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How to build a track car on a budget.


thorpy

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I found this article in a Fast Fours issue and found it really good , And since im bored as shit stuck inside with the snow I decided to type it out. Its not a complete copy of all the text but youll get the idea.

$5k Power Up - Master the track for just $5k

Dont build a drag car for club competition

The most common mistake any club level enthusiest makes is that they try and build a drag car instead of an all round competitive club style car.

By this we mean horsepower should be the very last building block in your goal of building a quick ride , Sure it will give you straight line acceleration , and a handy looking dyno sheet , unless its a significant improvement ( 50kw + ) then rarely will additional power improve the overall vehical performance too much.

Instead you need to improve the overall balance of the car and improve the facets of the vehicle you will actually use.

If you sit down with a pen and paper and work out the type of club events you want to get into you will soon realise you will be using full power much less than you will be using full brakes and full suspension.

1 - Start with Rubber - $450 Second Hand - Total $450

The very best place to start is by improving the interface between your vehicle and the ground. Countless times I have witnessed stock cars with the right rubber run rings around highly modified , many times more powerfull cars with the wrong tyres. Street tyres are for the street , when you venture off road to the track or a hillclimb you need the matching rubber. A set of tarmac rally tyres transform any car they go on . Tyres such as Dunlop DZ03G , Toyo R88 and Advan A050 can take handfulls of seconds of your times.

2 - Engine Tune - $900 - Total $1350

While outright power isnt super important , when it comes to running quick times, having the right state of engine tune is.

If you can have a flash tune that raises your boost a little ,trims the air fuel ratios to the right level and simply optimises your package then its a good investment.

This kind of upgrade will not only give you a little extra power , but when carried out correctly will optimise your engine package to be more reliable at the track. Installing such functions as fans that come on in a lower temp range to help keep everything cool. Also slightly retarded ignition timing will help stop the chance of detonation at the high intake temps you will see on the track.

3 - Proper Service - $500 - Total $1850

Spending $500 on lubricants and labour for a service is not something most folks would do , but when it comes to tracking a car you should consider this money well spent.

A good quality engine oil and filter , Differential and gearbox fluid. Last but not least is a thorough flush of quality brake fluid , brakes get very hot on the track and any weak link such as some old fluid with water in it can cause brake fade and ruin a track session very quickly.

Iv recently done this myself , the costs were.

Engine - ELF Competition SM 10W40 5 litre - $60

Gearbox - Motul Gear 300 4 litre - $146

Differential - Motul 90PA 2 litre ( will do 2 changes ) - $43

Brakes - Motul RBF600 2 x 500ml bottles - $64

Add a filter and do it yourself for under $400

4 - Brake Pads - $700 - Total $2550

Its the brake pads that get the hardest time of any "consumable" when you track the car hard , so your really need to invest some money in decent pads to ensure your day doesn't come to a premature end. Once a factory type brake pad gets hot its actual bite and braking performance reduces very quickly , and when this happens it will begin to wear at a very frantic rate , Just a few laps can see a pad with a good amount of material reduced to the metal backing plate.

The actual pad you choose will come down to personal choice , but if you are spending the money spend it once and go with a decent motorsport orientated pad.

5 - Surge Tank - $700 - Total $3250

Almost every road car ever made will suffer from fuel surge at lower fuel levels. This is not good for the engine and can result in piston failure from running lean and detonating unless you run a full tank of fuel ( or close too ) which will add about 50kg and kill your lap times.

The way to combat this is to run an external fuel pump and surge tank , they are not sure expensive ( depending on brand ect ) and will allow you to run light fuel loads of less than 1/4 tank and more importantly never lean out your engine.

6 - Harness - $450 - Total $3650

Another little known fact about driving cars in a competition event is that holding your body firmly in position can result in much faster lap times. Put simply you get to spend time actually controlling the car rather than trying to prop your body up against the console and door rest as the car changes direction. Most modern cars have decent supporting seats so all you need is a proper 6 point harness. Normally you can bolt the mounting points for the rear of the harness to the rear seatbelt mounts.

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7 - Coilovers and Camber - $1600 - Total $5250

Although we have blown the budget a little , a good set of coilovers will totally transform the car. Where once upon a time this type of suspension was $5000 + , now there are some good cheap options that deliver top level ( or close to ) performance at a fraction of the price.

Once installed have the wheel alignment set up to maximum front camber ( go for 3 degrees negative ) and around 1.5 degrees negative on the rear.

Give the car some toe out at the front ( 2mm per side seems to work good for most small performance cars) and a tiny bit of toe in at the rear.

Add some more caster into the mix so the steering is nice and sharp.

A couple of things I would add to this list is.

8 - Baffled Sump - $250-1000

On a subby if going to semi slicks its highly advisable to fit a baffled sump to guard against oil surge and the dreaded BEB that goes with it.

9 - Rear Swaybar - $3-400ish

Adding a bigger rear swaybar or even an adjustable one will significantly improve cornering stability, aid turn in and reduce understeer.

Im sure there is plenty of other low cost mods that can be done like a rear strut brace on wagons so feel free to add if you have some ideas.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This is a good post, it's pretty much the angle I have taken, except I need tyres still and surge tank, baffled sump. etc

Tyres are a must really, you hvae no hope against cars running semi slicks when your using road tyres.

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Road tyres are alot more progressive in their transition to loosing control. Semis and big swaybars make for a car that will grip very well to a point then just snap and your off the track .

Until you have learnt to control the car its best to stick with a decent road tyre.

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Well if you building a track car (unless is a road car to run on odd track days) wouldnt you just remove all unwanted interior?

Decent fluids (oils etc) and good set of track brake pads (plus helmet etc, etc) is all you really need to get out on track and start doing laps.

Small steps.....

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  • 1 year later...

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