Yeah, a helmet. And really precious little else. TNIA is a pretty relaxed affair and you are a big boy responsibility for your own safety. (tighten your lug nuts) Get in the novice group and get a feel for how different the track is than the street. Remember: no trophys are given out at track days, the reward is having fun and driving home in an unbent car.
They also have loaner helmets at the Track Night in America events, so you don't even need to bring one. These events are aimed at the beginning enthusiast, so you won't be out of place at all. Make sure your battery is tied down securely, and that your tires have air in them.....and enjoy!
Same situation with autocross events--- loaner helmets are usually available, and beginners are common. You'll be right at home. 
The answer is Miata here. 
Unless I started with an e30 
If I want more power from the BMW way down the line than I could just swap in an s54 and call it a day.
If you don't care about NVH or passenger capacity you could just make the e46 weigh what the miata weighs and not add power at all.
e36 m3 would be my choice. Fun on the track but not difficult, and fast enough even if you don't strip it. Fairly bulletproof drivetrain. Good daily driver though not as nice as the e46 obviously. Room to carry all your gear. I'd say it's kind of "in between" the two cars you ahve listed.
Nobody will deny the Miata is pretty much the best affordable motorsports car in general (other than rally), but if you need something that can have more practical uses for daily stuff as well....e36 m3 sedans can be found for pretty cheap in nice shape, have a strong aftermarket, and are reasonably fast in stock form and great drivers.
I just read your build thread. Get a helmet and go have fun with the miata. You will suck at your first events regardless of car, so you may as well take the slow one that will reward you more with learning.
Vigo wrote: If you don't care about NVH or passenger capacity you could just make the e46 weigh what the miata weighs and not add power at all.
An E46 starts out around 3400 pounds, right? I'm not sure you can take 1200 pounds out of it without employing a sawzall to remove things like major chunks of the unibody.
Then i vote Miata.
Use the Miata for track and autocross. I wouldn't have sold my last one if I could fit comfortably in it.
I understand you're concerned about the suspension, but the shocks were likely shot at 50k anyways. Get one of the FM suspension packages, you already have the poly bushes and you'll be golden.
I'm currently using an MR2 Turbo as a track car and had to rent a Spec Miata for an event this year because the MR2 was off the road. It took me two more events to match the Miata's lap times in the MR2...
Miata. It's the better learning tool. It will be cheaper to get it track ready than the bmw. The bmw will need the whole suspension gone through. That will cost much more than the suspension overhaul for the miata.
Yeah. I understand.
On the e36 M3, I understand that it's a nice car and all but it's not a REAL M3.
Roll your eyes all you want but I just can't find myself to buy a USDM E36 M3. I'd rather have an e36 328i.
But I don't plan on purchasing another car anyways.
I'll choose the Miata for double duty and use the E46 as a "when the Miata breaks downot or is out of comission" car.
I just skimmed through and didn't see it mentioned but if you go with the Miata, don't forget that you need a real roll bar to get on most tracks. So budget another $400+ for that
Already done.
I'm having a similar dilemma, minus the BMW. I've got a 97 Miata that has gone autocrossing once. The car was held back by the all season tires it had on and destroyed one of the front shocks and a sway bar end link during one of the runs. That ended up being a good opportunity to upgrade tires and suspension to E-Street class specs. Hopefully yours ends up holding together better.
My big issue is that the Miata isn't a great commuter, especially here in Seattle with the crappy traffic and rain. I'm currently on a mission to find something better, maybe a SN95 Mustang or SC400 with ITB's. Performance is less of an issue versus how the car sounds in those rare openings on the highway when you can floor it for a few seconds before slamming on the brakes...
Groats wrote: I'm having a similar dilemma, minus the BMW. I've got a 97 Miata that has gone autocrossing once. The car was held back by the all season tires it had on and destroyed one of the front shocks and a sway bar end link during one of the runs. That ended up being a good opportunity to upgrade tires and suspension to E-Street class specs. Hopefully yours ends up holding together better. My big issue is that the Miata isn't a great commuter, especially here in Seattle with the crappy traffic and rain. I'm currently on a mission to find something better, maybe a SN95 Mustang or SC400 with ITB's. Performance is less of an issue versus how the car sounds in those rare openings on the highway when you can floor it for a few seconds before slamming on the brakes...
The reason I bring this up is because I want this car to be a MAIN daily driver. The other car being a back up car. I just like driving a car that you put so much time and dedication into.
I'm going to an autocross on the 2nd of January. There aren't many events going on here that can fit into my time off schedule. (I'm a BMW technician) So I don't think that the difference of cost of running the cars really factor here since this WON'T be a dedicated track car. This will be a dual purpose car in which will be driven the MAJORITY of the time. The other one will go into the garage. I have a high NVH level, I took the functioning A/C off of my Miata because it was a pain in the ass to work around and the cooling system really worked much better after removing the condenser. I'm also deleting my Power steering on the Miata.
The BMW with is decent traction control (ASC not DSC), ABS Brakes, Better stability and better ability to carry stuff to the events has made me consider it.
Update. I bought a R53 MINI Cooper S.
That is all.
Now, join the BMWCCA and sign up for one of their track weekends. They have four levels, starting at D moving up to A. You get one on one in car instruction, two different instructors, they require that your car be inspected and signed of by a mechanic. One of the items on their list, when did you last change the brake fluid.
They might insists that someone other than you sign off on the car.
You might want to upgrade the clutch slave cylinder, build in some camber and start a tire fund.
I'll see what I can do. I do work as a BMW technician.
I was a member of the BMW cca.
If your intent for the R53 is to be a DD and HPDE machine, you may find the Koni FSDs to work nicely with the stock springs. Ireland Engineering fixed camber plates worked for me at -1.8 in the front. My tire wear became even for daily driving. I was working on heel-n-toe in the esses. Carbotech makes excellent street plus pads that can be swapped with their race and autox formulations on the same rotors. I used Centric's Cryo-stop rotors ($45 each from tire rack at the time). This combo easily lasted 60k and the Carbotech pads still had more than half of the material left.
Some things I would have added are Fat Cat's custom bumpstops and adjustable rear end links, because BMWCCA autox rules puts one in a more competitive class with just non-oem dampers.
Though it may be blingy and pricey, the Whalen Shift Machine knob made the throws smoother and quicker. And it looks so f'ing cool.
Hope this helps.
Flight Service wrote:
Not in my case. The Miata would be perfect for me if I lived near great driving roads. But I don't. These roads suck. And to top it off my work schedule and 'again' where I live limits my track/autocross time.
I could only go to one autocross in the miata.
The R53 is a much better car to suit my life at this time. Plus it comes with boost and IMO A better engine than the BP in the Miata.
All it's missing is for it to be RWD. But the handling is fantastic already.
The Miata is up for sale.
In reply to N7Prime:
Miata's are rallycrossed...
In reply to Flight Service:
Fantastic. Im not a fan of rally cross anyways since you're EXTRA hard on the car more so than usual on pavement. Same way I don't like drift missles.
Different strokes for different folks
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