RRH

Having sold (hopefully) the Clio Cup race car, I'm looking for something that I can drive to / from trackdays, is cheap to run / repair, and is nicely balanced.

I have considered the cossie, bmw, 944 etc, but am slightly favouring an MX5 just for a laugh and a bit of fresh air. I've driven a few on track and whilst they are not the quickets things out there I go for entertainment and not necessarily lap times.

Can anyone offer any suggestions? Is there much difference in the real world between the 1.6 and 1.8- max budget is about £5k, so this may mean I get a 1.6.

Also, what bits need doing- I need a roll bar, but can brakes / suspension etc be easily sourced? Are there any 'chips' available or anything similar?

Thanks,
Simon

Brother_Will

5k will get you an early 1.6 and Jackson racing supercharger to bolt on it

Hanslow

I think the early 1.6 models are nearly as nimble as the later 1.8 due to weight differences and cats and stuff.

I'd say get a 1.6 and bolt a turbo on

stevencotton

You could got for an early 1.6, these are non-fuel injection and have 115bhp as opposed to the 90bhp later 1.6i model. The 1.8 has a better rear diff though, but you could put that on a 1.6, the 1.8 might be a better base to start with.

I've looked at the JR supercharger but, if I'm correct, it's only 6psi and you can't up the boost much from there. Depends how much you want to spend, personally I'd go for the FMII turbo upgrade, but that is going to be pricey. You'll be worrying M3s afterwards though

Hard Dog make good rollbars and you can upgrade brakes/everything else as much as you can on a Scoob. The Owners Club is a good place to look around, and MX 5 mods has a fair amount of aftermarket info, have a look around.

Steve.

Dream Weaver

Just the job for you here - http://www.ladsoc.co.uk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=673

£5.5k and based in Preston so fairly handy for you - turbo as well

Poor Guy

http://boardroom.wscc.co.uk/cgi-bin/...ST;f=9;t=20008

mikelmr

all MX5's came with fuel injection, its just that the earlier ones have flap type air flow meter.

mynickers

If I was you, I would SERIOUSLY consider Westfield 2.0 Duratec or 1.8 - can be picked up for that kind of money (£6-8k), will be much better than a Mazda IMHO. 2.0 often work out at over 300bhp per tonne, that's more than a 996 - 911 turbo , serious performance, 0-60 in low 4's, and one of the best chassis set up's around (again IMO)! Very cheap to run, weigh around half a tonne, so don't go through too much fuel, tyres, and servicing can be done DIY. They're suppose to actually be very reliable, to be fair there isn't a whole lot to go wrong - parts are pretty cheap and lots second hand.

Edit - forgot to mention, surprisingly - insruance v. cheap as specialist insurers quote, treated like a classic car, I have been looking into buying one for a while for similar uses. All owners in the owners club forum including young folk with no ncb and points are not paying more than £300! (me £2k for 182)

I want one!

Quite a few owners frequent scoobynet, Dracoro and friends are a wealth of info.

www.wscc.co.uk is the best place to go - very friendly bunch, and they have a sale section, so you can see if there is anything in your budget.

RussBoy

RRH - feel free to PM me for any advice/tips etc. - I used to own 'Eunosverse' (www.eunosverse.co.uk) and still advise the company plus my missus still has a MX-5 (which she's selling for £8.5k).

Avoid the Mk1 1.8's - the increased size doesn't show a noticable difference due to a weighty block (but better ratios for cruising) and avoid really early 89-91 1.6's as some had an engine defect on the imports. My tip would be a Mk1 1.6 around 93-94 - you should see change from £4.5k and trust me; they are great track day cars (not as fast as the Scoob but really great fun and much easier to mod!)


Russ

Poor Guy

our Westy is pinto power and will out do a mx5 on track.

stevencotton

Fair enough, I've never read that before, I hope I'm insured correctly

16vmarc

Im liking the Westfield idea myself.

rb5_336

for the same kinda cash you could get an mi16 powered 205 (with all the trick bits) and beat any kinda mx5 variant round a track :-) a lot of scoobies too!
Sean

RRH

Already got one haven't driven it for six months or so as its been off the road having the Mi16 done. Will have some fun with it before I sell it, BUT

I was brought up with rwd, and that's what i want to get back to for track fun.

kammy

Toyota MR2 mark 1? 120hp 1.6 DOHC or 1.6 DOHC super charged Pretty cool- A true classic.-worth a look at least.
Kam

RRH

been there, done that, **** now too big seen a 944 S2 that fits the bill, but think I'll wait and see how good the Mi16 is and see if I can get used to this fwd nonsense

rb5_336

mine can be seen here
http://www.mckeown-enterprises.co.uk

mynickers

Still bias towards westfield, however, also rate the Pug, you can properly strip them out as well, and lots of lighter bits on the market. Seen a few of these on the track going very, very fast... Sure it needs more TLC though?

Sensible man

RRH

rb5, I have some cable ties if you need them

my dash looked like that a couple of weeks ago!

steve.mu

I've also been thinking about buying a car to drive to & from tracks (don't want to risk bending my 03 WRX).
I was thinking along the lines of Pug 205 or Fiesta RS1800 /Si etc..
Someone told me the Westfield was the best fun they'd had on a track (& he's driven in the Rover 1600 Series.
Think I'll stick with the more conventional small hatch option tho...
Just can't decide what to get...