Looking for Cost Info

[osborni]

Considering getting into CCA racing.

Asside from the cost of the car and any prep costs, what is the annual, recurring costs to campaign a car? ( I know that this is dependent upon the resources of the driver and number of events per year. I'm looking for an order of magnitude guestimate, $2k, $5k or $15k?)

I'm assuming that there is the cost of:
Tires
Entry fees
Fuel
Room/food per weekend
Etc.

Any help is appreciated,
Ian

[CosmosM3]

<br>"Adrenaline keeps me in the game" "Stop dreaming of the shiny gun"

[CosmosM3]

<br>"Adrenaline keeps me in the game" "Stop dreaming of the shiny gun"

[PMiranda]

Care to break it down a little ?

For that matter, what does it cost to prep a stock car (say an E36 M3) for club racing ?

[Paesan]

I would say it would cost 14000 to prep a stock car

3000 cage
1000 various safety (seat harnesses fire system etc)
2000 suspensions
1000 brakes and brakes accesories and spares
1000 minor mods (chip, intae exhaust)
2000 wheels
2000 tires
1000 maintainance
1000 extras

[stevewalsh]

I'd say $2k per event.
My experience (E-Mod 2002, and I-Prep E36)
Tires $800 - 1000 per weekend. Tires not necessarily worn, but often get 'heat-cycled to the point of uselessness.
Entry fees - depends but expect $500 a weekend
Fuel - $4-6 per gal (100 octane to 114), 8-10 gal per hour. Don't forget tow vehicle fuel.
Room/food - $100 per day on up, per person. You *may* have to pay someone to maintain the car.

Also consider brake pads and rotors last about maybe 4-5 race weekends.
Oil/trans fluid/diff fluid change every other race.
Brake fluid change every 4 races.
Wheels bearings last a season
Engines need refreshing every 2 years (or more) depending on your style.
Check every nut and bolt between every race. (If you don't do you own maintenance add that too).
Helmets/Harnesses/suits must be changed every 5 years (by regulation), but probably only the harness will make it that long.

[Paesan]

I think Steve is right on the money

2000 dollar is an acceptable estimate. Do not forget to save money for crashes or dents they do happen to the best of us.

Do lots of homework and talk to lots of people. Ask many many questions no matter how stupid. I did the mistake of jumping into club racing and I didn't have a good time. Look at all your options.

Good luck

[///My5UV]

Once you figured out what you were doing did you start enjoying it, or have you moved on to other (cheaper) pursuits ?
<br>02 LeMansBlue/Silverstone M5
98 EstorilBlue/Grey M3

[Paesan]

Yes, I moved to SCCA. I bought a cheap neon and run it in SSC. I did 12 events in it and it is okay. SCCA offers more events and huge fields. Plus they race everywhere so it is easier to make your schedule work and see that there is an event worth going to. BMWCCA only has a couple of club races in my area and the only one worth going to is VIR and it got filled up. In SCCA I don't think any event ever got filled up, we had a 96 car field once and I was right in the middle of it. I am sure lots of pople have a great time in BMWCCA but if they win a rcae there it doesn't count to much, while if you win the RunOffs you are reconized to having achieved something. It's all about what a person pursuits. There are many racers that just enjoy being around cars and working on their cars, and there are some that are into competition. BMWCCA is not the place to go if you want competition since there is so little of it. If you want to measure yourself, there is only one place Spec Racer Ford. But to answer your question, I did and I am having fun most of the times.

[///My5UV]

Nice and quick. Looks scary to run in traffic with Vipers and other cars that have trouble seeing you!
How did you decide on running a neon ? Purely by price or more by how many people there are to test yourself against ?

Thanks for your wisdom, oh great one!
<br>02 LeMansBlue/Silverstone M5
98 EstorilBlue/Grey M3

[osborni]

SCCA and BMWCCA don't have a simpler breakout of the classes and what kind of cars run in them. I've read through a couple of the class rules, but didn't summarize all of the classes, j-spec, IT, e-mod(?), etc.

[bmhappy]

[bobnaz]

<a href="http://www.bmwccaclubracing.com/2003%20Series/Rules/2003Rules-final.htm">http://www.bmwccaclubracing.com/2003%20Series/Rules/2003Rules-final.htm</a>



<a href="http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_racing/classes/index.html">http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_racing/classes/index.html</a>


<a href="http://www.scca.org/news/index.html#comp_regs">http://www.scca.org/news/index.html#comp_regs</a>

For more complete data order from SCCA the General Competition Rules (GCR's)