Platforms for ST4?

[Mister Monaco]

Hi guys, I'm a high school freshman in love with cars. I want to build a car to race in Super Touring, (I know I should buy a built car, but I love building things). Are there any good suggestions for cars to choose? Thanks? 

[Shawn M.]

I would suggest that you see what classes in your region that have cars in it. nothing worse than building a car for a class that has no cars in it. 

next, find a class that you can afford! (We can't afford any class yet we manage to still do it anyways!) If you don't have the budget for a ST1 classed car then it will take you a very long time to build a ST1 car. But if you are building a ST6 car then the odds of finishing the car in the first year or sooner, are better. Plus a slower classed car, while maybe not as attractive as lets say a ST1 Ferrari, will offer you more in terms of learning to race a slow car fast, so when you do step up to a faster-classed car, your skills will serve you much better than if you just stepped into said ST1 Ferrari. And when you make mistakes on track, and you will because that's part of racing, the repair bill isn't as expensive. So plan on building a ST5 or ST6 classed car to get you into racing. (Im not saying you can't build a ST4 car, just giving my opinion.) 

As far as cars, id say the more popular cars are the Mazda Miata, BMW E36/46 are probably some of the more affordable and common cars raced in ST5 and ST6. They can be bought cheaply and not much needs to be done to make a race car out of them. Most importantly, READ THE RULES. KNOW THE RULES. This will keep you from overbuilding any car and ending up in a class that the car will never be competitive in. Plus building for a lower ST class, the car can always be improved to move up into ST4, or ST3 etc. 

But there are other makes and models out there too that might be a better fit for you. No matter what car you decide on, research what others have done to their cars. Seems you can build anything with no mechanical experience by watching videos on youtube.

Good luck and ask lots of questions! 

Edited May 16, 2019 by Shawn M.

[Mister Monaco]

I was considering using either a modern Dodge Charger, because scatpack police cars are cheap, a vintage muscle car, think 69 Charger or 67 Camaro (But will these be able to keep up with more modern STs?). I really like the idea of a big, boat 69 Charger with carbon fiber wings mixing it with Ferraris and 'Vettes.

[Mister Monaco]

Also, I'm from New York State, What classes are popular here? Is ST big?

[Tansar_Motorsports]

The way the rules are written, it would be very difficult for an old muscle car to be competitive in any ST class without spending way too much money.

It all comes down to suspension.  It's hard to make solid axle cars as fast as independent suspension cars, all other things being equal.

Also, heavy cars will be significantly more expensive to run, because of increased brake and tire wear.

If your heart is set on muscle/pony cars, I would say look at a modern camaro or the newest generation of mustang (independent rear suspension).  If you went with a V6 car instead of the v8, it would save a bunch of money, and improve the front/rear weight balance of the car.  Then just make it as light as possible, and spend all your money on safety equipment, suspension, and aero.

If you are ok with German, then there are lots of good BMW options (Any E46 or E36 model).

If you are ok with Japanese, then mazda miata, Honda S2000, or the BRZ/FRS/GT86 are all excellent RWD platforms.