What is the best STOCK track car!
#41
Drifting
At Spring Mountain this weekend, an employee there claimed he had not seen any blown engines, or any clutch replacements in the 3 years he had worked there....... and they use stock cars as far as I know...
I had heard they add an extra oil cooler - but I did not verify that.
I agree the best improvement is the driver
I had heard they add an extra oil cooler - but I did not verify that.
I agree the best improvement is the driver
Janet
#42
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St. Jude Donor '08
In one of the threads I read, a guy got around the full VIR course in 2 minutes flat. That was with a stock 1000 cc motor. Can't begin to imagine a a slightly tricked out one could do.
#44
Drifting
^^If you truly want a track only car take a careful look at this thread.
http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3161
I also pondered the question you are asking and came to the conclusion that in the long run (probably short-run too) it is much less expensive to buy a car that was specifically designed for the track.
You can get a Radical or similar C or D class sports racer for around $25K. These cars are ready from the get go to go to the track and perform. They will out run the vettes with ease for a fraction of the cost. They are also much less costly to operate because they are not as hard on consumables like tires, brakes, etc. They are also easy to work on unlike the vettes.
http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3161
I also pondered the question you are asking and came to the conclusion that in the long run (probably short-run too) it is much less expensive to buy a car that was specifically designed for the track.
You can get a Radical or similar C or D class sports racer for around $25K. These cars are ready from the get go to go to the track and perform. They will out run the vettes with ease for a fraction of the cost. They are also much less costly to operate because they are not as hard on consumables like tires, brakes, etc. They are also easy to work on unlike the vettes.
Here is another option: http://www.3ballsracing.com/index.ph...id=984&catid=4
For under $20k you have a very safe, very fast car that will take everything you can throw at it. I actually drove the car in the link above, and it changed my thinking forever. Once you start doing track days and see the abuse your car takes, I think a dedicated track car is the way to go. The added safety benefits really make it worth it.
However, I have seen plenty of people bring bone stock cars to open tracks days and they have just as much fun as anybody else.
Ken
#45
Safety Car
996 GT3's can be had in the 70's maybe even 60's now.
#47
Safety Car
Yeah you pay more for brake pads and rotors, but you have BETTER brakes.
#49
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CI 3-5-6-7-8 Veteran
If I was going to start all over again tracking a streetable Corvette I'd do the following and consider them bare minimum.
*Ultrashield seat w/ harnesses (comfortable enough to drive to the track if needed)
*Lowering + more aggressive allignment
*wheels/tires
*Brake cooling + front brake kit
*Stand alone oil cooler
That's it... leave the HP mods, shifters, etc etc alone. I do agree that the GT3 needs nothing other than fluid maintenance and consumables, but the Z06 can be just as good, but it does require a few parts.
*Ultrashield seat w/ harnesses (comfortable enough to drive to the track if needed)
*Lowering + more aggressive allignment
*wheels/tires
*Brake cooling + front brake kit
*Stand alone oil cooler
That's it... leave the HP mods, shifters, etc etc alone. I do agree that the GT3 needs nothing other than fluid maintenance and consumables, but the Z06 can be just as good, but it does require a few parts.
#50
Safety Car
#51
Safety Car
If I was going to start all over again tracking a streetable Corvette I'd do the following and consider them bare minimum.
*Ultrashield seat w/ harnesses (comfortable enough to drive to the track if needed)
*Lowering + more aggressive allignment
*wheels/tires
*Brake cooling + front brake kit
*Stand alone oil cooler
That's it... leave the HP mods, shifters, etc etc alone. I do agree that the GT3 needs nothing other than fluid maintenance and consumables, but the Z06 can be just as good, but it does require a few parts.
*Ultrashield seat w/ harnesses (comfortable enough to drive to the track if needed)
*Lowering + more aggressive allignment
*wheels/tires
*Brake cooling + front brake kit
*Stand alone oil cooler
That's it... leave the HP mods, shifters, etc etc alone. I do agree that the GT3 needs nothing other than fluid maintenance and consumables, but the Z06 can be just as good, but it does require a few parts.
No question that the Z06 is bang for the buck much better, and has much more potential in it, but as far as best track car out of the box, I'd go with the GT3 10 times out of 10.
#52
Le Mans Master
$100k in a C5 should get you the absolute fastest car on the track across the country on any given day!!! Would love to see this...buy say a $25k used T1 car and go from there...650hp 427/Best Brembo BBK/Penske true race Coil-overs, with new suspension pickup points...and this just as a start!!! Replace all fiberglass with carbon fiber, better aero, gutted to accept 345's in the front and rear. Full syncro transmission from WC car and on and on...oh to hit the lotto!!!
#53
I saw a few cars just like your Panoz in the GT2 class this year in the Runoff's. Unfortunately, both cars took each other out at the start of the race. Do you know what it would take to make your car competitive in this class? I'm asking because the class had a mix of tube frame cars like yours and production based cars like the Porsche GT3 Cup car. The GT3's dominated the race btw.. I'm guessing that they'd allow more than the engine that you have in there now?
#54
Safety Car
Yeah, but for $100k, do you know what kind of C5 you could build/buy? One that we decimate any GT3 with $100k put into it!!!
$100k in a C5 should get you the absolute fastest car on the track across the country on any given day!!! Would love to see this...buy say a $25k used T1 car and go from there...650hp 427/Best Brembo BBK/Penske true race Coil-overs, with new suspension pickup points...and this just as a start!!! Replace all fiberglass with carbon fiber, better aero, gutted to accept 345's in the front and rear. Full syncro transmission from WC car and on and on...oh to hit the lotto!!!
