Most affordable way to race a 928
02-11-2008, 02:48 PM
#16
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I thought so too, but I've seen a lot of "I'm ready to go racing" cage pics recently without a diagonal, harness bar, or seatback brace. Dr Nick has a nice cage without them, although he doesn't w2w race.
02-11-2008, 04:24 PM
#17
Drifting
find some local ricers and race on the road i say, traffic fines are cheap compared to slicks and drysumps and all that business...
but actualy i agree with jim bailey about a slower car being easier to learn how to drive on track, also hes spot on that you need to have some idea of the class that you are aiming for to race against to see what you are and are not allowed to alter on your car.
before you take the stock car on track heres what i would think of, some simple modifications that dont cost much including: removing the interior trim and any extra parts like the spare wheel and tools etc and maybe a cheap but comfortable racing bucket seat - loosing the front seats drops close to 60 kg. fit some decent pads for your brakes and replace the brake fluid with new, think about upgrading the suspension to koni shocks with eibach springs with a turn cut out of them.
but actualy i agree with jim bailey about a slower car being easier to learn how to drive on track, also hes spot on that you need to have some idea of the class that you are aiming for to race against to see what you are and are not allowed to alter on your car.
before you take the stock car on track heres what i would think of, some simple modifications that dont cost much including: removing the interior trim and any extra parts like the spare wheel and tools etc and maybe a cheap but comfortable racing bucket seat - loosing the front seats drops close to 60 kg. fit some decent pads for your brakes and replace the brake fluid with new, think about upgrading the suspension to koni shocks with eibach springs with a turn cut out of them.
02-11-2008, 04:35 PM
#18
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With BOTH the PCA and POC that simple act " removing the interior trim" moves you up into a different class...that is why the rules are so , so important IF you want to fit into a specific class. In this case you then run against cars on full racing slicks and other modifications like headers ,cams, wider wheels, suspension upgrades...mostly trailered race only cars !!
02-11-2008, 04:48 PM
#19
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Personally, i think there are two ways to get into racing (well actually 3, but the 3 way gets you in trouble , or at least accelerates those chances )
1. as was said, take a stock car and start going to the track. even on street tires and crummy suspension. Then, slowely start changing things out over the next 2 years. by the end of that year or into year 3, you will have enough car control, knowledge, confidence and skill to start actively time trialing or wheel to wheel racing. at that point, you should be in the same car that is now gutted and set up as a track car, without going crasy with the HP. maybe 50% over stock.
2. go to a professional school and learn with differnt types of cars, open wheel and sports cars and at the end of the class, you get your race licence. drive their cars for a couple of years and then dive into drivng your own.
3. build/buy a ready to go track car without any experience or training and start terrorizing the DE groups with NASA. You probably will end up crashing and pissing eveyone off.
above, is my opinion, just based on all the grass roots efforts ive seen here in Norcal over the years, spanning most all the popular driving clubs. (ie NASA, POC, PRC, PCA, SCCA, TCRA, and all the usual suspects of DE events.)
Have fun. The good thing about the methodology above, is that if you dont like it, you havent got too much invested in the deal.
mk
1. as was said, take a stock car and start going to the track. even on street tires and crummy suspension. Then, slowely start changing things out over the next 2 years. by the end of that year or into year 3, you will have enough car control, knowledge, confidence and skill to start actively time trialing or wheel to wheel racing. at that point, you should be in the same car that is now gutted and set up as a track car, without going crasy with the HP. maybe 50% over stock.
2. go to a professional school and learn with differnt types of cars, open wheel and sports cars and at the end of the class, you get your race licence. drive their cars for a couple of years and then dive into drivng your own.
3. build/buy a ready to go track car without any experience or training and start terrorizing the DE groups with NASA. You probably will end up crashing and pissing eveyone off.
above, is my opinion, just based on all the grass roots efforts ive seen here in Norcal over the years, spanning most all the popular driving clubs. (ie NASA, POC, PRC, PCA, SCCA, TCRA, and all the usual suspects of DE events.)
Have fun. The good thing about the methodology above, is that if you dont like it, you havent got too much invested in the deal.
mk
With BOTH the PCA and POC that simple act " removing the interior trim" moves you up into a different class...that is why the rules are so , so important IF you want to fit into a specific class. In this case you then run against cars on full racing slicks and other modifications like headers ,cams, wider wheels, suspension upgrades...mostly trailered race only cars !!
02-11-2008, 05:08 PM
#20
Burning Brakes
The first thing you should do is join your local PCA or SCCA Region and spend at least a year autocrossing. Start out with your stock car on street tires. If you get the bug, you can move up to sticky tires. This will teach you your car's limits as well as your own.
It will also reveal whether you have any aptitude for racing.
After a year of autox (if you still have the bug) you can move up to on-track driver education events (no roll bars or other special equipment needed yet).
Once you've learned how to drive your car at speed on track, you can consider whether you want to get started with wheel to wheel club racing.
Starting out by building a race car is a recipe for disaster.
James
It will also reveal whether you have any aptitude for racing.
After a year of autox (if you still have the bug) you can move up to on-track driver education events (no roll bars or other special equipment needed yet).
Once you've learned how to drive your car at speed on track, you can consider whether you want to get started with wheel to wheel club racing.
Starting out by building a race car is a recipe for disaster.
