Track Toy -- Keep Fiesta ST or Move to Mustang?

[Paul_H]

I'm looking for some thoughts on keeping my Fiesta ST vs getting a used Mustang GT as a streetable track toy and weekend fun car.

I currently have a 2018 Fiesta ST. When I bought it it was serving dual purpose as my DD and a track car. I'm now in a position where the FiST is no longer a DD, which got me thinking if I was going to have a dedicated toy, would I pick the FiST again? I've looked at many different cars, but don't fit with a helmet in the typical Miata or BRZ suggestions. I've narrow things down to keeping my FiST or going with a 2005-2009 Mustang GT. The value of my FiST and the Mustangs of that generation are about the same.

I've been doing HPDE for a year now and will be adding autox to the mix this year. I plan to do 6-10 HPDE this year and as many autox as I can squeeze in. In addition I'm looking for a "project" of sorts. Something I can work on and tinker with to improve the car as I get better. One of my concerns is will I outgrow the FiST and its front wheel drive when doing HPDE events.

So, has anyone gone for a FiST to Mustang or vice versa? What are you thoughts on keeping the FiST vs moving to a Mustang? If you've been running a FiST for a while do you ever feel like you are outgrowing the car on the tracK?

Thanks.
Paul

 

[theblue]

As somebody who's been tracking for years before moving to wheel to wheel racing I know where you are coming from.

You need to decide where you are going with this hobby. Do you want to move to racing in time, or do you just want to rip some fast lap times in a "club spec" car (back half cage, still street legal) and that's as far as you go?

Personally, If you want to get the best value for your money and need something you fit into, I'd look at a E36 or E46 M3 that somebody else has already invested in to make track ready. Mustangs are fun cars, but I've watched people dump a lot of money into them to get to the more track proven and ready setup the BMWs come with in terms of suspension geometry and other stuff. I'm also a little unsure why you have so much trouble with a miata. I've got plenty of friends from racing etc who are like 6'4 and/or large and the usual seat lowering brackets with the right angled seat will fit fine for rollcage etc.

the further down the rabbit hole you go, the more you need the right dedicated cars for their purposes. trying to use a one car for everything just leads to frustration. did that with my Evolution 8.

 

[Paul_H]

Thanks for the reply. I have no ambitions, at this point, to move into racing at any point. I just want a fun "club spec" car that I can enjoy on the track and the occasional weekend drive. I must be doing something wrong with the Miata's then. I'm 6'1" with a long torso, I have a 30" inseam. The cars I've tried so far have been an ND soft top where my head was hitting the softtop without a helmet and an NC with power hard top that my head was pressed into the hardtop. I'll take a look again, because a Miata has always been on my list of perfect fun cars. I'll also look into the BMWs, had not really considered those because they seem to be hard to find in RWD and manual transmission around here.

 

[Quickone]

Miata would also be my first choice. Perhaps look into different seats or lowering the seats. I had a 2016 ND and fit perfectly- although I have a shorter torso and a long legs 34" inseam. The ND was a great car and mine was a Club and it felt almost track ready, stock.

I have a 2018 Mustang GT base and although I love the car for daily driving I don't feel it's a track car at all. To be a track car it needs a ton of mods, coolers, etc. since it does not even have PP1 or PP2. If you decide on a Mustang make sure it has PP1 or PP2, larger radiator, brakes and any other track goodies- which add up quickly. Reading the forums- Mustang and Camaro- the Camaro is a better track car out of the gate.

 

[theblue]

Thanks for the reply. I have no ambitions, at this point, to move into racing at any point. I just want a fun "club spec" car that I can enjoy on the track and the occasional weekend drive. I must be doing something wrong with the Miata's then. I'm 6'1" with a long torso, I have a 30" inseam. The cars I've tried so far have been an ND soft top where my head was hitting the softtop without a helmet and an NC with power hard top that my head was pressed into the hardtop. I'll take a look again, because a Miata has always been on my list of perfect fun cars. I'll also look into the BMWs, had not really considered those because they seem to be hard to find in RWD and manual transmission around here.

I'm assuming you were sitting in a factory seat? If you throw in any aftermarket racing seat with a low bracket and a hair of backwards angle on the base you should fit with room to spare.

 

[Paul_H]

Yes, I have only ever sat in a factory seat. I guess I'll have to take the leap and figure out the seating position thing after the fact. Going to look at some Miatas (again) later today.

 

[tyhackman15]

Yes, I have only ever sat in a factory seat. I guess I'll have to take the leap and figure out the seating position thing after the fact. Going to look at some Miatas (again) later today.

An Aluminum racing seat in a miata will lower the seating position upwards of 4-5" if you bolt it to the floor (this is NA/NB/NC). ND I'm sure it's no different. NC will give the most room of all (and is actually the most capable on track with a few mods, it's just the least "miata" feeling). I have a friend with an NC that has an ultra shield bolted to the floor, and at 6'1" Its honestly a little too low for me. A good problem to have in a miata.

 

[Paul_H]

An Aluminum racing seat in a miata will lower the seating position upwards of 4-5" if you bolt it to the floor (this is NA/NB/NC). ND I'm sure it's no different. NC will give the most room of all (and is actually the most capable on track with a few mods, it's just the least "miata" feeling). I have a friend with an NC that has an ultra shield bolted to the floor, and at 6'1" Its honestly a little too low for me. A good problem to have in a miata.

