I know this is not related to the prelude, but I know you guys are helpful. Some friends and I, who are majoring in mechanical engineering, are thinking about putting a racing team together. The racing would be track racing, such as miata spec or american iron or something like that. What would be a good platform to build on?

 

Do any of you have your licenses yet?

What is your budget like? How much can you spend per race weekend (can you afford $700 to $1,000 per race weekend)? Do you already have a tow vehicle and trailer? How much track experience do you have?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 117 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do any of you have your licenses yet?

What is your budget like? How much can you spend per race weekend (can you afford $700 to $1,000 per race weekend)? Do you already have a tow vehicle and trailer? How much track experience do you have?</TD></TR></TABLE>

i dont think he has considered any of that yet. all my friends who have track days always wake up super early to head out to the track. i'd never wake up that early. hahaha

 

uhhm.... what do you mean by american iron ?
budget?
time?

for track... any car can be made for track ready, just know convertibles require a roll cage
it depends how much money and passion you guys are down to put in.

 

American Iron sounds like Ford, Chevy, or what ever else crap America has produced. (cavalier) LMAO

 

American Iron is a racing class in NASA. I'd race in American Iron if the right car came along. It's a very popular class. Much more popular in this area than Honda Challenge.

Every car in a race class requires a roll cage.

If you can't afford at least $500 for a race weekend, better think twice unless you split a car or do something to really lower costs. I'm spending on average $650 to $1k per race weekend.

Figure out what you can afford, then go from there. Heavy fast cars use up tires, brakes, rotors, etc. faster. Lighter cars are easier on consumables. Buying a used race car is significantly cheaper than building. Running a front runner in any competitive class isn't going to be cheap.

 

A couple of people IM'ed about the cost, so let me give you a quick example.

Let's say I'm going to the track that's not the farthest, but not the closest to me. That's 200 miles away. My tow vehicle gets about 12 MPG when I'm towing, and during a race weekend I'll use 15 gallons of gas for the track car. Let's also assume I can get 5 weekends out of a set of tires. 1 set of tires runs about $600. Let's also assume I can get 5 weekends out of a set of brake pads. My pads run $250 a set.

Entry fee: $300
Hotel: $120
Truck gas: $100
Car gas: $45
Tires: $120
Brake pads: $50
Food: $75
Total: $810

This cost does include other consumables like engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, brake rotors, etc. For closer tracks, my gas cost is a little less. For further tracks, gas cost is higher. If the weather is nice, I can camp at the track, but I can't do that for most of the summer in Texas. I could, but after being outside all day, I'd rather spend the money on a hotel.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 117 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">A couple of people IM'ed about the cost, so let me give you a quick example.

Let's say I'm going to the track that's not the farthest, but not the closest to me. That's 200 miles away. My tow vehicle gets about 12 MPG when I'm towing, and during a race weekend I'll use 15 gallons of gas for the track car. Let's also assume I can get 5 weekends out of a set of tires. 1 set of tires runs about $600. Let's also assume I can get 5 weekends out of a set of brake pads. My pads run $250 a set.

Entry fee: $300
Hotel: $120
Truck gas: $100
Car gas: $45
Tires: $120
Brake pads: $50
Food: $75
Total: $810

This cost does include other consumables like engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, brake rotors, etc. For closer tracks, my gas cost is a little less. For further tracks, gas cost is higher. If the weather is nice, I can camp at the track, but I can't do that for most of the summer in Texas. I could, but after being outside all day, I'd rather spend the money on a hotel. </TD></TR></TABLE>

not to mention if something breaks.....

 

#'s like that are why my shop bailed on a MWHC entry.....
Right now they run 2 cars in the Wisconsin BICS series:
American/Import bone stock 4cyls
70 series tires or bigger
Completely gutted
Racing entry=$25-50
Payouts=$100-300
1994 Integra LS-~$2500 in racing trim
1994 Eagle Talon ES=~$2000 in racing trim
For those of you that don't think its fun or fun enough.....Man! Nothing like 4 4cyls entering a 3 wide turn at 60mph on 70 series tires!