Just fish'n for comment here. I run HPDE, Time Trials, and AutoX w/ a modded 89 CRX (200whp, lots o' suspension stuff, ITR tranny, and brake upgrades). Not to concerned about classing, just driving on the track. The CRX is fast as hell and has been generally reliable. Most issues were due to my modding. It is cheap to run. BUT... It is a 19 yr old car, it is loud as hell, amazingly uncomfortable (I drive it to the track - 5000RPMs at 80 MPH ). Also w/ all the mods it is confusing sometimes which part I need (CRX or Acura) when I do need to fix something.

So... do I dump the CRX and get a nice low to mid teen track toy. I'm thinking S2000, RX-8, RSX, 350Z. Add a rollbar, harness, and fire ext and I'm all set. I'd love a nice comfy ride to the track and a newer car, but am I being silly. I have the money for it, but from a financial standpoint spending money on the track is the same as lighting it on fire. Keep the CRX? time for a new toy? If so, what are good options? THX.

 

How limited is your budget? I'm guessing from the sound of it that a truck and trailer is out of the question. I also have a loud and uncomfortable-on-the-street track car, but I can't think of anything that would fit as a compromise. A more comfy car would also be suckier on the track, and most likely more money to burn if I put it into a wall.

With the cars you listed, while you might be currently dead-set on not modding them beyond rollbar and harness, it's pretty much inevitable that you will over time. That'll wind up being an expensive toy. I also question whether or not you'll enjoy such a thing as much, after having driven what sounds like a very visceral track car. If the age is such a problem, maybe swap all that stuff over to a newer chassis, an Integra or something?

 

Keep the current car. Anything else you would end up modding just as much over time, and the replacement parts would be way more money. Think of how many track days/tires/pads/rotors you can pay for with the diffrence in cost..

 

Buy a used truck and trailer. By now, you have all the bugs worked out of it, and if you wad it up it wont hurt you wallet so bad. Plus, I may need to try to roll you at some point this year with mine

 

just to clarify - this a track only car - not a street/track car. I've got a great DD (CTS-V). The full race car w/ trailer thing seems like too much crap to have to worry about, I like the drive it there and drive it home ease. But 6 hrs hrs one-way in an uber modded CRX is a real PITA.

 

Get a light open-bed trailer, tow with CTS-V?

 

dude! sounds like you're getting old! hahahhaaaa.

track the CTS-V.

 

I'll track the CTS-V if someone else ponies up the money for tires, brakes, rotors, repairs, and buys me another one if I kiss a wall at Road Atlanta. I love the CTS-V, but the idea of a separate, CHEAPER track car makes too much sense.

 

If you buy one of the cars you mentioned, RX-8, S2000, etc.. they will be slower than the 200 HP CRX. I reccommend you tow. I have a 214 WHP 2000 pound CRX race car, and it is an easy tow. I tow it with a 98 explorer I bought for 4000.00. Think it all through carefully. I also store the racecar on it's 16 foot trailer at an indore RV facilty for 85.00 per month. Well worth it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RPM_69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'll track the CTS-V if someone else ponies up the money for tires, brakes, rotors, repairs, and buys me another one if I kiss a wall at Road Atlanta. I love the CTS-V, but the idea of a separate, CHEAPER track car makes too much sense.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Get into karting. Start off at the club level. You'll be surprised at the performance of a kart.

m-

 

Dammit Mario, I'm trying to ignore my karting crave already!

 

Tow would be #1 option I think as long as you enjoy your CRX as a track car. If you don't, there's no shame in switch it up. I'd be looking for a clean E36 M3 for under $15Gs if I were you. And I"m kind of in the same position as you really.. .

Forget the RX8, maybe the 3.) s2000 or a 4.) 350z as an option for cars to still drive to track.. .

#2 option behind a tow ride is getting a E36 M3 I think. Since it's all track; gut it, 4pt it, seats, belts, KW variant 3s with 600# springs front and rear, adj. swaybars, new sus bushings, 255 Bridgestone Potenza RE01Rs front and rear, take 2 spares to track and you are set.. . or one of the newer 140 treadware highperf tires coming out this year.. .

Upgrade power as you learn. Stockish gutted M3s are amazing out there.. . I drop my jaw when I see them outperfom cars/drivers that I don't think they should.. .

