IcemanG17

another bit of advice I find VERY true....it is MUCH cheaper to buy an already built car vs building it yourself....by at least 50%.....

dizzyj

I have a 944 turbo that will be gt3 class when I qualify for pca racing. I also drive a 924s/944 with mike in chumps. If I were to get a light, low hp car I'd get a miata. Just many more of them around to race/de with. And it would be nice to be able to get parts at autozone.

Luckily we have a small but active group of 944 turbo gt class racers here in Texas. And while driving a slow car fast is fun, driving a fast car really fast is even more fun

RCC GT3

I plan on racing and HPDE. The main focus for me is to finally have a vehicle that is track ready and devoted, figure out expenses and budgets accordingly. I want to race but am more focused on developing my ability to drive and perform. When the skill and confidence from that builds I plan continue with this car to track it until I have determined a different track car. My budget is small to begin with but as time progresses the budget will increase...we can all hope

teamking

Here is a car (mine!) that would fit your budget today and grow with you as you improve:

https://rennlist.com/forums/vehicle-...ck-de-car.html

It's got about 190 hp at the wheel with no mods to the drivetrain whatsoever. So it's not going to burn through consumables unless you start adding hp.

Of course, I'm biased...

RCC GT3

To the people that have built their own vs buying a prebuilt - what honestly brings you more joy when tracking your vehicle, driving one that has your labor hours and hard work (+ lots of money ) or one that is prebuilt and you can enjoy from the start?

I understand the financial benefits but as someone that is passionate about their cars and loves working on them, I find value in the satisfaction of building my own. I had a project years back, a 89 RX7 that was track ready but at that time in life I decided to sell my toys and move to paradise for a few years. Unfortunately Hawaii has no track...

67King

I have a Turbo that I built. And when I say built, I mean every damn thing including the paint, though I did have a roll cage professionally built/installed. If I had to do it over again, I'd go an already built NA route.

I don't like having other people touch my car. I like knowing EXACTLY what has been done, and I know that if it wasn't done right, it was a mistake on my part, rather than a short cut. But invariably, you will have a car that looks like this one day:


And WHEN that happens, you will feel like absolute $#!+. Yes, that was an expensive hit. But even worse was that it was incredibly demoralizing. When you see something that you created, and put your heart and soul into get wadded up, it really freakin' hurts.

So before you get all caught up in building a car, think about how you'll feel when it gets wadded up.

Horus2000

Caveat....I'm not a guy that really works on his own cars a lot due to lack of time (and mainly lack of skill).

However, in the last 9 months I have built 2 cars with the help of my porsche tech/good friend. First was a NA 944 for ChumpCar and most recently a SP996 for PCA. In addition, I bought a pre-built PCA E class car 4 years ago (944 Turbo), which I have upgraded extensively over the past several years.

All three feel like they are "mine". The pre-built car took a few months to get there. Minor customizations help (my own seat, etc.). But separate from the money (none of this is cheap), the biggest issue between buy/build was time....

My experience was that it takes months to build. There's a ton of both fun and anxiety in the build (is it going to blow up the first time on track?). But mainly there's waiting. Waiting for parts. Waiting for time to work on it. Waiting to get it on track.

My builds were significant, all at once affairs. So, there was no "we'll work on this item this week and play with it at the track next weekend". Everything was torn apart. So, I didn't actually get into the car until it was essentially complete.

Buying pre-built was a different experience. Yes, there were a couple weeks of prep necessary. But then, it was to the track! I was relatively confident the car would hold together because it had been raced already and well maintained.

The pre-built was perfect for my first track-dedicated car because I spent the time (and $) in the driver's seat, not in my garage. I've very glad that I built the last two cars, but I'm also very happy that I chose pre-built for my first.

Building is a huge commitment and much more expensive than you expect. There are a lot of excellent home mechanics that I know that have half built race cars sitting in their garage (and sometimes 2 or 3 - you know who you are). But on the other hand, the final product is EXACTLY the way you want it.

Just my two cents. Good luck. You're going to have a blast regardless of what you choose.

gums

And if you spend your time getting trained and getting track time you will find that it is a better use of your time rather than spending it working on the car. Provided you want to be a driver, not a fabricator.

RCC GT3

---And if you spend your time getting trained and getting track time you will find that it is a better use of your time rather than spending it working on the car. Provided you want to be a driver, not a fabricator.

Very true, I am exploring my options right now. I am deciding which car I would like to buy (Miata/944s2) most likely race ready. The 944 (not s2) I think I would not like due to the fact that I would like something that is a bit faster and I would not be like "should have gotten the s2."

---And WHEN that happens, you will feel like absolute $#!+. Yes, that was an expensive hit. But even worse was that it was incredibly demoralizing. When you see something that you created, and put your heart and soul into get wadded up, it really freakin' hurts.

I am considering which I would car less about if anything happened as well. This is a new opportunity for me and am hoping to be prepared for the race season coming up this winter

gums

this came up on Facebook this morning:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

RCC GT3

Thanks for the heads up GUMS but out of my price range and I want to stay N/A

samluke

I have owned, built and raced Turbo's and Turbo S's for years. I have owned 968's and various 911's. I love the Turbo cars but I wouldn't recomend them, and if I had to start over it wouldn't be a Turbo.

For the 944 series the S2 is the way to go. just as much, if not more power than a Turbo if tuned right, and pretty much bullet proof.

I have a lot of time and effort and spares invested in 944 Turbo's and no regrets, but If I were to start over it would be S2 or a spec Boxster. Boxters are cheap, modern, reliable and there are a ton of parts out there. They are almost as quick as E stock cars ie Euro 911's, 944 Turbo's and S2's. 968's are the best of the 944 series but parts are hard to find, and expensive. If you wanted cost effective, reliable, cheap to run momentum car, then I would recommend Miata's.

For chumps I have raced a couple of NA 944's but then went to the dark side and upgraded I mean changed to a BMW E36!!

Just my 2c based on years of DE and racing.