Wow, didn't realize there was that much room to be gained with just a seat swap. I'd be looking at NB and NC models, so that's good information to know.

Based on the feedback here and elsewhere, I think I'm going to drop the Mustangs from the running as a track toy and focus on looking at Miatas.

 

[tyhackman15]

Wow, didn't realize there was that much room to be gained with just a seat swap. I'd be looking at NB and NC models, so that's good information to know.

Based on the feedback here and elsewhere, I think I'm going to drop the Mustangs from the running as a track toy and focus on looking at Miatas.

Sounds backwards but I'd say NA or NC based on your size. The NB interior is more cramped than an NA actually. Larger dash, interior pieces, etc.

 

[Quickone]

NA and NC seem to have the most roomy interiors. NC is the "biggest" Miata. There are so many good accessories you can buy for them. Goodwin Racing is a great source. Brian Goodwin is a Miata enthusiast and tracks/races them as a passion. Also Miata.Net forum is great with so much knowledge on Miatas. They are great cars- I had 3 of them- an NC, NA and an ND. A friend of mine had a modified NA that he tracked- it had a 1.8 turbo in it and 220 HP. He raced other Miatas and a lot of RX7's. He said that he would pass almost anything on the turns but on the straight away the same cars (RX7's) would fly by him. Still sounds like a blast.

 

[tyhackman15]

The other HUGE advantage is tire and brake costs. You're looking at about $300 per set of tires for the miata, $40-75 track pads (you'll never even need to replace the rears lol), etc. That's vs $1000 tires for larger cars, $200+ pads, etc.

You can get a season of track days out of a set of tires on a miata, easy.

There's a reason you see them everywhere. They won't set any lap records but you can be sure you'll have a blast.

 

[Clint Beastwood]

Build an exocet! miata donor car turned into an almost-atom. http://exomotive.com/exocet/

being able to see the wheels is awesome, my friends atom is dumb easy to drive, you can see the wheel and put it where you want every.single.time. You get the perks of the miata (cheap parts, reliable, mod path) and also less weight.

 

[Meowoosh]

As somebody who has a dual purpose daily/autox FiST and a track dedicated turbo NA, id say pick up and old miata and boost it. It literally is the best car in the world sorry FiST bois

 

[tyhackman15]

As somebody who has a dual purpose daily/autox FiST and a track dedicated turbo NA, id say pick up and old miata and boost it. It literally is the best car in the world sorry FiST bois

Bring that thing to H2R already. I'll bring my LS1 NB

 

[M-Sport fan]

Bring that thing to H2R already. I'll bring my LS1 NB

Modded, or stock LS1?

(Yup, a BEAST either way! )

 

[tyhackman15]

Modded, or stock LS1?

(Yup, a BEAST either way! )

Just the usual mild cam / exhaust / vette intake. Made 387whp. It's a nice little sleeper, looks stock other than the turndown exhaust tips hidden right by the bumper lol.

 

[Paul_H]

So, after looking at two NB's, and NC, and an ND Miata, turns out I fit with the soft top up in the NB. The NC and ND I hit the metal framework for the top, and did not find them any more roomy than the NB. I think Miata is going to be the answer to the question of what car to get if I get rid of the Fiesta.

 

[maestromaestro]

Here are my $0.02. The prevailing sentiment around the "economical" choice of track cars, especially for a relative newb, are either a Miata of some provenance (including stock versions) or an E36. And, there is nothing wrong with either of these choices. I have owned both an NA Miata and a 3.0L E36 M3 (neither of which I tracked though). And, there are various mongrels in the Miata universe - a friend of mine churns out MiHondas (6 cyl from Honda stuffed in a Miata), and they are a hoot to drive on a road course.

As to your original question - keep the ST or switch to a GT... At this point in time, I have a GT350R and a 2015 FiST among other toys. All of them, except the FiST are on trickle chargers... Why, you may ask? I am glad that you did. The FiST, in my opinion, is at the perfect sweet spot of an accessible (both financially and driver capability-wise) DD cars. The 350R is a track-focused machine, no doubt, but I always said that if one learns how to drive a slow car fast, everything else will follow.

I happen to enjoy the FiST in daily driving (and my roundtrip commute is 86 miles, which I wouldn't be able to stomach in an MB, for instance), but it is equally capable on a track. I had to install a bigger radiator and an oil cooler to deal with the endemic overheating issue with the FiSTs, but once in, no problems. It'd be better if the FiST was a RWD or a 4WD - hence, the Miata (or a BRZ) argument. So, my vote is to have the best of both worlds - keep the FiST, and make it trackable.

In my particular case, it is a Stage 3 one (haven't put it on a dyno to find out how beastly it is), and it is APLENTY (when compared to my ownership of 400+ hp vehicles). Only when you have run out of the FiST (vis-a-vis your driving competence) would I consider something else. But, that's just me.

 

[alexrex20]

Fiesta ST is a much better track toy than a mustang. Even a GT350R. Consumables are much cheaper and the car is just as fun. This is coming from a guy whose track toy used to be a 2012 Z06/Z07

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Paul_H]

Fiesta ST is a much better track toy than a mustang. Even a GT350R. Consumables are much cheaper and the car is just as fun. This is coming from a guy whose track toy used to be a 2012 Z06/Z07

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At this point Mustang is out of the picture. I'm down to keep the Fiesta or move to a Miata.