Geauxtigers

Having a little difficulty deciding on which track car to get next. I'm funneling money into a new business so i want to stretch my diminished track budget as far as possible.

Options are a C5 ( ideally frc or high mileage z ) and add a full cage, cooling components, and coilovers to start with or just buy a used Thunder Roadster. Already have trailer and a DD tow vehicle so that doesn't factor in.

I know the TR is a cheaper entry and a cheaper cost to run, but will it provide the same fun factor, the same ability to progress, and most importantly the same amount of safety? Does anyone have significant driving experience with both that could provide some insight?

The only major negative i can see with the TR is not being able to attend new tracks as i wouldn't be able to get check rides.

Thanks for any help.

jaa1992

Idaknow - there were 6 - 10 TR's out on Charlotte Motor Speedway last week and it looked like they were having a blast. Looked pretty quick as well. One even had an oopsie and after replacing some suspension componnents it was back out on the track racing.

I-gotta-Novetta

I know that I have no trouble keeping up w/a well driven TR in my 93 hp Caterham 7 Super Sprint.

The driver's section in the TR offers much better crash protection than my se7en also (but what doesn't?). Both weigh much less than the 'Vette.

In my 1225 lb car, I have put 12K miles on my Toyo RA1s, still lots of tread. Have used a single set of front pads in 25K miles, wh/include many track days.

Since tires, pads and rotors get chewed up pretty regularly in a heavier car, even in a Miata, the savings can be substantial. But you will not be nearly as fast as the 'Vette.

AMERICANMUSL

Check this out...

http://www.racedcmotors.com/inventor...tified/thunder

WBHighwind

I kinda wondering the same thing. I'm about to move back to Texas and have been trying to figure out what I want to do as far as racing. My thoughts have initially been something like a spec miata or spec e30, but lately Ive started thinking about getting back into karting or maybe even something like a thunder roadster. I just need to get back to Texas and figure out what the classes are like in what I'm looking at racing because Id rather have fun with lots of people to race against rather then anything else. Id have a budget of no more then say 15k to get a car.

Jason

My only hesitation about the TR is that they run with full sized 3-4000lb cars. You'll lose that battle every time. Other than that, they are a no-brainer.

bosco022

My racing partner bought and raced a TR for several years in SCCA
in the South East. He enjoyed driving it, was cheap to race.
(used the same tires for about a dozen weekends)

The problem was he was usually running by himself. The car was classed in SCCA CSR where it was hopelessly outclassed against sports racers that run GT-1 lap times. The lap times for the TR at Sebring and Daytona were similar to I.T.A & I.T.S. cars. On occasion there was one more TR and they had a blast racing each
other.

If you just want cheap laps, not a bad way to go. If you want to
race competitively and improve your racecraft....not so much.

There are more of them up around the Charlotte area racing but not
so much anywhere else I have seen.

My partner had it advertised for a long time for 6500 and couldn't
move it. Finally sold it for less.

Zenak

Fun car. Light and nimble. Slow as a turbo powered John Dear Lawn Mower. Cheap to run, fix and operate though.

drivinhard

In NASA, same class as a TTA/PTA C5Z06.

Can't wait to run a Z06 in lightning

varkwso

Most of them at Charlotte at the NASA event were from Florida running 1:22 and 1:23s

Jason

1000lbs and 10sec on anyone else.

Jaymz

I bet that only happens one weekend and then PTA will be with running with thunder. You'll like running with thunder better anyway.

Geauxtigers

Thanks for the responses all. I'm mostly interested in just DE's for now but at some point would like to move up the competitive ladder.

So far it sounds like it's a cheap way to do DE's, but with a few drawbacks. Are these cars really that slow? Turbo charged John Deere mower seems a bit extreme?

Sebring and sometimes RRR would be my two most visited tracks so i'm somewhat sensitive to losing a lot of ground on straights but if time can be made back up in the turns i'm ok with that. Are those quoted CMP numbers pretty competitive? Never been there.

So the biggest drawback appears to be safety. I can't imagine i'd fare well against 3,000 lbs should something actually happen. That sounds like it just comes down to a personal choice of how much risk is one willing to accept, for me, i might not be willing to accept it.

drivinhard

agreed on both. lol

jaa1992

CMS = Charlotte Motor Speedway, not CMP

IIRC the best TT time was around 1:15 (varkwso will correct me) so not too bad.

I know my old slowwww butt was 1:38 so they were faster than me.

sperkins

Can't remember - What do the Thunder Roadsters usually run at Rd. Atl?

Jason

1:43 was the top qualifying at RA in March.

drivinhard

jason does 38's stuck in 4th

sperkins

Like Greg says - it'll be like clubbing baby seals.

varkwso

FTD in TT (and everyone there in Thunder and Lightning) was 1:20.353 by Kevin Harvey in 2003 C5 ZO6 (TTA car running up in TTS).