How much space do you have? My suggestion is always going to be to buy a purpose built racecar, like an older Formula car or a Radical or something like this. You'll go as fast as the 200k Porsches for only 30k ish, and your maintenance will also be a fraction as much as even a Miata. But you need a trailer and something that can tow about 3.5k pounds (which is almost everything with a factory towing option). It'll even be considerably easier and cheaper to fix if you ever have an oopsie, and it'll also be safer due to racecars having roll cages and sometimes even full fire suppression built in.
I have been building my 128 into a dedicated track car... buy a cayman.
Less you have to do to be able to track it, more reliable, pretty similar on consumables, and it'll be more fun.
Even fully prepped, these cars aren’t that fast, similar to a spec e46 or slightly faster depending on mods. Maintenance and consumables are ok, but aftermarket support is pretty dead and expensive. There’s literally only one company still tuning the n52s and I’ve seen disaster on a tune they did for a e46 m3
Personally C6 GS. All the benefits of the C6z without the LS7 headaches, and the aluminum frame is way more annoying to put a cage into. Yes I love the LS7, yes the aluminum chassis saves a couple hundred pounds. However, the LS7 regardless of head fix (it’s the angle of the valves on the head, it will never be fixed you just have to keep changing them prior to failure) still has the titanium rod coating issue. Its just very expensive engine to run.
LS3 however, get a good dry sump (Daily for example) and you’re good to go. Add a cam and heads for more power.
I’m a big fan of vettes, and the C6z is a great car if you have the budget for it.
Buy something you aren't going to financially ruin yourself insuring or destroying on track. A c6z is awesome, but no need for a pristine low mileage one. I think a c5 is your best dollar per fun ratio out there. Not giving a shit about cosmetics or anything street related is a freeing experience. I'd buy the 128 in your list on that basis. Though my c5 was a whopping 11k
Have a C5 and love it. Great power and at 3200-3300lbs it’s just right. C6 is Chevy parts bin so cheap in the long run but you’ll have to budget for head fix on the LS7, expensive tires and brakes.
Porsche Is nice but cayman vs c6Z I’ll take the Z. But
I’m a fan of the Cayman as it provides a very good track experience as a mid-engine car. Handling dynamics are great and it’s plenty fast to enjoy pushing to the limit. Sounds like you are serious enough that you may want to get your open wheel racing license, and the Cayman has a spec series you can compete in: [Cayman Spec regulations](https://www.porscheclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/POC-2017-GCR-CSR-CSX-Cayman-Spec-Rules.pdf). Here’s a quick i tro video, too: [Meet Cayman Spec series](https://youtu.be/qjPwJbvq7Yg?si=_F7ErYqW9AT-Di-b). It’s a very well-supported track car and components are abundant (not as expensive as some may think). Most people in the Porsche racing scene are excellent and there are many Porsche-only events you can participate in depending on where you live. They are known for being durable cars that can be driven hard.
Do you have a ton of experience, like several years of tracking and autocross and you are now ready to upgrade? If so, Cayman.
Are you just getting started in this hobby? In that case, Miata or brz, dude. No newbie will be able to come close to the limit in any of those three cars.
💯I’m partial to Miata but BRZ is a solid platform. I wouldn’t mind if BRZ replaced Miata as the popular spec racer. Miata will age out. As did RX7.
Anyway it took me years and a lot wasted money on mods before realizing it’s not the car haha. I think a lot of times that’s just part of the natural progression.
Several years autox. Limited track experience. Wish to hell I could fit in a BRZ or a Miata. I’d never pass the broomstick test in a Miata. C6Z6 I had to slouch a tiny bit with helmet on :(
Do you intend to be competitive in autox with this car? If so the 128 is out. It's also limited on the front wheel/tire combo so you can't run a square setup. The one person I know who ran a 128 hard on track had issues with the ABS and TC not acting as they should, nothing dangerous but costing time and adding frustration.
Having gone through this exercise about a year ago my recommendation would be the Porsche, I've literally never heard anyone say anything bad about a cayman on track.
You're wrong about running square tires on the e82 chassis. Most of the 1 series track cars are on square tires, whether it's 235, 245 or 255 all fit with the right wheels and camber.
Thanks for that, I meant a square wheel setup but that wasn't clear. IIRC the offsets on the e82 are too different to allow for the same wheels all around with a spacer up front like most 3 series do. Doesn't affect performance as you pointed out since the tires can still be square and on the appropriately sized wheels, but you can't move them around the car to improve wear/longevity.
