Sell up, buy again or keep??
20 October 2013, 03:44 PM
#1
Sell up, buy again or keep??
Afternoon all,
I'm basically going over my options for the future of the WRX. It's currently running a fairly respectable 346.9 bhp on the usual STI mods on a VF34, simtec, AL, LC etc...
I want to use the car for a track toy in the future as it doesn't get used often for commuting as I take the train or use our other hatch STI (not modified). Looking for people's opinions on weather it's worth holding on to the WRX and go down the route of buying a CDB/SCDB and 6 speed along with a roll cage and the other usual track bits.
Or
Do I sell up and hope to achieve circa 4-4.5k (on 89k with FSH) and then buy a standard 02-04 STI which will give me the forged block and 6 speed. Of course I'll then have to go about buying coilovers and a big brake conversion again.
Either way a fair amount of wedge will need to change hands but just wondered if its just worth keeping the current car or just starting again
I'm basically going over my options for the future of the WRX. It's currently running a fairly respectable 346.9 bhp on the usual STI mods on a VF34, simtec, AL, LC etc...
I want to use the car for a track toy in the future as it doesn't get used often for commuting as I take the train or use our other hatch STI (not modified). Looking for people's opinions on weather it's worth holding on to the WRX and go down the route of buying a CDB/SCDB and 6 speed along with a roll cage and the other usual track bits.
Or
Do I sell up and hope to achieve circa 4-4.5k (on 89k with FSH) and then buy a standard 02-04 STI which will give me the forged block and 6 speed. Of course I'll then have to go about buying coilovers and a big brake conversion again.
Either way a fair amount of wedge will need to change hands but just wondered if its just worth keeping the current car or just starting again
20 October 2013, 03:55 PM
#3
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Are your coilovers etc interchangable to an STI? It might be worth returning your current car to standard (even if it means trawling eBay for OEM parts) and then transferring the "good stuff" over?
20 October 2013, 04:28 PM
#5
I don't really have the space or time to be returning to OEM, although it is something I have put some thought in to. I would like to hope that the upgraded parts will appeal to those looking for a WRX, saving them the time of modding themselves, if I decided to sell up.
20 October 2013, 04:38 PM
#7
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I don't really have the space or time to be returning to OEM, although it is something I have put some thought in to. I would like to hope that the upgraded parts will appeal to those looking for a WRX, saving them the time of modding themselves, if I decided to sell up.
But I agree, it needs time and space which you said you've not got.
I'm in a bit of turmoil at the moment, my Impreza is my daily - I love it and it's clean and tidy like a garage queen... but I also track it
If I had the space for a second car, I'd probably get a stripped classic or an elise or something a bit more tatty regardless of marque.
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20 October 2013, 04:47 PM
#8
Hmm this needs more thinking it seems...the main reason I wanted to keep it Subaru was I wanted to do the track build myself, and after 4-5 years of learning the ins and outs of the cars I'd like to think this would help me with the build.
20 October 2013, 04:57 PM
#9
Just track it as it is and have some fun... all you see on snet is endless threads of 'track builds' that either never complete or complete then sell 
Don't **** anymore money away until you've got some track miles under your belt and know what you want from a track car 
Don't **** anymore money away until you've got some track miles under your belt and know what you want from a track car
20 October 2013, 06:11 PM
#10
Keep the current car!! Looked nice when I saw it last month, and you already have the big brakes and coilovers on it!!
Trackdays are supposed to be fun, but you start breaking expensive things then you will get tired of it, having a STi trackcar is probably not going to be anymore reliable then your WRX. 6 speed gearboxes still break, ive known a few that have broken the synchro's at least if the 5 speed WRX gearbox breaks it wont cost as much to replace/fix!!!
Trackdays are supposed to be fun, but you start breaking expensive things then you will get tired of it, having a STi trackcar is probably not going to be anymore reliable then your WRX. 6 speed gearboxes still break, ive known a few that have broken the synchro's at least if the 5 speed WRX gearbox breaks it wont cost as much to replace/fix!!!
20 October 2013, 08:57 PM
#13
I do like the idea of just tracking until something goes bang...maybe I will just keep one eye on the market for a 6 speed as a minimum. It's probably the weakest link at the moment, and will at least give me a bit more reliability for the sake of circa £1.5k.
21 October 2013, 09:17 AM
#14
I reckon a track day costs in the region of 500 a day, and that's without breaking anything, but being realistic about costs.
Last time at Cadwell I spent:
170 petrol
125 tyres (1/4 of my track day tyres)
100 brakes (roughly 1/3 of pads, 1/4 of discs (k-sports))
50 oil+filter
130 track fee
===
575 total, and that's without actually getting to the track
My friend has a caterham superlight, and he goes through about 50 quid in fuel, his r888 tyres last for ages, brakes are 30 quid for discs and a similar amount for pads etc etc, which means that his track days end up costing about 250 instead, and he's no slower than a high power impreza.
21 October 2013, 10:41 AM
#15
The problem with the WRX and STI from a track day point of view is that it's sodding expensive to run, as it's heavy.
