jwt1603

You can check out NCCC too for events. St. Augustine sin't too far north of you and we also run a little south of you in Palm Bay. Or just north of Tampa in Brooksville we run a test and tune with plenty of seat time at least once a month.

http://www.ncccsouth.com/html/schedule.html

The schedule gets updated every couple of weeks.

rclinton

Great thread. Read each and every post and am certianly still learning. Im in my second year of AutoXing and my first year with my 02 Vert. My input is in racing in the SCCA AS class is as follows:

1. I have an A4 and drive start to finish in second gear.
2. I select competive mode.
2. I lowered my suspension on the stock bolts, it makes a world of difference.
3. I have driven each competition with my top down.
4. I am learning to drive smooth, rather than fast. If you tires are screeching your losing time.

My results this year 2 for 2 1st place finishes, and trust me Im not the best driver I know. If you are in the NC area shoot me a PM, we will be autocrossing at the Air Station at Cherry Point in the July/Aug time frame and is one of the biggest and fastest courses in our area.

All this might be out the window as I will be installing a A&A Vortec SC system soon!!!

99C5Vert

Here is a nicely done vid on intro to autox...

http://vimeo.com/12067348

okaythen

hi guys how much money should I prepare for each season/year for tracking the car? what's your guy's expenses/budge for this/? thanks

jwt1603

Not to be a smart a$$ but you can spend as much as you want. It all depends on what you're trying to do and how serious you want to get about it. Some of us spend a lot of money (and time) doing this. Others don't do it very often and don't spend much at all.

A set of tires is about 1,300 or so. CCW wheels will set you back about 2,500 a set for new, about 1,200 to 1,800 for used. That's just to get you started. Then you've got sway bars, shocks, seat, harness, etc, etc. Then add in travel expenses to get to and from the events.....

Or if you want to just see what it's like make sure your street tires are in good condition, change the oil, bleeed the brakes, check all the other fluids and just go have fun and see if you like it and want to get serious.

It depends on how far you want to go with it.

Toddolie

You can get the belt to "catch" by pulling it out quickly when you have the seat reclined just a bit, and while holding the belt, power or adjust the seat up to your preferred driving position and against the belt so that it is tight, thereby creating a one strap cheap harness effect. It helps.

Toddolie

The first event for ASCC is going to be a "double" held on April 9th and 10th, at the big lot of the Hershey Park parking lot. This is a big and fast challenging track and good surface. Each day is a different layout with it's own qualities. If you're relatively local, within 2 hours or so, it's definately worth a trip in. We routinely have guys from upstate NY drive down to race with us. It's a well run program and there are novice instructors walk throughs and for those that would like the help of a driver coach.

You can pre-register at http://www.myautoevents.com/pls/mae/...event_id=12024.

Look for you there. I'll be in the MBM GTO. I can only make Saturday, Sunday is my son's confirmation.

Todd

starkynuke

wow...thread is getting a bit long to read in one sitting. haha.

I read every post and the one thing I never saw mentioned is reading the other cars/drivers. Meaning? You may have gotten along very well with the driver of a specific car in your DE1 or 2 group, but that doesn't mean they are the best cars to follow. Find drivers with similar cars to yours (front vs rear vs all wheel drive, etc). Ask your instructor or other instructors who in your group has a good line and one that you should try to follow (a good instructor will have scouted it and will direct you automatically). Look around for guys with notebooks or ones that are picking Veteran's brains after the download. They could have a suggestion for a way around that tricky section (always taken as JUST suggestions). When you grid up, there is a basic strategy for learning. For me, I wanted to be just behind a similar car with a good line, and a few cars behind something that I would feel motivated to catch up to. Talk to another driver and see if he/she wants to do a lead-follow with you (you lead for half session and then swap). I have an '05 C6. My DE1 and 2 days had me following a friend in an All-wheel drive car. I eventually learned that my car needed a different line in certain turns to maximize it's potential. I'm in DE3 now and still find playing a pre-arranged game of cat-mouse to be a lot more fun than just running laps for time...and I've learned a lot about car setups this way.

LilRedz

Been Autoxing for three years now in a stock Miata NB. Just bought a friend 01 Z06 last month after Autox in his car.Damn thing is a hugh Miata on steroids. The reason I bought the car is to weekend drive, Autox and do track days( something I was unable to to do in Miata) have read several pages of this blog and have found alot of helpfull advice. The one thing I haven't seen yet is the fact that GM says to add an extra quart of oil when autoxing & track days but it doesn't say what to do afterwards. What is the rule of thumb after track day , drain the extra oil out ? Have worked on cars & trucks(TT) for many years and the worst thing for oil seals is to much oil!!! Can someone please advise me as to best practices on this subject? Again thanks to the to the many more experinced Z06 drivers for this blog. Hope to get thru the whole blog soon. THANKS Joel

rfn026

Budgets - You should plan on roughly $1,000 a day. That includes travel, motels, food an dwear items on the car. If you run ten track days you're going to spend about $10,000 before you're done.

