If I'm reading the OP right, wants a few DE days a year and gets a big grin from it. Should seriously consider a rent-a-racer. Not necessarily a Skippy but one of the many companies out there. You're going to get a whole lot of instruction and purist race craft experience. Also, you'll likely have an equal vehicle to the others and makes for some fair dicing. It may even be more rewarding inside of ones self, when you get that tactful pass in. Or find out quicker the ins and outs of cornering. You'll have someone set your car up for the session, etc..

It's their headache too, no maintenance on your part. Show up and drive. Budget wise is sort of like having a seasonal boat for recreation.

Open wheel fuselage is purist racing. You won't be scraping paint and less knuckleheads to worry about, less likely some will be passing within inches. Or go open cockpit full body / spec racer like.

Sell the 911. Go to Skippy School. Buy the Lotus.

There are a lot of 911s out there that are fabulous track cars. But they are not all so very stock. The Lotus will be pretty right on straight out of the gait. But they are twitchy barstiges at the limit.

I have a supercharged Miata. They are very composed, and not too dear.

Make sure you have track insurance for the Lotus.

Hmmm... wondering what your goals might be in attending track days...

To me, track days have always been about learning to drive the car I have, a car I love, better than I could ever learn to drive it out on public roads. To test and enjoy the performance limits of my car.

It is starting to sound like you might be a bit too "competitive" in your approach to track days. Getting lapped is no big deal. Driving an "underpowered" somewhat vintage car well is extremely satisfying, if that is your goal. For many, however, their goal is to be the fastest guy at the local track day, or at least to "run with the big dogs". To show them you can drive as well, or better, than they can, if only you had a "better" or the "right" car.

If that's the case, I think you need to take a long, hard, honest look at why you are doing track days. Going out to learn your car and have fun is vastly different than a desire to run out front regardless of the practicality of the machine required to do so. Nothing wrong with that, but be honest with yourself, and determine how far down that road you can stand to go. The little Lotus is a lot further down that road than your 911.

Or keep the 911 and buy a gocart. Gocarts and Elises are much the same ;)

So, based on the 1000 mile/year average, that's not much driving and certainly not remotely daily driver miles. I guess what he wants is a car that he can drive in any weather if necessary or could drive anywhere if necessary. But he's not really looking for something that is or will be a daily driver.

If you are taking the car to the track, how easily could you, or how catastrophic would it be if you totaled the car at the track one weekend? An Elise is carbon fiber, so it's going to break if something happens. That's why it will be totalled. At least a 911 if there's a minor issue will be bent and may be able to be bent back. A 911 can be fixed/repaired much more easily than an Elise. The motor parts on the Elise may be cheap, but I don't know how cheap the CF or suspension bits are, I wouldn't think very.

So, what's more important. Track days or cars and coffee? If you are on the track, what's more important, learning to drive and having fun or being fast and getting passed?

I've read the thread and I feel like getting a car to do all of what you want really well is going to be tough.

Think outside the box. Why not try something completely different?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1466469536.jpg

Hard questions.... Being the slowest on the track is not fun. I'm not the type of person that wants or even enjoys being #1. Mid-pack is a better place for me. As I said I loved driving the 911 I just wish it had more oomph.

I'm more afraid of a catastrophic mechanical failure than kissing a wall. No track insurance will cover that.

If you learn to be a better driver, you'll probably end up mid pack. As you become a better driver, and maybe add track wheels/tires, you'll probably be faster than you think.

My gut feeling is that the 911 will make you a better driver, and may be a better investment as well.

Well if you have the need for speed but also want to hang and have and equalizer, I had fun in the earlier years Renault powered >

SpecRacer.com • Index page

In a sort of way, there is a Porsche connection. Legendary driver Vic Elford was instrumental in the original concept and launch.

You can get into a good field and nice dicing, its all about the driver. Loads of fun and plenty fast. I think the latest gen Ford can be setup for 150 mph. Rent a drive is good idea to try for a year and then see if you want to pursue it further. Budget $3,500 long weekends.

I've told many people over the years that an air cooled 911 is actually about the cheapest track time one can buy. Nothing, I mean nothing else endures that kind of abuse more readily. And, if you are driving one well, you will never, even in this day and age, be the "slowest one on the track". Horsepower is not, in any way, a deciding factor in who is "fastest" at a club track day. If you really think it is (and it appears as though you do), I would suggest sticking with the 911 until you understand it is not.

I've seen way too many relatively unskilled drivers who think they will be faster by buying more car. Shirley, it's the car, and not them. If they only had a "faster" car, they wouldn't be the slowest guy out there...

