Question for any racers

[Kabob]

Question, is there such a thing as a "cheap" way to get into racing (I know cheap is a relative term)? Maybe Karting? I was hoping to get into motorcycle racing but lately I've been off the bike and thought more about going with 4 wheels.

 

[scorp00]

SCCA - you can pay a small fee and go drive around cones in a parking lot and see if you like it. You just bring your daily driver. They have a season/points/standings too for each region if you want to get a little more serious.

 

[overst33r]

Depends what you define as cheap. If it's something an average blue collar guy can afford then absolutely not. Racing (Not autocross/HPDE/trackdays) has and will always be for the rich.

 

[450]

C'mon! Did everyone forget the 24 hours of LeMons?! http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

Cars that are $500 or less battle it out for the win! Now how's that for cheap?

 

[Imported]

Spec Miata? NASA and SCCA have similar, if not exact, rules on their Spec Miata series.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Imported
Spec Miata? NASA and SCCA have similar, if not exact, rules on their Spec Miata series.

Hrm, that sounds a lil' more realistic.

Yeah, general blue-collar guy.

 

[iamwiz82]

Spec Miata is definately a cheap way to go and will show you your driving skills. Very much a level playing field.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Spec Miata is a great way to get into racing as has already been suggested. The cars are widely available, fun to drive, cheap to repair, and fuel efficient if you want to drive them for fun off the track. You'll also learn good habits since there isn't enough power to compensate for mistakes through the corners.

ZV

 

[overst33r]

Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

 

[Imported]

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

I've seen guys spend almost as much on RC cars, so it's not too bad.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

You will definitely save some money by working on the car yourself. From what I've heard from spec miata guys, if you want to stay competitive plan on rebuilding your engine every few races. Racing is a competitive sport, and if you are a competitive person you'll probably find yourself spending lots of money on the car at first to keep up. The key factor though is you, the driver. Then again, you can't get better unless you race, so it's a trade off.

 

[compman25]

What do you consider cheap? And what kind of racing are you talking about?

 

[Imported]

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

You will definitely save some money by working on the car yourself. From what I've heard from spec miata guys, if you want to stay competitive plan on rebuilding your engine every few races. Racing is a competitive sport, and if you are a competitive person you'll probably find yourself spending lots of money on the car at first to keep up. The key factor though is you, the driver. Then again, you can't get better unless you race, so it's a trade off.

Yep. I think probably the first year will be more of a "learn how to drive properly" type of thing when I get rolling. Tearing down an engine every other race would be overkill for a rookie.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

You will definitely save some money by working on the car yourself. From what I've heard from spec miata guys, if you want to stay competitive plan on rebuilding your engine every few races. Racing is a competitive sport, and if you are a competitive person you'll probably find yourself spending lots of money on the car at first to keep up. The key factor though is you, the driver. Then again, you can't get better unless you race, so it's a trade off.

Yep. I think probably the first year will be more of a "learn how to drive properly" type of thing when I get rolling. Tearing down an engine every other race would be overkill for a rookie.

Since you consider yourself a rookie, racing is the last thing you should be doing IMO. Down the line somewhere racing would be an option once you get some experience, but for now I think you should stick to something with instruction. An HPDE/track day would be a good way to start, since you can't get on the track by yourself until you prove your competency to the instructors.

 

[Imported]

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

You will definitely save some money by working on the car yourself. From what I've heard from spec miata guys, if you want to stay competitive plan on rebuilding your engine every few races. Racing is a competitive sport, and if you are a competitive person you'll probably find yourself spending lots of money on the car at first to keep up. The key factor though is you, the driver. Then again, you can't get better unless you race, so it's a trade off.

Yep. I think probably the first year will be more of a "learn how to drive properly" type of thing when I get rolling. Tearing down an engine every other race would be overkill for a rookie.

Since you consider yourself a rookie, racing is the last thing you should be doing IMO. Down the line somewhere racing would be an option once you get some experience, but for now I think you should stick to something with instruction. An HPDE/track day would be a good way to start, since you can't get on the track by yourself until you prove your competency to the instructors.

Oh, I meant in Spec Miata. I've done a bit of autocrossing and a number of track days.

 

[overst33r]

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006

Originally posted by: Imported

Originally posted by: mariok2006
Spec miata is a good way to go, but I don't think it's as cheap as people seem to think.

http://www.red4est.com/miata/

I haven't priced out parts yet (I plan on running Spec Miata in the future with my brother), but I've seen used Miatas in the 3-5k range, and prepped cars anywhere from 8k to 14k so far. To get into racing, I'd say it's pretty cheap, especially if you plan to do much of the work yourself.

You will definitely save some money by working on the car yourself. From what I've heard from spec miata guys, if you want to stay competitive plan on rebuilding your engine every few races. Racing is a competitive sport, and if you are a competitive person you'll probably find yourself spending lots of money on the car at first to keep up. The key factor though is you, the driver. Then again, you can't get better unless you race, so it's a trade off.

Yep. I think probably the first year will be more of a "learn how to drive properly" type of thing when I get rolling. Tearing down an engine every other race would be overkill for a rookie.

Since you consider yourself a rookie, racing is the last thing you should be doing IMO. Down the line somewhere racing would be an option once you get some experience, but for now I think you should stick to something with instruction. An HPDE/track day would be a good way to start, since you can't get on the track by yourself until you prove your competency to the instructors.

Oh, I meant in Spec Miata. I've done a bit of autocrossing and a number of track days.

Ah ok. Best of luck to you then.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Bracket racing.

$15/night plus whatever gas you use

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: 450
C'mon! Did everyone forget the 24 hours of LeMons?! http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/

Cars that are $500 or less battle it out for the win! Now how's that for cheap?

And it's fun as heck (We race the lemons, next race May)

 

[DarkThinker]

Not to be thread hijacking here, But what I would really love to know, is there some sort of amateur rally championship that goes on somewhere in this country? Since I was a kid watching rallies on TV (WRC and such) I have always wanted to one day participate in an amateur rally. Preferably in a E21 BMW 323i

 

[Bignate603]

I've always wanted to do a jeep speed vehicle. Not incredibly pricey to actually make a vehicle you can run, but it can get much more expensive if you want to win.