# Roadgoing Trackday car â€" what options do I have?



## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

I have reached an interesting juncture in Evo ownership. 3 weeks ago I took delivery of one of these: 









The Touran has now become my every day work and family car. And good it is at that. 44mpg is a revelation to meâ€¦â€¦in the Evo thatâ€™s a 3rd of a tank! :roll: 
So, the Evo has been consigned to the garage, only to venture out at weekends and track days. This gives me the opportunity to modify the car to be more favourable for track day outings, as Iâ€™m not driving it every day I can accept the compromises.

My primary aims with the car are to: 
a)	Make it safer andâ€¦
b)	Take some weight out of it.
c)	Suspension modifications

If I go full on a full-on weight saving strategy, I can remove about 150KGâ€™s of weight from the car, from the spare wheel, to the seats, replacing front seats, lighter battery, carbon bonnet and if I sell both sets of wheels I have, I can but some super light (as in 5KGâ€™s per corner) wheels, which will have highly beneficial effects to the braking and acceleration. 
The weight save and suspension are longer term strategies, as they are fairly costly.

Of immediate need, is to install a roll cage to the car.

Investigating this further, it appears a bolt in or welded cage, + fitment is anything from Â£1K to Â£3K, depending on what you buy. This is a small investment when you consider the benefits of having a roll cage in the event of an accident on track.

What is very disappointing (yet expected) is the general attitude of the insurance companies. In the main, they do not want to know. They are happy for you to do track days (at a price) but the minute you take measures to secure your personal safety in the car, they penalise you heavily for it :x

â€¦to the point now where I am swinging from one extreme to the next: Do Iâ€¦.

a)	Sell the car â€œas isâ€ and do away with track days for a few yearsâ€¦.
b)	Bite the bullet and go ahead with the planned mods orâ€¦.
c)	Investigate other cars which will meet my criteria.

So, Iâ€™d appreciate sensible ideas on what other options I could look at which meet the following:

	Track biased car
	Must be available under Â£20K
	Safety â€" cage must be possible to fit
	Must be able to drive it to the track (not turn up on a trailer)

Having been so impressed with Robâ€™s car at the ring, I have thought about an Exige S1 but I fear you cannot install a roll cage. 
Caterham is a possible but from memory, doesnâ€™t your head stick out a bit?
Have thought about buying an old 205 Gti 1.9 and doing everything to it but I donâ€™t want an fwd car.

There arenâ€™t many cars which come with a cage fitted aside from a GT3 but thatâ€™s a while away yet :wink:

Basically, I feel cornered by the cost of insurance....but I guess that will be the same whatever I buy? I want to continue to do the odd track day but must have the safety of my car secured. The mods to the Evo seem the best route to be honest â€" I can keep the car I like and make it safer. But if there was a car out there like the Elise with a roll cage, I would investigate for sure as the cost of running is significantly less.

Can you get a roll cage in a Noble? :roll:


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

A better strategy is simply not to crash...


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

I've seen first hand the kind of battering your head can withstand...  :lol:


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## r1 (Oct 31, 2002)

Surely if you're looking at other cars that you can fit a cage in then you're going to be facing the same insurance dilemma, or have I missed something?

Your car seems ideal for the use you describe....how many insurers have you spoken to?


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## CapTT (Mar 2, 2003)

Sell the evo and buy a prepared track day/Competition car. No brainer. After you have gutted the evo and seam welded it , fitted the cage , done the bulkheads , suspension mounts , skid plates and other stuff it will have cost a fortune that you will never get back . Sell the road car as it is , a nice motor , and then investigate a competition car. You will find cars built from just a shell especially for purpose are a lot stronger, safer and cheaper. Buy one to the spec. you can afford. Buy yourself Motorsport News newspaper on a wednesday and have a scan through the ads. in the back. If you want an evo I could point you in the direction of a few nice group N. spec tarmac rally cars that would fit your budget. Seam welding and shell preparation is easy when you have bought a bare shell. Then you can also put high spec. everything inside the shell protected and safe , the fireproof bulkheads are a pain. Why pay to have your car ripped to shreds ?. Thats a total waste of money and will never be as good as a full build anyway. Get a group N car and you can get into all kinds of motorsport , track days are just the tip of the iceberg.


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## jonno (May 7, 2002)

Stu
Have you already got "limited mileage" (eg 5k p.a.) on the cover for the Evo?
I think I'd be inclined to look into that (and go via to a specialist broker/underwriter rather than Bog Std insurance Co Ltd.)
Maybe combine that with a high XS and you could see a decent premium with roll cage?


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## Antwerpman (Nov 4, 2002)

Mk 1 Ariel Atom - there is one for sale in the PH classifieds and you can get a roll cage fitted.


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## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

r1 said:


> Surely if you're looking at other cars that you can fit a cage in then you're going to be facing the same insurance dilemma, or have I missed something?
> 
> Your car seems ideal for the use you describe....how many insurers have you spoken to?


Well, not really. Insurance on an Evo is always steep. Putting a roll cage is asking for it, so my broker says.

So...the reason for posting this is really to find out whether there is a golden nugget solution for me out there, outside of evo ownership. If someone was to tell me for example, that it's a piece of cake to put a roll cage into a VX220 Turbo for example, then this is of high interest. Namely because a VX220 T is about 18-20K now and cheap as chips to run, especially on track. I have been quoted on one and an Elise in the past and they were Â£800 less than the Evo...

I like the idea of looking into a previously used rally car. This makes sense. Buy a shell which has had all the business done to it and it could be a runner.


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## martin_read (May 13, 2002)

Stu - I bought a caterham 140 roadsport about two months ago purely
for track days. Having said that, it is an absolute blast on the road.

