NP993

Going to the track is for people who hate money. There's nothing about it that's cheap. Now more than ever, with gas at $3.50 a gallon.

If you can stand it, IMHO one of the best bang-for-the-buck track cars is a Boxster S. Cheap, reliable, and tons of fun. Put in seats and harnesses and you're ready to go.

Mark in Baltimore

Good deals are definitely out there. I bought a used Recaro Pole Position seat that had some minor scratches on it for $350 from eBay.

jaholmes

I have been collecting parts for a year now. JIC coilovers and Recaro SPG XL all over half price. Just have to be patient.

race911

There ARE excellent, complete cars out there. And when done.........WOW. Why I snapped up the one I have instead of building.

That said, I was into RSA #1 as a track ready D stock club racer for well under $25K (2001 dollars), and it was good for non-Hoosier times of ~1:43 at Laguna, ~1:53 at Sears, ~2:05 at Thunderhill (full track). So you CAN do it on the sorta cheap.

As far as E36 M3's. Here at least, they are about 5-7 sec/lap (Thunderhill) off of what the 993 will do. Similarly, I have yet to see a 944T for $10K, track ready, that will run anywhere near the 993.

CP

Say Ken,

What is the best lap time you've seen with a Miata at Thunderhill, Laguna Seca, etc.?

Thanks.

CP

Martin S.

buy a Spec Series Boxster or 944. They could be built street legal....and since you are in FLA, I'd call Viper Bob aka Bob Brooks bob.brooks@vortexmotorsport.com

Figure $15,000 for a 944 spec car, $40,000 for a built out Boxster Spec car.

When you add up the costs below...you'll have spent a fortune to build a racer that may, or may not be competitive.

Converting the 993 into a race car is far from cheep...and if you are going racing, see what class you'll be in.

Here are a few expenses I would expect to encounter for a real race car:

Suspension, Cross, PSS 9, or??? $2,500 to $3,000
New springs for the PSS 9s or X, $400 to $500
Re-valve the PSS9s or X to match the stiff springs, $600

EVO Uprights + 993 RS toe rods, $2,000

Sway bars, 993RS seem to be the best over all, $1,500

Custom roll cage, $3,500 to $4000, and note, you'll have to strip the interior for the right fit, strip the door panels to accommodate the NASCAR side impact bars

Fire suppression system, and install: $1,500

Camber plate/front monoballs, rear monoballs, $1,000

100 to 200 cell cats, $1,200

Extra oil cooler, $1,000 + labor

Carbon fiber seats (2) $1,300

Schroth belt system, $500

HANS device $900

Drivers suit, $500 to $4,000

Bottom line, what you may not want to hear, it's either a race car or a street car if you are serious.

race911

Depends what the definition of "Miata" is (to paraphrase our former/next(?) President). To keep things simple, we'll say Spec Miata. The car I own at one time held 4 track records (some of which were pro configurations which don't equate to what we run.) And obviously with the previous owner! ~2:07 @ Thunderhill (full track), ~1:55 @ Sears, ~1:45 @ Laguna.

race911

Am I missing something here? Your Spec Boxster example = what I've got into a really sweet 993 with everything mentioned above, and then a whole lot more. They're out there (here, actually). Cash has a way of talking, if not shouting these days. More so next year?

Juha G

Thanks for all the input guys!

My main motivation to build a track 993 is to have fun, yet safe 911 to toss around on the track.
I'm currently tracking my GT3 and god forbid I mash it to the wall, I'm out of $70k.
Therefore I'm looking into getting something a bit cheaper so I can have a little equity sitting in my bank account just in case I happen to wreck the car on the track.

BMW's, boxters, 944's, Miatas etc. just won't cut it because I want an 911.
An early 996 would probably give the most bang for the buck but after owning and tracking the the GT3, they just won't appeal to me.
Sooner or later I would be building a wannabe GT3 anyway and at that point I would've been better of keeping the GT.

Like many people said, there are a lot of good deals out there (already prepped 993's). I'm not looking to going racing anytime soon either so that will give me a lot more flexibility when choosing the car and mods.

