Greg Smith

Like $400/weekend. hahaha

DanS911

[QUOTE=Christian20]DE's are economical, well at least in my mind they are. A 2-day event for me is by far the most relaxing distraction I have found to date. So when compared to a two week vacation or say something as silly as offshore fishing (read 400 gals of fuel + bait + ++++) it quickly makes the case.
QUOTE]

I'm with you Christian! I don't have many expensive hobbies any more, no Golf, hardly any fast women hi honey.
The DE stuff keeps me moving through the BS.
Recreation Budgets are an important part of life! (I am in the recreation business)

Bull

For our next fun....lets figure out, on average, how many days we have to live!

forklift

Would one of the moderators delete this thread? Thanks.

Driver8

Hey Bob you asked for it

http://www.deathclock.com/

My average cost per event is between $500 and $750. I hope my wife is not looking over my shoulder right now.

penguinking

~$500 event depending on if i pitch a tent or stay at the hotel.

btw saw powerboat racing on tv - overheard those F1 powerboats pull 6+ lateral !!!

mooty

you are a CPA... hum... are you any good ?
either your calculator ignores all DE cost or somehow you made them tax deductible. if it's the latter, PM me. you are hired

Juan Lopez

kgorman

I run about $1k a weekend for a two day event (hotels and such) and keep it under $500 for 1 day events. I scheduled up about 10-15 DE's this year. However, I go to the ACNA events (Audi Club) on the cheap (being a board member), however my time is worth WAY more than the return, so it's a net loss on that. ;-).

But I am starting to try to edge towards 1 day events at TH or BW here in CA. Mainly because I can drive vs trailer the car, I don't need hotel, etc. Depending on the entry fees, I can get it down to $300 for 1 day.

All of this does not include the car consumables. Thats a different spreadsheet by design. But I have spent a friggin' mint on the car since I got it 6 mo. ago, I was warned about the slope. This is my first pcar.

I also run a small consulting company, and the income has been 'covering' my costs. I spoke with my CPA, and I believe I may be doing some sponsoring of myself by tastefully stickering my car, helmet, etc. As long as I don't go crazy I was advised I can do a bit of writeoff for advertising. Hey, any little bit helps. For instance, sponsor my fuel costs.

So my top $$ saver tips for DE are:
- 1 day events, drive to event.
- find a source of income, create a budget, stick to it.
- use tires that last a reasonable amount of time (MPSC's vs Hoosier) because, hey this is not a race.
- do maintenance yourself on the car as you can.
- resist the slope of upgrades as best you can.
- instruct when you can (limits track time, but also costs little or none)
- split out your 'safety' upgrade costs, the wife will never argue with those. So signoff is easy.

What other tips do people have?

kurt M

1K a day? Man speed costs. I have not done a hard numbers tally and will not do so just in case the household CFO was to find them. Considering I got 6 years from the last motor and rebuilt crank out with new P&Cs it for $1800, front rotors have lasted for more than 3 years, rears for 6 and counting, tires about 3/4 of a season on a set of 4, pads a year or more each set, little bit of an instructor discount, pull the trailer with a 6 cyl PU, split a room when I can, I would say I am on the low end of the pay scale.

Tip #1 do not add up the costs.

jerome951

And you're living proof.

DrJupeman

I built a detailed cost calculation spreadsheet at one point for many different types of cars. Cars that I've owned, cars that I've wanted to buy, etc. I got pretty carried away building the sheet and I will note, to pick on Zman's list, that the big ticket items of true cost he is leaving out. For example:

Amortize cost over 3 years:
engine rebuilds
tranny rebuilds

Then there is:
Insurance for car
Depreciation on car
Opportunity cost of car + money spent on hobby
Depreciation on tow vehicle, wear & tear on tow vehicle, etc...

When you factor in these big ticket items, that extra set of brake pads is almost irrelevant.

Rob 97 993c2

well, memberships to golf clubs cost alot of $$ also.
Skiing in Aspen isnt cheap either (i think of DE as my warm weather skiing equivalent).
Just remember its a hobby and go have fun.

Z-man

Jupe -
It's not that I don't track those expenses, it's just that they are on a different spreadsheet. Makes the track budget look better. Am I foolin' myself? Or my wife? No. She and I are well aware of the costs associated with the upkeep of my car. Almost as well aware as my mechanic is!

-Z.

RSRRacer

At least you guys are not tying to calculate the cost per HOUR!