I like your attitude, wish most of my students were more open to learning, instead of just going fast...

If you want to do a stock ish e30, you can always grab one for next to nothing from where ever, put some tires and pads on it, and go from there... I'd do seats/roll bar/harnesses also. It'll make it easier to listen to the car. I still also think you could check out my car, but the cheaper/slower idea isn't bad. Looks like my car maybe spoken for already anyway, but ja.

12/6/2008 11:02:25 PM

i'll be in iraq for 3.5 more months, anyway

and your M3 would be sweet, but i just don't want anything with that many miles (especially that many miles of being beaten on).

i'll have more monster sports cars, but not right now.

if I go with the E30 (or the miata, for that matter), i'd like stiffer shocks/springs, and bigger wheels/tires, at a minimum. i'm not looking for BONE stock...but not a hot-rodded Mr. Hyde version, either (i.e., my old Miata).

12/6/2008 11:33:24 PM

check some local autosport sites..
thscc.com
scca regional forums
nasa regional forums
triangle Z or whatever its called. hopefully they'll have a buncha local cars. but then again, those cars have been track driven.

12/7/2008 12:52:56 PM

i don't care if it's been track driven...i just don't want something with 200k miles that has been beaten mercilessly.

12/7/2008 5:33:51 PM

I had an 86 944 turbo that had factory spec compression/leakdown at 170k miles. Last I saw that car, it was at 200+k and going strong. My last m3 had over 215k miles, including 25+ track days. Miles don't break an engine, and track driving doesn't necessarily translate to abuse.

If your oil temps are not ridiculous, and you actually take a cool down lap, you wear out tires and brakes faster than normal miles. Depending on the car, you could add wheel bearings to that list (that for example a WRX or a 240sx will go through more often, but I'd replaced only one wheel bearing on the above mentioned M3, and none on the 944 turbo, which I kept for over 70k miles). It's the people who slam it into gear and bounce off the rev limiter all the time, and hit the curbing at every turn that are "abusing" the cars, but you need to do neither to actually go fast, and that kind of abuse can happen on a city car with 70k miles too. I bet more than half of the spec e30 cars ran at least a season on an unopened motor with over 150k miles. I believe Forrest's mid pack running e30 had over 250k miles on an unopened motor before he decided to "rebuild it". It had a broken rocker arm...

12/7/2008 9:33:12 PM

for reference i sold my E30 for $8k. gutted, roll bar, seats, harnesses, all new suspension (spece30 stuff - shocks, springs, bars, mounts, camber plates), exhaust, all new bushings, all proper maintenance, tire trailer, spare set of wheels.

Thats what you want. I swear i'm not being a fanboi, an E30 is capable, fun, and cheap as hell, and easy as hell to work on. Dead simple, reliable. <HPDE douchbaggery>I've passed an Audi R8, numerous corvettes, porsche, a Ferrari (the one that crashed, lol) in the 20yrd old bone stock E30 in the advanced run group</HPDE douchebaggery>. Its enough. Simple as that. You're there to learn, not to go fast.


Screw an old Porsche, there's no reason to put yourself into that potential money pit.

I wouldn't eliminate a 240sx. Theyre great cars and the brakes will be fine for awhile. But nice unmolested ones are kinda pricey for what they are. And their motors suck.

12/7/2008 9:50:43 PM

oh, an E30 325is would be enough performance for what I want to do. I wouldn't spend 8k on one, though.

For that price, I'd rather have an S2000 with a roll bar and 100k miles than a (near)spec-E30 with 150k+ miles.

[Edited on December 7, 2008 at 9:57 PM. Reason : sadfasd]

[Edited on December 7, 2008 at 9:58 PM. Reason : asfasd]

[Edited on December 7, 2008 at 9:59 PM. Reason : asdf]

12/7/2008 9:57:13 PM

If you really can find an S2k for $8k that's not riced all to hell, and with a roll bar already, that sounds like a no brainer.

I would pick an e30 over that too, personally, with safety gear/seats.