$100k in a C5 should get you the absolute fastest car on the track across the country on any given day!!! Would love to see this...buy say a $25k used T1 car and go from there...650hp 427/Best Brembo BBK/Penske true race Coil-overs, with new suspension pickup points...and this just as a start!!! Replace all fiberglass with carbon fiber, better aero, gutted to accept 345's in the front and rear. Full syncro transmission from WC car and on and on...oh to hit the lotto!!!
You are assuming we are talking about the 997 GT3, when the 996 GT3 is just as potent, lighter, racier, just slightly less hp. It's more hardcore, and can be had in the high 50's if you look hard enough, but regularly in the 60's, and this is with decent mileage.
Like I said, bang for the buck goes to the Corvette hands down, but overall, the corvette is still not a better suited car for track duties in stock form than a GT3, and even if you add all those mods, you'll likely get even more problems out of the vette. So it would be faster, but run a whole race season and see who ends up spending the most money on non accident related repairs.
#55
I have 4 favorites for best (nearly) stock track cars that fall into 4 discrete price point categories (I have owned 3 of them and have only driven #4)
1. Miata (preferably spec miata variety) Huge fun in the turns, dead reliable, cheap parts, mazda racing support
2. E36 M3 Faster, still pretty cheap, and very reliable with regular maintenance
3. C5 Z06 or Z51 C6 Very competent dead stock, much harder to drive near the limit than #1 and #2
4. 996/997 GT3 Euro club sport package with rollbar, seats, harness would make it a perfect "stock" track car
1. Miata (preferably spec miata variety) Huge fun in the turns, dead reliable, cheap parts, mazda racing support
2. E36 M3 Faster, still pretty cheap, and very reliable with regular maintenance
3. C5 Z06 or Z51 C6 Very competent dead stock, much harder to drive near the limit than #1 and #2
4. 996/997 GT3 Euro club sport package with rollbar, seats, harness would make it a perfect "stock" track car
Last edited by racer02; 02-12-2008 at 06:52 PM.
#56
Safety Car
These are becoming the new Mustang. I see nice ones (high mileage 1995-1997ish) going for less than $10K. Wrecked ones with only cosmetic damage are often in the $5K range. Fully prepared, competitive race versions sometimes go less than $20K.
The BMW-CCA and NASA GTS classes feature scores of them running faster than all but the quickest Z06's with a much lower pwr/wt ratio.
Similar times to T1 with much less HP.
#57
Drifting
You are assuming we are talking about the 997 GT3, when the 996 GT3 is just as potent, lighter, racier, just slightly less hp. It's more hardcore, and can be had in the high 50's if you look hard enough, but regularly in the 60's, and this is with decent mileage.
Like I said, bang for the buck goes to the Corvette hands down, but overall, the corvette is still not a better suited car for track duties in stock form than a GT3, and even if you add all those mods, you'll likely get even more problems out of the vette. So it would be faster, but run a whole race season and see who ends up spending the most money on non accident related repairs.
Like I said, bang for the buck goes to the Corvette hands down, but overall, the corvette is still not a better suited car for track duties in stock form than a GT3, and even if you add all those mods, you'll likely get even more problems out of the vette. So it would be faster, but run a whole race season and see who ends up spending the most money on non accident related repairs.
For my racecar I went with a stock C6. putting 70-90k into it, but that thing should blow past my porsche, and for less money. Parts are going to be alot cheaper on it to fix. However nothing will be under warranty
#58
Le Mans Master
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These are becoming the new Mustang. I see nice ones (high mileage 1995-1997ish) going for less than $10K. Wrecked ones with only cosmetic damage are often in the $5K range. Fully prepared, competitive race versions sometimes go less than $20K.
The BMW-CCA and NASA GTS classes feature scores of them running faster than all but the quickest Z06's with a much lower pwr/wt ratio.
Similar times to T1 with much less HP.
The BMW-CCA and NASA GTS classes feature scores of them running faster than all but the quickest Z06's with a much lower pwr/wt ratio.
Similar times to T1 with much less HP.
UHUM.. I mean..... go fast
#59
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I have a porsche 997 turbo, tracked it once. Blew off the turbo hoses, simple fix, however I have a nice loud whine under speed, which probably means a bearing is gone as well. Nice thing about my porsche is its under warranty. Even if they know I was racing it, they will still fix everything. that b eing said, its going to break just like any other car tracking it regularly.
For my racecar I went with a stock C6. putting 70-90k into it, but that thing should blow past my porsche, and for less money. Parts are going to be alot cheaper on it to fix. However nothing will be under warranty
For my racecar I went with a stock C6. putting 70-90k into it, but that thing should blow past my porsche, and for less money. Parts are going to be alot cheaper on it to fix. However nothing will be under warranty
#60
Le Mans Master
-C5Z - hands down best buy for the money right out the box. Driven many GT3s (and one GT3 RS) on track and passed many more in my Z and FRC....and GT3s do break down on track when they are driven hard (just like hard driven Zs). Smack a fender on a GT3 or a C5Z.....
If I had the money I would have a GT3 in the stable (have to sneak it past my wife - she STILL remembers the Porsche part bills)
If I had the money I would have a GT3 in the stable (have to sneak it past my wife - she STILL remembers the Porsche part bills)