# Audi TT as a track toy?



## EnthusiastOwned (Mar 14, 2014)

Myself and a few friends are discussing getting a cheap track toy. Pure track, not road legal. At the beginning literally get a car, strip it, bucket seat, and rag it around a track.

MK1 MX5 is the obvious choice, but I have been toying with a MK1 TT 225. They can be had for around £1500 easy enough, strip it out, sell these parts on and we'll easily see 1/3 of it back.

Question is, will it be any good?


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## Gone (May 5, 2009)

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=136873&hilit=destroying+my+tt


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## crono35 (Dec 27, 2013)

I went from a 92 supercharged mx5 to a 225 TT. If I were after a track toy I would stick with the mx5. The cost of the car is going to be a small portion of your overall cost, and due to the increased weight of the TT, wear and tear on everything is going to be increased. You'll go through brakes, tires, and the like faster than you would than on the mx5, not to mention the extra cost TT parts will incur. There's also more aftermarket support for the mx5 than the TT, and much more experience as well. Another thing is that the stock brake calipers on the miata are generally considered good enough for track use, while most people recommend replacing the front calipers TT for any track use.

The miata is a sports car built from the ground up, and the TT is more of a touring car. I wouldn't really put them together in the same class. A properly setup miata with a depowered rack is an absolute blast to drive on the track but a burden to drive around town. I haven't taken the TT on a track yet so I can't speak to how it'll compare, but with defcons, proper springs and shocks, and decent brakes, I'd imagine it would hold it's own. I do believe you'll have more *fun* in the miata while driving.


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## 2elliot (Dec 7, 2014)

Check out the Ford Puma 1.7. They cost pennies to buy, handle well and are great for thrashing around in. Parts are cheap, tyres are reasonable and there's one in most breakers yards... rust like mad, though.


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## dextter (Oct 29, 2007)

crono35 said:


> I went from a 92 supercharged mx5 to a 225 TT. If I were after a track toy I would stick with the mx5. The cost of the car is going to be a small portion of your overall cost, and due to the increased weight of the TT, wear and tear on everything is going to be increased. You'll go through brakes, tires, and the like faster than you would than on the mx5, not to mention the extra cost TT parts will incur. There's also more aftermarket support for the mx5 than the TT, and much more experience as well. Another thing is that the stock brake calipers on the miata are generally considered good enough for track use, while most people recommend replacing the front calipers TT for any track use.
> 
> The miata is a sports car built from the ground up, and the TT is more of a touring car. I wouldn't really put them together in the same class. A properly setup miata with a depowered rack is an absolute blast to drive on the track but a burden to drive around town. I haven't taken the TT on a track yet so I can't speak to how it'll compare, but with defcons, proper springs and shocks, and decent brakes, I'd imagine it would hold it's own. I do believe you'll have more *fun* in the miata while driving.


Good post, and interesting bit of reading that one mate.
Nice one. 8)


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## Danny1 (Sep 2, 2010)

Your choice is to either choose the car you want to do, or choose a car ideal for track use, the TT is not a good choice as a cheap track car, you should just go tried and tested, 106 gti, saxo vtr/vts, 205 gti, mx5 etc, they are all very cheap, handle well and are light, all the ingredients you would want for a track car.


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

I'm building one..viewtopic.php?f=2&t=558849 but it's as much to prove my mates wrong and an engineering project as anything. I wouldn't call it cheap.

Buy a Renaultsport Clio Cup, change the suspension and bushes, put it on some R rubber, job done. Two of my Porsche mates have gone down this route. Cheap as chips and good fun. Both of theirs were around £2.5k before the upgrades started.

VT


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## staffy (Sep 29, 2009)

I had a 1990 Marina Blue MX-5 for 13 years that was set up as a track car that was also a daily driver. Removed air con, power steering, interior etc and fitted coil overs, full cage with bars through to the bulk head, blue printed motor, custom brakes and exhaust with semi slicks etc. Wife used to hate it when we'd drive from Victoria to Queensland (1932kms) for holidays but git a great tan on the way. Anyway was a great car on the track, and cheap to run as well. I'd rather keep the TT for the road


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## TheVarix (Apr 3, 2013)

2elliot said:


> Check out the Ford Puma 1.7. They cost pennies to buy, handle well and are great for thrashing around in. Parts are cheap, tyres are reasonable and there's one in most breakers yards... rust like mad, though.