OK OK, I'll stop pushing the BMWs. Good luck on your endeavor, sir.

12/7/2008 10:01:53 PM

I'm pretty sure I can get one for $8k, even without a salvage title, though maybe not with a roll bar. There's an AP2 (!!!) for sale on s2ki.com for $9000 OBO with 99k miles (and 35k on the engine, replaced 15k ago).

There's also a clean looking (except for some cuts in the top) theft-recovery AP1 with 77k miles on there. Asking price is $8k.

[Edited on December 7, 2008 at 11:37 PM. Reason : asdfads]

12/7/2008 11:24:59 PM

yeah, you can get a lot of good cars on the cheap if you dont care about looks/title and stuff.

just remember, you're gonna be stuck with it for a while. a track car has its own audience.

and the plus side you can drive it around town without worrying too much

12/7/2008 11:45:13 PM

MR2 Spyder might be another option. They can be found pretty cheap--the limiting factor there is that they go for too-close-to-S2000 prices most of the time, which isn't even a contest. Cars like it and the S2k really take a huge beating in resale value if they aren't very low mileage, though, since there are so many of them with REALLY low mileage to choose from.

^ how much I care about looks and title is directly related to what I'm buying and how much I'm spending, haha. I'd pay $4-5k for, say, a mechanically sound E30 with springs/shocks/wheels/tires and not really care if it had a tear in the seat and faded/scratched paint.

12/8/2008 12:39:02 AM

^yeah thats what im saying. if the car is strictly for beating on, then heck there are a lot of choices out there on the cheap. and remember, lots of these associations have different series,

e30, spec miater, hondas, american cars.

so there is a possibility you could end up racing wheel to wheel if you get serious about it. but that required much more $$. IMO, just stick to driving schools and level 3/4. although its still a driving school, folks in those classes are VERY COMPETITIVE.

12/8/2008 11:05:30 AM

yeah, I might end up with a cheap miata with just a roll bar and suspension...who knows. Hell, I might just get a Discovery or something and no car at all until 2010 when I get back from my NEXT deployment.


Anyone ever tracked a non-M E46? If I elect to go hardcore with my truck purchase, then I'll need a DD car (instead of the other way around). I feel like a broken record saying this, but a 330i/330ci is a TON of car for the money. I figure I can pick up a fairly nice one with reasonable mileage for $11k-13k. There's the subframe issue, but I wouldn't be tracking it a lot, and there aren't many curvy roads where I live.

12/13/2008 6:15:29 PM

If I knew what I know now, I'd have started doing DEs earlier, with any car that has decent tires/pads and will not be unsafe on track, be it a regular stock e46 or what ever.

12/14/2008 1:43:57 AM

i rode in a non M bmw.. it was a 98 or so 328 (i think).

the driver was an instructor so he knew what he was doing. and the car was somewhat setup.

IMO for a n00b.. a single cam civic is just as fast as a 400HP M3.

get what you can... it'll be fast for the first few years.

12/14/2008 10:48:56 AM

Anyone sign up for the TrackDaze event from last week? It got canceled and I haven't gotten an email about when it will be rescheduled yet. Wondering if anyone else did. They called me the day before to tell me they will let us know via email for the new dates.

3/9/2009 11:32:29 PM

Yes, it's been rescheduled. You should've gotten an email, Rich, Rex, Dan and I did. Drop them an email. If I remember correctly, you'll get credit for a more expensive event in June.

3/9/2009 11:37:13 PM

Aight, i'll shoot them an email then.

shit...june? can i not use that credit for the august event? June is a bad month because my bro is coming to visit from Germany, and two different cousins are coming that month too.

[Edited on March 9, 2009 at 11:46 PM. Reason : .]

3/9/2009 11:45:52 PM

Yeah, I showed up at the track after 5 hrs of crappy weather to drive through, talked to some guys for 15 minutes, then drove home in more crappy weather. You are "transferred" over to the August event, and if that doesn't work for you contact them to make other arrangements. I'll likely be transferring payment to the Nov. one since that's the next TrackDaze VIR event I can attend.

