a decent one.

Cheers though. Ph1 track car it is!

 

[Advikaz]

TBH for starters, you don't really need to do anything to it other than maybe a service & brakes.

Fettle as you develop/need to.

 

[Wee_Billy_92]

Just talked it over to my mate and we have came to the conclusion.

We will both save up £500-£800 each then after new year hopefully find and buy a ph1 or ph2 172

Once we get it we will give it a service, a good check over see if anything needs fixed or replaced

stick decent tyres and brakes on it then take it for a few track days.

As we get more and more confident and used to the car then we will start looking into seats,cage etc.

 

[Fantom]

I can recommend a PH1
Once you have decent discs & pads, stripped interior and good tyres you'll have a car that performs very well. Then you can pick and choose any further mods as you go.

 

[Goodj]

MX5 = £1k
strip out interior = free
decent tyres = £200 for all 4 corners
Brakes = Mk.2 "big brake" upgrade IRO £150 + discs & pads (say £350 all in, but that's with overkill parts)
suspension = cheap, used TA technics from about £150, and the chassis comes with a massive range of adjustment.
Bullet proof, non-interference engine, p1ss cheap parts, "proper" drivetrain (RWD), so many modification options for LSDs, turbos etc at a marked lower cost than those for a 172.

It makes all the sense

 

[run_pug]

I bought my first ph2 clio 172 for 530 quid taxed and tested from Falkirk, only needed an injector and battery so 600 all in, bargains are there, I now have a cup which I am gona slowly turn into a track car for knockhill

 

[Wee_Billy_92]

I bought my first ph2 clio 172 for 530 quid taxed and tested from Falkirk, only needed an injector and battery so 600 all in, bargains are there, I now have a cup which I am gona slowly turn into a track car for knockhill

That is a bargain! Well hopefully we find something along the same lines as that. Not too bothered about mot or tax to be honest as it wont be used on the road so hopefully find something for a really decent price

 

[run_pug]

Yea I haven't been able to find one that cheap since, I just paid 1200 for a 172 cup with full years mot and 5 months tax

 

[Wee_Billy_92]

Yea I haven't been able to find one that cheap since, I just paid 1200 for a 172 cup with full years mot and 5 months tax

Even that's a decent price. Ill just have to wait and see what crops up. Only thing is if i end up finding a bargain ill probably end up keeping it for my self.

 

[Rob]

Bargains are EVERYWHERE, especially when track cars are concerned and you can overlook certain things that may put so many others off.

I'm going to congratulate you though, you're the second person today to ask for advice, and then take it.

It must be some kind of joke day, but I'm bloodying loving it.

 

[_Tom]

MX5?

Can be had for peanuts (you can have mine for £300)

Tax and MOT? lol

 

[banther]

Tax and MOT? lol

.......... SORN and f**k off.

 

[warwickstingray]

A completely standard Clio sport (172 etc.) on road tyres will do 15mins sessions fine.

So with tyres and brakes Uprated you'll be fine. Just search on youtube. Most are a basic spec and just stripped out.

Mods are track time when your on a budget. So only mod what you have to. Also learn how to back off a little and pick your fun tussles so you don't go through sets and sets of tyres trying to make a pointless point.

 

[Alanbrock]

Easy = Mx5 Great bullet proof car. Not the quickest but guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Buy cheap, strip and sell bits = Free. Bucket seat, harness, cage if you fancy extra protection, decent tyres and a general service and you are good to go! Oh and Mk1 Mx5 would be my recommended version - proper old school no mucking about.

 

[_Tom]

.......... SORN and f**k off.

What's with the emotion?

 

[banther]

Easy = Mx5 Great bullet proof car. Not the quickest but guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Buy cheap, strip and sell bits = Free. Bucket seat, harness, cage if you fancy extra protection, decent tyres and a general service and you are good to go! Oh and Mk1 Mx5 would be my recommended version - proper old school no mucking about.

Alan as in The Bull Hinton Alan? If so Hi!

And you're 100% correct.

 

[Alanbrock]

Alan in The Bull Hinton YEP!

 

[Goodj]

Oh and Mk1 Mx5 would be my recommended version - proper old school no mucking about.

MK.2 will include a lot more chassis bracing and stiffening as standard. Also the "sport" versions will have the enlarged brakes that will handle all the grief you can throw at them.

And since they're probably only a tenner more than a "wow, pop-up lights!" mk.1, may as well take advantage

 

[banther]

Alan in The Bull Hinton :smile: YEP!

Creeeeeeeeppppppyyyyyyyyyyy.
Get a project thread on here. Will be appreciated by a lot of people!

 

[Wee_Billy_92]

A completely standard Clio sport (172 etc.) on road tyres will do 15mins sessions fine.

So with tyres and brakes Uprated you'll be fine. Just search on youtube. Most are a basic spec and just stripped out.

Mods are track time when your on a budget. So only mod what you have to. Also learn how to back off a little and pick your fun tussles so you don't go through sets and sets of tyres trying to make a pointless point.

Have seen a few videos on youtube and that, also been to plenty of events where clios have been on track.

Once i get on track i will probably be a bit cautious and that since it will be my first proper time.

Probably be aiming for fun and consistancy rather than belting round like a crazed lunatic.

1st thing ill be doing before i get track time is read up on track rules and get properly clued up.

 

[Chi]

Got a beaut of a ph1 already stripped if your interested. Suggest you have it road legal for testing and weekend blasts

 

[warwickstingray]

Tuition will be the best money you've ever spent. Virtually nothing you do in a car on the road translates on to a track.

Don't right off any of the suggestions in here as I've seen all of them make good budget track cars.

 

[Ray Gin]

106 GTi?

 

[Djw Dave]

Got a beaut of a ph1 already stripped if your interested. Suggest you have it road legal for testing and weekend blasts

Keep it road going if you can for testing purpose if nothing else. Had one without any mot and was constantly an issue, Getting it places just for the likes of tracking.

An mot also gives another eye over the car. Just incase you've missed something. Always handy ime