Car Talk Topic

[sivispacem]

They never made an automatic E39 M5. Manual only.

[Lurch]

I missed the M5 part. Sivi's right. They're all G420 6 speeds.

Edited February 27, 2014 by Lurch

[Outcast]

I've recently (by that I mean in the past day or so) been contemplating getting a cheapo first gen Impreza to strip out and turn into a track car. Thoughts?

[El Dildo]

I personally wouldn't be caught dead in a car with 4 doors, but it's hard to argue with the credentials of the Impreza.

and as far as performance, you really can't go wrong with an Impreza at the track or on the dirt.

 

extremely versatile ride.

[sivispacem]

Not the best choice for a track car, IMO. I'd go with something N/A, simple and a bit more progressive. Stripped/caged/coiled RenaultSport Clio, something that size. Or a Caterham.

[El Dildo]

not the singularly best choice.

just a highly flexible vehicle that is cost effective and responds very well to bolt-ons.

 

otherwise he Impreza is probably most at-home on dirt.

[sivispacem]

You'd be surprised just how high servicing and maintenance costs for an Impreza actually are.

Big heavy cars doing track work, particularly AWD ones, need lots of expensive tyres and are murder on brakes, suspension etc. That and big, heavy but stable AWD cars just aren't very much fun on the track, IMO. Not really very adjustable, and generally quite unforgiving on the limit.

[El Dildo]

yeah it's definitely more successful on dirt than with slicks.

 

I don't even know how hard he'll be driving it or how seriously he wants to take it.

for some people, "track car" means club cruising. for others, "track car" means genuine motorsport.

 

the Subaru is just a good entry level with the addition of being slightly more practical with its interior space.

[sivispacem]

Once you start stripping cars out you basically turn them into dedicated track only vehicles. The most you generally ever see stripped cars being used for on the road is when being driven to the track, and even then it's a chore.

 

For casual track driving once in a while there's no need to do much more than spend a few quid on the suspension and brakes.

 

An old 2.0 Ford Focus makes a perfectly enjoyable and usable track car with some beefy brake pads, lighter wheels with wider tyres and some cheap but decent shocks and springs. Once you start ripping out interiors you're committing proper time and money to a project and the smiles per pound ration starts to get a bit worrisome unless you really start going to the track very regularly. Trust me, I've been there...

 

That said, there are some absolutely amazing ghetto track car builds I know of. Some which you wouldn't even know were low-budget. The way I would provably go if i wanted to balance fun with cost/time expenditure is:

 

1) Cheap-ass RWD straight six saloon. Something like an E36 or even E46 325i/328i. £1-2k for a reasonably decent one.

2) Track brake pads, a good service, new brake fluid, OEM-sized lightweight wheels and decent all-weather tyres and some cheaper spring/shock sets. Maybe £800 and a few hours on EBay.

 

That alone would be good enough for most track days. If you wanted to be a little more competitive then use some of the varied and excellent race parts suppliers for wheels and tyres, suspension etc. You would be surprised how cheap part-used BTCC slicks and custom suspension setups from failed Gp. N type car projects can be. Of course then you need a trailer as you can't drive them to the track but you're going to need that anyway once you start thinking about cages and stripped out interiors.

[Outcast]

Do you think you could do it on a budget? If anything I'd be trailering it down to Penbay International Circuit. I don't plan on doing anything competitive, I'm just interested in having fun on the track without worrying that I'm damaging my DD.

[sivispacem]

If you aren't worrying about having a road legal car, and either have the capacity to do work yourself or a friendly workshop to do it for you it could be done on a fairly reasonable budget. I know of an E36 325i build with some fairly trick parts that was done for ~£4k including buying the car.

 

If you gave a rough idea of what base car you'd want to use I could do a brief synopsis of what you'll need and what stages you could go to beyond just track-prepared?

[Outcast]

It's still too early to tell as I just got this idea in my head a couple days ago while having a chat with my mechanic (the ride in the track prepped 964 really pushed me over the edge). I'll look around at older M3s and see if theres anything I can get for a reasonable price. Is there anything else that would fit the bill? I know a lot of people run MX5s over in the States (Lurch, I'm looking at you) but I haven't seen a single listing here for one.

[sivispacem]

Based on the prepped stuff I see at track days:

 

MX-5

E36

E46

Golf Mk4

Boxster

Clio 172/182

Civic Type R

Caterhams/Westfields

Mk2 MR2

106 Rallye/GTI

Racing Puma

S14/S15 200SX

 

AWD stuff like Imprezas and Evos you do see but tends to be much rarer.

 

You won't nerd an M3 to enjoy an E36/46 on the track. Even with ~180hp you'll run rings around 911s on a tighter track with slicks/coilovers/brakes.

[Outcast]

Thanks for the list, that'll give me somewhere to start looking. I'm thinking something Japanese would be a lot cheaper over here than something European.

[sivispacem]

Maybe something like a Mazda 3 MPS? Plenty of support for those though they're not raced much around here.

[Lurch]

 

I've been co-driving this thing lately. sh*t is all kinds of fun. Have another one next weekend. Gonna throw a smaller MOMO wheel in, install some harnesses, and a few other slight alterations (need to unbolt the hardtop so I actually have some head room) and hopefully I can shave a few seconds off. I already beat the owner of the car despite weighing 135 lbs more.

