Track Day Costs
Discussion
I do a fair amount of track days and I'm often asked about the running costs on track. I'm a bit of an Excel geek so I track the costs of consumables, mainly to decide which brake pads are the best value for money rather than just being cheapest to purchase. I thought I'd share some of my findings in case they're helpful for anyone looking into it.
I do most of the track days in my MX5 NC, with a modest spec
- Standard power but an exhaust for a bit of noise
- Meister R coilovers
- RX8 anti roll bars
- GC Fabrications roll bar (just in case)
I also do a few days in my M4 but this is more for Europe days as it's a much better road trip car, I won't go into the costs of this as it may put people off track days, the fuel cost is more than all of the consumables combined on the MX5 but it does make a nice picture...
I base all of the calculations on cost per hour of track time to try and make it a fair comparison. It's not perfect as I don't adjust for the weather or track (some are harder than others on brakes) but over time I think that averages out and I can look into that a bit more if I'm comparing something in particular. It's also a much better comparison than the number of days for many reasons.
Front Brake pads - I'm very hard and late on the brakes so I'm sure other people will get pads to last longer but hopefully the relative comparison will be useful. The blue line shows the hours of use by pad type with the scale on the right and the orange bars show the cost per hour using the scale on the left. As you can see, the Winmax W5 pads are actually the best value, despite costing twice as much as most of the other options. It's also worth noting that the only front pad type I've had fade/vibrations with is the EBC Greenstuff. All of the others have performed well but I think the Winmax W5 also have the best feel.
Rear Brake Pads - I'll be honest, I don't really notice much braking performance difference between the different rear pad types so my main focus is cost per hour. The cheap Brembo pads I fitted the day before a track day only managed 1.5 hours of track time before going down to the metal and left me scraping my way to EuroCarParts after lunch to buy another set to get me through the rest of the day! Worth noting that I also drive on track with TCS/DSC off, the wear rates are meant to be worse with it on. For anyone starting out, I'd recommend keeping it on for the first few days to get used to the car and trying to drive smoothly without triggering the DSC as it'll make you quicker with it on and off whilst stopping you spinning off into the scenery... The EBC Yellows have actually been the cheapest to use and I've got through 2 sets of them but I'm back to using the Winmax pads on the rear as there's not much difference in cost per hour and they mean I'm changing pads less often, which means I'm not changing pads trackside as often if the pads won't make it through a full day.
I use semi slicks in summer but I'll stick to the Michelin PS4 to try and add up the total costs
Front Discs (Brembo) - £2 an hour
Front Pads (Winmax W5) - £15 an hour
Rear discs (Brembo) - £1 an hour
Rear Pads (Winmax W5) - £9 an hour
Tyres (Michelin PS4) - £11 an hour (semi slicks are three times this)
Fuel - This is more difficult to measure unless you fill up on arrival and when leaving but it's around £30
Total - £68 an hour in consumables
Add in the cost of the event - varies massively but for the comparison, let's say £150
Driving to the event - this obviously varies a lot but if I'm driving to Castle Combe, about £25
I usually take a cool bag of drinks and snacks but say I buy a hot lunch - £10
Obviously the total cost depends on how much time you're out their driving but if you're driving for:
2 hours (8 x 15 minute sessions) - £321
3 hours (12 x 15 minute sessions) - £389
That's obviously without needing an overnight stay and the beers that inevitably come with it but hopefully it's helpful to provide an idea to someone!
I do most of the track days in my MX5 NC, with a modest spec
- Standard power but an exhaust for a bit of noise
- Meister R coilovers
- RX8 anti roll bars
- GC Fabrications roll bar (just in case)
I also do a few days in my M4 but this is more for Europe days as it's a much better road trip car, I won't go into the costs of this as it may put people off track days, the fuel cost is more than all of the consumables combined on the MX5 but it does make a nice picture...
I base all of the calculations on cost per hour of track time to try and make it a fair comparison. It's not perfect as I don't adjust for the weather or track (some are harder than others on brakes) but over time I think that averages out and I can look into that a bit more if I'm comparing something in particular. It's also a much better comparison than the number of days for many reasons.
