Which race series?

[99COBRA2881]

That's what I did. Bought a built race car minus the engine. It wasn't turn key by far but he cage and suspension was already there.

Ask around at the track and watch racing junk, get he word out you're looking for a race car. My first season I didn't have a trailer either. Rented a 24' enclosed for my SCCA school and then rented an open trailer for one more event then found my current trailer for sale locally. It's an open trailer but has a tire rack and a long 3' dove tail. I bought it off a local dirt track racer so watch he local dirt boards for deals too.

 

[wheelhopper]

What a difference the regions make. E30 is probably the most popular here. We have a pretty good CMC, AI and SM class. Our GTS is a good size if you add up 1, 2, and 3.

I see ready and near ready CMC Mustang for sale all the time for $7500, give or take a $1K. I have seen nice AI cars, ready to go, in the the $12K-$15K range. For initial car cost CMC is usually the cheapest cars I find. followed by SM and E30s. Spec 3 is usually not to bad, but the class is not as popular.

 

[WPBcobra]

What a difference the regions make.

Down here in FL we have a good showing in AI, Spec Miatas and E30 all other classes are 1 or 2 cars if they show up that weekend.
This is the 1st year that AI has 8 to 12 cars show up each event

 

[WutApex]

It's CMC, GTS, Spec 944 or SM and really that's it for any decent car counts. Damn I wish e30 was here

 

[wheelhopper]

Somebody has to start E30 going in your region. It should be you. Just think, a podium finish every event.:banana:

Reminds me of a guy who was posting on the NASA boards how he was the greatest TTF driver around. Getting first place in multiple regions, breaking records, all kinds of crap. I did not even know there was a TTF and once I looked, he was the only guy in it. :loser: It would have been fine if he was not boasting so much about being first all the time.

Seriously, once people see you run for a year, how fast the cars can be, and how cheap they are to run, you might start picking up some competition.

 

[WutApex]

Early morning random thoughts I hadn't considered until now (mainly because it's a Porsche and I'm under the impression that they are pricey to fix) -

Spec944 - good car count in my region, but also has the potential to run in GTS. And could also run with PCA (SP1) who do quite a few events in Colorado. Maybe in SCCA ITS also. That gives me at least 3-4 options with one car....something a CMC car couldn't. I guess I need to research the price for parts and consumables (timing belt/water pump/thermostat/balance belts/drive belts etc) for a 944

Still leaning toward SM though.

 

[wheelhopper]

944 in my region is non existent. Well, maybe 1 car. That guy is amazing, he gets first place every event.:rockon:

 

[ba#97]

SM seems like the slightly cheaper route that I could possibly get away with driving to the track with a tire trailer in tow but for the price of the CMC car in the link above, I could possibly get a cheap open trailer to go with it....and it comes with a shit ton of spares too.

Alright from the people I have talked to, SM is a great way to go, here is the thing though. If you want to be competitve and get into winning in that series, then it will be pricey. from what I have personally read and heard from the SM guys I have talked to, that is the case. now as for the power downgrade, have you ever driven a miata on track? I have, and it is a blast. you don't notice the speed down the straights at all once you're in it. go through your local nasa and see if you can rent one for a track day. you won't regret it. if you want to have fun racing, be slightly competitive and it be slightly cheap....SM is the way to go. I also think SSM would be even better it seems as it keeps the price down and the field closer. Just my .02 cuz when i decide to go racing w2w I am doing just this. SM.

 

[ba#97]

also....definitely like you're looking into, get a car already built. I am building my cobra for time trials and time attack right now but once I am done with it, next car will definitely be somebody elses work. but yep....I would say lean to SM. I'm in NORCAL and the CMC, AI and AIX fields are tiny. SM and E30 are huge out here. E30 I hear is much cheaper than SM if you want to be competitive but I wouldn't want to be the only guy on the track with it. and as said before...you can take an SM car and run it in many different series too.



question....spec iron is the NASA class for all the 05 to 08 GT's isn't it? I think I have seen it a bit but it seems a tad expensive for the initial investment.

 

[TXPD]

a couple things to keep in mind. sm is probably on the clock too. the current generation Miata mx5 is not a car that fits into spec Miata. because of that its on a dead end road. I saw only 3 at road Atlanta this weekend.

 

[WPBcobra]

question....spec iron is the NASA class for all the 05 to 08 GT's isn't it? I think I have seen it a bit but it seems a tad expensive for the initial investment.

The Spec iron class is the 05-10 GTs. You can get one built from scratch for about 20k to 30k. If you have good connections with a auction the price can come down a little.

 

[ba#97]

The Spec iron class is the 05-10 GTs. You can get one built from scratch for about 20k to 30k. If you have good connections with a auction the price can come down a little.

yeah but that is after you buy the car. lol. has the car count for that class been good in your region? cuz i don't see many at all out here. I would love to do it but....well....I don't see much of it and it does seem slightly expensive at first, the cars all run cortex stuff right?

 

[ba#97]

a couple things to keep in mind. sm is probably on the clock too. the current generation Miata mx5 is not a car that fits into spec Miata. because of that its on a dead end road. I saw only 3 at road Atlanta this weekend.

I still to this day see huge #'s in norcal with them. it would be a good place to get your feet wet it seems at the very least. and yeah when it comes to cmc/ai/aix....well those numbers are tiny. guess it just really is based off of your region.

 

[darreng505]

944 in my region is non existent. Well, maybe 1 car. That guy is amazing, he gets first place every event.:rockon:

Because he's the only car in his class??

 

[99COBRA2881]

Entry List

Entry list for the Hastings event this coming weekend. 11 spec miatas entered and 5 AI those two classes are strong here and one class is growing. CMC has 6 cars entered. There will be someone to race with but I would suggest SM drive a momentum car fast and you will be faster in a hp car later on.

 

[ba#97]

Entry List

Entry list for the Hastings event this coming weekend. 11 spec miatas entered and 5 AI those two classes are strong here and one class is growing. CMC has 6 cars entered. There will be someone to race with but I would suggest SM drive a momentum car fast and you will be faster in a hp car later on.

Agreed. Which brings me to this question...have you ever considered karting as well? Lol. I know that might be way off your goals but it's a good start out too. Those are momentum vehicles too. Well tag karts at least.

 

[99COBRA2881]

I want a DSR does that count as a cart? Haha

 

[WutApex]

Agreed. Which brings me to this question...have you ever considered karting as well? Lol. I know that might be way off your goals but it's a good start out too. Those are momentum vehicles too. Well tag karts at least.

I have. There's actually a track 10min from my house. After numerous discussions, its not too far off from an SM after buying a quality kart, tires (I was told by the track owner that to be competitive, I'll go through them pretty quickly), a small trailer, etc.

 

[ba#97]

I have. There's actually a track 10min from my house. After numerous discussions, its not too far off from an SM after buying a quality kart, tires (I was told by the track owner that to be competitive, I'll go through them pretty quickly), a small trailer, etc.

Yeah the consumables probably aren't quite as expensive as racing a full car w2w though. And seat time is what matters at first anyways. Used karts you can find at the track all day. They know the people. Same with racecars though. My .02 is those two routes, karts or sm. Definitely.

 

[99COBRA2881]

You're not going to be competitive right away, so quit worrying about it.

Focus on getting a race car, passing your race school and getting your provisional license.
Make it through the first season without wrecking or wrecking anyone else, develop both the car/driver and learn how to drive at speed on track with other cars all around you.