These guys are the ones who eventually just crash harder. You cannot buy speed and skill. I'm here to tell you, if you really are the slowest guy out there when driving your current 911, it's not the car - it's you. Your couple, three, maybe four track days per year are not enough to increase your skill to the point where you will be that mid-pack guy, and a different car won't fast-track you to that point either. Spend your money on more track time rather than a different car. You might be surprised to someday find yourself running mid pack in your "underpowered" old 911.

It all depends what you want to get from the experience. Lower HP cars can be a blast, and sometimes it takes creativity by the organization to make a nice fit for those having. Consider the type of track you're at. Go for the shorter length, easier to learn corners. Easier on the coaching too. For example, Road America is spectacular but can be a droning experience on the longer straights. Often club events will run half course. Then there's others where the second day sessions are run in -opposite- direction. Its a whole new track and learning curve.

I've heard this on many occasions and understand your point but have to disagree a bit. It is true that with more work I can be (much) quicker around the track. I am certainly braking too early and am way too conservative in my corner speeds. After my 2 day stint I was picking up on a lot of that and had drastically improved my speed / time. By the end of the weekend I was keeping up with some much faster cars (new M3 for example). With that said once that M3 driver has an idea of how to drive his car he'd be way ahead of me with no chance in me catching up.

I'd also have to agree with Jeff, one of the main reasons I love the 911 is I can beat on it. It is such a solid car, beyond a rod bearing failing or the airbox cracking I have no other worries with this car. The Elise however beyond it's motor / trans seems to be fragile. I am hard on my belongings so that's a huge negative for the Lotus.

I am a believer in learning to drive a slow car fast. I wouldn't consider the Elise to be a fast car though. Last time out I met a guy with a 991 GT3 who just started doing DE events. When you watched him you realized he would have benefited from learning on something slower first prior to the big beast of a car he had.

[QUOTE=DanielDudley;9168469]Sell the 911. Go to Skippy School. Buy the Lotus.



I have a supercharged Miata. They are very composed, and not too dear.

QUOTE]

Me too......a turbo. About 1/3rd of the Elise cost.

Nice Manta! I used to have one converted with a old aluminum Buick V8. Car was pretty quick and it handled amazing. Love Opels.

Back in 2001, when they were running the American Le Mans Series at Laguna Seca, which they renamed Mazda something rather, we went to the Saturday qualifying and bought paddock passes so that we could watch the crews working in the pits. I came across this guy in a privateer Honda Accord with a black carbon fiber hood. He was changing his brake pads. I looked at the ridiculously thin brake rotor and thought "good luck". He ended up winning his heat race, beating all of the factory backed Mazdas. The crowd went wild, all the way round the track.

The 911 divided the driving world in two.. Those who could drive, and those who could not ;)

imho, I'd much rather have a 911 than the Lotus.

Lotus cars are fantastic.. but imho, no way are they daily drivers. They are 3/4 Boxsters.. cause normal size people don't fit in them. They are british. They are aluminum.. so consider keeping it in the garage from Oct-April if you live where they Salt the roads. Either that or you are washing off the undercarriage more often than you care too. As a go kart, they are blast. If you were going to AX every weekend, absolutely. Heck, maybe a Caterham would be better, its about 300lbs lighter than an elise!

911s are robust. They are a challenge to drive well.

If yours is the turbo looking black one from the first post.. who wouldn't want to drive that to a C&C or to the track!?!

This really sounds like a case of "the grass is greener over there".. or a bucket list thing.

Maybe you don't really like the 915 transmission.. or the cool front fenders as seen from the drivers seat.. or that flat 6 aircooled sound of distinction ?

It's comments like that that make me feel like an ass for even considering this.

Scott this might change your mind back...

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Quoted the entire Higgins thing since it's just that good.

At DE, when I gave the pass signal on the straights, it never even occurred to me that I was "getting passed". No, I was simply giving room to people driving cars with 250% of the HP of my car. We are running two different races, but on a shared track.

Put aside the ego. You have a slower car. Everyone on the track knows it, and respects it. So, you have the best excuse why you're getting lapped. Problem solved.

Now, go learn to drive your car. If you are driving YOUR car to the limits, you should not care about getting passed.

Is there an ongoing purpose in owning the 911 (after realizing the bedroom poster is now in your garage?)
Does he wrench on the car? This might be why OP seems to be bored of the car.
OP drove his car 2500 miles in 3 years. So, he basically does not drive it, and it is a garage trophy, and has not yet formed any connection with it.
If the car is "not nice", I think you should simply drive your 911 a lot more. Drive it to work at least once a week.

On the other hand, since he does not drive the 911 anyway, the downsides of the Elise are sort of moot.
A kidney crushing ride doesn't matter when it just sits in the garage.
But, even with an Elise, you should still be prepared to give the pass on the straights to cars with triple the horsepower.