I could have posted this anywhere, but since I have a GT4, I posted it here.

I love my GT4 but I am secretly waiting for 3rd gear to fail or the strut tower to blow through the hood. I bought the car to track it...not beat on it, but to enjoy it at 7/10ths. I started to wonder...I have rarely had a worry free car:

944Turbo S: Timing belt, rear end
993 Turbo: No issues, no worries over 4 years of tracking
993 C2S: No issues, or worries over 2 years of tracking
2004 GT3: coolant hose letting lose (thankfully this never happened in 6 years of tracking)
2011 GT3RS: Coolant hose going (never happened in 2 years of tracking)
2015 Viper TA: Overheating like crazy (I gave up after $10k in coolant mods and 1 year of tracking)
GT4: see above

Then I read about or see the messes at the track with the GT350R, McClaren, Corvette, GTRs, etc.

I had a 2012 Golf R that was heavily modified and I ran the sh**t out of that car for 3 years and it never had an issue.

So my curiosity is this...regardless of lap speed, what is the most worry free (reliable) car that can be purchased for track use? I think that the cars are so heavy and fast these days, there are potential issues with any car. Not complaining, just curious on that others think.

 

The 991 GT3s have been pretty rock solid after the initial engine replacement fiasco.

 

Mazda Miata

 

s2000

 

Good one!

 

3 of the new Miata "cup cars" were at COTA last month and one was well driven and fast.

 

My 987.2 Cayman R has been pretty good over 4 years, 100+ days. Water pump replaced under warranty. Few mods- center radiator, GT3 brake ducts, GT3 LCAs. Early Dec the shift cable broke and first time I had to leave an event early.

 

Nice, that's what I'm looking for. (although over ten years, likely)

 

1st or 2nd engine replacement? There are still issues, unless you have the most recent revision, and even than there are not enough track miles on the latest fix to know if its the silver bullet. Once they get that nailed, then I agree with you. But until then you are driving a time bomb....albeit one under warranty with Porsche totally willing to take care of you.

Yup, I hear they are pretty solid - however they too are having transmission trouble. Mazda upgraded 2017 and gave all the racers a free transmission, but jury is still out on it being fixed.

My RS was a mess of problems, so I would not call the 997 rock solid by any stretch. It's very expensive to maintain on the track, and breath taking to fix when something goes wrong.

Funny, my most solid track car was my E90 M3 Daily. I beat the hell out of that car and it was solid - save for overheating issues in the extreme summer. Never ran it at COTA though, so I didn't have any engine issues.

 

every car has weak points, they just need to be addressed to be reliable, then be vigilant with inspections, maintenance and upkeep

obviously some cars are more prone to have more major and more expensive fixes than others, and running costs for consumables can be higher or lower, and grossly unreliable/expensive-to-keep-up cars should be avoided

but at the end of the day, you should try to drive a car that you are proud of, excites/thrills you, and challenges you...

 

Agree with this, similar experience with the Cayman R with zero engine/trans/suspension issues.

Smart to do the the center radiator and upgrade the brakes/camber, but those are minor in terms of cost/preparation.

 

My Honda S2000 has been a blast and has been rock solid for me at the track.

Cheap thrills and equally as fun.

IMG_2624 by blueprint012, on Flickr

 

I don't agree with your assessment. Yes, a couple people have had issues, but nothing widespread. That's despite people like myself and Orthojoe putting MANY track days on these cars. Joe and Ben even do days where they both drove it. 10+ sessions in a single day. I've personally done something like 40 days, and couple of which were 8-10 sessions. I think they are as rock solid as any track car made from 2015 on.

 

S2000. The one car I could take to the track and bring home and forget until I drove it to the next event.

 

The engine issues on the 991.1 GT3 are not necessarily related to track usage. So their reliability, or lack thereof, on the track is really independent of the engine issues.