If you have never driven one before, I would strongly recommend a 
test drive. They seem to be fairly cheap to run and maintain, I have just
replaced the tyres for something a bit stickier and it was Â£ 40 a corner.

I would n't want to use it as an everyday car over winter, if I am travelling
more than 100 miles in it I have to use ear plugs.

cheers

Martin


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## r1 (Oct 31, 2002)

Stu-Oxfordshire said:


> r1 said:
> 
> 
> > Surely if you're looking at other cars that you can fit a cage in then you're going to be facing the same insurance dilemma, or have I missed something?
> ...


How many times a year do you intend on tracking it? There may be a bolt on-off cage that would get round your problem....

In your shoes I'd definately look at either a caterham (seen them with cages) or an early elise and get a custom fit cage.


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## thejepster (Mar 29, 2005)

If Caterham's are a possibility, then how about Westfields? If you gave the factory a shout I'm sure they could offer some advise or even build to spec. They're very friendly, based in Kingswinford, West Mids, and well worth a trip for a test drive.

Rich


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## W7 PMC (May 6, 2002)

Stu,

Did you not say in another thread that you're not now gonna get as much time to attend track days?? May have just imagined you said that, as i know that's my reasoning for not getting a track car.

If you do have the time, then i think you should spend the money modifying further your Evo, rather than jumping out of it, taking the hit & starting again on new project.

Look into the option of removable roll-cages, as i'm sure i've heard they are available & that may sideswipe the insurance issue.


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## CapTT (Mar 2, 2003)

If you put a bolt-in roll cage in its still gonna make a hell of a mess of the evo and its resale value and its not going to affect the torsional stiffness of the shell all that much so suspension mods will be very different . If you want the full safety you might aswell do the job properly and seam weld the lot and put a proper cage in. Then with the lightened load and strengthened suspension mounts you will notice a big difference in the car . All depends on what you want I suppose and if you are keeping the evo for ever . Speak to safety devices :

http://www.safetydevices.com/content/view/17/39/


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

Safety Devices went bust just the other day


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## Guest (Jun 22, 2005)

Porsche 968 Club Sport..

seems to tick all of your boxes.. and for about Â£15k'ish


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## b3ves (May 6, 2002)

Sundeep993 said:


> Porsche 968 Club Sport..
> 
> seems to tick all of your boxes.. and for about Â£15k'ish


That would get my vote too.


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## TTurbo (Jul 5, 2002)

Having recently sold one I'd agree with the 968 Club Sport suggestion.

Cracking car and you'd get one of the best available for Â£15/16k, modding them for track use doesn't seem to have a detrimental effect their values either.


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## XXMetal (Jan 20, 2004)

They did a MkI sports Elise with an extra strut from the roll over hoop. It was intended for the track, might be worth a look.


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## PhilJ (Sep 2, 2002)

Stu

Get an S2 Elise 135r. Has great suspension and grippy, track biased tyres. Elises have a roll-over hoop built in and very solid chasis, so very safe. More usable on the road than a Caterham and awesome on track. I am at Bedford Autodrome on August Bank Holiday Monday and you are welcome to passenger in mine.

I've been meaning to sort out the video footage of your Evo at CC with the flames coming out the exhaust. I am having some IT issues at the moment, but hope to get it done soon!

Cheers

Phil.


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## Stu-Oxfordshire (May 7, 2002)

OK, at the moment, I am following the idea of CapTT. I like the idea of buying a shell and speccing it up full with a cage, engine etc...It seems stupid to pay Â£3-5K for someone to rip the car to shreds. 
So, at the moment I am investigating the respective cost(s) of the following:

- An Evo VI/VII shell incl a roll cage 
- Full Respray (I still want the car to look relatively decent)
- Engine - I am thinking a breakers yeard E7 engine would be about 2-5K dep on age. 
- Brakes (I could carry over from existing car as I have the originals to refit)
- Full Cusco Coilovers and adjustable suspension + anti roll bars (Â£3K)

If all of this comes to less than Â£16K (unlikely, but worth investigating) then I sell the VII and use the cash for this. We'll see.



PhilJ said:


> Stu
> 
> Get an S2 Elise 135r. Has great suspension and grippy, track biased tyres. Elises have a roll-over hoop built in and very solid chasis, so very safe. More usable on the road than a Caterham and awesome on track. I am at Bedford Autodrome on August Bank Holiday Monday and you are welcome to passenger in mine.
> 
> ...


Cheers Phil. 
I passengred in Rob's Exige at the ring and saw that the roll hoop is factored in. Just a personal thing but I want to follow the Evo route at the moment. 
Cheers, Stu


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

My only concern as a relative tall person (6'1") is that if you draw a line between the top of the Exige roll hoop and the top edge of the bonnet, it would certainly bisect my head. Therefore with harnesses on, bolting you in place, in a rollover situation you become part of the structure. Best case scenario is that you emerge a bit shorter. :?

I'd still have one in an instant though if I had the cash! :wink:


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## Carlos (May 6, 2002)

And for those interested I have had the same dilemma since the ring. I have resolved it though, there is a 6 point rollcage in my garage waiting to be fitted, just need to choose some seats and harnesses, all done in time for the next track day (Cadwell in Sept).


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## ColinH (Jan 1, 2003)

Stu-Oxfordshire said:


> Having been so impressed with Robâ€™s car at the ring, I have thought about an Exige S1 but I fear you cannot install a roll cage.


Kelsport and Brooke Kensington (and no doubt others) offer Elise roll cage.

http://www.racecar.co.uk/kelsport/index.htm

http://www.brooke-kensington.co.uk/ppartl2.htm


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