Front Brake pads - I'm very hard and late on the brakes so I'm sure other people will get pads to last longer but hopefully the relative comparison will be useful. The blue line shows the hours of use by pad type with the scale on the right and the orange bars show the cost per hour using the scale on the left. As you can see, the Winmax W5 pads are actually the best value, despite costing twice as much as most of the other options. It's also worth noting that the only front pad type I've had fade/vibrations with is the EBC Greenstuff. All of the others have performed well but I think the Winmax W5 also have the best feel.
Rear Brake Pads - I'll be honest, I don't really notice much braking performance difference between the different rear pad types so my main focus is cost per hour. The cheap Brembo pads I fitted the day before a track day only managed 1.5 hours of track time before going down to the metal and left me scraping my way to EuroCarParts after lunch to buy another set to get me through the rest of the day! Worth noting that I also drive on track with TCS/DSC off, the wear rates are meant to be worse with it on. For anyone starting out, I'd recommend keeping it on for the first few days to get used to the car and trying to drive smoothly without triggering the DSC as it'll make you quicker with it on and off whilst stopping you spinning off into the scenery... The EBC Yellows have actually been the cheapest to use and I've got through 2 sets of them but I'm back to using the Winmax pads on the rear as there's not much difference in cost per hour and they mean I'm changing pads less often, which means I'm not changing pads trackside as often if the pads won't make it through a full day.
I use semi slicks in summer but I'll stick to the Michelin PS4 to try and add up the total costs
Front Discs (Brembo) - £2 an hour
Front Pads (Winmax W5) - £15 an hour
Rear discs (Brembo) - £1 an hour
Rear Pads (Winmax W5) - £9 an hour
Tyres (Michelin PS4) - £11 an hour (semi slicks are three times this)
Fuel - This is more difficult to measure unless you fill up on arrival and when leaving but it's around £30
Total - £68 an hour in consumables
Add in the cost of the event - varies massively but for the comparison, let's say £150
Driving to the event - this obviously varies a lot but if I'm driving to Castle Combe, about £25
I usually take a cool bag of drinks and snacks but say I buy a hot lunch - £10
Obviously the total cost depends on how much time you're out their driving but if you're driving for:
2 hours (8 x 15 minute sessions) - £321
3 hours (12 x 15 minute sessions) - £389
That's obviously without needing an overnight stay and the beers that inevitably come with it but hopefully it's helpful to provide an idea to someone!
I think most of us are too scared to track this data so hats off to you. Really surprised about the rear pad wear in particular. I'm just a driving pleb but got 2 full days at Llandow out of my front set of OEM Pagids.
As for tyres, have you ever looked at Accelera 651 Sports? Hearing really good things about them, usually can be found on sale as well.
As for tyres, have you ever looked at Accelera 651 Sports? Hearing really good things about them, usually can be found on sale as well.
I think part of the reason for the rears wearing quickly is because the pads are so thin to start with, the front aren't exactly thick but a lot better than the rears.
I've seen a few people talking about the Accelera 651 Sports but haven't used them myself yet, I think they're meant to be similar to the Nankang NS2R and Yoko AD08RS as somewhere between a full semi slick and a road tyre? I'll stick with the Michelin PS4 for the wet/winter tyre but I would definitely like to try them in the spring once I've got through the Avon ZZR's that are currently on the other wheels.
I've seen a few people talking about the Accelera 651 Sports but haven't used them myself yet, I think they're meant to be similar to the Nankang NS2R and Yoko AD08RS as somewhere between a full semi slick and a road tyre? I'll stick with the Michelin PS4 for the wet/winter tyre but I would definitely like to try them in the spring once I've got through the Avon ZZR's that are currently on the other wheels.
I did 14 track days in a Twingo RS in 2019/20/21. Completing around 200 miles per track day. In total just short of 3000 track miles and 35 hours of track driving. I worked it out as £144 per hour not including the car and maintenance and £300 per hour including the car and maintenance. I was stymied a bit by chewing through discs and pads, and also needed to complete a cambelt and dephaser change as well as two new front struts. So without that £140 per hour sounds about right. My race car costs me about £600 per hour.
