Spend on the RX7 or buy an Elise?

[luckyNot]

Before I get banned for even asking the question, please read the following:

I have a 92' RX7 FD with 69k on the clock. It is an import with no history. I have had it for 8 years, but for various reasons only driven seriously (trackday and road under professional race instruction)  in the last 18 months - I am still a bad driver 
Compression test 1 year (and 4 track days ago) averaged 7.1, the car is largely stock. First 6 years cost me nothing more than mot .
The last 2 years have cost:
new discs and pads all round plus other fixes £1100
new caliper and pads following caliper seizure, plus other fixes (not noticed by garage when the new discs and pads were fitted..) £900
service plus gear box and diff oil change, plus minor fixes £420
new back box £400
various track items and tyres - £1000

so basically £4k to keep my car the same..

work left:
brakes still seem to be lacking - not checked recently though (running ferado pads and std discs)
tidy bodywork £700
new shocks and springs - petite racing? £1300 plus fitting
modify exhaust to reduce 'BOOM' - new back box quieter (i can get on at Bedford), but resonates inside car terribly - £400??
rebuild engine - unknown history, how long compression score lasts??
fix damp/mould, door handles and minor issues??
bush replacement??

so the question becomes one of cost of maintaining the car which has settled in resell value, vs getting an new car which requires less work and devalues slowly. £18k will get an Elise R, this devalues around £1k per year I think. The car is for weekend and trackday use. So, what do you all think? 

[shaunwil]

Its a hard thing really. The trouble is you will still have the trackday related stuff to pay for with a new car such as brakes and tyres.

Have you driven the replacement car ? It may have similar issues out on track. Plus 18k is a fair bit of cash. You could buy a super seven if its that kind of money.

How many trackdays do you do a year ?

Shaun

[clive]

Two things stood out on your post, first was the springs and shocks cost.

Look at a Tein street flex for £900 as these  are known to work very well on an FD on the track and still be great on the street

Next up is before buying the lotus, drive one first as you will probably find they are not as quick as the car you already have.

I say this because even in my stock engined RX-8 I have been able to lap quicker that the Ellise's I have stumbled across on track days, even on race Elise that tried to go faster rather than be overtaken by an RX-8's who proceeded to perform one of the best pirouettes I have ever seen.

I know I am biased but it sounds like you have a very solid FD that you can make perform sooooooooo much better than the lotus

Hope this helps

[boosted]

Elise will need money spending on it before taking to track aswell. Brake pads brake fluid and suspension.
Had 2.2 vx220 for a bit that i used on track...lethal in the wet but very good in the dry but defo lacked the pace on the straights.  If your sticking with airfield circuits then ok but any barriers  or armco will write an elise very quickly. Glue fibreglass and aluminium and specialist repairs bills. Defo need some trackday ins for an elise. My local trackday organisers have a  s1 elise they hire out with tuition i had a go and was a hoot but i think youll miss the power of the fd.

[luckyNot]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Shaun - 3/4 per year is my current plan, although with confidence and finding other drivers/friends it would be good to do more.

All -  as my car is std the performance is similar to the elise / exige 190 bhp engine on a straight. Going through bends the lotus is more grounded and easier to manage ( I base this on passenger seat experience of Exige at Bedford).

Boosted I too have looked at the vx and low level 911 and..I am still not sure.

Taking a test drive in a few cars makes the most sense, but I know anything will be smoother and quieter than my rx7 in its current form. But then I am back to spending on upgrading perhaps then to find I want to sell

Boosted - how did you find the handling of the lotus compared to a correctly setup rx7? The Teins Clive mentioned look very tempting..

[shaunwil]

Keep an eye on the trackdays we do throughout the year. Mazda on track is a good place to go to. Where in the UK are you based ?

Why do you say your driving is terrible? The point of a trackday is to go as fast as you like and let others do the same. Its not a race, its more for fun than out and out pace.

The FD is a very capable car, ok it has a drinking problem with fuel but a few trackdays a year won't really make it that important. What level of tune has the FD ? Is it running stock power with all the cooling mods ? I have to admit the RX8 is a good trackday car with less power, but better corning capabilities and probably more reliable.