+1 on that. Great handling cars...


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## MrQaud (Jun 5, 2013)

If it were me I'd get a scooby. Pick them up dirt cheap now. I sold my boosted up STI recently, buyer came from Switzerland for it. He was going to strip out the interior and rag it round various tracks around Europe...


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## glew08 (Apr 12, 2011)

My most recent tack toy was a Golf 2.8 V6 four motion. The four wheel drive was great in the wet, but in the dry it felt too stodgy and numb. I had more fun in RWD BMW's and light FWD's clios etc. I have also been tempted to do a TT track car - because i love TT's - but based on the golf - my next will be a RWD.


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

Anything can be a track toy! Pushing any car to the limits no matter what it is what's fun for a track day!!  Can it be a consistent race winner? That's a completely different question!

I'm working to turn mine into a track toy, starting off on Amateur track days, however at some point i would like enter some sort of race series.


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

NickG said:


> I'm working to turn mine into a track toy, starting off on Amateur track days, however at some point i would like enter some sort of race series.


Sprinting and hill climbs are a good place to start Nick, though be careful what you do to the car whilst your going down the trackday route, come the time to step up you could find yourself in an uncompetitive class if you fiddle with it too much. Best to have some end game in mind and work towards it whilst doing some trackdays.

VT


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## brushwood69 (Dec 17, 2012)

As VT says Sprint and hill climb comps have basically 2 classes that a TT could sit in. Road and Modified.

Road class has to keep the trim, door panels, roof lining and rear seats (which is why I have a quattro sport ahem!!)you can ditch the carpets, front seats and steering wheel but that is about all. You also have to run road legal tyres like r888 ad048 etc

Modified allows you to strip out the lot but you have to put a cage in and extinguisher etc.

Then its down to engine size and a turbo multiplier of 1.4 so a 1781 becomes 2493 and sits nicely under the 2500 limit and away from evos, scoobys and 911s (unless you enter a national event)

With a decent suspension, cookbots and polybushed wishbones, stage 2 engine, track tyres and a half cage you will have a fun car but then you will want brembos, lightweight flywheel, de-cat racehaldex etc but you will enjoy it and have a car a bit different from the others and it can have a capable 4x4 with an upgrade. I DO and have had a 1st, 2 seconds and a third this year against mk2 escorts, bmw mini jcw lotus sunbeams all good cars.

As NIKE say just do it!

BW

BW


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## NickG (Aug 15, 2013)

Von Twinzig said:


> NickG said:
> 
> 
> > I'm working to turn mine into a track toy, starting off on Amateur track days, however at some point i would like enter some sort of race series.
> ...


Do we have much around this way for sprinting? I know there's no hills!! :lol:

I'd had quite an in depth conversation with a guy who races in this series...

http://www.classicsportscarclub.co.uk/?q=Modern Classics

I believe the TT could squeeze into the "modern classics" section but I'm not 100%. It's supposed to be good fun but without too many accidents!!

It's all a way off any way, atleast 3/4 years for racing, I need a lot more track time first!


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## Von Twinzig (Feb 10, 2014)

That looks an interesting series.

Don't get too hooked up on trackday track time, the two are poles apart. You can get more racing experience in one weekend of competitive racing than years of trackdays. In the club racing I folow (CNC Heads Nothern Sports Saloons) you get 20 mins qually then a race of 20mins plus a lap. It's not paint swapping racing and you can pootle round learning the circuit whilst keeping out of trouble and getting your novice licence signed. It's like a trackday, but with a point and about a tenth of the wear on your car. Trackdays kill cars comparatively speaking. And there's always a loonie in a Saxo to 'eff everyone off. That doesn't tend to happen in club racing.

VT


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