Three wheeler experiance on the track.

So I got to ride in a Morgan three wheeler this last weekend. Yeah I really like it, like almost bought one on the spot. So I started digging and from a safety perspective they are death on three wheels. 

So someone in the club has one of these things. ~22-25K gets you 2005 with a sequential transmission and 100-120hp.  They apparently handle amazing and he really likes his on the road. I have been looking at Atom's and 550 spyders in the 40-50K range and something like this seems like a option. 

Anybody run a three wheeler on short tracks like chuckwalla . I can tow this behind a car on a small trailer, tires are cheap and plentiful, engines are out there cheap, its got what amounts to a cage around it. I could pull the engine out myself in a weekend if I can to. Suspension seems to be very high quality parts. Most importantly its cheap to register insure and it will meet sound regulations at most of the tracks I visit locally with a factory quiet pipe. Its a car it has fenders seems like a cheap option to building something. 

Most importantly no smog as on paper its a bike. So turbo is not out of the question. 

I would be worried about track day providers allowing it, and would check into that very carefully before buying.  The same $ gets a whole host of very very nice track ready cars. 

didn't rappers really like these?

Lil wayne and DMX and Ludacris all have one  me thinks.. Also that annoying rob drydek guy from MTV...

So... 

Fueled by Caffeine said:

didn't rappers really like these?

 

Lil wayne and DMX and Ludacris all have one  me thinks.. Also that annoying rob drydek guy from MTV...

 

So... 

 

 

Well they are like 60-70K new and guady. I have had good luck talking to tracks about running an Atom in passing day groups. This other then being really small and having three wheels I don't see any real difference. It actual has bars overhead as well.  I would more then likly have to add real door bars and a seat that accepts my HANS. 

I have been looking at Exocets as well as they are starting to pop up more frequently around here in the 25-35K range. 

How much worse would it be to buy a salvage Corvette and farm out the cage for a quick and dirty ghetto kart?

If it's for track duty what about a Palatov D4?

Towable behind anything, and much safer/more competent

Jaynen said:

If it's for track duty what about a Palatov D4?

Towable behind anything, and much safer/more competent

 

I have spoken with them before I got the Viper. They are way beyond my ability to drive, seriously they are way way way to fast, for even someone crazy like me.  they are also so very small that in a passing day I am afraid that someone would not see it and misjudge the speed it is possible to attain.

I think I am just going through withdrawals now that some of my cars are starting to leave the garage and since we did not move I have spare cash plus space and that is a dangerous combination. I still need to find a DD soon and with no truck now I have to seriously think about how I am going to haul stuff. Short of getting another truck that I can also use as the daily.

So small enough to tow with a DD, quirky yet fun, track dayable, its a shame there are not more of the Bauer Catfish I felt like it was alot more appealing than the exocets

Three wheelers are explicitly prohibited for most of the sanctioning bodies’ track days and most of the track-run ones, too. 

I thought about maybe trying to build one when the Sub3wheeler was hot stuff. I ended up doing a locost book frame instead because there was nowhere I could run the three wheeler. 

Jaynen said:

So small enough to tow with a DD, quirky yet fun, track dayable, its a shame there are not more of the Bauer Catfish I felt like it was alot more appealing than the exocets

So much more money though for what you get. Still have to do the sb100 registration as well. Been looking at videos of the three wheelers at speed. They have interesting driving dynamics. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXCq-EuHXHE

It wouldn't surprise me at all if they don't let you on track.

I thought you meant one of these:

That is the only acceptable 3 wheeler imho.

ProDarwin said:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXCq-EuHXHE

 

It wouldn't surprise me at all if they don't let you on track.

That 13 second video reinforced my prejudice against anything with three wheels. I wouldn't want to even be standing near it. 

As someone that made a living building T-Rex's for a while at Campagna, I think I can give a very informed opinion. I will try to keep it un-biased and to the point.

IMHO, I wouldn't touch a 2005 model if you plan on doing track days in a T-Rex. You really want a model with the BMW inline-6 engine. That engine allowed them to correct the rear suspension geometry to remove some of the on-the-limit snappiness of the earlier models. In fact, the newer the better for the T-Rex because they are constantly making improvements on them. The newer, the better. While they look similar on the outside, they are very different under the skin.

Can the T-Rex be a good track car? Absolutely. But do keep in mind that they are build primarily for the road. If you want to track one, I would highly suggest a dry-sump or accusump system for the engine. Also, they really respond well to being a little lowered (easy to do with the adjustable coil-overs).

Like others have pointed out, the big problem is perception.

Two years ago, Campagna built a very nice example that they wanted to run in "Formula Libre" which is a vintage class for old formula cars. See below:

While they had the support of the class organizers, they rapidly got banned by the sanctioning body over-seeing it all despite showing great stability and speed.  In tests, they were seeing lateral 1.3g and yet they got cold feet. And other three-wheelers like the Slingshot really don't help that poor perception.

So despite all the love that I have for the T-Rex, the sanctioning bodies and the perception make things really difficult if you want to run one on track.

The problem is, that slingshot didn't roll because of a geometry issue, it rolled because physics.  

what about your normal everyday Caterham?

   If you don't want a truck, get a aluminum trailer, cost more but much easier to tow.   I towed my race car for several years with a Volvo sedan 850 T5R.   Tow capacity 3200 LBS.  Trailer about 700 lbs,  race car less than 1900 lbs.   Steel trailer 2000 + pounds.

I have always thought the T-Rex is cool- it seems like the only three wheeler that actually tries to be high performance instead of just silly.  That said, they are still kind of pointless from a racing standpoint- most sanctioning bodies for cars won't let you run something with less than 4 wheels, and I can't see anyone wanting it to share the track with motorcycles.  Is there such thing as a sidecar trackday?

Maybe you should just get a shifter kart :)

fanfoy said:

As someone that made a living building T-Rex's for a while at Campagna, I think I can give a very informed opinion. I will try to keep it un-biased and to the point.

 

 

Dear god this place has someone who knows or has worked on everything. 

I was not aware of the chassis changes with the engine change. I kind of assumed that it kept the same chassis and just swapped the motor. I have seen the 1.3g stastic a few places and assmed it was for all of them on race tires.

So the one my friend has is upgraded with what he called the 2011+ suspension upgrade. Not a lot of detail as he bought it used. I still really like the thing would make a fun canyon carver at the minimum. Need to think for a while on this but I still am in love with the idea as it has the bie motor and the feel of an ATOM at 1/2 the price. 

I really don’t watch the Velocity program “Toymakerz” as the guy on there certainly has his share of ego. Doesn’t that company produce a three wheeler? Seems  I saw part of an episode with their three wheelers on a road course racing when of course the lead guy ended up winning.

ProDarwin said:

The problem is, that slingshot didn't roll because of a geometry issue, it rolled because physics.  

Yeah cause roll-overs never happen to four-wheeled cars...

In every case, it's a question of CG management/location.

fanfoy said:

ProDarwin said:

The problem is, that slingshot didn't roll because of a geometry issue, it rolled because physics.  

In every case, it's a question of CG management/location.

Yes... relative to track width.

Does it come with an LSD? Those are important for on the track.

Adam

In reply to wearymicrobe :

There are incremental chassis changes every year, but there were major changes in early 2010's. They can all reach +1g, (even on good street tires) but you have to be careful about who to believe because they sadly tend to be purchased by poser-type persons.

I would be very curious what engine is the model that your friend has. So many different engines were installed. Everyone seems to agree that once you break the +160HP barrier, it gets harder and harder to drive.