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There is a lot of guarded talks of how crazy expensive this hobby can get.
I am just wondering how it scales up from the entry level DE category.
I know this is tricky to quantify, since there are many variables, and irregular (black swan) expenses.
How often you go racing, what sort of car you have, how often you crash or money shift, engine rebuild every X years, etc.
I know the hobby starts out at quite a reasonable and affordable level
Here is a hypothetical entry level casual street car DE guy:
Local DE = $300. Gas, tolls, food = $50. Three events a year = $1000
Street tires every 3 years. Pro-rated to $250/season
Street brake pads every 3 years. Pro-rated to $50/season
Bleed brakes = $20/season.
One paid Tech Form for $100/season
This all comes out to $1500 a year.
The example above is at the lowest level hypothetical.
I'm curious about some scenarios at the various levels above this.
Anyone willing to share what sort of costs they incur?
2x gtb1 cars,
We travel from montreal, canada all over the us
7-8 races each
Motorhome 350k , budget 2-3k of fuel for a long drive(sebring, vir, road america)
Food: 300$ per we
Race fuel 2-3k per we
Track support: 1500$-2000$
My old days of DE were so cheap
And id like as a personal goal one day to race at semi pro level $$$$ ?
If you don't like this thread, you don't have to read it.
Some prospective racers may be very interested in this topic.
Please respect their right to have a conversation.
Try a search also, I recall a very similar thread recently. Either here or possibly in the 991 GT3 section. Just my observation, as one advances tires become a dominant component. With a modern Porsche GT it's not hard to spend over $1k per day. Of course it's also possible to spend much less with a lighter, less powerful car.
I had a similar question and posted I was negotiating with my wife for a return to DEs after a crash. I got a lot of great responses. The best was if your wife finds out how much this costs she will undertake retaliatory spending. I laughed so hard - it is very true, and my wife is not a huge spender at all (I am lucky).
A DE weekend is ~$1000 for me. The insurance is about the same as the DE entry fee costs (my home track is VIR). I have semi-negotiated a $5k/year budget, thinking that I will do 3 a year and buy some miscellaneous things. I managed to get my headers ceramic coated without her knowing, but it is on my budget list. So, when I get "audited" all the expenses will be there. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.
I don't think the Cup 2s will go 3 seasons, but the brake pads might and rotors surely will. I have some Tarret brake caliper studs and went to put those in and change pads before a DE in March, but I started looking at the pads and they were not even close to being 50% worn - maybe they had 80% left. So, I just bled them and put the tires back on. Yeah! I will bleed them and change most of the fluid before each event - so maybe $60 instead of $20/year. I'll also do the oil before or after each event - so add another $100/season for me.
An expensive hobby...
Before too many folks get scared away from DE... as a newbie 5k a year for 5-6 events is totally doable...
hpde $150-300
gas $50
transportation? Hey, I was going to drive someplace anyway.., 0$
Insurance? Uh. Maybe I just drive slower.
hotel? Nope. Drive there and back. Live within 2 hours of RA, Milwaukee mile, and Blackhawk.
tires? Well, the car needs those anyway. Last a couple years...$800 tirerack
brake pads? Yeah. 600$ a season...
thats $3000 on a frugal budget...
now, that doesn't include repairs ( 930 lost the ability to shift last year...its in pieces)
doesnt include buying toys, like trailers or a back up car...
because, you would have spent that money anyway... right?
so with my semitwisted logic, this is really affordable...
and as a hint, if you tell your wife hpde and auto cross allow you time to bond with your kids... then it's painless...
some further food food for thought. Loved driving the 930 on the track. Now have a way cheesier BMW z3. Car is much less capable, but equally fun...
I had a similar question and posted I was negotiating with my wife for a return to DEs after a crash. I got a lot of great responses. The best was if your wife finds out how much this costs she will undertake retaliatory spending. I laughed so hard - it is very true, and my wife is not a huge spender at all (I am lucky).
A DE weekend is ~$1000 for me. The insurance is about the same as the DE entry fee costs (my home track is VIR). I have semi-negotiated a $5k/year budget, thinking that I will do 3 a year and buy some miscellaneous things. I managed to get my headers ceramic coated without her knowing, but it is on my budget list. So, when I get "audited" all the expenses will be there. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.
I don't think the Cup 2s will go 3 seasons, but the brake pads might and rotors surely will. I have some Tarret brake caliper studs and went to put those in and change pads before a DE in March, but I started looking at the pads and they were not even close to being 50% worn - maybe they had 80% left. So, I just bled them and put the tires back on. Yeah! I will bleed them and change most of the fluid before each event - so maybe $60 instead of $20/year. I'll also do the oil before or after each event - so add another $100/season for me.
An expensive hobby...
I like your wife comment, but yikes, brake fluid and oil for every event and your expecting 3 seasons for the pads. Invest your money in coaching instead of all that brake fluid and oil changes. The brake fluid, if high end, is good for summer season. I mean that's why your putting in decent fluid so it does not boil. And oil changes every event is really OCD especially with the low wear rate on your parts and the high end oil we use. CUP2's running at speed have a good 12-16 sessions in them and that's it before they fall off significantly. If you are not wearing them this quickly you really are not putting a strain on the other parts/fluids. Costs of DE (not racing) in the Black and upper run groups is easily $800-$1000 per day for all costs (tires, brakes, gas, hotel, entry fee, meals) not including the car, modifications, and track only insurance.
I had a similar question and posted I was negotiating with my wife for a return to DEs after a crash. I got a lot of great responses. The best was if your wife finds out how much this costs she will undertake retaliatory spending. I laughed so hard - it is very true, and my wife is not a huge spender at all (I am lucky).
A DE weekend is ~$1000 for me. The insurance is about the same as the DE entry fee costs (my home track is VIR). I have semi-negotiated a $5k/year budget, thinking that I will do 3 a year and buy some miscellaneous things. I managed to get my headers ceramic coated without her knowing, but it is on my budget list. So, when I get "audited" all the expenses will be there. Better to ask forgiveness than permission.
I don't think the Cup 2s will go 3 seasons, but the brake pads might and rotors surely will. I have some Tarret brake caliper studs and went to put those in and change pads before a DE in March, but I started looking at the pads and they were not even close to being 50% worn - maybe they had 80% left. So, I just bled them and put the tires back on. Yeah! I will bleed them and change most of the fluid before each event - so maybe $60 instead of $20/year. I'll also do the oil before or after each event - so add another $100/season for me.
An expensive hobby...
05-15-2018, 07:05 PM
How much do you spend on this DE/racing hobby ?
- we never kiss and tell nor do we add up costs . Spend as much as you can afford we only live once
