30 replies to this topic

[Forenz Arabian]

Hi everyone,

 

Posting here because I couldn't find a beginner forum.  Looking for mentoring into the sport.

My name is Forenz and I always loved racing. Watching F1, playing grand turismo, Forza, driving on track during HPDE, all of those things fueled my passion. Last year, I picked up Sim Racing(Iracing)  and now I am hooked on wheel to wheel racing. 2 to 3 cars wide into corners, passing people under braking and winning races. The slower the car the better. SpecFordRacer>Miata>GT3

 

My goal isn't to win races, but to enjoy that trill in real life. Unfortunately, I have been reading a lot on the subject and classes and I am at a loss of what need to be done or purchased to make it onto the track. Miata's seem like a very good avenue to enjoy a full season of racing without destroying a bank account.  I was looking into getting a cheap high mileage NB and refreshing the engine and suspension components. That car seems to require the least amount of effort to make it follow the pace. Obviously other then the cage building I would be doing all the work. Luckily I measure only 5ft7 and I have been comfortable behind the wheel of a 1.6 before.

 

Currently, I own a 240sx with a swapped engine(my HPDE car)  and a 2001 porsche boxster s(daily) that I am trying to sell. I am also located in the SoCal area.

 

My main questions are:
-What are the steps I should do to get a license? I am very comfortable being side by side people as long as they know to keep their line. So a school might be worth it just to confirm some of the techniques I learned on my own.

-What are some essentials in the bang for the buck safety equipments? Maybe heavier hotter suit but provides the right amount of fire protection or helmets that are legal and cost effective.

 

-Road blocks when building a car. Brake pads brands? Rotor? Shocks? bushings? Oil starvation? Fuel Starvation? LSD? 

Thank you for your answers and time!

 

Have a great day!


 

[Jeff Wasilko]

1) Buy https://www.advanced...ta-constructors

 

2) You're likely better off buying a well-inspected already-built car rather than building it yourself. Building will likely be 2x what you could buy on the used market.

 

For brakes, I like carbotech. For rotors, NAPA's finest. I get a year out of the rears and go thru 2 sets on the front. Total cost under $140.

 

Keep in mind the Spec in Spec Miata means you have to follow the rules when (if) you build. The suspension (including bushings) are spec.

 

I got a screaming deal on a suit from http://www.upr.com/c...-suit-sale.html
I would suggest the most breathable suit you can afford.

[callumhay]

To get an SCCA license you either have to pass an approved school such as Skip Barber or SCCA's driver school. I assume NASA is the same. You can find out what's necessary on the SCCA website. Typically SCCA will have a driver's school once or twice a year in a region. If you do the SCCA school, you will need your own car or rent one from a race shop. In terms of safety equipment, I think a HANS is essential. You can save money by having a helmet that does not have a blower attachment, assuming you can live without a helmet blower. In addition to suit you need gloves and socks with an SFI rating. I'm in Florida and a cool shirt or similar set up is a huge help for warmer weather. Buy a used race car and learn to replace and fix whatever needs replacing and fixing. This will get you racing the fastest. Learn to prep the car ( oil changes, brakes, other fluids) and develop a routine for safety ( eg: torquing lug nuts, checking hood, filling gas) and maintenance. Make a check list for everything you take to the track. Also no matter how frustrating it gets sometimes remind yourself that this is about fun.

[Bench Racer]

If your interested in SCCA racing, here is where to start.

 

SCCA home link, start with Contents P. 4  https://www.scca.com/

 

Spec Miata Specifications P. 755  http://cdn.growasset....pdf?1472053873

 

Get hooked up with someone from here, at your location or at the track. Learning before buying will save you many useless/$$$ steps.

 

Most of all Have Fun

[davew]

Thanks Jeff for the plug on my book. Over 4000 copies sold!!!!

 

Do your homework. READ

 

Read this website, you will learn who the smart guys are, and who the blow hards are. Almost every question has been asked many times. Use the search function.

Read the rule book for the group you plan on racing with. Everybody is a little different. Some things are required by one group and optional with another. If you plan on racing SCCA, don't buy a car with 12 sets of Toyo's.

Read my book, it answers most of the questions.

Read the rule book again.

Read and understand our golden rule: If it does not say you can, you can not. Just cuz it makes sense to you, does not mean it is legal.

Read the classifieds. Learn what a decent car is, and is not.

 

Make friends, especially with your local SM shop. Eventually you will need help or a spare part. Plus he knows which cars are good and which ones to stay away from.

