Single seater for Trackdays?
Discussion
I'm really looking for some advice on the idea of buying a single seater for using on trackdays & perhaps some racing.
Scenario:
Budget of up to £8K for car (was thinking jedi/formula renault's/fords's etc)
I have no mechanical knowledge, would this be a big problem? are these cars always in need of tinkering?
Are they allowed on any trackdays or only certain ones?
What sort of costs are involved & general prices of maintainance?
Any good places to look for cars?
Many thanks in advance
Phil
Scenario:
Budget of up to £8K for car (was thinking jedi/formula renault's/fords's etc)
I have no mechanical knowledge, would this be a big problem? are these cars always in need of tinkering?
Are they allowed on any trackdays or only certain ones?
What sort of costs are involved & general prices of maintainance?
Any good places to look for cars?
Many thanks in advance
Phil
Difficult to get on track days Phil as most TDO don’t like open wheeled single seaters.
You will need to get an ARDS licence and do test days. If you don’t want to leap into racing you could try sprints and hillclimbs.
And all racecars need tinkering!
Try Racecar forum for classifdieds; http://212.53.73.128/cgi/forums/YaBB.cgi
Jenny
>> Edited by Jenny Taillier on Friday 3rd December 16:42
You will need to get an ARDS licence and do test days. If you don’t want to leap into racing you could try sprints and hillclimbs.
And all racecars need tinkering!
Try Racecar forum for classifdieds; http://212.53.73.128/cgi/forums/YaBB.cgi
Jenny
>> Edited by Jenny Taillier on Friday 3rd December 16:42
There are a fair few track days about.
PH do a few (check the Track days forum), WK? advertised about 6 this year, Kit Car did one, Track & Race Car advertises a few and a quick web search should uncover many organisations that put them on. These organisations will tell you the regulations that are required. eg Noise levels.
PH do a few (check the Track days forum), WK? advertised about 6 this year, Kit Car did one, Track & Race Car advertises a few and a quick web search should uncover many organisations that put them on. These organisations will tell you the regulations that are required. eg Noise levels.
I currently co-run a '91 Van Diemen FF2000 for track days.
On your budget, I would suggest you go for something of this sort of vintage and as simple as possible. Formula Ford from one of the big players being the best bet to ensure spares availability. Formula Ford are a good bet as they use the simplest engines with very few mods so they don't have to be too expensive to run.
I'm sure you have already thought about it but your budget will need to include:
Trailer and tow car if not already available.
Quick lift jack
Jerry Cans
Overalls, boots and gloves (I assume you already have a full face lid)
First rule of tinkering "Level of tinkering is directly proportional to level of performance" i.e. the further within their design paramters the kit operates the less it needs playing with. If you want to race or sprint competitively you will need to have the car 'refreshed' probably including an engine rebuild on a practically annual basis. If you just want to have fun in a proper race car and are happy that you are only doing 95% of what it would be ultimately capable of. Reduce the rev limit, Fit a bigger battery, use harder wearing brake pads etc. But you will still need to tinker more often than in a regular car. However on the plus side when you need to it's all there in front of you and so much simpler than on a road car. I have recently rebuilt the engine simply by following the Hyanes manual. It probably wouldn't win any races but it'll still pull 60 under 4s and go on to close on 140mph. When you're arse is 2" of the floor that still feels bloody fast. Get some help to learn the basics and you can do most things yourself pretty easily.
As has been said trackdays are tricky to find. Octagon used to have a blanket ban on single seaters so no Brands, Silverston etc. and things got more complex when the ATDO got in to bed with the MSA regarding regs. Not sure how this is currently going but there may be more news on the ATDO web site. We mainly do Bedford and Spa-Francorchamp with RMA.
Costs aren't bad. Certainly with Formula Ford you can get a lot of road car bits of the shelf (alternators, starter motors, engine bits, clutch and even the original Van Diemen parts aren't too bad. We did a complete rebuild last winter (including engine)and replaced every wearing or perishable part and completely re-wired the car for less than £1,500 (on a DIY basis). If you did a really full season I would suggest you could get away with spending £700 of which £350 would be tyres.
