Posts
27
Joined
1/21/2019
Location
KY
US
Edited Date/Time
8/30/2019 5:55am
I have always dreamed of racing cars but haven’t really had the means until now. I have no experience at all in car racing and don’t have anyone close to me who races. I have a engineering degree so half the fun to me would be building the car but I honestly wouldn’t know where to start. Is there any information out there on how?
How would I go about getting started? I have thought about buying a go kart but I’m a little on the heavy side for those(225 lbs). I also have an old Pontiac sunfire that would be a mediocre buzz class car from the info I can find but I don’t know a ton about building a cage for it.
How would I go about getting started? I have thought about buying a go kart but I’m a little on the heavy side for those(225 lbs). I also have an old Pontiac sunfire that would be a mediocre buzz class car from the info I can find but I don’t know a ton about building a cage for it.
Buy you a Jimmy Sills book on whatever car you prefer (open wheel or fenders) and learn about rolls centers, cross weight, CG, sprung vs unsprung weight, steering ackerman, bump-steer, nuances of caster/camber/toe, reasons for spring rates, reasons for multivalve shocks (tie-down - easy-up, etc.)
Pay your dues and start at the bottom. Its worth the effort.
The Shop
And, if you can go fast in a go kart you can go fast in anything..."karting is the most pure form of 4 wheel racing" as you will hear from many top F1 and Indy drivers.
You can still make it work at 225lbs.
In this series you can "rent a seat", some teams will rent driver spots. But the events are usually 16 to 24hrs in length so the opportunity to get a few hours of seat time is there. The variety of cars in this series is awesome! You will have to invest in your own safety gear but it's the least expensive way to find out if it's your bag.
Hope you find something that makes you happy.
I have friends racing spec BMW class where it is very reasonable and they have a blast. 1980-90 ish 320 Series with full cages. Almost all road courses. Relatively slow so it’s a great place to learn. Another friend does the sportsman stock cars And he needs a crew to keep him going. Has a full time mechanic working on the cars during the week and a couple guys on race day. Of course his choice is much more expensive with very little in return from sponsors. It’s a tax write off for his business. He races all small ovals
Keep us posted on what you get into. It’s a dream of mine but it’s a pretty expensive sport
https://youtu.be/ThuJ9D4qu8U
RC is another option for learning what does what. It's a cheap way to understand chassis dynamics at a much lower cost. 1/8th scale buggies are pretty indestructible, and there are lots of places to go in the south.
SCCA is way different bunch of people than at a short track or sprint car track track. Not bad, just different. I didn't fit in.
I found my local asphalt short track, and got a pit pass for the day, and crutched my way over to the 4cyl cars. Met a friendly driver, talked to him about the racing. Over that summer I went to every race and helped him in the pits, learned car set up, and was able to give some insight on some set up stuff, having a set of eyes on the outside watching the car I could relay things he couldn't see. If you like to mess with suspension settings on a bike, that experience helps. He ended up track champ that year, so I had a good mentor.
That fall they did an experience day for the class and let people get in the cars one at a time and turn some laps, and I was really surprised how well a cavalier could go around when properly set up.
So I built myself a car, a 97 cavalier with a 5 speed.
Installed a cage, and essentially restored all the suspension, brake upgrades etc. Financially it's better to buy a built car, but I'm very picky on how things are done, especially the safety components.
The thrill wasnt there. The racing is good, but there are aspects you get in moto that you dont get in a car. The first is the physical part of it. I'm not a particularly skilled rider, but my endurance is what paid off... in a car that doesnt matter. I miss the personal challenge of just not letting yourself quit before the end of a 2 hour race.
If your car set up is not spot on you will go to the back. It doesnt matter how good of a driver you are. I had one race where my toe was slightly off and I dropped positions bad. In moto you can for the most part overcome something being a bit off or not having the best equipment and still do well.
You are at the mercy of the other 25 drivers the entire race. Lappers are a nuisance as we catch them in 5 laps. If there is a caution it bunches everyone back up. Nothing sucks more than being in 2nd, hounding the leader and setting up a pass with 2 laps to go and someone brings out the yellow. Now you are stuck on the outside and that inside line gets by, and the checkers come out before things get set up for racing again. Sucks.
In my rookie year I won a feature, a bunch of top 5s, a 2nd in a feature, finished 3rd in the points and I sold the car 2 days later, despite a knack for driving a car and beating lots of seasoned fast drivers, it was really sort of boring.
Now rally racing might be a blast... I'm going back to 2 wheels despite promising I was done when I was wrapped around that tree last year.
It isnt "easy" to be one of the fastest in any class, even in the cheap classes there are good drivers, but it always felt too calm on asphalt. With the car set up right it was just hitting marks and smooth is fast.
On dirt with the rear end steering the car, guys crossing lines high and low to get drive through the corner and how aggressive you gotta be just to get the car to go fast, that might have been a different story.
Pit Row
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