both the e30 (less so) and FD RX7 can be made into good track cars. the e30 can't 'easily' be made 'fast' - it will never pull a Z in a straight line. they can be made to handle very well, although the fastest guys i've seen (SpecE30 folks) in them universally say they are not easy to drive fast. the FD is fast stock, almost definately faster than a 350z given equal drivers. and yes, they can be modded to produce big horsepower and go like stink. the cost will easily blow myv6isfaster's budget though. even a rough donor car is going to be at the edge of the budget, and the power adders are big bucks, suspension probably more.

if you're really looking for a 100% track car, something like the diasio / radical would, IMO, be the best choice. zillinois - didn't you get a diasio? how do you like it? care to share more info on their pricing and consumables?

ahm

 

MyV6IsFaster, here is some advice, go to the racing forums of the cars you are interested and read the last year or so of chat. You will learn a lot.

As you know I just made the switch as well so I know what you are going through. Here is the first thing I noticed about my new car and the Z. And will probably be the difference between a race car and any street car made into a race car that I was unprepared for even though I had previously driven a purpose built race car; Are you are willing to give up almost all of the insulation between you and the car?

Driving the Z at the track was nice because, I had a nice cushy seat and a very smooth steering mechinism, wireless throttle, sound insulation from exhaust and mechanical noise etc. Don't get me wrong the Diasio is very comfortable to drive, but it has no creature comforts. It is a race car from the start. You may not be willing to comprimise every last piece of insulation between you and your car.

Good luck with your search, I know it is such a personal thing and it is not easy.


Since you asked AMo. ;-)

I absolutely love the car. I managed to get a couple of laps in at VIR the day after I picked it up and I was very happy with its performance. It is quite fast for the power and handles like nothing I've ever driven on the street. I did have some technical difficulties with the car which cut my session short, but I was able to get the gist of the car in that short a period of time. Visibility is amazing. Its like being in a fishbowl. Plus there's just the cool factor. I had tons of people coming up to check out the car. :-)

As for consumables, I'm just getting into that. Motor oil is the same, brake pads are the same, but you will use a lot less than any other car as the Diasio only weighs 1300 lbs. The rims are 15" so the tire cost is a fraction of what I've been paying for the Z. Also, I've been told the wear on tires is also much less than almost any other vehicle due to its low weight. I have to replace the throttle cable (just found out its $100) and adjust the sequential shifter linkage. So I'll see how much that costs me. But due to the shape and nature of the car, working on it is very easy. Try that in a 3rd gen RX7! Ask the guys on the RX-7 boards about working under the hood. See how that goes. ;-)

There was another Diasio in stock trim at VIR and he was running 2:12-2:15's and passed a fairly piloted Ford GT. (Mine is heavily modified for racing) A well piloted stock Diasio will run 2:08-2:10 (according to the chat boards on diasio) at VIR and a race prepped one will run 2:00-2:02. That makes it a very respectable car imo. A BUSA powered one will get you into the sub two territory. To give a comparison, John from this board who is an Instructor and VIR regular ran a 2:15 in his r-compound shod 350Z. The GA cup 350z runs around a 2 flat there or so.

I'm completely biased, but I can't think of a reason not to own this car.

 

You could save up and buy one of our fully prepped GAC Nissan 350Z's!!!

 

BJ,
I noticed two cars listed for sale on your site. Are you guys leaving the racing series? Moving onto other cars? Or...building another Z33-based race car?

 

We will see where we are going...

 

For now... Jsut for fun, get my foot in the door thing and perhaps get niticed. I have quite a bit of experiance and have had a few lessons, but I am still very much a novice. For now I want a decient/cheaper car (thinking of an SR20 240SX) but for now im just researchign getting ideas while I save up some money. Where I want to go... Well I would love to get into the racing scene as far as I can, but im still kind of young, still in college so I have time, jsut trying to get the experiance earlier on and start as young as I can.

 

There are actually 2 people I know that have full track cars roughly in that price range.

The first one has 70's-80's Porsche which is really fun to drive.
The other has a Factory Five Racing Cobra built from a 5.0 donor. It is really nice. You can pretty much put any Ford part in that car for cheap. They run like $13,000 for everything besides Engine, drivetrain, rear end, ect. You just buy a mustang 5.0 or a 4.6.

http://www.factoryfive.com/index.html

go there if you want more info.

 

ooh... factory five car - good call. i considered this instead of the specmiata, but consumables costs were significantly higher. the cars (from my limited knowledge) are very reliable, but eat tires and brakes (in comparison to the miata). these can get tags and be street driven as well. still a compromise (as opposed to the diasio/radical idea), but would be fun as well i think.

zillinois - did you consider the radical? you didn't say anything about it, but it seems (to me) conceptually similar to the diasio.

ahm

ahm

 

Yes, I looked at the Radical. It is a very similar car. It is a superior car performancewise (BUSA vs GSXR), but it carries a premium which I could not afford. And the Radical is inferior safetywise. The Diasio has much more roll over protection and directional protection. The Radical weighs 300 less pounds than the Diasio and almost all of it is cage and frame weight loss. I'll be forming a full carbon body over the winter, so I should come in very close to the weight of the Radical and still retain the safety features. That should make the car quite competitive. I just looked up a Stage 1 Yosh kit for my motor and its really quite funny. Cams are $300 bucks and full manifold back exhausts are $800. Those prices are for good ones, not megan racing headers.

 

I found a late year track day with the Mustang Club for next Sunday. I'll post a full review of the Diasio then.

 

Dedicated track car? NO QUESTION - Lotus Elise!

 

MyV6, if this is your first track car, and your track experience is limited, a first or second gen RX-7 is the way to go. They are cheap, parts are cheap, and if you stuff it into a wall, you can buy another one cheap. I had a second gen RX-7 for ten years. With a few simple mods, it was the best handling street car (or race car that started life as a street car) that I have ever driven. Not massive power, but enough power to have fun, and a good car to learn with. Plus there are plenty of parts and lots of things that you can do to make it better. As noted before, there is a spec RX-7 class now in SCCA, so there's a chance for you to go wheel to wheel racing. You just can't go wrong choosing an older RX-7.

 

Are there any series for Elise owners yet?

 

i have a 3rd gen RX7. if you go with a RX7 it sounds like you have enough spending money to make it more track proof. they do handle well but keep in mind that cheap FD's are really beat up and are about 12 years old. there are many things to go over before throwing it on a track but that's part of the fun. good luck on your little venture!