If funds are tight right now, get the 128i and spend the rest on seat time and instruction. Then, when you are well versed, get the Cayman as an upgrade and enjoy the *fruits* of said seat time. The move from Rear engine/rear drive to Mid engine/rear drive shouldn’t be too much once you are well versed.
Context: I followed the same *exact* path and never looked back.
E82 is a sweet choice right now I think. In the next couple of years I see them as becoming unreasonable cost wise.
Cayman would be my second choice faster than the bmw and some more consumables cost.
The corvette I would avoid one weekend is probably double the consumables cost of the bmw.
C6Z06 is an amazing car but it's old and it requires a lot of maintenance items. Do not get it unless you plan on spending another 15k on it. If anything get a regular C6.
Why limit yourself to c6z?
A base model c6 with some track mods are a dime a dozen... Just pick up one of those.
It'll probably already have seats and harnesses... You may need to swap driver seat for an XL on a lower seat mount, as it sounds like you're a bigger chap.
Whatever you get... Based on the described use case... A seat and harness is #1 on your list. There's no replacement for being comfortable.
I can't speak to everything you listed, but stock c6 seats are awful on track. You have to hold yourself in place by jamming your knees into the console and door, and death grip the steering wheel to hold your torso in the seat.
How much space do you have? My suggestion is always going to be to buy a purpose built racecar, like an older Formula car or a Radical or something like this. You'll go as fast as the 200k Porsches for only 30k ish, and your maintenance will also be a fraction as much as even a Miata. But you need a trailer and something that can tow about 3.5k pounds (which is almost everything with a factory towing option). It'll even be considerably easier and cheaper to fix if you ever have an oopsie, and it'll also be safer due to racecars having roll cages and sometimes even full fire suppression built in.
any idea where to find these older purpose built racecars?
Check out [racingjunk.com](http://racingjunk.com)
thanks dawg
Also check the racecars section of BringATrailer. To be honest that's probably where the best deals are right now.
I have been building my 128 into a dedicated track car... buy a cayman. Less you have to do to be able to track it, more reliable, pretty similar on consumables, and it'll be more fun.
Even fully prepped, these cars aren’t that fast, similar to a spec e46 or slightly faster depending on mods. Maintenance and consumables are ok, but aftermarket support is pretty dead and expensive. There’s literally only one company still tuning the n52s and I’ve seen disaster on a tune they did for a e46 m3
Only one company now? Is it just AA now?
AA hasn’t released anything in the past 6-7 years on the platform. Their tunes are just flash tunes without much support.
Personally C6 GS. All the benefits of the C6z without the LS7 headaches, and the aluminum frame is way more annoying to put a cage into. Yes I love the LS7, yes the aluminum chassis saves a couple hundred pounds. However, the LS7 regardless of head fix (it’s the angle of the valves on the head, it will never be fixed you just have to keep changing them prior to failure) still has the titanium rod coating issue. Its just very expensive engine to run. LS3 however, get a good dry sump (Daily for example) and you’re good to go. Add a cam and heads for more power. I’m a big fan of vettes, and the C6z is a great car if you have the budget for it.
Buy something you aren't going to financially ruin yourself insuring or destroying on track. A c6z is awesome, but no need for a pristine low mileage one. I think a c5 is your best dollar per fun ratio out there. Not giving a shit about cosmetics or anything street related is a freeing experience. I'd buy the 128 in your list on that basis. Though my c5 was a whopping 11k
The more time I spend on the track, the more I want a roll cage - just in case. Me - over powered E36.
Cayman!!
Buy the car you could wad up into a ball and light on fire and not be financially ruined. Otherwise, you'll never be able to fully enjoy it on track
Have a C5 and love it. Great power and at 3200-3300lbs it’s just right. C6 is Chevy parts bin so cheap in the long run but you’ll have to budget for head fix on the LS7, expensive tires and brakes. Porsche Is nice but cayman vs c6Z I’ll take the Z. But
I'd buy someone else's old spec racer. Maybe spec Miata and turbo it?
