Looking for did autox/track car

Hello my name is Curtis and I'm new here to grms. I recently decided to get into autox my current dd is a Nissan quest that was pasted down to me. I just bought my wife a 2004 vw jetta so now I have a family car and work van. So I can justify having a two door possibly two seated car. I'm married with two kids I'd be open to some fun but competitive sedans let me give you a list of cars I consider

My max budget is 7k

1st gen madza miata

Eg Honda hatch

Nissan 240sx

E30 BMW

Vw gti Those are just a few cars that I've like over the years I hope I made its clear on what I want in my car thanks for all the help

Welcome! First question - where do you live? We're always excited to help other folks spend their money on race cars! Your list fits in nicely here. Shouldn't be hard to find you something!

Hi Curtis! Welcome aboard.

Your list is a list of great cars, but I am not sure I am gleaning from it what you are looking for.

You've got 2 FWD cars, and 3 RWD. Have you driven them? Usually people who love a Miata or a BMW aren't going to be too fond of a GTI or a Honda. Very different driving experiences, and completely different driving styles on track.

You've got 1 with a full back seat, 2 with compact back seats, 1 2+2, and 1 with no back seat. Are you hoping to get the kids into it?

Will this be a dual purpose daily driver/ track car, or track only?

If it's going to be street driven, where you live may matter (emissions testing).

How's your driving? Are you just getting started, or are you ready for a competitive car?

The E30 is much more powerful, but the Miata will out corner it.

The GTI is a riot on track, but only if you like driving FWD cars- RWD lovers almost always hate it.

It have a 1st gen GTI with a 2.0L that would be an excellent autocross starter with room to grow. I also have a very competitive Miata with a fastback which could be made competitive at the national level, if you can drive it better than me! Neither would be a very good daily driver.

I'm in the RWD camp also. For years i built up an e30 and drove HPDE at Sebring. Nothing too fancy. Just a really clean, mostly stock build with good breaks and suspension. The car rewarded me at the track but punished me in the shop. I ended up hating that car and i thought that hating any car would be impossible for me. I cheer when i see one destroyed in a movie.

Now i just picked up a Miata, first one I have ever driven, and I really love it. Mechanically it is built better than the e30, mainly because it is modern. The chassis is definitely not as stiff as i could be but you would be well advised to put a roll bar in it anyways.

I'll say one thing, i could never catch those damn Miatas in my e30 at Sebring.

Thanks for all your response I live in San Diego ca. This car would be the beginning of my racing career I like red but not opposed to fwd I'm not to worried about getting the kids in the car because the jetta serves as our family. Honestly I would prefer something slower that way as my skills grow I will modify. I've read a lot of post here and it seems like tires and brakes are your most important mods when it comes to racing just want have a fun sports car but also get to race further educate myself about cars sorry if NY post got a bit winded

M

I

A

T

A

:)

I would recommend you stay street legal for now, as towing to the track is a BIG step up in budget.

Also, you can autocross/track day a stock car just fine. And stock cars tend to break less than modified cars.

Grab something you like, bring the maintenance up to date, grab a nice set of tires (not necessarily racing slicks, but good, new tires), and get out there. Just like you said, let the mods come only as you need them.

Best way to learn is to have the really good driver's drive your car while you ride and watch.

Good thinking to start off with more of a momentum car. You could probably start off using the Jetta as your gateway drug for autocrossing.
I'm envious you live in an area where you can still find mid-late 90s cars not completely rotted out.
If you already have a Mk4 Jetta, the GTi would give you parts/wheels commonality and more excuses to buy a VAG-Com cable, you know, for troubleshooting the wife's car... I think there's both a track-prep'ed EG or EK Civic, and a Mk4 GTi already for sale on GRM, maybe in the main ForSale forum?

You can buy a decent street driver 1st gen Miata for half your budget. Do it.

Put the rest of the money in the bank as a down payment for a better car later.

When you think you are ready, call me and we can talk about the Mumpkin (or the next car I build).

Thanks for all the responses they been helpful now I'm trying to decide between a miata or mk4 gti. Been reading articles online and they sad this could be good track cars but are limited being fwd they say rwd is more suitable for the track even in a slower car. Like I said before I'm not going to start going all out on mods unless I need them only plans right away is a full tune up brakes suspension and tires. I appreciate all the responses and advice

Here are some good options that are local to you!

Nice dual purpose version http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/5282588123.html

Track ready! http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/5303873570.html

Race ready! http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/5283700297.html

Op93 wrote: Thanks for all the responses they been helpful now I'm trying to decide between a miata or mk4 gti. Been reading articles online and they sad this could be good track cars but are limited being fwd they say rwd is more suitable for the track even in a slower car. Like I said before I'm not going to start going all out on mods unless I need them only plans right away is a full tune up brakes suspension and tires. I appreciate all the responses and advice

All the cars you listed would be great for a starter autocross car. My first autocross car was a MKIV GTI too. At this point they are getting pretty old and ratty though, so I would steer away from them. The MKIV chassis does not age well.

I run an S13 240SX that I absolutely love and is competitive in many classes. Unfortunately there is slim pickings for decent examples of these cars now.

A Honda Civic is a no brainer if you can find one you like. E30's have great potential, but like the S13, clean examples are hard to find.

As for Miata, the sky is the limit. They are all over the place here in sunny San Diego, so I'm sure you can find a great one to start with. You'll be 1 of 100 running the San Diego region;)

We have a novice school on Nov 21st at Qualcomm Stadium if you want to come check out the future competition. Otherwise our last Championship for 2015 is December 13th. I'm sure you could find somebody doing X runs or Fun runs to ride along with (can't have passengers during championship runs).