Mako 928

The other question to ask is there enough room in the garage to work, store parts etc. especialy in the winter.

mark kibort

Yes, $15k is where you need to be to make a 1:41-3.xx track car for laguna and 2:03-5 car at Thunderhill. (and 1:51-3s at Sears)

3000lbs and 290rwhp gets you in this range pretty solidly. (and i dont care the brand of car) (or some mix of the ratio if you are considering other cars)

However, you only can do this with a 928 and have it be this inexpensive and durable. and you got it. just all the normal safety equip, wheels and tires, bolt on suspension, and it can be cheap like Scots, a little more expensive like the koni -hypercoil devek kit, or the real expensive stuff, and off you go. I figure it takes about 7-8K of "stuff" to get the car converted to a racer. you got to do all the gutting yourself, find a cage maker to make you a $1200 to $1500 cage and bolt on or have some of the stuff installed. One caveat is the S4 needs the older clutch conversion, but thats included in my cost estimation, or you can find an 85-86, and give up the larger valve size.

It would be great to see more of the 928s out there competing!
We have a great time, and there is no shortage of help around to put your beast together!

mk

Dennis K

$15k? Hmm . . .

I think you'll be closer if you go w/ your original comparison figure of $50k for the GTS and non-Z06 C6 Vette. Not that a track S4 is going to cost you $50k to buy/build, but I wouldn't be surprised if you're closer to $50k than $15k after your first year of track car ownership, especially if you're building a 2:05-at-Thunderhill car.

My experience (and really that of any other track car owner, 928 or otherwise) is that you will break stuff. Probably lots of stuff. I can't tell you the amount of parts I've gone through in the last 5 yrs. Maybe I'm a less mechanically sympathetic driver than Mark . . . I don't know how he does it. Have you seen v-tach's ebay auction and that picture of the receipts in a folder as thick as a small-town telephone book? I have one of those too.

If you want to get fast, you'll need seat time. That means lots of track days and therefore a lot of time running the car under high stress. The first year of track days will expose every weak point in the car's maintenance history and create several new problems too.

I know Brian that you have the fever - I have it too. I don't mean to scare you but I just want to be sure you're going into it as realistically as possible.

Dennis K

It's one of purest forms of racing crack there is. You and 60+ of your craziest friends all piling into Turn 2 at Laguna at the same time . . . oh yeah! Make a mistake and 5 guys will freight-train past. The racing for the most part is quite fair. Tough but fair.

Everything they say about it teaching you how to conserve momentum is true. You have to commit to the throttle extremely early so you get to scare yourself for extra seconds as you wonder if you'll make the corner exit.

V2Rocket

one of the advantages with the vette is the ENORMOUS variety of parts for bumping its power.

the smallblock chevy INVENTED the aftermarket.

Black Sea RD

I agree with everything said by Dennis K. above and most things said by Mark K. Mark K.'s track record running a 928 speaks for itself, the only exception that I have is that Mark. K.'s car has lasted as long with no engine problems as seen by most others racing a 928 on the track. This fantastic running record can give one a sense of false security. It should not be forgotten that Mark K.'s 928 was built by Porsche for the purpose of setting a land speed record. What modifications that were done to the engine internally, if any, has been in some debate for awhile now. An engine rebuild can get costly, especially if one talks themselves into building a stroker for more power WYIT.

You will spend money no matter what race platform you get. One question that should be asked is, at the end of the day, what car would you like to have and be proud to own.

Have fun,
Constantine

John Veninger

Going to take a bit more cash than that for a complete 450rwhp N/A stroker.

IcemanG17

#1 Racing ain't cheap no matter how you slice it....... Even if I had the Z06.....I would still want a 928 track beast...I'd just have ALOT less $$$ to throw at the 928......

I have no doubt that I will be like Dennis and find new and inventive ways to break my 928 track car when I get one eventually..... It will be VERY expensive to keep running.....

The serious positives to a 928 track car in norcal is the HUGE amount of support from local 928ers....several local guys have been there and done that & are always willing to lend advice or help...

My best option that wasn't listed in the poll was "keep the saturn daily driver to afford the track shark!"