That may seem a little high until you have to buy a new set of Hoosiers or a new set of brake pads and rotors.

After 10 to 15 events the $1,000 number makes sense.

My next event at Sebring is with Chin. Entry is $400 and the hotel is $100. I haven't even put gas in the truck or had dinner and I'm already up to $500. Point made?

Richard Newton
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PushinTheLimit

If you go into wheel to wheel competition... that number could go up to $1500 per day. Alot of that depends on the track and travel. I live pretty far away from most tracks so my travel expenses are always high. Some tracks are harder on tires and may require a new set to just get you through the weekend. It's alot of fun, but it can be hard on your wallet too.

chasboy

I just got back from a weekend at Pocono with the CVCC, and this list is SPOT ON! Read and memorize brethren, you will apply all of them at different times on the course!!:
I've now joined the Darkside.:vader:

pkincy

Got a new to me 08 C6Z06. I presume I can get it back to SS. Rotors still a no no? The previous owner put them on for looks only. It also has a body color body wide Zr1 spoiler on the back. Likely that has to go also. What tires are available for our cars? I presume we still are limited to stock size wheels +/_ 7 mm.

I have run before in the 90's and then got a competition license and went road racing for about 5 years and than HPDE in a built Camaro.

I am not going to put the Z on a track but would like to run an autox or two particularly now that I am in SD which is the site of the worlds best autox surface at Qualcomm. Are there street tire classes still? I have 300 tread wear Michelin PSSs so they should work if I can't find Kumhos or Hoosiers in the correct size.

Edit: I just pulled up the May 13 edition of the Solo2 rules and they don't have the C6Z06 classed anywhere. Not atypical of what I remember of the SCCA and why I went road racing with NASA. There are a whole lot of people that take running around a parking lot for 4-6 minutes a day at relatively low speeds very seriously. I suppose I was one of them for a number of years and it was a total blast until I got on a big track for 20+ minutes at a time.

'Shifter

Thanks too all who have offered their time and experience!

redhot400

I just completed my 1st year. Did 5 weekends with NASA,Southeast in a 14k 05 C6 Z51, 2 HPDE 1, 3 HPDE 2. Started with a second set of new track tires and set of 10.5 C5ZO6 rims on Toyo R888 tires 305 rear/265 front. Put Carbotech XP12 and XP10 pads front and rear. High temp Castrol REACT brake fluid and after 4 events added new front pads and new front rotors. Total cost $3460. Have used up 60% of tires. Plus 5 oil changes and two brake fluid changes. Not a cheap sport even on a low budget like mine. Oh add another $3500-$4500 for track fees, hotels, fuel, food etc. Oh add if you don't have a pickup someone can drive to the track with tools, tires, Jack etc. You'll need a friend to drive it and follow you to the track. It's definitely a commitment. And I didn't brake anything or spin or crash. But OMG I love it and I'm 3 years away from 70 years old! -

pkincy

When road racing I figured $1000 per race weekend for entry fees, lodging, food, gas for the car and the tow rig, and tires (used Toyos in a spec series that only had to be replaced twice a season). With 10 races in a season that was $10,000.


That did not cover equipment or major breakage or repair of crash damage or normal upgrading of safety equipment, etc.


I suspect HPDE can be done with a bit less of a budget but not much unless you live close to an active track.


Yes, it is expensive.

Magister Ludi

Thanks to all of you.
Yes this thread is still being read...and applied.

Ramo7769

This might be slightly off topic, but it seems like as good of a place as any to say this. I just wanted to say that this is a great community. Not a lot of pissing contests. Lots of knowledgeable, helpful people. I'm 24 and getting my track car C5 FRC going and have asked plenty of dumb questions only to receive helpful responses and no one trying to make me feel stupid.

Iconic

I agree with your $1000 per event estimate, at least as a minimum. I'm just over 2.5 hours away from my home track - Road America. I trailer the vette there.

Truck gas round trip $150
3 day event registration $600 (bargain)
Daily vette gas $100/day $300

Right there is over $1000 for the bare necessities to play in my back yard.

Im afraid to run the numbers when I factor in brake fluid/pads and rotors, not to mention truck gas to Florida tracks twice a year.

All of this cost and no prize money. Maybe it's time to start making bets with other drivers in the paddock over the best lap times. Kidding.....wait, that could work! (Kidding)

Bad Dad

Beginner here, this thread is great, I have to read it again.
This really Helps