This may have been asked already but I can’t see a thread exactly like it. Here’s the situation; When I was a young and stupid 18 yr old that felt the need to spin tires like a maniac at every stop sign, I drove a Mitsu 3000gt. Granted it wasn’t a VR4, just the SL but still a bit too much as a first somewhat sporty car. Now I am a somewhat wiser 25 yr old who is married with 3 kids and 2 speed demons sitting in my driveway, a 2008 Grand Caravan and a 2001 Prius. Is there anything out there for those of the population like me who want to go out and feel that kick again without having to explain to the wife why that need for speed(buying a nice sports car and occasionally take it to the track ) is more important than funding the kids 529’s for the year? I understand there are certain options like the Miata route for some relatively inexpensive fun, but that kind of project I imagine is down the road when my oldest son is old enough to use a wrench. Is there some kind of track within reasonable distance where you pay a certain amount of money and they give you a car for a couple of hours? Same concept as say in many Paintball arenas. I know nowadays people tend to go the leasing route, but I am a cash only type of guy so that doesn’t sit well with me. Your help would me much appreciated 
You can auto-x the Prius. It may not win, but you can usually pick out a car or two to gauge yourself against (for example there is a 2007 Impala that competes that a 2001 Prius should be faster than):
http://www.nyspeed.com/showthread.php?282820-2015-WNY-SCCA-auto-x-(Ralph-Wilson-Stadium)-schedule
here is an ancient thread:
http://www.nyspeed.com/showthread.php?28429-Motorsports-101-FAQ-s-Guides-Rules-ect-ect
Just filled with dead links :ham:
I’m too lazy to update this one:
This should have good info on driver development:
http://www.motoiq.com/Columns/ProjectRacer.aspx
There’s other good articles on how to get out there on motoiq.
Ok thank you. At the moment the Prius has 290k on the motor, not sure if it’s safe to push it any.
Can you stand on the throttle for 10 seconds like merging for traffic? I’d say that is harsher on the engine than auto-x.
I’d recommend a [strikethrough] sport [/strikethrough] family sedan (3 series, CTS, …ummm) for light track duty instead of a Miata. Should be able to sneak the four doors underneath the wife’s radar.
Oh for sure, this is actually used mostly as a delivery vehicle with ~150miles put on every night going up and down around in Pendleton/Lockport in the Upper and Lower mnt. area so I guess that shouldn’t be an issue. The sedan idea sounds good as well!
Trade the Prius on a Focus or Fiesta ST. They are affordable, good on gas, good handling and power. You can use it as a daily and have fun with it. And down the road mod it if the bug bites you.
Or you can auto cross the Prius i think that would be awesome. There isn’t really any local track days that rent cars that I know of.
I like the st idea. wont get as good of gas mileage as the prius but still a somewhat econo 4 door
TMP is only an hour and a half away and they have cars you can use, check the bottom of this link: http://www.torontomotorsportspark.com/raceway/open_car_lapping.html
Once you have a hybrid is very hard to substitute it for a gasser, especially if you drive as much as the op said
What about a jetta TDI?
The only reason I own the Prius is for one of my jobs. I have already made back the price at which I bought the Prius for in gas savings alone so that’s something that is staying. I was just wondering if there was an option for feeling some power without spending $30-40k especially since the idea is to be able to do it every so often.I like the pricing on the TMP site , thanks for that, exactly what I was looking for!
I have some gift certificates to TMP if you’re interested, could save you a few bucks. Just PM me if you’d like.
throw some fat R comps on the prius and don’t lift until you pass the finish line… don’t be a pussy
edit: Tires are hands down the best mod you can get for a car and are often overlooked
Beat me to it.
Get a cheap bike. Find a 600cc sport bike and learn how to ride. Then you have a high 10-low 11 second machine for cheap. If you really have the need for speed, a Prius, focus, miata, or fiesta simply won’t cut it without major mods. A 600 is cheaper by far than trying to make a 16 second car fast. I’ve done both…
8th gen. Civic Si…
Motorcycle
Miata and need for speed :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
I want to keep it on the track and also not spend thousands to have fun. That’s why TMP is the best fit so far that was mentioned. If I was to buy something for between $10k-$20k, I would go with a nice quality built 3kGT VR4 off of 3si. Plenty of them around at that price range putting out above 500hp and it’s a solid sports car.
edit: a quick check gets me a 1997 VR4 for $18k with “724awhp and 583awtq @ 28.2psi of boost on E85”.
That’s a future goal, or something newer along the lines of a G37 sport. I don’t see it happening sooner than 5-8 years though and atm the Prius is making my balls shrink if you get what I mean.
If you are looking for something to have fun on a road course or autoX you DO NOT NEED a fast car for it to be fun. a 700+hp 19 year old car is not likely to be reliable on a road course unless it was prepared specifically for it. I also would not recommend a expensive car for a track day car unless it will also be you DD. Driving on the limit in just about any car is a fun. In my experience a cheaper car that you can afford to rip on all day is more entertaining that something you will be killing expensive brakes and tires on. Nobody listens on these what should I do threads anyway. If you spend 500 bucks on sticky tires for your prius and bomb it around on ramps daily you will enjoy it more. Plus if you don’t slow down for on and off ramps maybe you can merge at the speed limit.