rithsleeper

Been hpde and autoxing my 89 vette for some time and really want to take the plunge to getting my license this summer. Im a teacher in sc and young so i only make about 33k a year but im music so i teach on the side and have saved every penny this past year.

I have (or will have by end of may) 8k to work with.... however i keep coming up short (i just need to get my license not compete this year, i can live with that)

Basics are this:
4000 for a prepped rx7 to my door (have a few on a line)
800 for a trailer to haul
500 for my safety apparel (like the lemons package)
700 for my scca doubles licencing weekend
300 prepping my truck to haul
1000 for misc unforseen expenses

I have infinate time during the summer, i have a huge garage and tons of tools, and im very knowledgable for the most part, do everything myself.

Am i out in left field or in the ballpark? I really dont want to save for another year. The alternative would be upgrading power plant on my 89 and licensing next year. But i would be pissed to put it off. I have to have a car to do the tests. Heck i went all winter with no heat to save money it would kill me to not see a payoff.

AU N EGL

W2W racing? Plus dont you need to do at least 4 races a year to keep your regional lic ?

figure a $1200-$1500 per race weekend in just expenses and this is on a huge budget.

for the car:

rotors, pads, new fluids, and fuel this is with scrubb tires.

Travel fuel for truck

Lodging and food


500 for safety clothing? FIA 3 layer suit, gloves, shoes, socks and a a new 2012 SA helmet will run more then 500. Heck a decent helmet alone is $4-600

What ever you do, good luck

Jason

Read Go Ahead, Take the Wheel.

If I was you, I'd look into Thunder Roadsters. There are few cheaper way to races.

Give Randy a holler: randy@carolinagc.com for info.

PushinTheLimit

The quick answer is... racing on a budget is always too small

What class are you trying to prepare to run in? A couple years ago I saw some T1 guys mention that for a double race weekend (race on Saturday and Sunday) look to spend $2500-$3000 per weekend. And I know probably some of the top tier guys spend more than that. It really depends on how competitive you want to be while you're racing.

Tires will be your biggest budget. Brakes, fuel,gas for tow vehicle, lodging, entry fee, etc. It adds up quick. This is why alot of guys in Nasa do Time Trials and instruct to keep some of the cost of consumables down.

Rob31

A 800 dollar trailer will cost at least another 4000 in pain and suffering .trust me on this one

Bad Karma

If you are a good welder/fabricator there are places you can buy plans and steel to make your own trailer. Since you have all summer it could be a way to cut cost and still get something good. I stress that I would make sure you are very comfortable with your weld quality before thinking about going down this road, you do not want to be driving down the road and have the trailer break because the welds didn't have proper penetration.

I haven't looked into wheel to wheel costs, but I can see the initial cost being deceptive, because I bet the consumables and cost per race is probably going to add up quickly. (I'll defer to those with actual experience)

varkwso

Look at renting a car for license weekend. Focus on other equipment not car initially.

AU N EGL

Best answer

cire96

The rental advise you've been given for a license school is sage. And I'd strongly suggest you rent a low HP car that's both low cost (probably $1,000) and reliable. As for operating costs, D2D racing isn't cheap. I figure a race weekend in a Spec Miata costs me $1,000 and that does not include lodging (I have an RV). For a Corvette, figure at least $1,500.
Cire

Falcon

Plus, too, and also, a rental car usually comes with a someone to support it, which is a Godsend on a comp school weekend. The last thing you want to mess with is the car; you'll have more pressing issues on your mind that tending to a broken car.

There'll be enough time in your racing career to bring a car that breaks/ runs out of gas/crashes to peg your frustration meter. Comp school weekend isn't the time for that.

cire96

+1 million percent!

rithsleeper

Hmm, well my thought was get a car cause i cant do the license without one. Paying a grand to borrow for one weekend seems like so much money down the drain. As for consumables, ive been at the track and asked the poor people and they get away with much less than 1500 a weekend. Actual entry costs is about 600 and consumables are not terrible if you drive a lighter car with less hp (like rx7).

Im not looking to really race this season. More about getting the setup and then save for next season. Not looking to be competitive, just show up and drive. Ive read the entire take the wheel article.

Ive seen the safety gear for actually less than 500. Id be buying it all used.

Understand im going for bare necessity, not cutting corners necessity, safely bare necessity.

I dont need a covered trailer. I will sleep in the bed of my truck. The clothes i wear can have another guys name on it for all i care. Ill buy used tires, run pump gas, and only race at local tracks (cmp is 50 miles, road atl is 200miles away).

So basically unless someone here is a poor racer, looks like it would be smart to wait a year where i can save say 10 grand to start with and try to have a trailer and say safety gear covered.

Jason

Take all your money out in your driveway and set it on fire.

Get used to that feeling. Welcome to the addiction.

AU N EGL

Jason where is your poster ??

AU N EGL

Get your safety equipment and RENT the race car for the Comp Lic.

Then you will know.

Good Luck

Falcon

As Wally Crawford had posted on his car:

"Turning money into memories!"

jcsperson

Chumpcar?

Rob31

You cant build a decent open trailer for less than 1600 .. Steel ,tires ,brakes ,axles ,lights ,bla ba bla . It adds up real fast
.If a cheap used one is found expect to shell out at least anothe 500 for tires ,lights , its always something .
Im doing the TT thing .Im on a budget also , an occasional track day here and there .
TT with Midwestern Council is around 12-140 w2w is around 250 to get in .
Ive done the low buck thing . Dont work yourself to death before you ever make it on track .

GettReal

4000 for a prepped rx7 to my door - No offence here but you are probably going to end up spending more on it once you get it and find it needs "something"
800 for a trailer to haul for anything "safe" you will spend at least double, I did the trailer search for a long time before I got mine, there are a lot of pieces of junk out there, don't risk your safety, your car or MY safety if Im on the road near you
500 for my safety apparel (like the lemons package) You could probably find used stuff as you said assuming you have a "current" helmet.
700 for my scca doubles licensing weekend I can barely get away spending this on 1 HPDE day (fees, gas, consumables, food etc)
300 prepping my truck to haul not sure what you have to do so I'll say sure
1000 for misc unforseen expenses Expect this to be gone before you even hit your first race (see everything above)

so I'd say even being a budget racer, you're going to find your 8k disappears in your first month.

If you can swing it, remember it will be hard to be super competitive on no budget, but Im sure you will have a blast and thats probably what you are looking for.. Good luck

Han Solo

Did you figure the HANS and HANS compatible helmet? Aren't those required by everybody now?