I've heard the high hp CRXs are very rewarding as well though.. . .

 

Get a hitch for the CTS-V and a tow dolly. No need to go with a fancy trailer, that car will have no problem towing a CRX. I towed my H5 CRX all season with a Subaru on a dolly. You can always find used dolly's for under $500.

Keep the CRX.

Z

 

Umm do you guys know how expensive a CTS-V is? $45,000 pluss! USED! A new 2007 goes for $65,000.. .

Thats a lot of miles to put on a really nice and expensive car. If you have tracks close to home, MAYBE thats an option but I'd rather find a sub $5,000 car/truck that can do the job rather than rack up the miles and wear on an expensive ride that will loose that $5,000 in resale just b/c of the mileage you could have put on a cheap truck.. .

I'd be looking for a Toyota Tacoma if I was the OP.. . If you can afford a CTS-V you can probably afford a nice used Tacoma! But you could also afford a nice 99 E36 M3 too

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stinkycheezmonky &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Dammit Mario, I'm trying to ignore my karting crave already! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Just doing my karting duties! I've seen a lot of these posts lately about "what car for this type of track event etc...". I am just trying to shed some light on the sport of karting.

When I see a "budget" of 15k for a car, I just think in terms of a kart. Starting at the club level, 1k for tires for a season and maybe 500.00 for top end rebuild kits. The rest is just extra money for either more karts, or something else.

m-

 

I had an E36 and E46 M3. Took both of them to the track. They are the reason I now have a used Honda Track toy. That and I can do basic math. M3 parts and service are many times the price of most Japanese sports cars. And I can find Honda, Nissan, and Mazda parts at an AutoZone during a track weekend if need be, but no M3 stuff.

I really like the CRX, but it is getting close to vintage car status. I probably won't get much for the car, so the best strategy may be to drive it until catastrophic failure, but that damn Honda reliability will probably have me in that car for 10yrs.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 6spdKEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Umm do you guys know how expensive a CTS-V is? $45,000 pluss! USED! A new 2007 goes for $65,000..</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not even close. I can get a Certified Pre-owned CTS-V w/ less than 20K miles from a dealer with a bumper to bumper 6yr-100K warranty for $30K. I know, I did it. No one wants a 6spd Caddy - they are a steal for speed junkies. Check eBay.

 

don't tow with the CTS-V. my boss blew out two rear-ends already, and that's just daily driving!

anyways, have you thought about a miata? i know it's not the "coolest" or fastest piece out there, but they are darn fun even stock.

let's see. so you want to spend around 20 grand, eh? (i'm just guessing here)

why not a C5 Vette? cheap, easy to get parts, fast, and if you need parts, you've got the CTS to steal from! hahahaa.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RPM_69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I had an E36 and E46 M3.

Not even close. I can get a Certified Pre-owned CTS-V w/ less than 20K miles from a dealer with a bumper to bumper 6yr-100K warranty for $30K. I know, I did it. No one wants a 6spd Caddy - they are a steal for speed junkies. Check eBay.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I took a quick look on Autotrader and saw the amounts on the first page.. . Expensive rides though. You got one hell of a deal.

I wouldn't be taking the E36 M3 to a shop for work. I'd do my own. It sounds like you've been tracking cars for a while now.. . Maybe it's time to pony up and race

Good luck on the decision.

 

Go with an s2k TRACKMONSTER.

 

m3 track car plus daily driving. that is a great idea until he Money Shifts and has to get it towed home.
your CRX will be MUCH more reliable then an m3.


i'd stick with the CRX. parts are plentiful and CHEAP. i.e. you can do all four brake rotors for about the price of a single M3 rotor. (brembo blanks)

just this summer i helped a friend swap in an engine in his 1995 m3. his completely stock engine blew on the back straight at VIR. (broken valve retainer).
i've come to like some bmws, but you still can't beat a honda for reliability and cost.
i'm actually selling my autocross 92 civic soon in order to get an m3. but it certainly won't be my track car anytime soon. i couldn't afford it only making $50k a year. but i still have an 88 civic which is going to be my track/autox car.

