I track my 2008 ACR and my son just turned 18. He has been in my car several times and would like to start doing HPDE events. I am considering getting him a car he can both drive on street and occasional track days (3-5 per year). Live in Indiana so RWD is a winter concern. Thinking of something like Mazdaspeed 3 but not sure about FWD track car, although I see many FWD cars at track. Any thoughts/opinions on vehicle or FWD at track? Thanks.
Track Car for Teenager
- Thread starter vdogg
- Start date
mjorgensen Woodhouse
Enthusiast
I would look for a used Mustang, they are abundant and parts are relatively cheap. you could probably find a used track car already set up for a few grand just to get him started.
Slithr
Enthusiast
I would suggest a Mazda Miata or a Golf GTI, those seem like good starter track cars. It's fun to watch the Miata's out on the track because they can pretty much stay floored all the way around the track .... looks like fun at a reasonable cost.
witz323
Viper Owner
yeah, mustang, vette or m3. All three have a wide price range in the used marketplace, and parts are readily available for all. If you want your son to drive it in the winter then maybe a subie sti or evo?
Raced Spec Miatas for years and for a track car , especially to learn with, momentum vehicles I firmly believe teach technique quite well. The other item is that parts are quite reasonable, since all you have to do is send in two track event placings, and you can join Mazda Motorsports -- allowing you to buy parts at Dealer cost. Where you place is of no concern, so a couple of SCCA autocrosses and bingo parts are cheaper.
A set of Winter tires and the Miata is actually quite good in the snow.
Good luck and you and your son will have a ton of fun at the track together!!!
A set of Winter tires and the Miata is actually quite good in the snow.
Good luck and you and your son will have a ton of fun at the track together!!!
Cobraken
Enthusiast
or a Viper ACR..... 
paul tat
Viper Owner
I'm sure you could find an STI or EVO for relatively cheap that has already been set up for the track and street. Find something that has all the modifications that you want.
OK. Thanks for all the input. Let me ask the question a different way. If you had to choose one car for an 18 year old to serve as a daily driver, be good in winter, have room to haul stuff to/from college, be reliable, be in the $20-25 range, AND be a decent starter HPDE car, what would it be? I like something new with warranty but am not ruling out a used car, maybe a CPO if possible. THANKS! PS: His first track day may be in my CTS-V if I cannot get him a car so please hurry..... 
Mopar Steve
Enthusiast
Neon SRT4 this is a mopar site
Alabaster Mamba
Enthusiast
Well for that price range you can buy a Corvette. You could get a nice 01-02 Z06 or a nice 05-06 Z51. Parts are relatively cheap and they can be modded fairly cheap as well. They are also easy to work on.
elanderholm
Enthusiast
evo or sti are great for most of the things you listed. As a track car I don't like them for learning as they allow you go to fast to easily before they get you in hot water. The handling is very safe and fast until the edge and then it's just understeer and more understeer which usually results in bent metal. I did that to mine actually
witz323
Viper Owner
if my budget is 20-25, and i need to drive it 12mos/year, plus haul others etc...i'd go m3 all day.
CA97GTS
Enthusiast
Hate to say it- but with those parameters- snow -DD- etc. A Subie is the way to go- a clean used WRX
and some coin left over for track day wheel/tires- a few safety mods- That's what i would suggest.....
and some coin left over for track day wheel/tires- a few safety mods- That's what i would suggest.....
ACR steve
Enthusiast
Miata is a great bang for the buck. It will teach him to drive smooth and be easy on your wallet. It’s also easy to work on and would make a great father/son bonding experience when converting it to more of a race car
ACR steve
Enthusiast
sorry just read everyday driver.... haul and snow I guess STI or EVO then
ViperGeorge
Enthusiast
My 07 Saleen (Mustang) is great on track and with a decent set of snow tires is ok in the winter. Plenty of trunk space and a folding rear seat. So of course I wouldn't buy him a Saleen but a GT used Mustang would be my first choice. He would be better off learning how to drive on the track in a rear wheel drive car IMO. A Miata is a momentum car on the track and is driven totally differently that a rear wheel V8 car. A Subie is a great car for the track but I won't buy a Japanese car out of respect for this great country and a 4 wheel drive car will not teach him the same level of control since the 4 wheel drive can pull him out of situations he shouldn't get into in the first place.
boy wonder
Enthusiast
My kid had a SRT 4. Then on to Evo's. All the kids love them,they r all wheel drive and u can get 600 out of them without opening the engine. they have a great club site. Exc.....
Robin
Robin
93VIPERBOY
Enthusiast
STI or WRX
I live in N Indiana, so I hear ya' on something that would do well in the snow also!
Lots of great choices mentioned, I personally would look at an Evo...miata...or a BMW.
I roadrace a lot and see teens in those all the time.
Lots of great choices mentioned, I personally would look at an Evo...miata...or a BMW.
I roadrace a lot and see teens in those all the time.
