EP3 Track day car!

[CunniBlingus]

Ok, so I've been out of the Honda scene for a few years now (owned a NHB Prem) and I'm considering in buying another EP3 to do something that I've always wanted to do! Track day weekends!

I've seen a satin silver 52 plate with 138k on the clock. Would you say that's a tad too high and also what things should I be looking for that should ideally have been done.

I'm looking around the £2,500 mark, pre-face lift.


Chris

 

[Davef09]

l have been looking at track cars aswell lol, I'm seriously considering a honda plerude the 2.2 200bhp one.you can pick them up for around a grand.

 

[jimbothemagnificent]

I wouldn't worry much about the mileage on a track car, the care it has received would be more important to me. The last thing you want is a car that's been starved of fluids. I'd be looking for a high miler owned by someone like us.

My personal list would be, in this order:

1. Check EVERYTHING.
2. Brake pads and discs.
3. Springs and geo.
4. Weight reduction.
5. Tyres.
6. Seats and harnesses.

 

[jimbothemagnificent]

I actually did a wee experiment on Gran Turismo the other day, changing parts on a Golf to see what made the biggest difference. I'm on standby today with nothing to do, so I'll go buy a civic and repeat it. Original experiment:

I've just done a wee experiment with Gran Turismo 6, the talk of weight got me thinking. I'm very consistent with this game, been playing the GT series religiously since it started, I picked a new 'performance' hatchback and drove on a track I know like the back of my ****. I set a benchmark with it completely standard, then changed one variable at a time; Weight, power, suspension and tyres. I know that this is in no way a real-world test, but it's a very good simulation and pretty interesting to me all the same.

Car is a 2010 VW Golf VI R, brand new and a car I have never driven in this game. Track is Laguna Seca. All times are averaged over first four laps of each set up.

Standard car
1.49.5

-306 kg
1.46.5

+154 bhp
1.46.2

Racing suspension
1.46.7

Sports soft tyres
1.38.5

The standard car was a bit of a pig to drive, exactly why I chose it to be honest, it didn't disappoint. The weight reduction was a significant improvement in every aspect. I had to fully tune the engine, intake and exhaust to 406bhp to match the lightweight time, and the car became utterly hateful to drive. The racing suspension was tuned to what I though was 'about right' for a fwd car of that weight and power, it handled significantly better than either previous set ups. I was blown away at how much difference the good tyres made (roughly comparable to AD08R or similar), car still handled like a people carrier though.


The race suspension was by far the easiest to drive quickly, the soft tyres were highly comical on OEM suspension and the high power was horrendous. Overall, the weight was the biggest improvement.

 

[jimbothemagnificent]

Ok, so brand spanky preface EP3 around Laguna Seca. Again only one change at a time, the car is standard apart from the variable mentioned.

Standard - 1.47.8

-194kg - 1.46.5

265bhp - 1.46.3

Suspension - 1.47.0

Sport soft tyres - 1.41.9

-194kg, suspension and tyres - 1.36.2

Firstly, this goes to show how much better a CTR is around a track than a golf. 0.1 of a second separated the 406bhp golf and the 265bhp civic!

Again suspension made the least difference to time, but made the car feel much more controllable and precise. Power on it's own made the car a handful, I chose 265bhp because we know this is achievable NA. The lighter car was incredibly close to the powerful car for 99% of the lap, and in reality would probably be more reliable and much less expensive.

The last combination of weight, suspension and tyres was fantastic in every way.