NationStates Jolt Archive

Depending on how next year goes, I want to start building myself a racecar. I've been to the track a few times in my roadcar (http://rsc172.blogspot.com/) but to make a lot faster I'd end up having to spend much more money than I have. I'd just get more bang for my buck by building a more specialised car.

So I might have to buy a fairly cheap basic car to do up. It wouldn't have to be street legal, so anything's possible.

So, with a very limited budget and me not being particularly keen on karts or open-wheelers, what would you do?

Build a less complicated palindrome.

Build a less complicated palindrome.
Boob. :D

Boob. :D

I like you. You're hired.

... not being particularly keen on karts or open-wheelers, what would you do?

Shame really. Something like an atom or seven would be cracking.

You could always go towards something like an Elise?

Shame really. Something like an atom or seven would be cracking.
I'd give it a try, it's just that I'm a uni student, so my budget won't stretch that far.

You could always go towards something like an Elise?
Same here. They're quite expensive in Australia, even the old ones.

There are three basic options: an old Japanese car (300ZX, MR2, RX-7, Silvia etc), an old Aussie V8 or V6 of some sort (there's heaps of Commodores, Falcons and Toranas out there) or - and I quite like the idea - I find some old B4 Audi 80 and turn it into a BTCC (http://www.speedarena.com/news/uploads/features/02_003.jpg) look-alike. But that might be sorta expensive too.

I know nothing about cars, let alone racecars (hell, I can hardly drive) but I still have to see the final result.:cool:

Try joining the local auto-club or ralley club, that way you can get a seat as navigator, or co-driver, and make a network of people that can point towards the cheapest and quickest way to racing.

Liberty Manta + Energy Crest + Triple-Z?

...sorry...

So, with a very limited budget and me not being particularly keen on karts or open-wheelers, what would you do?

Too bad. Kart racing is racing and the best way to learn the basics. Trying to jump ahead because you want the cool kit doesn't really do you any favors. You want to race or impress chicks?

And open wheel formula cars are your next cheapest in. I don't know that Formula Vee still exists, but Formula Ford or something like it can get you a full tilt race car for under $10k here in the states. Again, you want to race or to parade really fast? I mean, if it's just for show why not get the scissor doors and neon underlights and drop the pretense...I'm being kind of harsh, but that's because I want you to go racing, and to understand what that means.

Your next best bet is a spec series. This actually can get a little pricey depending on how you do it. If you buy yourself into something like the Miata challenge, you've bought a brand new Miata. But there are things like the Barber Dodge series here in the US where you don't buy the car but rent it.

The benefits are many fold-first of all, that money you sink into your race car? You're not getting it back anyway, so...Further, everyone gets the same car, so it's all you, baby. You want to measure yourself as a driver? The best way right there. No sniveling in the pits about being out spent. (and trust me, you will be doing that sniveling if you don't go spec, because you will be outspent.)

Amateur clubs exist here in the states and I imagine that they do in Australia, too. Here we have SCCA (Sports Car Club of America, or Spoiled Children Crashing Automobiles) that has a variety of series from amateur to semi-pro, and NASA (North American Sportscar Association, I think)...which is just amateur. The do everything from autocross to rally to endurance races.

Autocross is a really good option because you can use the car you already have and not put it at too much risk and the rules forbid you from going overboard on the mods anyway so you won't make your car undrivable on a regular day.

The thing is you have to find the series you want to race first and then find the car you want to do it in. Kitting up a car willy-nilly and you'll find a car that isn't legal in anything.

Good luck. I'm starting to nudge my brother into going in on a Class 11 Baja Bug, basically a stock VW Bug (air-cooled) that runs in the Baja 1000. The challenge is to even finish. Awesome.

My brother used to race in 4 cylinder limited stock class when he was racing full size cars. What him and my dad did was buy an old car (in this case a 1984 Mustang LX), and they completely stripped it out. Then they ordered a bunch of racing parts out of catalogs and built their own racing engine, and that's how they did it. My dad was the only real pit crew my brother had, with one engine, one car, and only two sets of tires. (8 tires total), so yea.

My brother used to race in 4 cylinder limited stock class when he was racing full size cars. What him and my dad did was buy an old car (in this case a 1984 Mustang LX), and they completely stripped it out. Then they ordered a bunch of racing parts out of catalogs and built their own racing engine, and that's how they did it. My dad was the only real pit crew my brother had, with one engine, one car, and only two sets of tires. (8 tires total), so yea.