I just wanted to get a general idea on how much each item that the car needs will cost.

mooty

ken, you bought a BUILT car, that doesn't count as it's a different approach. YZ cost north of 120k!
the spec box example is to hire a shop and build one up from scratch.

jscott82

This is the sheet I have been working up for a PCA race car build, both G (Stock) and H (prepared), based on a 95 993. Prices are realistic retail with me doing alot of the work, I am hoping to be patient and find better deals. I deleted the grand total to avoid sticker shock.....

Your mileage may vary....

Looks like the cut and paste did not work so well. There are supposed to be three columns (Item Name, Cost for G class, Cost for H class).

motor build 15000 15000
headers 2500 2500
trans rebuild 3500 3500
ecu n/a 500
lw flywheel 2000 2000
R&P Change n/a 1000
motorsports LSD n/a 2000
short shift kit 250 250
remove AC 0
remove air pump 0
trans cooler 500 500
additional oil cooler 150 150
RS Motor Mounts 300 300
RS Trans mount 150 150
Mechanical Subtotal 24350 27850

tail 500 1500
sideskirts & flares 350 350
nose 350 1500
paint 2000 2000
remove sunroof 500 500
lexan windshield
Body subtotal 3700 5850

Dampers 4000 4000
camberplates n/a 1000
Sway Bars 1500 1500
tower brace 250 250
setup 1000 1000
EVO Uprights & tie Rods 2000 2000
Steering Rack brace 75 75
1996 Rear updates 2000 2000
Replace Bushings 1000 1000
Suspension Subtotal 11825 12825

pads 400
rotors(f) 250 3595
rotors® 200 1250
ducts 250 250
Brakes Subtotal 1100 5095

cage 3000 3000
firesystem 500 500
seat 1500 1500
cutoff switch 50 50
window net 50 50
Safety Subtotal 5100 5100

Wheels 4000 4000
tires 1100 1248
Wheels Total 5100 5248

Trailer 2500 2500

Mark in Baltimore

Great build sheet! Looking forward to seeing your car at an east coast race.

For others who may be thinking of racing and who might see some of these line items as de rigeur for a 993 race car, I'd like to offer up a few comments:


-IMHO, you don't need to spend $15,000 on a motor rebuild to be competitve or to even win in a stock or prepared class. Sure it helps to have the best and freshest motor, but there are lots of guys who are winning races on motors that have never been cracked open. The same applies for the tranny rebuild. Run the car for a few years and then add RS shifter forks and steel synchros.

-Headers take away weight from the rear, but they don't do anything for performance, which is not the case with a 964. The Ninemeister headers are very expensive ($7,000!!) with gains that have not been proven on a stock, 993 motor. The increase that was achieved, again, IIRC, was on a fairly modified mill and was very small (10hp). That $7,000 buys a lot of coaching time that will do more for your lap times than 10-15 or so horsepower.

-You can't remove the AC compressor in G stock or any stock class. However, as per the new 2008 rules, the removal of the compressor is now allowed for a prepared car.

-Can you remove the air pump in a stock class? If it wasn't a factory option that a buyer could delete, I don't think you can. It might be allowed in a prepared class. It might be a good idea to ask Donna Amico, or maybe Colin aka 38D will post.

-Updating the rear suspension to 1996 specs is an utter waste of money, again, iMHO. A few guys on the board have experienced the alleged and dreaded 1995 tail wag, a problem that was remedied by installing ERP bearings in the rear. I have never had crazy or dangerous yaw issues with my 1995 car. I completely respect Joel Reiser's experience and skill, but there are just too many 1995 993's that are being raced or tracked that have not had problems regarding a rear end stability as it pertains to suspension geometry. Sloppy rubber bushings, yes; geometry, no.

-LSD's, including Guards LSD's, are allowed in G class (or any stock class). Locked diffs are not allowed.

jscott82

"You can't remove the AC compressor in G stock or any stock class".... You are correct, I should have removed from the public version of the list.....

But air injection I though was legal.... "Air conditioning belts and air injection systems may be removed"

Mark in Baltimore

You are correct; removal of air injection systems are allowed. I forgot about that rule.

jscott82

btw... "de rigeur"... great word(s)