mark kibort

Looks about right for budget racing. I assume you are camping at the track.

trade out your tire cost for my increase use of brake pads and rotors and I bet its pretty close. I was keeping track last year and it was right in that range.

However, if you stack the car, all bets are off.

mk

John H

When you get bit by the competitive bug, your costs will go up. I thought I'd be happy just being out there racing. It was not long before I got tired of running for 4th or 5th place. I either had to quit to keep my sanity or spend money (more track time and mods) to go faster.

Potomac-Greg

Wow. This is an insightful comment that truly speaks to me. It's all too easy to get caught up in the DE "swordfight" over the faster car / bigger wallet. Thanks. You may have saved me a lot of money!

krystar

and don't forget to factor in if there IS an accident and your car is completely totalled. at a DE, yer still covered under insurance in most cases (but check yer policy).

NaroEscape

For me a race is much more expensive than a DE because I care a lot more about the weekend. In a DE, I know I don't run 10/10 - why bother? so tires, brakes, etc last much longer. I also don't bring a crew/mechanic for a DE - again, why bother? if something breaks that I can't fix, I load up the trailer and am done...no problem.

For a race weekend, I want to be on the track as much as possible, so getting things fixed quickly counts. I wear out brakes, tires, run through fuel, etc much more. I run the PCA enduros, so I need a pit crew for fuel. Race registrations are more than three times (in our area) than a DE weekend when you instruct.

Our DE weekends, when Nadine and I instruct, run us about $1,050 for two people ($200 registration, $200+ room, $100 food, $250 race fuel, $250 amortized for tires, and about $50 amortized for brakes), so about $500+ each.

A 3 day race weekend costs about $2,000 just for me: $500 reg, $300 hotel, $100 food, $250 fuel (I use as much in a race weekend as we both use in a DE), $500 tires, $50 brakes (they last me forever), $700 crew plus their expenses.

mglobe

I'm assuming the OP is a woman, because he broke one of the fundamental Man Laws.

If you are married, and so foolish as to try to figure the cost of racing, don't forget to include jewelry, original oil paintings, new 300+ thread count linens, and kitchen remodels into the cost.

multi21

Great break down Joe, but where is the line item for Hotels and fuel for towing to the track? Maybe your budget is local?

I don't count food because we all have to eat whether it's at the track or back at home.

Greg Smith

What is the true cost of racing? More than I can afford.

mhm993

(sorry for the O T)
Dan212 --where have you been?

9.5 Degrees

Great comments guys. Keep 'em coming.

Just curious on Joes tire estimate. Isn't the spec tires for 944 the RA1. How many race days do they last? Shaved and non shaved

cgomez

+100 on whatever B Watts said. If you are competitive and want to win every race then it is a lot more expensive.

A race weekend can be as "cheap" as a DE if:
- You don't care about having ultimate laptime pace and run the tires you have and only replace when they are worn out.
- You dont care about packing up and going home if something breaks inn your car (dont carry spares inventory and tools (DIY) or a crew to work on your car and do rush repairs)
- You slow down or drive into the pits if you see that something is not OK with the drivetrain and decide to ease off or save it
- Take it easy for a lap or tow in the race if the brakes start to fade
- Don't check the alignment after every race, or adjust it accordingly for every track characteristics...

It is a lot more expensive if:
- Run new tires when it matters (Qualifying, wanting to get the track record, etc., leave "old" tires for practice only, and never run "toasted" tires as they add nothing to setting up the car properly)
- You don't let go and keep running the car at 110% even if the temp is a bit high or drivetrain starts having nasty noises b/c you are leading the race or have a shot at making the pass for the win
- Spend a good amount of time setting up the car perfectly for each car (alignment, shocks, wing angle, etc.)
- Have a crew with the tools and spares that can do almost any job in the 60mins in between race sessions (this was the most important factor for me this year; if I had been alone, I would have completed less than half the races I did), so the car is always at its best.
- You bring ALL the family with you, so you can do more races as you are not sacrificing family time

dan212

Marc - Work got in the way of my priorities

M758

Camping at the track... Nah... I just drive home each night. (track is 50 miles from home) Although I did camp at Miller for NASA Nationals this year.

Still I did not include food or travel costs since they are so variable. Some guys two 6hrs to the track in giant RV and others driver thier car to the events. Some guys are fine with a Motel 6 near the track and others need the Ritz. Really that stuff has nothing to do with if you race or DE or what car you drive.

That estimate was created to show the costs for running 944 spec car. It does assume you don't wad up the car and don't blow parts left and right. Which despite what some 911 guys say.. you don't if you built the car right.

Here in Az NASA entry fees for a race are $10-20 more than for a DE. So that is pretty much nothing. So you can race for very little money. However it still takes money to do it. One thing that makes difference in a seaon is that once you race you tend to be more inclined to make every event in seaons vs in DE you can skip some and not feel bad. That right there drives up cost for a season, but you are getting more track time.

In the end I don't believe racing needs to cost a ton of money. It certainly can, but does not need to. Personally if you DE a "fast newer car" you can drop down to a slower car and race it for the same money or less. Also PCA club raicng is expensive. You can race for less money in SCCA or NASA and despite it not being PCA still have a ton of fun. One big savings from SCCA or NASA is you can get in more races locally thus reducing travel costs. PCA racing is great if you want to run tracks all over the USA, but if you just want to race alot PCA is not the ideal organization due to the 1 race in a region type schedule.

M758

The spec tire this year was the R888. 225/50 R15. It failed to last long enough so we are ditching it. Tires are our bigget cost besides entry fees so we are concerned about increases here.

Next year we are going back to our beloved RA-1 in 225/50 R15. My first set got me 48 heat cycles. After that I have been getting 24-32 heat cycles. Shaved or not. I actually get more useful life shaved to 4/32 since they are faster soon. Anyway the harder you push the more tire you use, but I push as hard as I can and always run near the front in one of the most hotly contested 944 spec regions in the country. Also this done moslty on a 1.5 mile short track so lots of turns per mile.

Bryan Watts

That certainly depends on the venue in which you chose to race. You can race NASA or SCCA for lower entry costs than a Porsche Club DE.