Elise, C5 Z06, E46 M3, Evo8 or ???

Aka...another what car thread The criteria are pretty simple (in order of priority):

1. Priced around $25K -$27.5K

2. Somewhat competitive in SCCA Street Class and fun for track day

3. Street Class because I'd rather keep it as close to stock as possible because

4. I am hoping to get something that have decent resale value, if not increasing

5. Not too hard to maintain..although since this will probably be driven less than 3k miles per year it shouldn't be much of an issue.

Background info, this will not be my DD. It will be my weekend/fun car to replace my '96 Miata and my current DD, '13 328i with stick shift, sport package and all options available at that time-I bought it used so I scored an awesome deal last November. I will be driving my wife's old car, '07 XC90, as she's getting a new car. Am I missing anything from my list and which one would you choose and why...thanks a bunch guys...

E86 Z4M Coupe

Not a lot of maintenance issues aside from those that come with maintaining the S54 motor.

Or for less money, the 3.0si version (my current three season DD and HPDE car) You lose the LSD though, and probably a lot of the "somewhat competitive" -ness of it though. Much lower consumables cost (brakes, mostly) and >30 mpg to and from the track!

Too wide of a list. You can go Boxster, s2000, E30 M3, Mustang Boss 302 is just a little higher, New FiST for HS, or 370Z.

There are a ton of options in that range.

From your list... Elise, no question.

The other two are all around better cars but they are not rare, unique or special. You can buy them for less in 5 years. You can get rotors at Autozone. They will do many things... including valet parking, highway trips, sunday cruising... even pass an Elise on a big track. Even in the hands of a doofus. But they will not do the one thing you want in a sports car anywhere near as sharply as the Lotus. It will ruin your idea of fun cars. I'm not kidding.

Hold out for an Exige 260 if you can afford it.

Elise - relatively competitive in good hands in SS, however, get used to racing nobody as SS isn't a highly subscribed class in many regions.

C5 Z06 - From what I can tell, it's a shade off the C6, but it's a very solid AS car and can still be competitive in the right hands. Very fun car with a huge support network. If I was in the market for a 2 seater, this is what I would get.

E46 M3 - Finding "the perfect one" can be difficult. FS is a hit or miss class, some regions it is very popular while other regions nobody shows up. Look at who is showing up in your region. It's probably the car to have, especially on a tighter "local style" course vs. a big National Style course where the Boss and 1LE can shine more. They can be finicky with maintenance items and frankly, they're getting a little long in the tooth. Still a great car though.

EVO8 - Unless you buy one already built for STU or find the prospect of doing an STU build appealing, pass on this one. If you want a BS-competitive boost buggy, find an STI.

Personally I run a 135i and I think it's something you should consider. Pretty much every other FS car has it beat except on two things - weight and balance. The car is incredibly well balanced with just a few minor tweaks and will basically do what you want it to do as long as you resist the urge to violently overdrive it. Secondly, it has the shortest wheelbase of any of the FS cars. If you run in a region full of Miatas and courses designed by Miata guys that's a big deal. The car is also newer so it's a little more polished and modern than an E46 and in your price range you can probably get a fairly low mileage N55 powered one (if you're gonna keep it stock, N55 is the way to go, N54's are better to build though).

One other thing to consider is you might be able to find a higher mileage or lower optioned C6 in your price range.

Other options - C5 FRC, NC Miata (easily findable below your price range), 350Z (options to prep for either CS or STU), AP2 S2000

You need to decide what style of car you want. The Elise and C5 are very different ways of achieving your kicks. I've gone through the very same debate you are and shopped both the C5 and Elise heavily, and twice picked the C5. Not a slight against the Elise, it's still at the top of my wanted list. The C5 is a push rod, big body, hairy chested V8 that can also handle DD use. The Elise is an exotic, high revving, surgeons knife. They'll both go really fast on a track, but go about it like night and day. Which style appeals to you more?

The other thing to is the days of the non salvage under 30K Elise are pretty much over. Can you live with a salvage title car or is that $27.5K price soft and can you really go to more like 35K

bmw88rider wrote: Too wide of a list. You can go Boxster, s2000, E30 M3, Mustang Boss 302 is just a little higher, New FiST for HS, or 370Z. There are a ton of options in that range.

He's about $5-7k shy of a boss 302...

