would it be crazy for a novice to get a dedicated track car?
11-19-2011, 11:08 PM
#32
Rennlist Member
Lots of great advice on here.....I was in the same spot as you and chose to get an older and somewhat "underpowered" 944 turbo that had no electronic aides. But it was fully set up for racing and had a current PCA log book. No electronic saviors (no ABS was a real learning experience), much faster responsiveness and far less room for error. It was like learning to drive again. I'm so glad now that I made that choice. It's a huge advantage to be able to learn and make mistakes without computer support. Also, being lower power enabled me to push the car to it's limits (eventually) and never being "afraid" of it.
BTW, my first weekend with the car I was in the green group. The (charmingly grumpy) DE chair was walking the grid before we started the first session. He looked at the car, stopped, looked at me and just shook his head. He mumbled something about fully prepped race cars in the green group, shook his head again and walked away. That was two years ago and I just finished my rookie season.
Good luck. You're going to have a ton of fun.
BTW, my first weekend with the car I was in the green group. The (charmingly grumpy) DE chair was walking the grid before we started the first session. He looked at the car, stopped, looked at me and just shook his head. He mumbled something about fully prepped race cars in the green group, shook his head again and walked away. That was two years ago and I just finished my rookie season.
Good luck. You're going to have a ton of fun.
11-19-2011, 11:13 PM
#33
I'm in....
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
and it's a whole lot cheaper to buy one that somebody else put all the needed parts on.
11-20-2011, 12:16 AM
#34
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If you can finance a dedicated track car (plus the tow vehicle and trailer), do it! I've only done 10 days of PCA DEs, and if I had the cash flow and storage for it all (tow vehicle, trailer, etc.), I'd certainly have the full dedicated setup.
A semi-dedicated track car could be a good lower-cost option - enough safety equipment to feel comfortable (half cage, seats & harnesses, maybe even excess weight striped out), still street drivable but only really for to/from the track and the occasional weekend outing.
A semi-dedicated track car could be a good lower-cost option - enough safety equipment to feel comfortable (half cage, seats & harnesses, maybe even excess weight striped out), still street drivable but only really for to/from the track and the occasional weekend outing.
11-21-2011, 10:45 AM
#43
Race Director
so, for the past several years i've only dabbled a bit with track driving. have done all the schools and a DE or two a year, but that's about it.
I've kind of fallen off the cliff these past few months doing more days in 2 months than i've done in the past 5 years. I've made a decision to work with a pro driver as a personal coach. I know there are different ways to learn but I believe this is the best way for me to learn and develop consistency.
...
I guess the thing that is bugging me a bit is pulling up with a trailer and track car and running in the novice group - is this the ultimate poser move
So, do you guys think this would be crazy?
I've kind of fallen off the cliff these past few months doing more days in 2 months than i've done in the past 5 years. I've made a decision to work with a pro driver as a personal coach. I know there are different ways to learn but I believe this is the best way for me to learn and develop consistency.
...
I guess the thing that is bugging me a bit is pulling up with a trailer and track car and running in the novice group - is this the ultimate poser move
So, do you guys think this would be crazy?
The biggest downside to a dedicated track car is money comitment. Most novices should try it before they jump in. However it sounds like you have tried it and are hooked.
So good move to get a dedicted track car. Tracking a nice street car is always a compromise and running a dedicated track car good because it first allows you to focus on the driving rather than worrying about damage to a nice car and then you mod the car to add safety gear which is always a good thing.
I probably had a only 4-5 DE's undermy belt before I went to dedicated car. For me the dedicated car was a cheap POS ($1400) and did not care about a few little scrapes here and there. Not that I wrecked it, but I did not worry about paint of if broke I would just fix it. Plus I stripped it out and threw a cage in a couple months. Turned into a race car.