In terms of the damper settings, I can't honestly remember what they're set to as now they're set, I don't change them between road and track as I'm happy with the balance. I may try and take the boot trim off to see what they're set to at some point over the Christmas break.
Really interesting to hear about the Twingo running costs, it'd be interesting to hear what makes up the hourly cost and whether that include the cost of the events and fuel to get there etc? Probably not too dissimilar costs if I added those in for the events that are more expensive and further away. Having had a few Renaultsports, the cambelt and dephaser definitely make up a significant maintenance cost.
On the MX5, I've had to change a couple of bearings, bushes and obviously oil / filter as well but haven't included these in the cost as I mainly do it to compare life between brands. I'm using 65 hours worth of track time data for the costs but only using the cost of consumables that have had their full use on the car, for example I won't include the cost of a set of discs until I've taken them off and know how many hours they've done etc.
Really interesting to hear about the Twingo running costs, it'd be interesting to hear what makes up the hourly cost and whether that include the cost of the events and fuel to get there etc? Probably not too dissimilar costs if I added those in for the events that are more expensive and further away. Having had a few Renaultsports, the cambelt and dephaser definitely make up a significant maintenance cost.
On the MX5, I've had to change a couple of bearings, bushes and obviously oil / filter as well but haven't included these in the cost as I mainly do it to compare life between brands. I'm using 65 hours worth of track time data for the costs but only using the cost of consumables that have had their full use on the car, for example I won't include the cost of a set of discs until I've taken them off and know how many hours they've done etc.
JP__FOX said:
In terms of the damper settings, I can't honestly remember what they're set to as now they're set, I don't change them between road and track as I'm happy with the balance. I may try and take the boot trim off to see what they're set to at some point over the Christmas break.
Really interesting to hear about the Twingo running costs, it'd be interesting to hear what makes up the hourly cost and whether that include the cost of the events and fuel to get there etc? Probably not too dissimilar costs if I added those in for the events that are more expensive and further away. Having had a few Renaultsports, the cambelt and dephaser definitely make up a significant maintenance cost.
On the MX5, I've had to change a couple of bearings, bushes and obviously oil / filter as well but haven't included these in the cost as I mainly do it to compare life between brands. I'm using 65 hours worth of track time data for the costs but only using the cost of consumables that have had their full use on the car, for example I won't include the cost of a set of discs until I've taken them off and know how many hours they've done etc.
the costs include everything, petrol, travel costs, tyres, parts, entries etc.Really interesting to hear about the Twingo running costs, it'd be interesting to hear what makes up the hourly cost and whether that include the cost of the events and fuel to get there etc? Probably not too dissimilar costs if I added those in for the events that are more expensive and further away. Having had a few Renaultsports, the cambelt and dephaser definitely make up a significant maintenance cost.
On the MX5, I've had to change a couple of bearings, bushes and obviously oil / filter as well but haven't included these in the cost as I mainly do it to compare life between brands. I'm using 65 hours worth of track time data for the costs but only using the cost of consumables that have had their full use on the car, for example I won't include the cost of a set of discs until I've taken them off and know how many hours they've done etc.
Anglesey
Edit - too slow....
OP - have you tried Roddisons pads? They're well regarded for the MK1 and 2.
I've had yellowstuff on my MK2 but ruined two sets of front discs with pad deposits after Trackdays (even with copious amounts of cooling them after each session).
Had roddos on the front for 3 or 4 days plus a fair few road miles, with the remaining yellowstuff on the rear, and burnt through a set of cheapy rear pads in one or two Trackdays.
Going for roddos in the rear (fnar fnar) for next year.
Edit - too slow....
OP - have you tried Roddisons pads? They're well regarded for the MK1 and 2.
I've had yellowstuff on my MK2 but ruined two sets of front discs with pad deposits after Trackdays (even with copious amounts of cooling them after each session).
Had roddos on the front for 3 or 4 days plus a fair few road miles, with the remaining yellowstuff on the rear, and burnt through a set of cheapy rear pads in one or two Trackdays.
