Toyota supra TT, nice and $$$$$$... ARG! (archive)

The issue revolves around whether or not you want a dedicated race car (with tow vehicle) or a dual purpose car. In either instance it is ALWAYS cheaper to purchase a nicely pre-prepared car that do it yourself. A dedicated race car (for the dollars) is going to be WAY faster than any dual purpose car.

For a nice dual purpose car that won't hurt your budget too badly, a nice IT car would work well and probably require minimal work to get street legal and have safety equipment that makes street cars look unsafe at any speed. Plus, with a Honda CRX or Neon ACR or the like, they are pretty reliable and comparatively easy on tires and the budget. An E30 can be pretty expensive to fully prep and run on the track and not much faster without a pile of additional funds put into it, just check out an SCCA race at the end of the year for nice deals on cars.

For a dedicated race car (that will require a tow vehicle), its very, very hard to overcome the price to performance ratio of a late model stock car. Super nice rollers can bought for $6-8K and a 330HP ZZ4 crate motor is ~3.2K. Parts are CHEAP and plentiful. Racers give away race rubber that has been used for just 10 laps. A nice late model stock car weighs ~2,600 lbs. once the ballast has been removed and that is a pretty good power to weight ratio. My Dad went this route and now outruns the Ferrari Challenge cars on the track. The primary issue with dedicated track cars is that you cannot run with BMW CCA schools since they require vehicle liability insurance.

The RX7 TT is a really nice car, for a tall guy there are isn't much headroom, but their operating costs can be daunting. On the track, when they are running, they are massively fast cars. Another nicer option that would be less of a reliability headache (but more costly) would be a Toyota Supra TT, its heavier but a nicer overall car with similar performance.

Follow Ups:

[ Follow Ups ] [ 5-series (E34) Message Board ] [ Msg. Board FAQ ]

Questions, comments, or problems, please visit the Roadfly help desk.