When you go looking, I would seriously suggest taking someone who knows what they are at with you. There are some absolute dogs around and some of the most amazing fairy tales. Bear in mind race cars don't come with MOT's and you will be pulling higher loads under cornering, braking and acceleration than practically any road car.
Make sure yoou have decided what you want to do with it as well as some of the modifications for ease of use in trackdays etc could render you ineligible for some competitions, though more likely they will just push you down the order.
All in all I'd would recomend it. Thundering up eau'rouge watching you're front wheels bouncing over the kerbs and knowing it's roughly the view that the F1 boys get (if a little slower) is pretty thrilling. Getting used to down force, slicks and no clutch are also pretty involving challenges.
Sorry bit of a ramble, hope it helps.
On your budget, I would suggest you go for something of this sort of vintage and as simple as possible. Formula Ford from one of the big players being the best bet to ensure spares availability. Formula Ford are a good bet as they use the simplest engines with very few mods so they don't have to be too expensive to run.
I'm sure you have already thought about it but your budget will need to include:
Trailer and tow car if not already available.
Quick lift jack
Jerry Cans
Overalls, boots and gloves (I assume you already have a full face lid)
First rule of tinkering "Level of tinkering is directly proportional to level of performance" i.e. the further within their design paramters the kit operates the less it needs playing with. If you want to race or sprint competitively you will need to have the car 'refreshed' probably including an engine rebuild on a practically annual basis. If you just want to have fun in a proper race car and are happy that you are only doing 95% of what it would be ultimately capable of. Reduce the rev limit, Fit a bigger battery, use harder wearing brake pads etc. But you will still need to tinker more often than in a regular car. However on the plus side when you need to it's all there in front of you and so much simpler than on a road car. I have recently rebuilt the engine simply by following the Hyanes manual. It probably wouldn't win any races but it'll still pull 60 under 4s and go on to close on 140mph. When you're arse is 2" of the floor that still feels bloody fast. Get some help to learn the basics and you can do most things yourself pretty easily.
As has been said trackdays are tricky to find. Octagon used to have a blanket ban on single seaters so no Brands, Silverston etc. and things got more complex when the ATDO got in to bed with the MSA regarding regs. Not sure how this is currently going but there may be more news on the ATDO web site. We mainly do Bedford and Spa-Francorchamp with RMA.
Costs aren't bad. Certainly with Formula Ford you can get a lot of road car bits of the shelf (alternators, starter motors, engine bits, clutch and even the original Van Diemen parts aren't too bad. We did a complete rebuild last winter (including engine)and replaced every wearing or perishable part and completely re-wired the car for less than £1,500 (on a DIY basis). If you did a really full season I would suggest you could get away with spending £700 of which £350 would be tyres.
When you go looking, I would seriously suggest taking someone who knows what they are at with you. There are some absolute dogs around and some of the most amazing fairy tales. Bear in mind race cars don't come with MOT's and you will be pulling higher loads under cornering, braking and acceleration than practically any road car.
Make sure yoou have decided what you want to do with it as well as some of the modifications for ease of use in trackdays etc could render you ineligible for some competitions, though more likely they will just push you down the order.
All in all I'd would recomend it. Thundering up eau'rouge watching you're front wheels bouncing over the kerbs and knowing it's roughly the view that the F1 boys get (if a little slower) is pretty thrilling. Getting used to down force, slicks and no clutch are also pretty involving challenges.
Sorry bit of a ramble, hope it helps.
Have a look at www.superkarttrackdays.com £3.5K will get you a BRAND NEW superkart that does 0-60 in 2 sec and 160mph!! and this group of people has sorted it that you can drive them at dedicated trackdays at all your favourate circuits.
rustybin said:
I currently co-run a '91 Van Diemen FF2000 for track days.