But, I might be up there at the end of the month for NASA.

3/10/2009 8:05:35 AM

anyone wanna do any bike track days? I really like VIR full, but north would be fun. pavement on atlanta looks like dookie from the pics I've seen

3/10/2009 5:42:34 PM

^^Wait, so you're saying the default transfered event is the August one and not the June as ahmet was saying? because that would work perfectly for me then!

3/10/2009 6:29:19 PM

Quote :

"This is an e-mail from 'TrackDaze' Message: TrackDaze Members, We apologize for the late notice of the cancellation of the March VIR event yesterday. We had been working all day to make the best decision possible for all of our customers while dealing with an ever changing forecast and situation. As always, TrackDaze is committed to providing the best customer service in the industry and continues to work hard to do all we can for you, our valued customer. After discussing the cancellation and our safety concerns with VIR officials, the final decision in regard to a refund and/or credit of everyone's registration fees is as follows: Everyone will receive a spot in our August 27th and 28th VIR Full Course event as you were registered for this event, e.g., one day registrations for March's event, will transfer over to a one day registration for August's event. The event cost for August is slightly higher but we are waiving the difference in registration fees as a result of the last minute cancellation. The August VIR 09 registration is currently open, and as confirmation of the credit you will need to submit a new registration for the August event, but you may ignore the payment page. Once we see your registration submitted we will credit it accordingly. If you have any scheduling conflicts for the August 27th and 28th event, or you were registered for one day and wish to upgrade to both days, please contact us and we will do our best to work with you. Again, we apologize for any inconvenience the cancellation of this event may have caused. Sincerely, Eric Campbell & Jeremy Jens TrackDaze Owners "

3/10/2009 7:08:32 PM

^^^ yeah, I'm getting home in a few weeks and planning on doing both car and bike track days. Planning on mostly VIR and CMP, although some of the other stuff in the Carolinas and Georgia isn't out of the question.

SV has fresh brakes and fork seals, new Racetech springs and heavier fork oil. Now I just need to finish wearing out the sport touring rubber and put some sticky tires on...and buy a new set of leathers, and maybe a new helmet...and safety-wire it, if it's an event that requires it.


I don't know what in the hell I'm gonna do about a car. I had my mind "made up" (we all know that doesn't mean anything) to get an E46 M3, but now I'm seeing how cheap you can get an S2000 or 330i these days. The reality is that I could spend as little as 8 months at home before deploying again (2 weeks in Vegas, 6 weeks in Yuma, and then set to deploy again 10 months after I return from this one, although I personally think that'll get postponed for at least a few months, and maybe more). With my little girl visiting, and a boat, a jet ski, a motorcycle, and SCUBA diving and civilian flying to do, I'm not so sure I'll actually do enough track days to justify spending $18k on an M3 when I can get a 330i or S2000 for $8-12k.

3/10/2009 9:26:18 PM

i'm going to run E46 this season in STU, since they finally allowed it. last season it was impossible to win with E36 against STEvos since they can't police the boost and you cant put anything past 255. no fender rolling FTL. luckily E46 will swallow 275s easily with touching the fenders.

3/10/2009 9:29:12 PM

even sneaky boost-control aside, i'd hate to have to run against an Evo with anything less than an E46 M3, and even then I think you'd have your hands full at best. It's a kind of silly looking car with an awful interior, and on paper is laid out all wrong. I was an Evo hater until I drove one...and then I owned one about 2 weeks later. It isn't the most brute-force powerful thing I've ever driven, and in some ways not the most entertaining, but I think it takes the prize in terms of blowing my mind. They are amazingly, retarded fast for not having big power, big tires, decent weight balance, light weight, or a low, wide stance, and by a WIDE margin the easiest thing I've ever found to drive fast. I think that Stephen Hawking could probably turn a quick lap in one.

