Newbie question: Drive to the track?

[zim32]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Exige 260S. Would like to track it occasionally and have a couple of tracks within 100 miles of home.

Does anyone drive their Lotus to the track and run it or do I need to consider a trailer so I can haul various necessities?

Thanks..Mark

[bgsterling]

If you're talking about doing a HPDE (aka a "Track Day"), then, yeah, drive it to the track. Most do. If you're talking about racing, you might want a tow vehicle to carry extra tires, tools, etc. and because the odds of crunching the car are greater (IMHO).

-Brad

[Thomasio]

The biggest hassle for me is carrying my wheels w/ slicks. No need to run slicks, but you will find that if you drive street and track that your expensive street tires won't last very long.

[Houston Lotus]

Originally Posted by zim32

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Exige 260S. Would like to track it occasionally and have a couple of tracks within 100 miles of home.

Does anyone drive their Lotus to the track and run it or do I need to consider a trailer so I can haul various necessities?

Thanks..Mark

You can always rent a u-haul trailer if you don't want some of the problems of owning one.

[RichS]

Originally Posted by Thomasio

The biggest hassle for me is carrying my wheels w/ slicks. No need to run slicks, but you will find that if you drive street and track that your expensive street tires won't last very long.

Or do what a lot of us do and get a set of wheels/tires (15/16 RA1s are great) for the track and leave your AO48s (or whatever you replace them with, R888s for example) on the stock tires for the street.

[deddie]

I used to drive my Lotus to the track (120 miles each way), but purchased a 14' featherlite trailer this past spring. Ironically, on the second track day with the trailer, my engine blew - which made me very glad that I purchased the trailer. If you can swing the trailer, it is a nice way to go. Don't try to do a return on investment analysis with the trailer (ie. cost of the trailer vs wear and tear on the Lotus) as the trailer will probably lose. However, as mentioned above, trailering your car gives you the ability to bring more stuff to the track, run track tires, etc. Most Lotus owners drive their cars to the track. I tend to be the exception with my trailer.