I wouldn't want an expensive car for trackdays, you risk breaking it and could just be unlucky (from something out of your hands). If I pranged the 7 i'd most likely buy a 8 and drop the FD engine in. Shells for the 8 will be much cheaper in the future !

Shaun

[luckyNot]

Hi Shaun,

I live near Reading, Berks.  Track days have been under expert instruction at Bedford and Silverstone. Car has standard mapping plus sports air filters and exhaust. No cooling mods that I am aware of, but is an R so has twin oil coolers. Never overheated (I now have an FC Commander and so get digital temp read out, but I am not sure what 'dangerously hot' is though in degrees C)

My driving is improving noticeably, thanks to my instructor, with the main challenge being my confidence - I have spun both on road and on track so I always doubt the car and myself. The former due to complete misunderstanding of RWD mechanics (after this I booked the aforementioned instruction). The latter being primarily due to post-lunch lack of concentration not helped by poor tyres on the rear (now replaced and much improved).

But a recent track day at Silverstone was a real eye opener in terms of fast cars and racing drivers vs track day drivers, I am definitely the latter.

Both you and Boosted make a good point about the Lotus costs - I had not considered the track accident scenario.  I agree that 18k is a lot of money, and it the first (and probably last) time I have access to it, and it is this combined with the recent RX7 costs that got me thinking:

The Lotus offers reliable (?) roof down sports car driving for the weekends but could cost me on a track, and the mrs likes them.

The RX7 offers intermittent electrical faults (probably damp related), exhaust reverb noise that causes a headache in 30 mins, questionable seat belts, the general sense that something is about to go wrong, the mrs does not like it ("a car that loud, at your age?"),  BUT on a good day does make me  and at Bedford has kept me on the rear bumper of a Carerra 4S in the WET - this is my greatest driving achievement to date.

Hmmmm

[boosted]

My vx had standard suspension and the school car elise had after market suspension....handling sublime in the dry lots of fun in the corners.

But in the wet very tricky and when it did let go very hard to recover.....i had an instructor along side me in the elise so i couldnt push it as was under instruction. 

Your gonna love the elise/exige proper track car but is a lot of money id get a day in 1 at a track try before you buy scenario.

www.motorsport-events.com is who i use and just down the m4 from you.

they have a s1 elise and is your lucky there is an exige with a k20 supercharge engine init that sometimes available to hire out with the owner Mark Funnel instructing...i have not driven this car but my neighbour has and he says it is awesome wet/dry on the brakes on the power everywhere.

curve ball.....vx220 turbo? 300bhp reliable power. circa 10k for a sorted 1 !

[luckyNot]

Ha ha , the 220 Turbo, is also on the list! I have done some reading, it seems that getting them above 250bhp requires some clever stuff due to limitations on how much air you can get in to the engine at the rear. Autotrader price point seems closer to 12-13k and I have not seen one for sale claiming over 250. I still think they offer good value for money

Spoke to former owner of one who made two comments. First was that if it was to be driven frequently I would end up replacing a number of Vauxhall parts with Lotus ones, so may as well get a Lotus. Second was that "at some point you will be standing in a shed and realise it is in fact a Vauxhall garage" - having never owned a Vauxhall I cant confirm this however  

So my plan? Tein Street Flex ordered and currently seeking body work quotes, then on to track day end of the month or early Feb  I may not test drive a Lotus or VX200 for while..

I will give motorsport a try too, thanks!

[Casey]

Glad to hear you are sticking with the FD and going to get it out on track too. Keep an eye on the "Trackdays 2015" thread on the forum in case you should want to join some fellow rotorheads at a "group" trackday.

LINK HERE

Also, post up when you plan to go to a trackday as others might want to come along to meet you and see your car on track.

Keep us posted on progress with your FD too 

[boosted]

yep thumbs up from me too !

[re japi]

I think that you made a good choise, even though Elise is really good car. 
But FD´s are awesome

[luckyNot]

So, it has been a while..

..I still have the FD. It is now fitted with a set of Tein Street Flex and has completed a track day at Bedford. They are BRILLIANT!!
Track drive was solid and reassuring attempted the drive home without adjusting and felt ill within a few miles. Pulled over, adjusted the shocks in a couple of mins and cruised happy as can be all the way home, smooth! 

Thanks for the advice, I cannot recommend this product enough to anyone who is running an FD on original shocks and springs