 

I agree. You don't need a high-powered or expensive car to have a lot of fun on the road course. Get a cheap car that doesn't cost you a lot to run, and that you can afford to put into a wall (even though that only happens to a few people).

If you find yourself outgrowing your car and wanting to upgrade it in order to have fun in HPDE or Time Trials, you may want to consider going wheel-to-wheel, because it can actually be more economical (and of course it will be a lot more fun)... What many HPDE and Time Trials participants don't know is that a lot of them spend far more money on their track cars than wheel-to-wheel racers do. Towing doesn't have to be expensive either (I'll get to that in a minute). I know that I spent about 4 times as much money on my Time Trials car as I did on my wheel-to-wheel race car, and my TT car was a hell of a lot faster, but I still have so much more fun doing real racing in the cheaper car that it doesn't even compare.

There are two things that make road courses fun and exciting... going fast, and playing with other cars. In HPDE and Time Trials, your ability to play with other cars is very much limited, so it's mostly about going fast. You can have fun trying to catch other cars, but that's still really just about going fast rather than fighting them for position. Speed becomes an expensive addiction because the thrill of going 100 MPH at the end of a straight will wear off and then you'll want to spend more money to make it 110, then 120, 130, and on and on. And of course it's not just engine power... you'll be upgrading the suspension and other parts endlessly too.

If you go wheel-to-wheel racing in a class where you have some competition, the majority of the fun/excitement/challenge is in the competition with other cars. The intensity of wheel-to-wheel racing really makes you forget about raw speed, especially when your competition has the same amount of power as you do. It can be a little intimidating to get started in, and it is challenging, but it's also by far the most fun and rewarding thing I have ever done, and it doesn't cost me as much as running my TT car did.

As for towing to the track, many people go the expensive route with a big truck and a fancy trailer, but it really doesn't have to be complicated or expensive. In fact, you really don't even have to tow at all... I actually drove my race car on the street to the track this entire season, and I wasn't the only one who did that. It's not the most comfortable way to do things, but we had arrangements to get a tow home if needed, so it worked out. It is a little annoying to not have your own support vehicle at the track though. For next season, I do plan to tow, but I wont have to spend much money to do so... you really don't need a big truck, or even a trailer. Plenty of people use just a V6 pickup truck or a V6 SUV, with a tow-dolly, to get their cars to the track. A tow-dolly is cheap, lightweight, and doesn't take too much space to store. Both car trailers and tow-dollys can also be rented from U-Haul (although, after a few events, it's cheaper to just buy a dolly than to rent one; renting a car trailer is a better deal). I think a tow-dolly is the best option for the money, but we can even go cheaper and simpler than that... you can get a tow-bar for under $200 that will allow you to flat-tow, which further reduces the load on the tow vehicle and is small enough that you could store it just about anywhere. The catch is that you need 4 street tires, and it might not be able to get you home if you crash your race car badly. This is what I'm talking about: http://www.jedi.com/obiwan/jee...0.jpg It's $169 here: http://www.hitchmart.com/comme...d=172

Just my 2 cents... wheel-to-wheel doesn't have to be all that expensive.


Modified by Weston at 3:30 PM 1/10/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Weston &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I agree. You don't need a high-powered or expensive car to have a lot of fun on the road course. Get a cheap car that doesn't cost you a lot to run, and that you can afford to put into a wall (even though that only happens to a few people).

...

Just my 2 cents... wheel-to-wheel doesn't have to be all that expensive.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That is why I keep promoting karting. Even cheaper but with as much or more fun. The performance of a kart vs. car is worlds apart for pennies. Give karting a consideration.

m-

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mario_D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That is why I keep promoting karting. Even cheaper but with as much or more fun. The performance of a kart vs. car is worlds apart for pennies. Give karting a consideration.

m-</TD></TR></TABLE>

I might be moving to Phoenix Arizona and am going to give carting a real good look C. Hopefully there are some good tracks there and within reasonable driving distance. I have a hookup for Cart tires/parts in Iowa but probably wont down there

 

These are a few of the karting facilities I am aware of in AZ...

P1 Kart Circuit Tucson, AZ
Bondurant SuperKart School Chandler, AZ
Phoenix International Raceway Avondale, AZ

Bondurant would be a good option to get your feet wet with karting.

 

FYI...

It is spelled.... karting.



m-