gums

Well, from what I'm hearing your budget constraints are unrealistic, so I might suggest spectating, unless you really want to race and decide to get real.

993inNC

It's not budget constraints necessarily, it's a time constraint on my part ( I have a wife and two young kids, and two + businesses I babysit on any given day) vs. the money I want to spend to go play. I like owning everything I have but I'm beginning to think the arrive and drive route may be my shtick. It allows me to play without the hassle of maintenance and transport and will probably be equal money in the end. And when I'm done, I'm done and I don't have a car to unload and probably loose money on etc.....
We'll see how it all plays out. I am learning a lot though.

The one thing i do know for sure is, I don't spectate!!

multi21

^^ PS3?

993inNC

Funny guy ^^^^^^^^ I don't do video game consoles either

multi21

This should have been posted on the first page before we got this deep into it:

WARNING: ... "What part of racing did you think was going to be cheap? The Porsche part or the racing part?"

944 is the 'cheapest' form of Pcar racing, but not really cheap compared to other hobbies, unless you're into horses or yachts.

gums

My father in law is into fishing boats, and I think he's got me beat on expensive hobbies, which is fine with me.

944Cup

If it was equal money, we'd all be doing Arrive and Drive. Check out rental prices before you pass up good cars:

http://www.mantissport.ca/RaceCarRen...1/Default.aspx

http://www.speedsportsracing.com/rentals/

http://www.pinkporsches.com/Pink_Por...tes,_etc..html

And consider the fine print, i.e. possibly higher replacement or repair costs if you run it a ground if its not yours.

Its hard to dip your toe in lightly when going racing, Porsches no exception, renting no exception.

993inNC

Oh I'll take a look at everything before I do anything, don't worry . Those are pretty high rates, a buddy of mine was just part of a 13 hour enduro in a spec car for less than that. And I don't mean a race shop rental, there are guys out there willing to rent their cars for a fee.

993inNC

Who said anything about cheap? I'm simply looking for an overall experience value. I don't get a big kick out of bragging about how much I've spent on things (I don't have that sort of penal envy). I enjoy bragging about how much fun I've had for what I don't spend, but that doesn't mean things are necessarily cheap.

And to be fair to me, I am now having a conversation with at least two people who come from the "Cup" world. I'm not considering doing Cup racing. I'm considering SP1 or Nasa Spec '44.....different classes (and car prep which translates to dollars spent) all together. So........

No one here has to agree with my thinking or reasoning. I simply wanted to know what I asked in the original post and we have gotten a bit a skew....

Sterling Doc

I would tend to agree with Dave. You already have the truck & trailer, which is the bigger expense. Right now, built Cup cars in your area are probably a bit cheaper than the Spec prices we talked about due to market forces, and you would be about even money after running one season. From there, it's all upside. Building a front running Cup car, and then selling it a year later is a losing proposition, but buying one seems like the better idea than renting if you are careful in what you buy.

993inNC

I agree completely with that statement Eric. Dave has turned me on to one I think in Ohio. I've emailed the man but he doesn't respond. I'd love to try and put a deal together. In the mean time, I've spoken to someone who has offered me the possibility of an arrive and drive in a month in SP1 if i can get a license issued with just my previous race and DE experience. I figure a couple of times doing that before I buy something tells me for sure if I like it or not before I jump in with both feet.

I posted originally here to try and get a feel for how people felt about these various series, and now I'm getting a little lambasted about what I want to spend or not spend (not by you).


<<<<<<<< Pete, not a cheap car, to own, run or track But it was a bullet proof companion, which translated to a lot less money than might be normal for others. To me that's a great value for my money, and was always a great track experience both from the car and the people I ran with........well most of them, there were a few cry babies about how close I like to run

K964

Spot on Pete. Couldn't agree more. The PS3 comment made me spit my Guiness all over my laptop!!!

Sterling Doc

Somewhere around page 3 is where not enough advice turns into too much

...but is pretty funny. Ask a question on RL, and hold on!

993inNC

Right and page 3 started out so well too. Praised for the idea of "trying before buying" and by page 4 I've become the cheapest bastard here not willing to spend a dime and needing to play video games to get giggles. WTF??

It's all good though. I have become a successful self made "very comfortable-aire" by talking to as many people as possible, networking and processing all that I hear. I weed out the sh$t and assemble the information I need to be successful in whatever I do, then I act. This will be no different.

I could easily stroke a check for anything I want, but I am a "value" guy. Like I said before, with me its not about how much I've spent, it's about how much fun for as little as is reasonable to spend and the value I perceive it to hold. Call it cheap if you will, I'm good

gums

Sterling's got it all right. Most of us R-listers love to kick a dead horse, especially at this time of year.
So, I'll just keep the momentum.
As Sterl said, you've already got the truck and trailer, but from your previous avatar I also noticed that you've got a lift. Hello.
Now, from the present avatar you've tracked a very nice Carerra. That's exactly where I stepped in to racing. And my C2S was also black. And I realized that is was also bulletproof. However, I also realized that when something untoward happens, it's going to be expensive, in more ways than one. Anytime you damage a beautiful street Porsche, the resale goes down. And that includes just very minor dings, or even a track history of any kind. So, if you think you are saving money because the maintenance is low, you may be in for a rude awakening.
Lastly, since you are going to research this and come up with the ultimate deal, please keep us in the loop. We're all just dying to know what you come up with.