Trackguy

hi group, I am new to this forum, and new to HPDE. I have always enjoyed sports cars, and now at this point in my life, I have some time to do some track events. at my first track event, I blew up my engine from engine oil starvation I learned a hard lesson about cornering and g forces. The funny thing is, I was running ordinary, all season tires on my Corvette, C6. So I don’t want to give up, but I don’t wanna make the same mistake twice. I am trying to educate myself as much as possible and find a car that I can take to maybe four events a year. I probably will stick with 200 treadwear tires. I’m looking for as much of a bullet proof car, as I possibly can on my budget, which is around 30 K. I know everyone says Miata, but I know myself, and I don’t think the low horsepower is going to satisfy me. I have more fun at speed than I do at intense cornering. I don’t mind spending the money on tires brakes wear items, general maintenance. I know that this is an expensive sport. so where I am at right now in my thought process is may be a C6 grand sport that has a dry sump engine, may be a 987.2. I’ve heard they don’t have oil starvation issues, seems like manual transmission is the way to go on most models. M3 has also been looked at older M threes are going for ridiculous prices right now and the newer ones are 3700 pounds. S2000? i’ve heard they’ve had some engine starvation issues as well. So my question here is for people who have at least 20 track days with no issues on the stock drive train, give or take with suspension and brake mods, and I don’t mind spending money on additional cooling as needed, and may be an Accu sump if needed, but I’ve heard mixed reviews on those as well., What do you think would be the best car for me? Thanks

Jared Rodeheaver

It is hard to give exact advice on a specific car since that is a personal decision. Being new to DE and the track and I know others will agree start with something lower HP and progress from there. You'll be a better driver for it. As for reliability I can speak to what I've been tracking. I have a 2019 Base 718 with no engine mods with over 60 days on track running R Compound tires with zero issues. I also have a SPB (1999 Spec Boxster). This came with an accusump but it has since been removed. Good luck in your hunt for the right car and enjoy the time on track!

LuigiVampa

TL;DR

The answer is always to track.

ProCoach

Porsches, stock and unmodified, especially those built in the last ten years, seem to do better than other makes/models on track.

I’ve seen thousands of stock cars with brake pads, better tires and some eventually with safety equipment perform without problems for many events annually, for years.

With VR on this!

zedcat

I don't know the current market, but the 987.2 or 981 Caymans either base or S are very reliable. I have 100s of DE days on a 2012 Cayman R with no significant drive train issues. I broke the shift cables which is a known weakness. Other than that fluid changes, plugs/coils, drive belt is all I've done. (lots of brake parts, tires, few suspension bits of course)

edit- also replaced water pump, not uncommon for these.

Nowanker

if you're already familiar with the Corvette platform, there's tremendous bang for the buck there.
A C5 Z06 with some minor mods is essentially bulletproof, and track prepped ones appear for sale pretty often.
Check the 'Autocross and Road Racing Classified' section on the forum dedicated to those horrible plastic bodied monstrosities.

C6 GS will be similar, but more $ in exchange for a nicer interior and a few more horses.
Haven't checked prices lately, but a C6Z might not be much more.
And they're embarrassingly fast....

bcrdukes

You can't have a username as Trackguy and not track your car!

As the others have said, go for it. I do HPDE with my local PCA and really enjoy the structure, quality of instructors, and emphasis on safety. If there is anything I learned in my first year as a noobie, and if there was one thing I could have done differently was not modify my car and kept it stock. The reason why I say this is my Boxster is already more car than I can handle as a new student and I'm always looking to improve and learn how to (safely) push the limits of my car before doing anything to said vehicle. I am the slowest of the bunch, but I have nothing to prove except to be a better student and driver.

Having said that, I would not let the hard lessons deter you. Get a good coach and some solid lessons from a good instructor and go from there.

dgrobs

PC, VR hasn't posted in this thread yet.

LV, any correlation between oil starvation in the engine and the weight of the gold chain in the car?

OP, always track. Always.

Welcome to the slope......

Rig.Stunts

Hard to track a pCar with a 30k budget . . .

Glyndellis

Be careful with a C6 Z06 - the LS7 motors have well documented issues with the heads when tracked, as the valve guides wear and can result in valve failure. The LS6 in the C5 Z06 has fewer ponies and fewer problems, and the lower cost leaves more budget for you to buy more New Balance and gold chains

ProCoach

Yep, made a mistake, a good one.

dgrobs

Yeah, for Luigi…..

ProCoach

@dgrobs Separate thread, but found out that, bottom line, it's the renter of the track's decision on safety gear in HPDE's. At least, for now.

zedcat

Although I know very little about Corvettes, this thought also crossed my mind. Nearly everyone I know that has tracked a C6 has had a significant issue at some point. And a family member tracked a C5 for a few years with no big issues. He did say replacing the clutch was a big job, think it was the transaxle/torque tube makes it difficult. (he has a C8 now and loves it.)

ProCoach

I think some Corvettes are better than others, although the performance level is very high for the price point.

I've had quite a few clients with C7 Grand Sports that have had no issues and are as quick as any 997 GT3 and most 991.1 GT3 street cars.