I still love my Audi and I¡¦ll continue to own Audis. However, after having driven an open-wheel race car and my buddy¡¦s E30M3, I¡¦ve developed a taste for a light-weight car. I don¡¦t plan on going the trailer route. I¡¦m looking for a street-legal dedicated track toy. Here are my two considerations.
1.) Porsche 944S or S2 (no 911s ¡V engines in the wrong place <em>f</em>º)
2.) BMW E30M3
I¡¦m looking for a naturally aspirated car.
The M3¡¦s handling abilities have been well documented and I certainly don¡¦t need to be convinced of it. However, engine work on this car can be costly. As far as the 944s are concerned, I know that I can pick one up at a very reasonable price. However, I¡¦m not very familiar with its handling reputation and the maintenance costs. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I used to own an S4, but after I blew the turbos I decided to fix it and sell it. I then bought an A8, but the track is calling me so I decided to buy a weekend/track car.

My original considerations were the 944 TurboS, E30 M3, and '95 M3. Pros of the 944 are that it can be tuned to be a 911 turbo killer and I've always liked the look of the car. Downside is that they aren't very reliable (esp. the turbo version) and are expensive to fix. I would think the regular 944 isn't that fast without major engine work. The E30 can be very fast and I love the look of that too, with the wide fenders and all. I had a hard time finding one in good condition, if you do it costs more than a '95 M3. Also the interior is dated, and I plan to drive my car on the street once in a while.

I ended up buying '95 M3. The '95 is nice because it's the last M3 to be OBDI, this means the software is easier to program and other aspects are easier to upgrade than M3s after it. Since it's an E36 it still looks fairly current, yet I only paid $11,700. I might put a Schrick cam pkg in that would get me up to 300hp, but I have to look into reliability issues. I expect to do most of the maintenance myself with this car, something I felt I couldn't so with the E30 or 944. Good luck.

Heh, seriously...if you got the bug from an open-wheel car, you might want to look at something like a Spec Racer Ford or a purpose-built race car that's super light weight (less than 1500lbs).

A spec Miata or Honda or equivalent is around 2000lbs...not "light" by race car standards but a feather by street car standards.

Sounds like you have the expensive german car bug...unless you're able to buy fresh engines without noticing, you should think long and hard about it.

I check some sites and compared Spec Miata lap times to M3, 944, etc. The Spec Miata were never more than 5 seconds behind, often only 1 or 2 secs. behind.

I think the Miata will make you a better driver because you need to keep the momentum up to get good times. Plus it's cheaper and just plain fun to drive.

I guess I bought an M3 because I'm a homer for German cars.

Since I don't want to deal with a trailer, spec racer is not an option. You are right, I have the German car bug. I've owned American, Japanese and Sweedish cars in the past, and they really don't feel like my Audi or my friends' BMWs. I guess I'm going to have to think about this a little longer and harder. I appreciate your input.

I found a 1987 944S with a 968 engine transplant. I figure the power to weight ratio would be pretty good with that set up... especially after ripping out unnecessary items. I guess I'll have to really think about the up-keep costs. Thanks for your inputs.

and "feel" on a race track is basically irrelevant as long as the car communicates and once you put gazillion lb springs and the widest stickiest tires you can...it'll communicate.

Our Civic was never beat by an E30 M3 in any race we ran. The E36s were generally much faster but usually expired in an expensive cloud of smoke.

Though I do prefer RWD to FWD, but the badge ends up meaning little or nothing on the track except how much more it's going to cost to repair.

<img src="http://images2.fotki.com/v10/photos/4/41918/108632/race2or-vi.jpg">

I'd try a spec miata or honda civic... you'd be surprised at the fun factor (if you can get past the "I'd own a japanese car" thing).

I did an entire season last year in a ~120hp honda last season and dont regret it one bit. if anything, it's made me faster in my own car :)

regards,
Liam

I've decided to give up the idea of going with 944 or E30. I'll look at even lighter options with better reputation on reliability/cost (Japanese car?). I may just suck it up and go with an Elise (Euro/Japanese hybrid?). Thanks again.

but it's really the closest thing to a true street/track hybrid. Definitely a hit there.