Cayman GT4 Clubsport Unveiled
#31
With the 2 set of tires per weekend this get crazy expensive crazy fast. Let's be generous and say the tires costs $2000 per set and you race 8 weekends a year. That is $32,000 just in tires.
I can run a lot of classes for a whole season on half the tire budget of the Cayman GT4 Club Sport class alone.
I was hoping that the every aspect of running in this class would cost much less than running a Cup Car. So far, it seems the running costs will about the same except for engine and tranny expenses...and I am not even sure about that. As of now, it seems the only big cost savings is the initial buy in.
I can run a lot of classes for a whole season on half the tire budget of the Cayman GT4 Club Sport class alone.
I was hoping that the every aspect of running in this class would cost much less than running a Cup Car. So far, it seems the running costs will about the same except for engine and tranny expenses...and I am not even sure about that. As of now, it seems the only big cost savings is the initial buy in.
#33
#34
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#35
I don't know how anyone thought that a brand new factory built racecar was going to have anything but equivalent to Cup Car tire costs. Engine and gearbox will be cost savers. But brakes and tires will be on par with a Cup. There was never any chance it would be any other way.
I am sorry that I am so stupid as to hope there would be some operational costs savings.
You know, it was possible that the tire choice could have cheaper and more durable while sacrificing overall performance since this car is for a spec series. But I guess that was a stupid thought....
#36
I thought the GT4 Club Sport rules are different than the WEC, WC, etc., rules. So, different tires could be spec'ed for the Club Sport class. Does Porsche not sell additional parts to upgrade the GT4 Club Sport for different series which allow higher performance?
#37
Im sure the Michelins are going to be for the top enduro series where tire choices are up to the team. At that level, tire prices are the least of their worries.
Bodymotion just announced their racing this in Pirelli WC in GS so I'm guessing it will be on Pirellis regardless. Im sure PCA or any other race series will have their own spec tires they use. Still probably less than running a 991 cup...
#38
Matt,
I am sorry that I am so stupid as to hope there would be some operational costs savings.
You know, it was possible that the tire choice could have cheaper and more durable while sacrificing overall performance since this car is for a spec series. But I guess that was a stupid thought....
I am sorry that I am so stupid as to hope there would be some operational costs savings.
You know, it was possible that the tire choice could have cheaper and more durable while sacrificing overall performance since this car is for a spec series. But I guess that was a stupid thought....
Were you really going to buy one if the tire budget was cheaper?
#39
Bodymotion will be running IMSA Continental Tire Challenge. No Pirellis allowed.
#40
The car is intended to springboard rich gentlemen to amatuer class licenses in pro racing. Your hopes were ill founded because you didn't understand what their intent was for the car. Don't blame me because you haven't been paying attention.
Were you really going to buy one if the tire budget was cheaper?
Were you really going to buy one if the tire budget was cheaper?
No, not after the price of the car was announced. Again, the hope was that it would be closer to $125K to buy in since the car really isn't all that different than a stock GT4. There was also hope that the running costs would be quite a bit less and that included less expensive and more durable tires for the PCA class.
If the price had been better, I would have waited at least a year or two to see how the racing was on the west coast.
#41
I can't really understand why anyone would think this would be a budget oriented class. It's nowhere near that. As others have said, the intention is for this to be a stepping stone to the gentleman/pro racer series.
#42
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Has anyone checked what it costs to buy a car and run other "pro/am" series such as:
Lamborghini Super Trofeo
Ferrari Challenge
Porsche GT3 Cup
or single seater/sports racing "entry level" series such as:
IMSA Lites
Pro Mazda
Indy Lights
The budget to do Conti is more than this, by a good margin...
We're not talking about lower level club racing.
#43
Racing Porsches has ALWAYS been a rich man's game. The fact that the cars got stupid cheap to buy for a while doesn't really change that. Building a 3.0 air cooled race motor has been $20-25K for the last 25 years. It was never an inexpensive game. It was just cheap because if someone popped their spec engine and was happy in the middle of the pack, they could go buy one out of a wreck or a whole car and keep running on the cheap.
It is a Porsche factory built racecar. What about that did anyone think was going to be cheap? Take a $15k 911SC and build a racecar. You will often spend $30-40k to do it. Why wouldn't a $90k street car converted to race spec, using a special motorsports only PDK gearbox be at least $50k over the MSRP of a street car?
#44
I am hardly complaining or whining when I use words and phrases like "hope" and "too bad". So yes, you are being a prat!
Last edited by winders; 11-19-2015 at 07:27 PM.
#45
There are degrees of rich, aren't there? My current air-cooled race car was not cheap to build and is a front of the pack car. So I understand the realities of racing costs. I chose a class that has a high level of performance with reasonable running costs.
The tires cost me about $4800 a year. I installed a new set of front rotors this year that cost me $160. They will last 2 or 3 seasons. I used two front sets of brake pads that cost me $320. Rear rotors will probably last 5 seasons and rear pads will last at least 2 seasons. I bleed the brakes once during the season and replace the brake fluid at the beginning of each season.
If I refresh the 3.6 liter engine every 50 to 60 hours or so, that could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000...probably on the cheaper side unless I break something first.
The car with me driving it will 1:39's at Sears Point which is faster than 996 Cup Cars and the most early 997 Cup Cars.
So I am getting a ton of bang for my buck. I was hoping there would be a path into a more modern race car to race at the Club Racing level that would cost somewhere in between a Cup Car and what I am running now. I figured it would be closer to the Cup Car cost but I was hoping it would not be as close as it is.
Again, too bad.....
The tires cost me about $4800 a year. I installed a new set of front rotors this year that cost me $160. They will last 2 or 3 seasons. I used two front sets of brake pads that cost me $320. Rear rotors will probably last 5 seasons and rear pads will last at least 2 seasons. I bleed the brakes once during the season and replace the brake fluid at the beginning of each season.
If I refresh the 3.6 liter engine every 50 to 60 hours or so, that could cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000...probably on the cheaper side unless I break something first.
The car with me driving it will 1:39's at Sears Point which is faster than 996 Cup Cars and the most early 997 Cup Cars.
So I am getting a ton of bang for my buck. I was hoping there would be a path into a more modern race car to race at the Club Racing level that would cost somewhere in between a Cup Car and what I am running now. I figured it would be closer to the Cup Car cost but I was hoping it would not be as close as it is.
Again, too bad.....