[s-cars] Track car or not track car

Tue Sep 9 16:24:35 EDT 2003

Well, I just sold my daily driver (I'm poor and cannot afford both an S-car
and a track car)...  So, I bought a track car and am driving it on the
street as well.  I also have "Ski Bitch" for when the weather is bad or we
have snow.

Anyways, I just bought a 1990 Porsche 944S2!  I'm excited.   But, I must
say, after owning 6-7 Audis, it's quite a blow to the ego...  I SUCK at
driving this car.  It's just so different, it's going to take some getting
used to.  But, it's RWD, light, handles awsome (coil-overs from the factory
with Koni Yellows), had Porsche monoblocks at all four corners, perfect
weight distribution, and a nice high-compression 3.0 liter 4 cylinder.

I highly reccomend ADDING a track car (not doing what I am doing and selling
your daily driver)...  But, I for one think having a second "track slut" is
the way to go!  It doesn't have to be an all out race car, but a second
go-fast impractical car is awsome, as long as you keep the Audi.  I
reccomend a 944 S2, 968 or 951 car.  Since you are in europe...  I think the
best of the breed is a 968 CS (stands for "Club Sport").  Lightweight,
no-nonsense club racer and got the best of everything!

I also like BMW's, but wasn't all that impressed with the E30 M3...
Granted, it's an awsome chassis, but I felt the 190 hp motor lacked the
torque I was used to.  I think you'd be much better off buying an E30 325is
(great motor), and putting the good ltd slip diff on it, and from what I
understand, most (if not all) the M3 suspension goodies can be swapped over
to the 325.  Then again, E36 M3's are getting cheap enough now, but for
whatever reason, I prefer the E30 chassis.

And then, as Taka mentioned, just about anything with a Lotus badge would
make an awsome track car.  My favorite is the Lotus 340R!!!!  Wow, talk
about a car built for fun track driving...  this is the ultimate.  The owner
of Park Place in Seattle (race car driver Chris Bingham) owns one (and has
it street legal), but this is the only one I know of in the US.  Man, what a
cool car.  For more info, visit http://www.340r.net

Well, upon the bequest of my father, I've decided to become more serious
about track driving and so I've bought a track car.  I reccomend the same,
but to be honest, for daily commuting, man, I miss the Avant!

Later,
Dan
'95 S6 Avant (gone, but not forgotten)
'89 944 S2 (new toy)
'87 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 (aka "Ski Bitch")
Seattle, WA

----- Original Message -----
From: "Frederic L'Huillier" <Frederic.L'Huillier at Siebel.com>
To: "Trevor Frank" <tfrank at symyx.com>; <t44tq at mindspring.com>; "Rich
Assarabowski" <konecc at snet.net>; <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 7:49 AM
Subject: RE: [s-cars] Track car or not track car

> Franck,
>
> For me it is the same !
>
> Regards,
> Frederic
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Trevor Frank [mailto:tfrank at symyx.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2003 4:46 PM
> To: t44tq at mindspring.com; Rich Assarabowski; Frederic L'Huillier;
> s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: [s-cars] Track car or not track car
>
>
>
> Personally I don't understand a "track car" why not get a "race car" if
> you are going to bother.  Otherwise enjoy your "street car" on the
> track.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: TM [mailto:t44tq at mindspring.com]
>
> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 5:56 PM
> To: 'Rich Assarabowski'; 'Frederic L'Huillier'; s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: [s-cars] Track car or not track car
>
> Rich-
> Depending on where you live, it _can_ be done. ;-)
>
> Auto-x will help you work out some of the handling and
> other issues.
>
> For a real race car, there are test-and-tune sessions and practice
> sessions for those actually racing and those who have a competition
> license.
>
> I'll still take a Miata over an Audi for the track.
>
> Taka
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rich Assarabowski [mailto:konecc at snet.net]
> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 7:30 PM
> To: 'TM'; 'Frederic L'Huillier'; s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: [s-cars] Track car or not track car
>
>
> One more point (may sound kind of dumb) -- how do you tune/test a track
> car without driving it?  How do you discover that high-speed shimmy or
> misfire when you (technically) can't even drive it down the street?
> Guess that explains all the guys that are crawling under their cars
> during track day...  A street car gives you plenty of opportunity to
> sort out problems before you get to the track.
>
> -- Rich A.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com] On Behalf Of TM
> Sent: Monday, September 08, 2003 10:46 AM
> To: 'Frederic L'Huillier'; s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: RE: [s-cars] Track car or not track car
>
>
> Easy answer- the major benefits that I can list off the top of my head:
>
> 1. You don't have to worry about crashing/breaking your daily driver 2.
> You don't need to have the track car registered/insured as a street
> car-
> thus no inspection/emissions/etc. worries as well
> 3. You can have a car that is much better suited to the track than your
> typical street car and the setup of the car doesn't have to be
> compromised for street use considerations 4. Depending on your
> priorities, the track car doesn't have to be
> pretty- I
> don't like driving a crappy-looking street car, but I don't mind driving
> a crappy-looking but mechanically pristine track car
>
> The downsides:
>
> 1. You need a trailer and a tow vehicle, esp. if the car is not
> street-legal 2. Costs more to have an additional car- repair, track
> prep, etc. 3. Need extra storage space- lots of communities will not
> allow you to park your trailer and track car on the street or sometimes
> not even in your driveway.
>
> If I could afford it, I'd definitely have a track car, no ifs ands or
> buts- our
> Audis are big pigs (except for maybe the UrQ) and there are many cars
> I'd rather drive on the track (BMW E30, Porsche 951, 968, Mazda Miata,
> Acura Integra Type-R, FD3 Mazda RX-7 to name a few).
>
> In Europe, you have even more choices: Lotus Elise (mk1 and mk2), Exige,
> R400, Vauxhall VX220, Nissan Silvia, Skyline GT-R, Mitsu Evo (many
> generations), Subaru WRX (STi and the like- Prodrive models as well),
> Caterham, Westfield, various TVRs, etc. Also, the greater available
> numbers of even the cars we have here make it much easier on the used
> market- 951s produced from 1985 to 1992, etc. With a large track car
> budget, even more choices- 968CS, 964RS/R, 993RS/R, E36 M3 Evo, E30 M3
> Evo II/III, etc.
>
> Something like a Lotus R400 would be a blast- saw one locally once,
> completely surprised that someone had one here w/ plates and apparently
> street-legal.
>
> Taka
>
>
>
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