Makara
Viper Owner
Track cars should be under 4,000 lbs lol
i tracked my mazdaspeed3 and it has some potential - although it is not a trivial car to get going really fast and there is not much you can do once you reach the limits of FWD (although for a new driver that could take quite some time). Pretty frustating to sit on 260hp coming around the corner and having to wait so long to put all of it down.
on the plus side, does great in the snow/ice (with right tires of course) or on the wet track and very practical (fits 4 viper wheels/tires in the back with room to spare - think of the possibilities...). if you can score a set of FD RX7 16" wheels, you can have a killer (and cheap) setup for the track or for much more comfortable daily driving than the stock 18s.
subaru idea is OK too, as long as you get the one from before they started to stuff them full of fancy computers
edit: here's another idea - 3 series coupe - e46 or even e36.
You get a light(er), track proven RWD platform, capable to deal with any weather with the right tires, plenty of power to learn to manage it (esp. if you go with 330), but not enough to mask bad habits. I know a couple of drivers who are very fast in these with only minor modifications (camber plates and tires, basically), so the potential to reward good skill development with lap times and wave-bys from 911s is certainly there, if you know what i mean.
I would actually argue for RWD in the winter (again, with the right tires) for newer drivers mostly for educational reasons. Your kid may feel like he is in survival mode on his first few snow days, but it will pay off in the long run. Better to go through owning RWD car in the winter as a choice, as opposed to finding yourself in a low traction situation in RWD car one day and no experience to fall back on.
Also, in my opinion, 3 series is a better skill development platform than something like a WRX subaru, mostly because input/feedback connection is very direct and predictable, almost like in a miata.
final thought: do NOT get anything with weight/power ratio under 10 or so as his first track car. if he is competitive type and wants to get around porsches and corvettes at the local DE event, let him learn how to do it using all of the car instead of just the go pedal. i made that mistake with my first track car and spent several years unlearning bad habits and quite a few dollars fixing the consequences. i know, silly point to make on the viper forums, right?
on the plus side, does great in the snow/ice (with right tires of course) or on the wet track and very practical (fits 4 viper wheels/tires in the back with room to spare - think of the possibilities...). if you can score a set of FD RX7 16" wheels, you can have a killer (and cheap) setup for the track or for much more comfortable daily driving than the stock 18s.
subaru idea is OK too, as long as you get the one from before they started to stuff them full of fancy computers
edit: here's another idea - 3 series coupe - e46 or even e36.
You get a light(er), track proven RWD platform, capable to deal with any weather with the right tires, plenty of power to learn to manage it (esp. if you go with 330), but not enough to mask bad habits. I know a couple of drivers who are very fast in these with only minor modifications (camber plates and tires, basically), so the potential to reward good skill development with lap times and wave-bys from 911s is certainly there, if you know what i mean.
I would actually argue for RWD in the winter (again, with the right tires) for newer drivers mostly for educational reasons. Your kid may feel like he is in survival mode on his first few snow days, but it will pay off in the long run. Better to go through owning RWD car in the winter as a choice, as opposed to finding yourself in a low traction situation in RWD car one day and no experience to fall back on.
Also, in my opinion, 3 series is a better skill development platform than something like a WRX subaru, mostly because input/feedback connection is very direct and predictable, almost like in a miata.
final thought: do NOT get anything with weight/power ratio under 10 or so as his first track car. if he is competitive type and wants to get around porsches and corvettes at the local DE event, let him learn how to do it using all of the car instead of just the go pedal. i made that mistake with my first track car and spent several years unlearning bad habits and quite a few dollars fixing the consequences. i know, silly point to make on the viper forums, right?
Last edited:
snakem04
Enthusiast
No one mentioned audi s4 which comes stock 420hp awd with a six speed tranny. I get on mine alot and with 73k on it, it still drives like the day I bought it. Never a mechanical or engine problem yet. A sti or evo will do the same job but I just love the 4.2l supercharged audi. Plus it's a lot more luxurious then the sti or evo. I had a 03 evo 8 and I'd take the audis anyway over that. And if it's in your budget look at the audi rs4, rs6 or s5 which you can probably find under $30k. I think the rs6 is 450hp awd. But the 09 s5 is the most gorgeous car out of them.
I just went thru this exact thing with my son who turns 18 in a month. I wanted to do a used WRX, for the exact DD reasons you mention. He wouldn't go for anything that wasn't American, so selection got limited. We went with the new V6 mustang, only option was a performance axle, it was $21.5k, cheaper than used stangs a few yrs old, has 305hp, 6speed, stability control, etc, gets 31mpg, for real. I'm very impressed with it compared to price. Now we have a several 4 wheel drives so having him borrow one on snow days isn't a problem. But I agree on the WRX for what you describe, although we did have an imprezza and I wasn't impressed with its quality ans rattling, etc. but we went stang inour case. Enjoy, I can't wait for next season with him.
DaDood
Enthusiast
Get him an old Acura NSX. Extremely awesome car, fun to drive and great car to drive on the track.
Plus, if you get and older one that requires a "little" bit of work, it is a steel for what they're getting.
Plus, if you get and older one that requires a "little" bit of work, it is a steel for what they're getting.
Chuck 98 RT/10
Enthusiast
Any car in good working condition and affordable is a good track car to learn with. It doesn't matter if it's a Miata or a Minivan.
1994viper
Enthusiast
M3 for me, but as the winter is concern to you, than an STI
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