I probably need help...

OK, so I sold the Vette. Got the Forte coming up as a nice STF car. The wife is hankering to get something nicer than what she has in the next 12-24 months.

Now, I've thought that when we did get rid of the 220+k mile Accent, I'd gift her my Forte and get me something like a Gen Coupe or something similar. But I really really really want to do a track day or two a year and I have a really nice one within 45 minutes of my house (Putnam Park). I really don't want to take a car I have to rely on to the track in case I do something stupid and ball it up.

So..... I'm thinking about taking the Accent. I already have a decent suspension under it, it would just need tires and safety equipment. Car weighs 2240lbs stock. I could probably gut much of the non-needed crap (AC, power window motors, stock seats/carpet/headliner radio etc) and get this thing close to 2100lbs with a full tank of fuel. It makes a whopping 90hp stock through a toasted cat as it sits, but I might be able to source a cheap header and cut off the exhaust to get it closer to 100hp. When the engine pops or I get bored I can swap in a beta and put down 140-150hp to the front wheels.

Is this as retarded sounding as my brain tells me?

Sounds like a perfectly sane and reasonable plan to me. No one wants to stuff their DD into a wall at a track day.

Start a build thread when you make this happen.

Agreed. I wish I'd kept my Integra from years ago for this very reason.

I rode around with my instructor in his E30 M3 at putnam park and watched in amazment as he played cat and mouse with a A1 GTI for an entire session. We would destroy him in the straights and he'd pass us by Turn 10 every lap. Car has similar performance specs to the Accent so I think you'll be ok.

Bobzilla wrote: Is this as retarded sounding as my brain tells me?

Not really. It sounds reasonable if you can make it reliable at 100% duty cycle before plunking down money for track time.

The track is going to find all the weak spots you don't on a long-in-the-tooth chassis so be prepared. Wheel bearings and CVs with 220k on them are immediately suspect - so are engine accessories and throw out bearings. Anything that will be turning faster or loading more than it ever has before probably needs you to give it a good going over - but that is really no different than track prep for any car with a lot of miles on it.

Do you know if race pads are available for your car? Even at 2300lbs with driver you can't use street or auto-x pads w/o killing a set every day if you are really driving hard. A good set of race pads will last you a long time at 2 days a year, making the bigger $ outlay cheaper (and more satisfying to drive) in the long run.

Brakes are the one thing that bother me with this car. A.) stock they suck and 2.) I haven't found anyone making a good pad for them. I'd likely have to have a set made up for it would be my guess.

Sounds like a plan. But what will you do with it the other 363 days of the year you aren't tracking it? As long as you've got a plan for that, go for it.

I have a sneaky suspicion that once I get a taste I will want more.... and more ..... and more....

Bobzilla wrote: Brakes are the one thing that bother me with this car. A.) stock they suck and 2.) I haven't found anyone making a good pad for them. I'd likely have to have a set made up for it would be my guess.

Is there a bigger car in the line-up that bolts on or a different mfg that can be a donor? Tiburon maybe? It looked sporty - maybe someone makes a race pad for it?

There is always Wilwood and home made brackets if you can do that sort of fab yourself.

The Accent is the only car in the Hyundai lineup that ever used the 4x100 bolt pattern. Hell, even the first gen Accents (95-99) used the 4x114 like all the other cars (tib/Elantra/Sonata). To be honest, they were always waaaaaaayyyyy undersized. The 2900lb Elantra ran a 9.9" frt rotor with a rear drum.

In all honesty the old Elantra I had would have made a better track car as there is so much more available for that platform because it shared with the Tib. I had already upgraded it to 11" rotors/tib calipers, rear disc was available all with good Hawk pads etc. But that car had to go because of rust.

Bobzilla wrote: I have a sneaky suspicion that once I get a taste I will want more.... and more ..... and more....

Uhhh, yeah, that would be a pretty safe guess.

ITT: Bob builds another Swift?