 

Drivers suits/shoes/HANS can be rented for a fairly reasonable price. Google drivers suit rental. Total outlay to buy everything is $1500 minimum.

 

Know your budget and time frame. If you want to build a car yourself, expect to spend 300 hours in the garage. Assuming you have a job and need to sleep a few hours each day, the minimum time for you to build a car is going to be 12 weeks. 8 hours every Saturday and Sunday, plus 2 hours every weekday is only 26 hours per week. 300 hours divided by 26 is 12 weeks. And that is a very optimistic time frame for a first timer. If your local driver school is April 1st, you only have 9 weeks to do 12 weeks of work. We all have budget contraints. When I ran an IMSA team I could spend $40k per weekend. But I could not spend $42k. Figure a good build, not a great build will cost $12-$15k in parts. Figure $3-6 for the donor car with hardtop. You should be able to find a decent used car, with some upgrades and some personalizations (seat, graphix, etc) and a full prep (scale, allign, fluids, brakes etc) in the $12k-15k. That would be ready to go to the track. Only you know what your situation is.

 

Hope that helps, Dave

[DrDomm]

Don't forget about a tow vehicle and trailer.

[av8tor]

Don't forget about a tow vehicle and trailer.

there are lots of great companies like BSI racing in FL, I think Dave at Advanced Autosports, ISC racing in Winter Haven FL,  that will provide you with trackside service. Some will store your car, do all setup and maintenance, some provide coaching.  You can be as hands on or hands off as you want.  You could leave your car in FL and just fly down and race all winter, then move it to NY for the summer races.  SM is unique because it is so popular and there is so much support Nation wide.

[LarryKing]

 

I am also located in the SoCal area

[granracing]

Many (most) of us have been where you are now.  I took quite a bit of time to put together a through resource that'll answer many of your questions and it's all available for free on my site www.GoAheadTakeThewheel.com .  (Originally a book but wanted to make it more easily available to a larger audience.)  I entered into racing on a low budget, made some good decisions and some that you can learn from my (and other people's) mistakes. It covers the very topics you asked about such as how to begin racing, costs of racing, ways to reduce expenses and make it fit your budget, buying vs building a racecar, info on trailers, some driving techniques, and lot more.  Again, it's free, and SCCA has been a big supporter of the resource among others.

 

Especially if you go the Miata route, Dave's book linked above is worthwhile.

[Bench Racer]

Each time I read something about a HANS being required, being this, that, or something else, it trips my trigger. Within the SCCA a driver MUST (MANDATORY) use a HEAD AND NECK RESTRAINT SYSTEM. There are several HEAD AND NECK RESTRAINT SYSTEMS on the market other than the HANS which meet the specification below. If you note F1, INDY car and NASCAR all use HANS and all have side devices to reduce lateral loads. In our case, if a HANS IS USED a halo seat is required to reduce the lateral load. There are devices on the market which reduce the lateral load to a point where a halo seat is not required. Do a search for past posted data referencing lateral loads for different head and neck restraints.  

 

2 Crash helmets approved by the Snell Foundation with Snell sticker 2005 or later Special Application SA2005 (SA2005 will no longer be accepted as of 1/1/2017), SA2010/SAH2010, or SA2015/SAH2015, or by the SFI with a SFI Sticker SFI 31.1, or by the FIA standard 8860-2004 or later, or British Standards Institute BS6658-85 type A/FR. Each driver’s helmet shall be labeled with a minimum of the driver’s name. The use of a head and neck restraint system that has been certified in accordance with SFI 38.1, FIA 8858-2002 or 8858-2010 is required; an SFI 38.1 or FIA 8858-2002 or 8858-2010 label must be properly affixed to the device.

[davew]

Go ahead take the wheel is a great book for the new racer. Sorry I forget to mention it.

 

HANS has become a generic word. Like vice-grips. Vice grip brand locking pliers are made by the Irwin company. Many companies also make a similar locking pliers. We all use the generic phrase vice-grip to describe any brand of locking plier. A head and neck device is required by many sanctioning bodies. That device need not be manufactured by the HANS company, as long as it meets the specs listed.

 

To quote Mr. Bench from above "if a HANS IS USED a halo seat is required to reduce the lateral load.". What he refers to, does not mean a halo seat is required by SCCA. He means that certain head and neck devices, do not offer protection in a lateral load. To get that protection with those devices, a halo seat is required. I will state that some sanctioning bodies do require halo seats or some form of lateral head restraint (center net).  NASA does. But I do not believe the head and neck devises that offer lateral protection (such as nex-gen) meet the NASA requirement for lateral protection without the use of a halo seat or center net. Can a NASA guy clarify this?