Dirt track racing is the cheapest probably hands down (the four cylinder thing got me thinking about that, there's a four banger dirt track series...sorry, that's the only reason you were quoted...)

Dirt track racing is TONS more fun to do than watch. Surprisingly so. There's something magical that happens at opposite lock.

Too bad. Kart racing is racing and the best way to learn the basics. Trying to jump ahead because you want the cool kit doesn't really do you any favors.
Well, the thing that annoys me about karts is the lack of a third pedal and a gear stick.

Maybe you're right, maybe I should go back to the local karting track. I got annoyed at the shitty karts (mine kept breaking down, until the gas pedal got stuck and I powered straight into a pretty scary situation...) and other people who did it for fun with no interest in doing a quick time or even sticking to the track rules (and I swear some of them were drunk), so I didn't have a good time the last few times I went.

And open wheel formula cars are your next cheapest in. I don't know that Formula Vee still exists, but Formula Ford or something like it can get you a full tilt race car for under $10k here in the states.
To be honest, I've never tried an open-wheeler and I have no idea where I could.

Autocross is a really good option because you can use the car you already have and not put it at too much risk and the rules forbid you from going overboard on the mods anyway so you won't make your car undrivable on a regular day.
Well, the only reasonably close event is on dirt, and if there's one thing I don't want to do to my car is make it workable on dirt. At the moment I'm tending towards hillclimbs, and maybe motorkhanas. Apart from the circuit. And I really wanna do a road rally of some sort, and finally be set free from the speed limits (my dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzgBwoL53lE)), but there's few of those left.

But right now, I'm just doing sprints (http://www.queenslandraceway.com.au/), meaning I'm just racing the clock. My car right now can do decent times and I'm the slowest part of the package, but at some point the costs are going to become a problem if I keep upgrading. Plus, since it's my daily driver, there's a limit to what I can do before the cops and insurance companies come after me. That's my reasoning for, eventually, wanting a racecar - not because I now suddenly want to deal with a bunch of 14 year olds that show me up because their dads bought them karts when they were three. I have a hard enough time as it is dealing with my ego and the fact that I'm not as quick as the other Renault guys who've been coming to the track for years. I'm nowhere near the level where I can take others on and win, I'm too new to all this.

I think that more so than wanting to compete against others, I want to be able to enjoy driving without everyone being after me for it right now. That's why I took that job as pizza delivery dude all that time ago, but these days the cops are trying hard to shut me down and I can't afford losing my license. So they're forcing me to go to the track and spend all that money.

http://girtby.net/images/homer-car.gif

Depending on how next year goes, I want to start building myself a racecar. I've been to the track a few times in my roadcar (http://rsc172.blogspot.com/) but to make a lot faster I'd end up having to spend much more money than I have. I'd just get more bang for my buck by building a more specialised car.

So I might have to buy a fairly cheap basic car to do up. It wouldn't have to be street legal, so anything's possible.

So, with a very limited budget and me not being particularly keen on karts or open-wheelers, what would you do?


How about trying to get a bunch of people together to start one of these: http://www.utvracingassociation.com/index2.html

I first saw this on Spike TVs Xtreme 4x4. The great thing is, these UTVs go from mild (stock UTVs) to wild (fully built racing UTVs). You could probably even skip the offroad, and turn the series into a dirt race.

[QUOTE=Creepy Lurker;13148057]Shame really. Something like an atom or seven would be cracking. QUOTE]

I have to agree with this. Buy yourself a caterham / clubman kit, drop in a simple engine (i normally wouldnt recommend this, but a mazda rotary engine is small, light, powerful, and you would hardly feel its fallbacks on a racetrack), get a diff from something like a datsun 1600 (very capable for a car of its size, but many of them are trashed so look around).

Do this, and you're as close to an f1 car as youre likely to get (success stories of similar attempts have cars that would do a 400m stretch next to a mclaren f1). Besides, such a basic set-up in such a low, open car ensures absolute driver involvement, meaning even if it doesnt go like an f1 car itll feel like it does.

http://www.westfield-sportscars.co.uk/

Look in the trading post or unique cars, sometimes you see them go for 10k for a kit only short an engine and drivetrain.

That or buy a Yamaha R1 (hehehe)

Sorry this took so long, I was at the races (spectator, American Le Mans Series and Speed World Challenge season finales, awesome.)
Well, the thing that annoys me about karts is the lack of a third pedal and a gear stick.
Let me introduce you to the 125cc Shifter Kart (http://www.gtkarts.com/chassis-marauder125cc.html). You're not really ready, but if you're that impatient...