I reckon a track day costs in the region of 500 a day, and that's without breaking anything, but being realistic about costs.
Last time at Cadwell I spent: the
170 petrol
125 tyres (1/4 of my track day tyres)
100 brakes (roughly 1/3 of pads, 1/4 of discs (k-sports))
50 oil+filter
130 track fee
===
575 total, and that's without actually getting to the track
My friend has a caterham superlight, and he goes through about 50 quid in fuel, his r888 tyres last for ages, brakes are 30 quid for discs and a similar amount for pads etc etc, which means that his track days end up costing about 250 instead, and he's no slower than a high power impreza.
I reckon a track day costs in the region of 500 a day, and that's without breaking anything, but being realistic about costs.
Last time at Cadwell I spent: the
170 petrol
125 tyres (1/4 of my track day tyres)
100 brakes (roughly 1/3 of pads, 1/4 of discs (k-sports))
50 oil+filter
130 track fee
===
575 total, and that's without actually getting to the track
My friend has a caterham superlight, and he goes through about 50 quid in fuel, his r888 tyres last for ages, brakes are 30 quid for discs and a similar amount for pads etc etc, which means that his track days end up costing about 250 instead, and he's no slower than a high power impreza.
21 October 2013, 10:46 AM
#16
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21 October 2013, 10:57 AM
#17
Either track it as is or flog it and get something else thats cheaper to track, as above scoobs make for an expensive track toy, forget the sti it will be no more reliable or faster than your current car and will only cost more money than you have and will spend on your wrx, as it will need everything you already have so no cheaper in the long run, only benifit to an sti is if you plan on doing drag strip and launching it, which is not something that happens on a track day and as above you can buy 4/5 five speeds for the price of 1 six speed.
30 January 2014, 02:27 PM
#18
To update, decided to keep it and just get some track miles under its belt in its current form. As someone said above, 5 speeds are cheap to get hold of so if it lets go no big deal. The only investment I think I will be making is a racing lid and a pair of Sparco evo seats and harnesses to suit. Heading back to the ring in May so a chance to strech its legs a bit then.
30 January 2014, 03:48 PM
#20
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Yep good shout, as someone else said people get too caught up in track prep, it seems a lot believe that coilovers/big brakes/track specific tyres etc are a absolute must, which just isn't the case.
I can remember one particular day at Brands which was wet until towards the end, the amount of cars just sitting in the pits during the morning was crazy, why? Because most had set ups and tyres compromised to the extent the cars were hopeless in the wet, It just seemed so pointless, yes they got some running late in the day but some of us were having a ball throughout the day regardless of the conditions.
As someone pointed out it's meant to be fun at the end of the day, your not racing and as such you don't need a race car, most road cars will have certain limitations that you may encounter on a trackday, but you simply adapt to work with what you have.
Imo your car will be fine as it is, I'd change nothing else other than fluids if required, spend the money on tuition instead as you'll gain much more from this than you will from fancy tires, and it doesn't wear out! :-)
From a cost perspective yes trackdays are expensive, you can't get round that, however there are ways of keeping things sensible, to begin with many days for the first 3 months of the year are almost half the cost of what you'd pay in the summer, once the motorsport season kicks off then so do the prices. Also you don't have to do full days, morning or afternoon sessions are available on a lot of days and obviously cheaper, plus you still get a good few hours track time without being quite so hard on the car.
I can remember one particular day at Brands which was wet until towards the end, the amount of cars just sitting in the pits during the morning was crazy, why? Because most had set ups and tyres compromised to the extent the cars were hopeless in the wet, It just seemed so pointless, yes they got some running late in the day but some of us were having a ball throughout the day regardless of the conditions.
As someone pointed out it's meant to be fun at the end of the day, your not racing and as such you don't need a race car, most road cars will have certain limitations that you may encounter on a trackday, but you simply adapt to work with what you have.
Imo your car will be fine as it is, I'd change nothing else other than fluids if required, spend the money on tuition instead as you'll gain much more from this than you will from fancy tires, and it doesn't wear out! :-)
From a cost perspective yes trackdays are expensive, you can't get round that, however there are ways of keeping things sensible, to begin with many days for the first 3 months of the year are almost half the cost of what you'd pay in the summer, once the motorsport season kicks off then so do the prices. Also you don't have to do full days, morning or afternoon sessions are available on a lot of days and obviously cheaper, plus you still get a good few hours track time without being quite so hard on the car.
30 January 2014, 08:47 PM
#21
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You dont need a cage for trackdays, i know plenty of people with big power cars that dont.
What you do need is good brakes and good tyres. After that look at suspension.
Making the car lighter is free also.
What you do need is good brakes and good tyres. After that look at suspension.
Making the car lighter is free also.
30 January 2014, 08:57 PM
#22
No plans for a cage at present. Already got K-sports, Coilovers and good tires. As I mentioned previously, I'm probably going to trade out the OEM seats for some lighter Sparco ones. Will most likely loose the rears to for track days and can always put them back in if needed. Would like to try and get the corner weights fairly even to.
Last edited by Kedlestone; 30 January 2014 at 08:58 PM.
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