3/10/2009 9:41:36 PM

where the NESBA kids at? looking at doing track days at VIR this season. anybody got a trailer they wouldn't mind sharing? smoothcrim, when you going back up there?

3/10/2009 11:36:08 PM

bttt per request

7/23/2009 6:29:07 PM

im going back to vir aug 3-5. each day will be $200 or less with <50 people registered for all 3 groups. if you're in beginner or intermediate, bank 20 people on track at once MAX. advanced, you'll be out there with maybe 4 or 5 other guys

7/23/2009 7:05:34 PM

link or club name?

my co-workers are trying to get me to go with mazdadrivers at the end of august. about 40% spots filled as of now.

[Edited on July 23, 2009 at 8:16 PM. Reason : .]

7/23/2009 8:15:43 PM

anyone want to do a motorcycle track day?

7/23/2009 8:46:47 PM

^ Next 2 track days I''ll be doing are Cornerspeed @ VIR on 8/10 and NESBA VIR Full 10/19

7/23/2009 9:07:23 PM

I can't do anything during the week, and I can't do anything from mid-september through early-november (I'll be in Yuma, AZ).

7/24/2009 12:44:09 AM

the days I was talking about are motorcycle days. I do not own a track worthy car atm.

7/24/2009 2:48:12 AM

cool

count me out, though. can't go during the week.

7/24/2009 2:49:54 AM

If any of you are close to NYC, let me know if you would want to do this:

go karting at lime rock

http://www.endurancekarting.com/

7/24/2009 3:51:57 AM

September 12-13th is a two day Driver's Education event at Roebling Road Raceway. It is being hosted by the Florida Crown Region of the Porsche Club of America. Only $195 for both days, and that includes food and beer! (beer at night). You can't beat that.

Anyway, I just signed up and will be heading down with two other S2000s and one 350Z. If anyone else is interested let me know.

[Edited on July 26, 2009 at 11:00 AM. Reason : k]

7/26/2009 10:59:18 AM

oh man...I just checked the entrant list and in my run group there is a Lamborghini Gallardo Superlegga and a Tesla Roadster, lol.

Also of note, there are 2 997 911 GT3s going, and 2 997 9111 GT3 RSs going.

this is going to be sick.

7/30/2009 1:35:31 PM

Quote :

"Tesla Roadster"

Damn son, I'd like to hear how this thing does and how reliable it is on the track (I've never looked into it son).

7/30/2009 1:39:14 PM

Quote :

"997 9111 GT3 RSs"

must be the 4 door version

7/30/2009 2:28:42 PM

shit

in my excitement I had a typo


Also saw that a GTR is in my run group, as well as a Viper...how'd I end up in the supercar group?!

7/30/2009 3:36:34 PM

$5 says you're going to be held up in turns by the cars that you gave a point by to on the straights...

7/30/2009 4:11:04 PM

doh

I can totally see that happening

I'm curious to see if the Tesla will have some aftermarket footwear. Stock they have some eco friendly tires I believe, as well as only 175 section width fronts

7/30/2009 4:24:50 PM

Tesla is an utterly pointless vehicle, other than as an engineering/design exercise. There's no sense in actually owning one.

7/30/2009 4:47:29 PM

I got $100 that says it's being trailered to the event. And if it's not I'll be curious to see how it leaves. Hell I'll be curious if it has a full charge and able to run the second day...unless the guy's local.

7/30/2009 4:51:29 PM

maybe it has solar panel mods haha

7/30/2009 4:58:58 PM

what about a generator?

7/30/2009 5:03:29 PM

^that would defeat the purpose and would add too much weight.

maybe it has an APU but that would be the same as a generator...so nvm.

[Edited on July 30, 2009 at 5:08 PM. Reason : .]

7/30/2009 5:08:07 PM

i'm saying charge it between runs or something

i have no idea about the format of whatever this is

7/30/2009 5:11:47 PM

sadly it takes about 16 hours on 220v to fully charge

7/30/2009 5:19:25 PM

oh, damn

7/30/2009 5:19:49 PM