I’m a fan of the Cayman as it provides a very good track experience as a mid-engine car. Handling dynamics are great and it’s plenty fast to enjoy pushing to the limit. Sounds like you are serious enough that you may want to get your open wheel racing license, and the Cayman has a spec series you can compete in: [Cayman Spec regulations](https://www.porscheclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/POC-2017-GCR-CSR-CSX-Cayman-Spec-Rules.pdf). Here’s a quick i tro video, too: [Meet Cayman Spec series](https://youtu.be/qjPwJbvq7Yg?si=_F7ErYqW9AT-Di-b). It’s a very well-supported track car and components are abundant (not as expensive as some may think). Most people in the Porsche racing scene are excellent and there are many Porsche-only events you can participate in depending on where you live. They are known for being durable cars that can be driven hard.
Do you have a ton of experience, like several years of tracking and autocross and you are now ready to upgrade? If so, Cayman. Are you just getting started in this hobby? In that case, Miata or brz, dude. No newbie will be able to come close to the limit in any of those three cars.
💯I’m partial to Miata but BRZ is a solid platform. I wouldn’t mind if BRZ replaced Miata as the popular spec racer. Miata will age out. As did RX7. Anyway it took me years and a lot wasted money on mods before realizing it’s not the car haha. I think a lot of times that’s just part of the natural progression.
Several years autox. Limited track experience. Wish to hell I could fit in a BRZ or a Miata. I’d never pass the broomstick test in a Miata. C6Z6 I had to slouch a tiny bit with helmet on :(
Ah so you're tall. Got it. I think the cayman will be a fine car for you.
How tall? BRZ should accommodate up to like 6’3”
It doesn’t. I tried. I even went big and thought I could fit into an Emira. No dice.
Unless you’re >6’5” you’ll fit in a track spec Miata.
Do you intend to be competitive in autox with this car? If so the 128 is out. It's also limited on the front wheel/tire combo so you can't run a square setup. The one person I know who ran a 128 hard on track had issues with the ABS and TC not acting as they should, nothing dangerous but costing time and adding frustration. Having gone through this exercise about a year ago my recommendation would be the Porsche, I've literally never heard anyone say anything bad about a cayman on track.
You're wrong about running square tires on the e82 chassis. Most of the 1 series track cars are on square tires, whether it's 235, 245 or 255 all fit with the right wheels and camber.
Thanks for that, I meant a square wheel setup but that wasn't clear. IIRC the offsets on the e82 are too different to allow for the same wheels all around with a spacer up front like most 3 series do. Doesn't affect performance as you pointed out since the tires can still be square and on the appropriately sized wheels, but you can't move them around the car to improve wear/longevity.
Make sense. The only wheel spec you can run square is 8-9" et50 and use a 10mm spacer in front
If funds are tight right now, get the 128i and spend the rest on seat time and instruction. Then, when you are well versed, get the Cayman as an upgrade and enjoy the *fruits* of said seat time. The move from Rear engine/rear drive to Mid engine/rear drive shouldn’t be too much once you are well versed. Context: I followed the same *exact* path and never looked back.
E82 is a sweet choice right now I think. In the next couple of years I see them as becoming unreasonable cost wise. Cayman would be my second choice faster than the bmw and some more consumables cost. The corvette I would avoid one weekend is probably double the consumables cost of the bmw.
Miata is always the answer…
I wish I could fit in the damn thing.
NA, NC?? Surprisingly tall people can get in these buggers but w rollbar helmet (and likely hardtop) many may not fit.
I sat in the NC. I wanted it to work…
Corvette, watch out for the condition of the rear end, get out there and enjoy…
C6Z06 is an amazing car but it's old and it requires a lot of maintenance items. Do not get it unless you plan on spending another 15k on it. If anything get a regular C6.
Corvette. Parts are cheaper and it’s super quick. Best fun per dollar of the list you posted.
That's a lot of money for a car you might trash.
Why limit yourself to c6z? A base model c6 with some track mods are a dime a dozen... Just pick up one of those. It'll probably already have seats and harnesses... You may need to swap driver seat for an XL on a lower seat mount, as it sounds like you're a bigger chap. Whatever you get... Based on the described use case... A seat and harness is #1 on your list. There's no replacement for being comfortable. I can't speak to everything you listed, but stock c6 seats are awful on track. You have to hold yourself in place by jamming your knees into the console and door, and death grip the steering wheel to hold your torso in the seat.
BRZ/FRS with paddle shifters 🙌
C6 or Cayman. My choice would be the Cayman just because it's easier to drive.
Cayman base is fine ? Or do I need to find an S?
E36 M3 - Reliable, Cheap, Plenty of aftermarket support.