A yacht...I had one of those and it was like standing in the shower ripping up 100 dollar bills....I'll be alright if the Cup is only 50 dollar bills....haha

Not including the cost of rebuilding the motor and/or gearbox how can you spend $10K per weekend? I figure a set of slicks is $1500, fuel a couple hundred, pads/rotors not every time out, transport cost (my events are mostly local), etc. I'm spending this now on my clone ($1200 for R6's). What am I missing here? Of course, I am not including if I wreck it. I'm figuring on $15K per year for a gearbox and $25K or so every 2 years for a refresh motor. I expect my annual hour count to be less than 50. Lot's of misc stuff I know, like rebuilding the Motons, tech inspect, entry fees, etc.

 

Hi James, yes it's John. That is the next step, to verify and check everything out. I'm planning on an exhaustive checkout over the next couple of weeks. I'll let you know how it all plays out.

 

$100K is a very good price for an '08 in that condition (50 hours from new) if everything checks out.

Figure in $1K or more per weekend in tranny costs, (Get a throttle auto-blipper and tranny costs should come down substantially) $500 for engine costs, close to that in brake costs (front rotors and pads don't last long), add travel and track support and $10K comes up pretty fast. Fuel costs are ridiculous, could be a few grand if you go to Mosport just for race gas for a gt3 cup. You can mix premium unleaded but not many people do that.

 

Thanks Glenn, I just don't have the energy today....

I do however love the thought of PMNA taking away someone's cup for not rebuilding thru them. That's pretty funny stuff. At least half the cups in So Cal could be gone overnight ...

John we met at the pumps waiting for the operator to come back from lunch. There always seems to be overly cautious advise when discussing cup cars. Do your homework per James's recommendations and consult with other owners. You'll get a pretty clear view of your operating costs....
PS: That's not JK's car is it?

Your pics don't do your RSR justice. It's immaculate and you should shown off your engine bay....

 

Hi JR, yes my photo skills are not the best I admit that sadly. The car is coming up in Excellence where you will see some great skillful shots. I saw the final shoot results yesterday and they are incredible. Thanks for the compliment on the car. Tell Dan I said hello next time you see him. I will never forget the 6 turbo he built for me - that thing hauled the business! Since he's behind your rocketship build I can understand why you are so fast. I'm still drooling over your 1:40 action on the Roval, that's seriously impressive! I'll let you know how the Cup move turns out...it's as much about preserving my RSR as it is going fast in a Cup.

 

I didn't get a title or registration for my Cup. And I was told about the PMNA issue and service by one of my support guys...so maybe I was misinformed. I apologize if that's the case. Only passing on what I was told. But I don't skimp on anything so it was never a concern of mine anyways... so never bothered to confirm if it was true or not.

As for cost... expect support to be about $1,000-1,500 per day.. for full arrive and drive. Tires are about $2300 per set... at least for Yokos. I use at least 1-2 new sets per weekend. I used 2 sets, plus worn out a set of half-worn tires during the 3 days of tribute. Best to have 3 sets rotating at all times. Expect about $1,500 or so for prep per event (track-based alignment, look the car over, tighten bolts, replace worn items, etc.)... plus add cost of consumables if needed (pads, rotors, etc). Gas is about $8-10/gallon... use about 5 gallons per 20-30 min session. Add garage costs and weekend registration fees and you're close to $8K a weekend.

Tranny rebuilds/fixes are $6-15k, depending on # of gears need replacing, etc. And again, motor rebuilds are about $24k + extras.

 

I have avoided adding up the cost for this very reason!!
Laguna Dude, nice to meet you at the Tribute, hope to see you at Laguna Secca this fall.

 

Same here. that was the first time I've done it. I told James to space the invoices to avoid knowing the truth hahah. Great to meet you too. You were a few garage's down from me right? the mint '09 Cup?

When is the Laguna event again? My son's birthday is August 30th... his 1st... I think it's that week... so might not happen for me dying for track time at Laguna!

 

There's an SFR SCCA event June 16-19th @ Laguna w/ 103db sound limits. They have a regional 'PC' class so you can run your car as-is from the IMSA/Pirelli races (w/ windows).

I'm trying to make it, but it looks like none of the guys who usually help me at the track can get thursday (test-day) and friday off. SCCA had a similar weekend w/ the PC class 2 weekends ago that I attended, was good times.

Really want to get back there to get a little more seat time and try to get into the 29's.

edit: forgot to mention, $10k per race weekend to run a 997 Cup is definitely realistic. sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more depending on rotors/pads and any 'offs'. i've been watching my budget like a hawk since i started running my car earlier this year (2 races per month since I bought it in Feb). probably could save 1/3rd of the costs by doing everything yourself instead of arrive & drive. at the end of the day the savings wasn't worth it for me, i have fun driving, not wrenching and loading/unloading.

-mike
ps: just ticked over 100 hours on my motor.. it's due for a refresh but i'm going to try and run the rest of the summer on it. if it starts acting weird or temp/pressures start looking funny i'll send it off. these things are stout if taken care of.

 

Laguna, no I was hanging around GMG's garage all day Sat, wishing I would have shipped my car out for the event.

Fleadh, if you have an 06-07 cup with the 996 motor, don't be worried with 100 hours, those motors easily go to 120 hrs plus.