[s-cars] musings

[Taka Mizutani]

Miata, miata, miata, miata.

Cheap, reliable, very easy to work on. Relatively decent aftermarket for
performance parts.
Highly developed for competition- lots of previous builds to use as a guide
for your own build.

Audi for autox/track car? B5 S4 is _cheap_?!?!?!

There are no Audis that I would recommend as a track toy. They're either too
heavy, too expensive,
poor handling, etc.

You realize that you can build a Miata for maybe $5k, fully worked?

E30 3 series is also decent, but more expensive, parts-wise. Even with the
crappy eta engine or the
1.8L 4-cylinder that a lot of people consider underpowered, it has great
handling and is a lot of fun. If you
build a 325i or 325is, it has plenty of power (168hp) in a pretty light car
(2400lb.?).

EG or EK Civic hatch is also a good choice, but finding one that isn't
destroyed, riced out or otherwise
completely unsuitable is difficult.

DC2 Integra, especially in GS-R and Type-R form are quite good- the Type-R
is a real sports car, strange as
that may sound- really sweet ride.

If you want to spend more money than that (over $12-15k), there are some
compelling choices, esp. if you want
to really build the thing:

Factory Five Roadster
FD RX-7 w/ LS-1 swap (makes it a damn near perfect sports car)
AP2 S2000
986/986S/987/987S
C5 Corvette (pref. Z51 Coupe, FRC or Z06)

If you must have an Audi, I'd go with a TT180 FWD Coupe.

Taka
next s-fest come prepared and you can take the Miata out for a spin-
hopefully I'll have the rollbar and harnesses in there by then