Maybe you're right, maybe I should go back to the local karting track. I got annoyed at the shitty karts (mine kept breaking down, until the gas pedal got stuck and I powered straight into a pretty scary situation...) and other people who did it for fun with no interest in doing a quick time or even sticking to the track rules (and I swear some of them were drunk), so I didn't have a good time the last few times I went.
Well, rec karting where you just buy lap time on their karts is going to attract day trippers and jackasses, to be sure. You're going to have to go looking for kart club racing, where if you take the track drunk they kick you the hell out and everyone (at least in my experience) is really helpful and pretty friendly. It means getting your own kart, but then at least if it's junk you can fix it.

And it's your cheapest option at around $3k last time I checked for a racing kit you can fit in your Clio (with some nudging)-that's ready to race.


To be honest, I've never tried an open-wheeler and I have no idea where I could.
There has to be an Australian equivalent to the SCCA. Find that and you've found your open wheelers.


Well, the only reasonably close event is on dirt, and if there's one thing I don't want to do to my car is make it workable on dirt. At the moment I'm tending towards hillclimbs, and maybe motorkhanas. Apart from the circuit. And I really wanna do a road rally of some sort, and finally be set free from the speed limits (my dream (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzgBwoL53lE)), but there's few of those left.
TDRs are good races (Time/Distance Rallys). You don't beat the shit out of your car like in a 'real' rally but you still test yourself as a driver. We don't do hillclimbs as much here as elsewhere, but I wish we did, they seem cool as all hell.

But right now, I'm just doing sprints (http://www.queenslandraceway.com.au/), meaning I'm just racing the clock. My car right now can do decent times and I'm the slowest part of the package, but at some point the costs are going to become a problem if I keep upgrading. Plus, since it's my daily driver, there's a limit to what I can do before the cops and insurance companies come after me. That's my reasoning for, eventually, wanting a racecar - not because I now suddenly want to deal with a bunch of 14 year olds that show me up because their dads bought them karts when they were three. I have a hard enough time as it is dealing with my ego and the fact that I'm not as quick as the other Renault guys who've been coming to the track for years. I'm nowhere near the level where I can take others on and win, I'm too new to all this.
That's where seat time in those karts comes in. So you're not Lewis Hamilton. Shocker. Looks like you'll have to work at it like the rest of us. Thing is, it's pretty rewarding when you get better and start beating people. Here's the thing, if you 'jump' ahead in some series, you are going to get your ass handed to you by even better drivers than the Renault guys.

I think that more so than wanting to compete against others, I want to be able to enjoy driving without everyone being after me for it right now. That's why I took that job as pizza delivery dude all that time ago, but these days the cops are trying hard to shut me down and I can't afford losing my license. So they're forcing me to go to the track and spend all that money.
TDRs and autocross (racing the clock) is that for you, really. The great thing about clock racing is it is less intense and no one is around you to bitch up your ride.

There will always be faster cars. You find a car faster than your Clio and you'll just start noticing cars faster than that. The trick is working on making yourself a faster driver. You do that and it doesn't matter what racing you do. When I raced karts there were 'big car' champions racing against me because to them racing was racing and they couldn't get enough. (It also meant that getting above 4th was a bitch, but I loved the challenge, even if more often than not I wasn't up for it).

I understand the lure of speed. I had to get rid of my sports car and get into VW vans because if I didn't control myself, someone else would and I couldn't afford to make my car even eligible for track days, much less the track days themselves. And I certainly couldn't afford the tickets.

Dirt track racing is the cheapest probably hands down (the four cylinder thing got me thinking about that, there's a four banger dirt track series...sorry, that's the only reason you were quoted...)

Dirt track racing is TONS more fun to do than watch. Surprisingly so. There's something magical that happens at opposite lock.

I don't know I think dirt track racing is one of the funner styles to watch :) even if it is not as fun as driving I would not take away from the viewership of it :)

I don't know I think dirt track racing is one of the funner styles to watch :) even if it is not as fun as driving I would not take away from the viewership of it :)

It would be better if I had a fast forward button for the lengthy caution periods. Watching a 800hp Outlaw Sprint car launch itself off the wheels of the car next to it while sliding through at opposite lock is spectacular, but I know that it's going to be followed by 30 minutes of trucks pulling whats left of that car into the infield so that I can get 5 more minutes of racing before that happens again.

A clean race can be fucking fantastic, that crazy sideways dance through the corners is amazing. But often the races aren't that clean.

But, if I have to watch oval racing I want it to be on dirt.