This year I am planning on attending my first track day event at Bedford Autodrome in my MX5 NA (stock except coilovers, wheels, breaded brake lines). On top of the entry fee roughly how much more money would end up being put into such a day? Such as fuel usage, tire wear/replacement (currently got a (A) rating grip tires with 3,500 miles on them) and brake pad/disk wear (currently on 1000 or less mile EBC yellow pads on all corners and new rear disks). Without any major failures which hopefully the MX5 shouldn’t do as it’s low mileage and well maintained, any other things I should be aware of?Â
Thanks a lot in advance, and hope to see some of you on track .
I think you will find in the first season of doing track days you will constantly be upgrading… for example the EBC pads you have will fall apart very quickly. Bottom line work on £500
enjoy your trackday and post up where and when you are going.
Depends on the length of the sessions. You’ll get through a tank of fuel, and will probably use some oil (bring spare oil). The rough rule of thumb is that 1 track day mile is the same as 100 regular road miles. In reality, at the end of the day, you be thinking your tyres have fallen apart, given the oil beading. You can trash a set of tyres, if you end up like me flat spotting a new set of Yokohamas after spinning at 100+. That big spin cost me a wheel bearing and a drive shaft that needed replacing… But Mk1 parts are all cheap, so no biggie.
Wear and tear will vary, depending on the track used. The GT track has a pretty long straight, so you will be hard on the brakes, but if a short sprint type circuit is used, the brakes might not even get hot, so the wear is in the tyres.
If cones are used to put in chicanes to bring the speed of cars down, beware, clipping a cone is not pain free. They can leave marks in the bodywork; hopefully just scuffs that polish out, but sometimes not.
Not directly related to upfront costs, but… I did a track day at the same venue in summer 2018. It was a stonking hot day (one of the hottest), and my NA started to overheat after every three or four laps. This puzzled me, as the car was also a daily driver and I’d never had any issues. Â
It was only a few days after that I realised (a) I’d never reinstated the thin foam strip that seals the upper edge of the radiator to the bulkhead when I’d replaced the radiator - there was a 10mm gap there, and (b) the plastic undertray beneath the rad and engine had never been replaced after I’d taken it off at the same time.
I think that in extremis these elements compromise the airflow for what might otherwise be a cooling system that’s in perfect working condition - so do ensure that EVERYTHING is in place.
it all depends on your driving style and how much driving you do
Fuel yes you will use more…how much you drive and how fast depends on how much you use…drive hard and I would suggest you will get 1/2 your normal MPG
EBC yellow stuff pads are good again depends on how fast you drive to how much and hard you brake
I get through a front set of pads (Almost each full track day…rear’s last longer two track days or more)
Â
Tyres again how hard you drive and what tyre and compound
Â
My advice is if you want to do track days Yes it will cost but nothing major, Suck it up accept the cost and go and enjoy the day
Sadly only been a passenger on track but with Martin Tolley so quite an experience.
It’s never cheap as the extra thrashing the car receives means that parts such as tyres, brake pads/discs, fuel, oil, etc get expended at an exponentially accelerated rate compared to casual driving on the road. The good news with an MX5 is that an engine in good, well maintained condition can stand quite a few track days as can the majority of the drive train/chassis and suspension.
Being honest ÂŁ500 is probably not far off but ÂŁ200 - 500 would be the realistic kind of range.
Performance vehicles or standard well engineered vehicles performing to performance or semi-performance standard are always going to cost you an arm and a leg. Enough MX5 owners I have dealt with who enjoy the track would confirm that the cost is well worth it.Â
Life is short, extreme experience rare - do it!   Â
Bedford is a great track, fast and safe. I have done several days there and enjoyed them all in my NC 2.0 Sport. So far as costs go, you will get through sets of tyres fairly quickly (I use a set of Yokahamas every 5 or 6 track days) and I would recommend EBC red pads and slotted discs. Not too expensive and far more effective. You will certainly use two tanks of fuel for a day and I have found Fuel Octane Enhancer useful too. If you are keeping costs down (which I am) lowered springs are good if coil overs are too expensive then you can add whatever your budget allows. So far, I have gone for straight thru stainless exhaust and having the ECU turned up to give 170 bhp.
Great thing about track days is you don’t have to do any of that. The MX5 handles well in standard form so it is up to you.
Enjoy!!