Looking for advice and opinion on first car for racing and a weekend driver

[Larplabs]

Good morning!

I've had the car bug recently bite me, and I'm looking in earnest for a "budget" race car/fun weekend only driver. It won't be my daily, but I want to be able to take a fun weekend trip up winding roads with the family, or take it to the track.

Ideally, I would be looking to spend $15,000ish and I'm currently targeting 2011-2014 mustang gt's with a number of different miles.

Since this forum seems to know the most about the racing side I'm looking to get into, are there any items I should be looking for, or mods I'm looking to avoid on a car like this. I'm looking extra hard at cars with a "track pack" from this generation. Are 3.73 gears a good idea? Are the track pack brakes good enough, or would I be better off buying stock and picking a different aftermarket?

Lots of the facebook marketplace cars seem to be setup with drag springs and suspension that are adjustable. Will I likely want to rip those out if I want to use it for weekend driving, or track stuff, or is the adjustable drag stuff better than the stock suspension?

Looking for any and all advice out there. I'm brand new to this whole world, but I'm excited to get into it.

 

[Fabman]

Good morning!

I've had the car bug recently bite me, and I'm looking in earnest for a "budget" race car/fun weekend only driver. It won't be my daily, but I want to be able to take a fun weekend trip up winding roads with the family, or take it to the track.

Ideally, I would be looking to spend $15,000ish and I'm currently targeting 2011-2014 mustang gt's with a number of different miles.

Since this forum seems to know the most about the racing side I'm looking to get into, are there any items I should be looking for, or mods I'm looking to avoid on a car like this. I'm looking extra hard at cars with a "track pack" from this generation. Are 3.73 gears a good idea? Are the track pack brakes good enough, or would I be better off buying stock and picking a different aftermarket?

Lots of the facebook marketplace cars seem to be setup with drag springs and suspension that are adjustable. Will I likely want to rip those out if I want to use it for weekend driving, or track stuff, or is the adjustable drag stuff better than the stock suspension?

Looking for any and all advice out there. I'm brand new to this whole world, but I'm excited to get into it.

11-14 cars are excellent, especially the Boss 302.
Definitely get a track pack unless you want to do all the mods to make it a track pack or better.
The total mod list will depend on how fast you want to go and how hard you push the car vs. streetability.
Drag stuff is useless. I'd look for something either 100% stock or something upgraded to track by someone very knowable. Most modded cars are screwed up.
Better off getting a stock track pack and doing a few minor upgrades like good pads and fluid until you get some seat time and can correctly articulate what the car is doing vs. what the driver is doing.
You can then add to the mod list as necessary and folks here will be glad to offer advice from real world experience.
If I could give you one piece of advice that will supersede all others: Go with one manufacturer and do not mix and match parts, that is the absolute best way to create a bunch of problems that will be difficult to untangle.
There are a bunch of good parts suppliers and we all have our favorites, but its best to start with an end goal in mind and get a package that meets those goals.
If you are trying to stay super streetable its hard to beat the ford racing packages. If you want to get more serious, there are some great vendors, many are site sponsors.
I'd say wait to do anything until you are at the limit of the car you buy, have seat time and are ready for more, then comb through the site here or post up your intensions and members will be happy to advise.
Pads and fluid. Any time you go to the track make sure you have good pads and fluid....when you are ready for your first track day, post up. We'll get you there.

 

[Mad Hatter]

Everthing that Fabman said. Just to keep in mind. A stock 2011+ S197 with Brembos will be as fast around a track as a stock BMW M3 V8 (E93?). Not bad at all !!

 

[Larplabs]

11-14 cars are excellent, especially the Boss 302.
Definitely get a track pack unless you want to do all the mods to make it a track pack or better.
The total mod list will depend on how fast you want to go and how hard you push the car vs. streetability.
Drag stuff is useless. I'd look for something either 100% stock or something upgraded to track by someone very knowable. Most modded cars are screwed up.
Better off getting a stock track pack and doing a few minor upgrades like good pads and fluid until you get some seat time and can correctly articulate what the car is doing vs. what the driver is doing.
You can then add to the mod list as necessary and folks here will be glad to offer advice from real world experience.
If I could give you one piece of advice that will supersede all others: Go with one manufacturer and do not mix and match parts, that is the absolute best way to create a bunch of problems that will be difficult to untangle.
There are a bunch of good parts suppliers and we all have our favorites, but its best to start with an end goal in mind and get a package that meets those goals.
If you are trying to stay super streetable its hard to beat the ford racing packages. If you want to get more serious, there are some great vendors, many are site sponsors.
I'd say wait to do anything until you are at the limit of the car you buy, have seat time and are ready for more, then comb through the site here or post up your intensions and members will be happy to advise.
Pads and fluid. Any time you go to the track make sure you have good pads and fluid....when you are ready for your first track day, post up. We'll get you there.

Good notes here. I will try to stay the course and find a track pack then. They are a bit more rare, especially without mods, but it sounds like the wait will likely be worth the extra coin.

I've found a very few 11-14 mustangs that haven't had something done to them, especially at my lower price point.

Part of my reason for asking was to also try to determine which mods done on some of these cars would be okay, and which ones I need to completely avoid.

I'll keep looking around to see what turns up. I'm not in a huge hurry. Hopefully a car in the right range will pop up soon

 

[Larplabs]

Everthing that Fabman said. Just to keep in mind. A stock 2011+ S197 with Brembos will be as fast around a track as a stock BMW M3 V8 (E93?). Not bad at all !!