Going for roddos in the rear (fnar fnar) for next year.
Edited by Dave. on Tuesday 21st December 14:06
Again, kudos for "tracking" the costs.
I run a Westfield but also a standardish NB MX5 (Hi Lionel!) for cheap thrills.
I'm mulling brake pads over and have been for a while. The car does get double driven all day, pretty hard. We usually manage 250+ miles on a dry day. I've found APEC pads to be very good in terms of stopping and feel - nothing fancy, £20 for the rears and £28 for the fronts.
I usually get 1.5 days from the fronts and 2 days from the rears. I'm trying to decide if I should spend more on a racier pad, purely to avoid the frequent changes. I'm not sure the sums add up for me.
I run a Westfield but also a standardish NB MX5 (Hi Lionel!) for cheap thrills.
I'm mulling brake pads over and have been for a while. The car does get double driven all day, pretty hard. We usually manage 250+ miles on a dry day. I've found APEC pads to be very good in terms of stopping and feel - nothing fancy, £20 for the rears and £28 for the fronts.
I usually get 1.5 days from the fronts and 2 days from the rears. I'm trying to decide if I should spend more on a racier pad, purely to avoid the frequent changes. I'm not sure the sums add up for me.
Roddos pads are only £60 a pair (front and rear) and will last a lot longer.
https://bofiracing.co.uk/running-gear/brake-fricti...
https://bofiracing.co.uk/running-gear/brake-fricti...
edusa said:
Why would it be expensive? I was thinking of taking my E46 to a track,its lightly modified,and i am not expecting to need new brakes and tires after 20? laps or so.What am i missing?
Entry fee (£150 ish for an off-peak event at a decent track)Fuel driving there
Half a set of brake pads (ish)
Tire usage (could easily ruin an axle pair in a day if your setup is off)
Fuel usage on track (probably an entire tank during the day)
Immediately refueling so you can drive home.
Plus all the other consumables on the car + more frequent servicing. As JP mentioned, this doesn't even include a hotel if you're planning a 3/4 hour jaunt to a track.
_Yeti said:
edusa said:
Why would it be expensive? I was thinking of taking my E46 to a track,its lightly modified,and i am not expecting to need new brakes and tires after 20? laps or so.What am i missing?
Entry fee (£150 ish for an off-peak event at a decent track)Fuel driving there
Half a set of brake pads (ish)
Tire usage (could easily ruin an axle pair in a day if your setup is off)
Fuel usage on track (probably an entire tank during the day)
Immediately refueling so you can drive home.
Plus all the other consumables on the car + more frequent servicing. As JP mentioned, this doesn't even include a hotel if you're planning a 3/4 hour jaunt to a track.
If on pads that will last a year £300/set for the year.
Front discs a set a year.
8mpg on track if you are giving it a bit, 15 if taking it steady.
Set of tyres every 4/5 days if you don't have spare wheels & proper set up to minimise wear.
And these are before you start modifying to improve the car/experience.
Average for me over 3 different cars is at least £350/400/day not including mods when you add all consumables in.
Interesting and good info. Many are somewhat bias and don't want to show the true cost of trackwork.
I'd always put it at around £500 per day but that includes a cheap hotel/pub stopover and the evening meal etc. Little surprised it's as high on an MX5 though, as you say, M4 would be considerably more.
May have missed it but do you include maintenance in your figures? Can be hard to track but many will drop oil every couple of events. Again I expect substantially more for the proper oil on the M4!
I'd always put it at around £500 per day but that includes a cheap hotel/pub stopover and the evening meal etc. Little surprised it's as high on an MX5 though, as you say, M4 would be considerably more.
May have missed it but do you include maintenance in your figures? Can be hard to track but many will drop oil every couple of events. Again I expect substantially more for the proper oil on the M4!
Prohibiting said:
edusa said:
Why would it be expensive? I was thinking of taking my E46 to a track,its lightly modified,and i am not expecting to need new brakes and tires after 20? laps or so.What am i missing?
20 laps? 
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