[Outcast]

What has the owner modified to get it track ready?

[Lurch]

It's on some sh*tty Tein Basic coilovers right now. Really looking for some AST's, KW's, or a custom set of Bilsteins or Konis. Something in that range. It's on RB sways (1.125" tubular up front with 949 spherical end links and a 16 mm solid adjustable rear with stock links). Has 15x7 Momo Podium Spec MIata wheels with 195/50R15 Federal 595 RS-R's (cheapest ST tire you can buy here in the states). Has a Hard Dog roll bar, Flyin Miata frame stiffeners, and the hard top is actually bolted in rigidly like a Lotus Exige. Engine/drivetrain-wise. It's an internally-stock BP with a Begi-S kit (basic Garret 2554) on MS1 PnP. Ebay FMIC, manual boost controller. 3" Enthuza SS exhasut with magnaflow high-flow cat, and dual mufflers. ACT 6 puck clutch. MIshimoto 3 core radiator. AEM wideband, boostguage, EGT guage, etc. Torsen LSD. rear carpet and spare tire have been removed, air bags have been removed, etc. AC, PS, and cruise have been deleted.

 

Edited February 28, 2014 by Lurch

[sivispacem]

That's a point, what about a cheap Elise? A 111 or Sport 135 with Nitrons, light wheels and a hard top would make a cracking track tool.

[Outcast]

Wow, lots of technical jargon you threw out there Charlie. I'm thinking of heading down to the track with a GT86 next time I have an opportunity. It costs about 15,000USD to rent out the track for a day so what happens is someone will rent it and then everyone chips in 500USD-1000USD depending on how many people we can get together. Hopefully I'll get to experience track driving soon.

 

I also have a quick question regarding cabin vibration in the Porsche. I've recently noticed my steering wheel vibrates quite a lot when I'm stopped at a light and the car seems to idle a bit rough. I don't know whether its an engine mount problem or a transmission mount. What else could it be and how can I troubleshoot/diagnose the problem? I'm due for a service next week but I'd like to go in having done my homework.

Edited March 1, 2014 by Outcast

[El Dildo]

if the idle is a little rough in addition to wheel vibration it could easily be transmission.

 

is the vibration consistent or does it 'wave' in and out?

[Outcast]

It's pretty consistent when the car is idling. Once I get the revs up and start moving the vibration instantly disappears.

 

I also had a problem awhile back but it seemed to have been sorted once I took it to the Porsche dealership to get it checked out. Basically what was happening (and has started to happen again) is when I'm stopped and then I apply gas the car doesn't move but the revs go up. I've had it taken to the Porsche dealer several times about this and each time it comes back as having no problem except for the last time when they said my gearbox was a little low on oil and that they topped it up. It definitely feels like it's somehow connected to the vibrations I'm getting in idle, like my clutch or gearbox is going to fail at anytime. (It's a PDK btw, if that helps).

Edited March 1, 2014 by Outcast

[LeFox]

Hey guys: I bring to you the new Fiat Renegade:

Jk, it is actually the Jeep Renegade.

Terrible taillight choices. Would've looked better with the Liberty taillights.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Wug

[Moth]

Well, it is based off of the Fiat 500L, so you aren't that far off with your joke.

 

 

Anyways, I like it. Looks better than the 500L its based off of. Reminds me of those small suvs like the Tracker and co.

[Outcast]

I can see this being a popular first car for those well-off suburban kids.

[gtamann123]

Are mid 90s VW Golfs reliable cars?

Im specifically looking at a 96 VW Golf cabrio with a 5 speed stick

Edited March 5, 2014 by gtamann123

[Carlover325]

What is this?

 

 

It has a scorpion sticker on the front where an emblem usually goes. The rear tail lights look to be from an early '90s Toyota Celica.

[gtamann123]

What is this?

 

 

It has a scorpion sticker on the front where an emblem usually goes. The rear tail lights look to be from an early '90s Toyota Celica.

The Scorpion sticker probably means its an Abarth. Not sure though im not too knowledgeable on Fiat and Abarth.

 

P.S: Where do you live? Looks nice

[Carlover325]

About 20 miles south of Los Angeles, California. It wasn't in very good shape, though. The pictures make it look way better than it actually is. Bad paint job and missing several bits and pieces, such as the right front indicator lens. The wheels appear to be cheap junk. Not very well-cared for, that's for sure.

 

I've just never seen one, and I didn't see any markings on the rear.

[Lurch]

I drove an E31 850ci last weekend. M70/automatic car. I thought it was pretty lackluster just because of the transmission. Didn't want to rev over 2k until I started shifting it manually. Got on it a bit after that. Was fun driving it through traffic. Was getting all kinds of attention.

 

 

Also, for the Miata I'm Auto-xing this season, we picked up some shocks for it yesterday.

MSM Bilsteins revalved by Stewart Devlopment. Ground Control coilover conversion kit with 700/400 in/lbs springs, and NB top hats. Gonna ship them out tomorrow to have them rebuilt, revalved, and dynoed by Suspension Systems (http://www.hendrickshocks.com/). Hopefully, they'll be back and on the car by the 3rd event.

Edited March 7, 2014 by Lurch