James
02-11-2008, 05:56 PM
#21
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Personally, i think there are two ways to get into racing (well actually 3, but the 3 way gets you in trouble , or at least accelerates those chances )
1. as was said, take a stock car and start going to the track. even on street tires and crummy suspension. Then, slowely start changing things out over the next 2 years. by the end of that year or into year 3, you will have enough car control, knowledge, confidence and skill to start actively time trialing or wheel to wheel racing. at that point, you should be in the same car that is now gutted and set up as a track car, without going crasy with the HP. maybe 50% over stock.
2. go to a professional school and learn with differnt types of cars, open wheel and sports cars and at the end of the class, you get your race licence. drive their cars for a couple of years and then dive into drivng your own.
3. build/buy a ready to go track car without any experience or training and start terrorizing the DE groups with NASA. You probably will end up crashing and pissing eveyone off.
above, is my opinion, just based on all the grass roots efforts ive seen here in Norcal over the years, spanning most all the popular driving clubs. (ie NASA, POC, PRC, PCA, SCCA, TCRA, and all the usual suspects of DE events.)
Have fun. The good thing about the methodology above, is that if you dont like it, you havent got too much invested in the deal.
mk
1. as was said, take a stock car and start going to the track. even on street tires and crummy suspension. Then, slowely start changing things out over the next 2 years. by the end of that year or into year 3, you will have enough car control, knowledge, confidence and skill to start actively time trialing or wheel to wheel racing. at that point, you should be in the same car that is now gutted and set up as a track car, without going crasy with the HP. maybe 50% over stock.
2. go to a professional school and learn with differnt types of cars, open wheel and sports cars and at the end of the class, you get your race licence. drive their cars for a couple of years and then dive into drivng your own.
3. build/buy a ready to go track car without any experience or training and start terrorizing the DE groups with NASA. You probably will end up crashing and pissing eveyone off.
above, is my opinion, just based on all the grass roots efforts ive seen here in Norcal over the years, spanning most all the popular driving clubs. (ie NASA, POC, PRC, PCA, SCCA, TCRA, and all the usual suspects of DE events.)
Have fun. The good thing about the methodology above, is that if you dont like it, you havent got too much invested in the deal.
mk
02-11-2008, 07:05 PM
#23
The first thing you should do is join your local PCA or SCCA Region and spend at least a year autocrossing. Start out with your stock car on street tires. If you get the bug, you can move up to sticky tires. This will teach you your car's limits as well as your own.
It will also reveal whether you have any aptitude for racing.
After a year of autox (if you still have the bug) you can move up to on-track driver education events (no roll bars or other special equipment needed yet).
Once you've learned how to drive your car at speed on track, you can consider whether you want to get started with wheel to wheel club racing.
Starting out by building a race car is a recipe for disaster.
James
It will also reveal whether you have any aptitude for racing.
After a year of autox (if you still have the bug) you can move up to on-track driver education events (no roll bars or other special equipment needed yet).
Once you've learned how to drive your car at speed on track, you can consider whether you want to get started with wheel to wheel club racing.
Starting out by building a race car is a recipe for disaster.
James
If I may, and with all due respect to everyone's opinion, I will disagree with the tone of the above post.
I stake my claim on having started off in a stock car at two autoxs and one track event held at willow springs (the shorter track).
The autocross that I went to FIRST was a night time one with more driving than I had ever thought possible. It was nearly impossible to see the cones at night and it was a BLAST.
But the second, more NORMAL autocross that I attended, which was an SCCA one, was boring as hell. I don't care if its free. To wait in line for three 45 second bursts during a 5 hour time slot is just insane and a waste of good auto ethusiasm.
Lastly, and this is important, I went to willow springs. I went in a non-928, but it was an absolute riot. I had three different instructors, I had a Z06 that was nearly able to lap me every 5 minutes, and would ride my *** like he wanted a sniff. I was enlivened greatly by this entire experience and I am hooked. I want so badly to go back that I may need to again take a non 928 out there just to go.
IMO, saying that someone should spend a few years at an auto cross first is basically a recipe for ripping any enthusiasm out of thier veins within the first few runs. People buy these cars to RACE, and a track is a great place to do it. SOme of the larger tracks really suit the stability of the 928. On the nighttime AX course, I felt like a bull in a china shop.
Wheel-to-wheel is a long range goal for me, but I doubt very much I will do anything but DEs and such for the next few years, unless some sort of special AX comes about where there is:
More time on track
Less waiting
Longer track not only suited to go-karts
Cones I can see without squinting
02-11-2008, 07:08 PM
#24
The Parts Whisperer
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That's great advice but it is rarely taken. Most people have no idea how long it will take and how much it will cost but ask anyone who has built a car from scratch and they can tell you how much they would have saved if they had bought someone elses project.
That said I have a customer who wants to sell his 928 racer but I will have to get some details.
That said I have a customer who wants to sell his 928 racer but I will have to get some details.
02-11-2008, 07:12 PM
#26
Thats pretty. Who's is that?
02-11-2008, 07:14 PM
#28
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I agree with Brendan most autocross is far too little driving POC/PCA gets you 1 1/2 hours of driving !!! that is like 120 autocross runs in one day 
02-11-2008, 07:44 PM
#29
Nordschleife Master
02-11-2008, 07:58 PM
#30