GT350s can be had pretty regularly at MSRP. I could have had a 16 at MSRP, and without much trouble, a 17...
I agree on both points.
You really need to find new friends. People who track and focus on explaining how to do things right instead of reporting mistakes as evidence of their manliness or courage in the face of admitted risk. And if mention of a spin or a 4-off does come up from said new acquaintances, you need to do your part by trying to learn what the driver involved should have been doing differently. And then putting that in your driver's skill tool kit.
At a semi-educated guess, you might eventually be able to consistently corner 40% or so harder at a road course track day than you'll ever do on the street. That's a good size step beyond street driving, one that you simply can't see from where you've been.
It does mean that in some absolute sense there has to be enough 'bang' to suit the use you're going to put it to. You don't like the 1LE, I get that. It's focus is not straight lines, and I guess you've since figured out that you don't have enough of the right experience to properly evaluate it for what it is good at.
$6500 will buy a lot of track days. There's no need to be the fastest on the track and having a faster car doesn't necessarily mean it will be more fun to drive. More track days might be more fun than having a slightly faster car.
I disagree. I think that if you start going to a number of track days, you will have to start replacing tires and brakes regularly and that will be plenty of spending $$ for at least some people. Also, the car itself will not last forever being used a lot at the track, and replacing a car is a big expense as well.
In my experience, a track day generally costs about $500. That's about $200 for fees, $100 in gas, and about $200 in consumables in the form of brake pads and tires per day.
The costs of consumables have to be covered no matter what you're showing up in. I suppose you could attempt to estimate some sort of expense difference between running a 1LE vs an SS, though there is some risk of the difference turning out to favor the 1LE instead.
I'm not debating bang for the buck. I think the 1LE is a bargain. I just hated the huge out put of cash. Ever time I did a track day. When I was into it 10 years ago. It's the reason I just went drag racing 100% of the time moving forward. Cheaper in the long run and less likely to wreck the car if your going hard.
Well said. That's what I was trying to get at as well. You don't need the stickiest tires, best brakes, most HP, etc. to have a lot of fun at a road course. I really love my GT350, but I would have been smarter to buy a GT as it is great on the road course for a lot less $$. Then I would have had more cash left over for track days.