On your budget, I would suggest you go for something of this sort of vintage and as simple as possible. Formula Ford from one of the big players being the best bet to ensure spares availability. Formula Ford are a good bet as they use the simplest engines with very few mods so they don't have to be too expensive to run.
I'm sure you have already thought about it but your budget will need to include:
Trailer and tow car if not already available.
Quick lift jack
Jerry Cans
Overalls, boots and gloves (I assume you already have a full face lid)
First rule of tinkering "Level of tinkering is directly proportional to level of performance" i.e. the further within their design paramters the kit operates the less it needs playing with. If you want to race or sprint competitively you will need to have the car 'refreshed' probably including an engine rebuild on a practically annual basis. If you just want to have fun in a proper race car and are happy that you are only doing 95% of what it would be ultimately capable of. Reduce the rev limit, Fit a bigger battery, use harder wearing brake pads etc. But you will still need to tinker more often than in a regular car. However on the plus side when you need to it's all there in front of you and so much simpler than on a road car. I have recently rebuilt the engine simply by following the Hyanes manual. It probably wouldn't win any races but it'll still pull 60 under 4s and go on to close on 140mph. When you're arse is 2" of the floor that still feels bloody fast. Get some help to learn the basics and you can do most things yourself pretty easily.
As has been said trackdays are tricky to find. Octagon used to have a blanket ban on single seaters so no Brands, Silverston etc. and things got more complex when the ATDO got in to bed with the MSA regarding regs. Not sure how this is currently going but there may be more news on the ATDO web site. We mainly do Bedford and Spa-Francorchamp with RMA.
Costs aren't bad. Certainly with Formula Ford you can get a lot of road car bits of the shelf (alternators, starter motors, engine bits, clutch and even the original Van Diemen parts aren't too bad. We did a complete rebuild last winter (including engine)and replaced every wearing or perishable part and completely re-wired the car for less than £1,500 (on a DIY basis). If you did a really full season I would suggest you could get away with spending £700 of which £350 would be tyres.
When you go looking, I would seriously suggest taking someone who knows what they are at with you. There are some absolute dogs around and some of the most amazing fairy tales. Bear in mind race cars don't come with MOT's and you will be pulling higher loads under cornering, braking and acceleration than practically any road car.
Make sure yoou have decided what you want to do with it as well as some of the modifications for ease of use in trackdays etc could render you ineligible for some competitions, though more likely they will just push you down the order.
All in all I'd would recomend it. Thundering up eau'rouge watching you're front wheels bouncing over the kerbs and knowing it's roughly the view that the F1 boys get (if a little slower) is pretty thrilling. Getting used to down force, slicks and no clutch are also pretty involving challenges.
Sorry bit of a ramble, hope it helps.
Cheers mate
mattstead said:
Have a look at www.superkarttrackdays.com £3.5K will get you a BRAND NEW superkart that does 0-60 in 2 sec and 160mph!! and this group of people has sorted it that you can drive them at dedicated trackdays at all your favourate circuits.
These things look mental, if I have the cash/time in the summer I'll book in for the Training and Competence hire day.
mattstead said:
Have a look at www.superkarttrackdays.com £3.5K will get you a BRAND NEW superkart that does 0-60 in 2 sec and 160mph!! and this group of people has sorted it that you can drive them at dedicated trackdays at all your favourate circuits.
I've seen these things race. That is quite possibly the biggest performance/pound bargain I have ever seen. Ever.
The DJ 27 said:
Have a look at <a href="http://www.superkarttrackdays.com">www.superkarttrackdays.com</a> £3.5K will get you a BRAND NEW superkart that does 0-60 in 2 sec and 160mph!! and this group of people has sorted it that you can drive them at dedicated trackdays at all your favourate circuits.
I've seen these things race. That is quite possibly the biggest performance/pound bargain I have ever seen. Ever.
Having owned and run a 250 gearbox kart i can assure you they are not cheap to run by any stretch of the imagination
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