I'm definitely not afraid of a stock or slightly modded car. 90% of the cars I'm seeing online have some pretty major mods. Very few have been left stock that I've seen

 

[Fabman]

I'm definitely not afraid of a stock or slightly modded car. 90% of the cars I'm seeing online have some pretty major mods. Very few have been left stock that I've seen

If you do end up with a modded car, try and get all the stock parts with it. Then post up here with the mods you have and we'll try to qualify whatever was done and if anything needs attention.
Everything is gonna be okay.

 

[Adam Ginsberg]

While this car is a tad higher vs. your stated budget, it might be worthwhile examining. It has a lengthy list of mods, but, they're all track oriented.

And, it's not far from you.

That said - everything Fabman mentioned is spot on.

[on edit]...I see you're already asking the seller questions.

 

[Fabman]

While this car is a tad higher vs. your stated budget, it might be worthwhile examining. It has a lengthy list of mods, but, they're all track oriented.

And, it's not far from you.

That said - everything Fabman mentioned is spot on.

[on edit]...I see you're already asking the seller questions.

Agreed, this one looks like the right stuff has been done to it.
There are a ton of good parts on here that you could not replace for the extra 4k that this cost.

 

[dragoon]

While this car is a tad higher vs. your stated budget, it might be worthwhile examining. It has a lengthy list of mods, but, they're all track oriented.

And, it's not far from you.

That said - everything Fabman mentioned is spot on.

[on edit]...I see you're already asking the seller questions.

Now there’s a HPDE track car for sure. Worth looking at as a “starter” car.
@Vettel-ish gave it a thumbs up !!

 

[Mad Hatter]

While this car is a tad higher vs. your stated budget, it might be worthwhile examining. It has a lengthy list of mods, but, they're all track oriented.

And, it's not far from you.

That said - everything Fabman mentioned is spot on.

[on edit]...I see you're already asking the seller questions.

Nice car!! that would toast a M3 any day of the week.

 

[blacksheep-1]

I think you are making a wise choice going with the stick axle car, they handle great and have a lot less parts to go bad. The Boss 302 platform was the high water mark for a stick axle car of any make, and they have little problem handling about 90% of the IRS cars of the same value/ classification.

 

[Larplabs]

While this car is a tad higher vs. your stated budget, it might be worthwhile examining. It has a lengthy list of mods, but, they're all track oriented.

And, it's not far from you.

That said - everything Fabman mentioned is spot on.

[on edit]...I see you're already asking the seller questions.

I couldn't click through to that link, but I think I looked at it yesterday. I'm going to look harder at places like this forum for used mustangs. Looks like they are treated better than the drag raced ones I see on marketplace

 

[Larplabs]

I think you are making a wise choice going with the stick axle car, they handle great and have a lot less parts to go bad. The Boss 302 platform was the high water mark for a stick axle car of any make, and they have little problem handling about 90% of the IRS cars of the same value/ classification.

That's good to hear. I was wondering if it would be worth checking out the s550 or not. I like how the s197 looks much better.

 

[Dave_W]

I know you're looking at the Coyote-engine years, but SCCA recently created a Club Spec Mustang ruleset for the 2005-2009 Mustangs. It lets you use the same car in bobth autocross and time trial competition, in a dedicated CSM class.

It's only the first year, and there are 13 cars registered for Solo Nats (same as Club Spec MX-5), plus another 4 in Ladies. Looks like there are 4 cars registered so far (of 51 total) for the Time Trials National Tour at PittRace; TT Nationals registration isn't open yet. I'm thinking that's a pretty good uptake rate for a new class.

0_Landing Pages - Club Spec Announcement - Club Spec - CSM

65,000+ door-to-door, cone clipping and dirt-throwing individuals make us the largest amateur motorsports club in the United States.

www.scca.com

 

[Dave_W]

PS - the nice thing about a spec class is that you don't go down a rabbit hole of never-ending modifications.

 

[Larplabs]

I know you're looking at the Coyote-engine years, but SCCA recently created a Club Spec Mustang ruleset for the 2005-2009 Mustangs. It lets you use the same car in bobth autocross and time trial competition, in a dedicated CSM class.

It's only the first year, and there are 13 cars registered for Solo Nats (same as Club Spec MX-5), plus another 4 in Ladies. Looks like there are 4 cars registered so far (of 51 total) for the Time Trials National Tour at PittRace; TT Nationals registration isn't open yet. I'm thinking that's a pretty good uptake rate for a new class.

0_Landing Pages - Club Spec Announcement - Club Spec - CSM

65,000+ door-to-door, cone clipping and dirt-throwing individuals make us the largest amateur motorsports club in the United States.

www.scca.com

I will give it a closer look. I was looking at buying a 12 mustang this weekend that just fell through, so I'm back in the hunt.

I think I want the added hp of the coyote and I don't think I will ever compete at a high level, more of just a fun level

 

[Larplabs]

While this car is a tad higher vs. your stated budget, it might be worthwhile examining. It has a lengthy list of mods, but, they're all track oriented.

And, it's not far from you.

That said - everything Fabman mentioned is spot on.

[on edit]...I see you're already asking the seller questions.

Do you happen to remember that sellers name? It was before I could private message anyone due to being a new user, and the posting expired within a day of me posting that comment.

If there's a chance it's still for sale, it would be really interested in getting more info from him.