BMW's have no front camber and to "fix it" moves you out of "Stock".

I would save and start the quest for a C6. Much better cooling and the door speaker on the driver side is not trying to take out your left knee when you shut the door.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: From your list... Elise, no question.

I used to want an Elise / Exige more than any other car in the world. Until I tried to sit in one.

jr02518 wrote: BMW's have no front camber and to "fix it" moves you out of "Stock".

It's legal to knock out the locating pins in the front strut towers and get a little negative that way. You can also add a fatter front swaybar which helps limit dynamic camber loss and helps front grip. But no BMW except an M3 is going to be competitive in FS anyway.

The look of the FRC C5 is enough to make me skip the Z06. Having owned a C5 and C6 Z51, without a doubt, the C6. It is a much nicer car overall, looks way better and should have less depreciation and be easier to sell since an 05 still looks like a 13. Neither car will go up in value for at least 30 years.

Also going wider on the front tires dials a lot of the understeer out. 1 series, despite their limited camber, don't really understeer as much as people like to say they do. If they complain about gross understeer, they're probably way overdriving it. On the E46 M3 I find a lot more fast people complaining about rear grip than front grip.

BMWs come with fantastic brakes, it's your fault if you elect not to use them and come barreling into a corner and then claim that the car "pushes like a pig".

I found the brakes on my E46 M3 completely inadequate for track use. Stoptech fixed that.

I enjoy that I can load my C5 up with a cooler, bag chairs, tent, sleeping bags, and a duffle bag of clothes, still have room to store the hard targa top, and take it out camping for the weekend with the girlfriend. Tough to do that with a lot of other cars in its class.

My friend's Lotus is awesome, and its a great community, but when it comes down to "do I take my wife or do I stop for groceries on the way home, its tough to beat a Corvette.

In reply to 93gsxturbo:

Agreed.

I think I am leaning towards '05-'06 C6 Z51 or '12 Boss 302 with the Z51 being cheaper by about $5k around here (Metro DC area). Can you guys learn me the difference between a Boss 302 and a regular Mustang GT of similar vintage? it seems that the 302 has about $10k premium over regular GT. I think being a bit rarer will also help the 302 maintain its resale value. I just need to get my DD sold so that I can start scouring the interweb for a good deal on a C6 Z51 or a Boss 302.

ND or Cayman S

Oooo yes ND should be available soon. That should be an interesting car. You should qualify for S plan pricing if you've autox your current Miata.

Beyond that, I'd personally go with a Vette.

Is there any way to identify a Z51 vs non Z51 from looking at the options/features the car has or its VIN number in case the seller or the dealer selling it doesn't know if it's a Z51 or not?

ea_sport wrote: Is there any way to identify a Z51 vs non Z51 from looking at the options/features the car has or its VIN number in case the seller or the dealer selling it doesn't know if it's a Z51 or not?

Easy, the build options list is on a sticker inside the glove compartment, it will say Z51.

The more I think about it I think I'll go with early C6 Z51 that I can hopefully get in the low $20s. Anyhow, should I get a bone stock or modified one (cam, header, exhaust etc)? I guess if I get a modified one I won't be eligible for AS class. Any other downside to getting a modified one?

lotus, just because toyota engine with lightness

ND.

ea_sport wrote: The more I think about it I think I'll go with early C6 Z51 that I can hopefully get in the low $20s. Anyhow, should I get a bone stock or modified one (cam, header, exhaust etc)? I guess if I get a modified one I won't be eligible for AS class. Any other downside to getting a modified one?

Cams and headers can add a lot of power and sound in a hurry. The downside would be the drone on the highway if the exhaust isn't done right. I have the Corsa sport axle back and it sounds great. Nice scream under throttle and a great burble and pop on deceleration. Creeping through a parking lot sounds great. It is totally silent on the highway. It's too quiet for me but I don't want to spend the money to change it. The issue with a cam is that if you go too big you have to mess with new valve springs and they have a shorter lifespan. My C5 Z51 had a mild cam, headers and Z06 exhaust. It sounded so awesome, angry and beautiful. The slight lope to the idle was just awesome too. Listen to video clips on youtube.

I would highly recommend the early C6 over a late model C5. Countless upgrades that make a much nicer car overall. I'd go C5 if you were going to try to spend $12 grand, but if you are ok with spending $20, then no contest.