 

Dave

[Johnny D]

history of Vise-Grip.

http://www.livinghis...achines_12.html

 

J~

[chris haldeman]

NASA requires a passenger side net to be used if there is not a head restraint seat. There you go Dave :-)

[Alberto]

Don't forget about a tow vehicle and trailer.

 

Some do drive the car to the track

 

I rented a trailer from the local U Haul for the first 2 years since I was renting and didn't have a place to store the trailer.  I could have rented a spot to store the trailer but didn't want to.

[MPR22]

Some do drive the car to the track

 

I rented a trailer from the local U Haul for the first 2 years since I was renting and didn't have a place to store the trailer.  I could have rented a spot to store the trailer but didn't want to.

You did better by renting as you needed.  Cheap trailer $1,500, annual storage bill $600+ replace tires every 3 years $450+.  

[DionJ]

If you are serious you are almost too late to sign up for the SFR SCCA annual school that happens at the end of the month. Don't know about SoCal but SCCA is the cheapest easiest best way to license. Many Miatas still available to rent for the school. Expect <$2k rental, $650 school, plus safety gear for an awesome 3 days.

[manthony121]

Welcome to the insanity.  I got started in this 3 years ago.  After driving in several HPDE events at my local track, I decided it was time to get a real track car and go up against others wheel-to-wheel.

 

First thing to do is to join some organization that has club racing with Miatas.  I chose SCCA.  Go to the local track when there is a big race, such as the Majors.  Talk to people, collect some business cards.  You will most likely want to rent a car to do the driver's school and your first few races.  Download the GCR (General Competition Rulebook), and look at the sections about required safety equipment.  Also, ask advice from whoever you rent your car from, if you go that route.  You will need, at  a minimum, a suit, helmet, HANS, gloves, socks, shoes, balaclava (if you have any facial hair).  And a big bag to carry it around.

 

Find out when/where there is a driver's school that will qualify you for your competition license.  Get your Novice Permit, sign up for a school, arrange to rent a car, buy your safety equipment.  At the school, they want to see that you play nicely with others, and don't act crazy when you are driving with people bumper-to-bumper, door handle-to-door handle, at 100 mph.

 

Buy Dave Wheeler's book, and Dave Gran's; they both have a lot of good advice.  I am doing the plan: buy a cheap 1.6L NA car, already track ready, that I can abuse, play with, and learn on.  There's lots of them out there, looking for a good home.  Figure out how you are going to get it to and from the track.  Buy your wife LOTS of flowers (or a nice set of brake pads, if you think she might be inclined to drive, too!).  Above all, have fun!  Race car driving is really a thrill like no other, and once the bug bites, it won't let go.

[granracing]

To clarify, I no longer typically sell my "resource" in book format and made it ALL available on my site for free.  I could get you it in a book format if preferred.

 

One key thing to note along your way, you're going to get a lot of different advice that you'll need to filter based on your budget, capabilities working on cars, amount of time you're willing to spend on the car, and interests.  And the same with driving techniques. 

 

There are a lot of nice cars out there that you can buy pre-built.  Figure they get $0.50 on the $1 that they spent to build it, if lucky.  I'd at least take a look / ask around to see what's out there.  I built my first car, did it again after wrecking, and bought my last one.  BIG differences in time spent, money spent (less to buy), and so forth.  Both have their pros and cons.

[Forenz Arabian]

Thanks for the replies, I know I am late for Spec miata (SCCA or NASA) since I don't have a built car. Luckly. I contacted Nasa and they have a class at the end of the month and requires only a HPDE preped car, which I already own 240sx. That way I can get my comp license and then slowly shop and build a car to maybe join mid year, allowing some test time and do a full season next year. I have also been looking into running spec boxsters or straight my 240sx in PT. 

Personally, I rather build then purchase, but do understand that sometimes your time is better spent elsewhere. 

 

Anyway, I will keep doing my homework, reading twice, spending once. 

 

[Johnny D]

Cal Club's SCCA Driver's School/Regional weekend is February 10-12 at Buttonwillow.    Graduate School Friday and Saturday and race on Sunday. 

 

http://calclub.com/i...schoolflyer.jpg

 

A couple SoCal / NorCal cars in the classifieds up top too.

J~