Want to race for real??
 

...start a Chumpcar team.

I can not stress how much fun it is. Driving a 140hp piece of shit FWD Honda on Road America is the rain is only about 100 or so more times fun than driving a 700whp car down the drag strip or on the street. You don't need some super car, you will just need some balls, taking a corner at 100+mph in a piece of shit and hoping your brakes are back coming into that 30 mph corner after they seemed to be kinda gone a couple corners ago is scary enough.

It's a lot more fun that your typical HPDE days at the road course because you are actually trying to race other cars, if you go off course it's no big deal, you aren't driving a $15,000 Evo that you are scared of crashing, and you have a roll cage.

Even with all the different kinds of cars out there, it is very competitive. At the June BIR Sunday 7 hour race, the difference between 1st and 6th place was 4 laps. To be competitive you need a lightish car with around 115-150whp.

It is probably the cheapest form of real road racing that you can get into, you will get shit loads of seat time and it's run at some of the best tracks in the country(most of us just run the upper midwest tracks). And if it rains, you still get to race. I really like to be the one who has to race in the rain on our team, it's a great equalizer, I like to slide all over the place and our car handles really good in the wet.

#1 It's cheap, but still costs a decent amount(Build car, towing gas, tires, gas at race, hotel). The more people you have on your team the cheaper it will be, but the less driving time. You will need a real race suit, real automotive racing helmet(not a motorcycle), gloves, shoes, socks. That part is a bit expensive, but I see people waste money on all kinds of things on their DSMs/Evos that are not needed, but someone or some shop on the interwebz told them they needed to have that.

#2 You need someone or a few of you that actually know how to fix basic things on the car. The checkbook racer teams often don't very far when their car isn't 100% perfect.

#3 You don't need to be a good driver or ever even driven on a road course before. It would help, but it isn't essential. The first race or two your team will probably mostly be getting used to the car, driving in traffic, passing, getting passed, etc.

#4 You need to build a $500 car and will want to bring some spare parts. Now is the time to start a winter Chumpcar build to get ready for hopefully Road America in early spring. You can run just about any old pile, but the most competitive cars are BMW E30, BMW E36, Hondas, Taurus SHO, Miata, MR2, Porsche 944, Sentra, Impreza, Saabs, and probably more I don't know of. A simple Mirage or Galant might do well.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I would love to do this. I have a car that would be perfect and I got it for free. If some people want to get a team started I will join and we can use my car. Its a 98 maxima 5 speed. I have owned one before and they are a dependable and can take alot of abuse. if someone wants to get a team together iam in.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Hope to do this in a year or two, almost had a celica lined up for this year but didn't pan out.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I will donate a GVR4 shell for a Mitsustyle Chump car :D

Who's down?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Hell yeah. We need to do it Mitsustyle chumpcar.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

There are going to be 1, and most likely 2 races at Road America next year. If you haven't raced there, its freaking epic. It is like brainerd but longer, more turns, and introducing the concept of elevation gain/loss.

Also, Shane, Myself, Matt D, simulatedwood, or any of the other shake and bake guys are great resources if you're trying to feel out what you can legally do to improve your car. I'd rather see mitsustyle people succeed sooner than have to attend a few events and realize "oh, look at all the stuff people are able to do" - unfortunately the reality is its a bit more than you think. What the rules say and what is enforced is different. I mean.... us lowly jap crap econoboxes have to keep up with the E36s!

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Guys that do this, how much time and money do you spend prepping the car? I think if I had a spot in my garage to work on one and easy access to a trailer and something to haul it with I would be three steps way in the right direction. Maybe I should pull a swifty and buy a suit with nothing to use it in? :P

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I'd love to do this, but I'm not at the point in my life to do so. Well at least start a team.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Has a 2012 schedule (official or otherwise) been posted anywhere?

We're in the process of building something.... odd... for this :)

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Now that I have a garage (well as soon as I clean out all the boxes of crap from the move) I am seriously thinking of building my MR2 into a chumpcar. I tried to sell it but nobody seemed to want it. Oh well. I guess it's just telling me that it was destined to be in chumpcar.

Like Scheides asked, how much would someone be looking at for prepping the car for battle? Just trying to look at what I would need to budget for the build.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

The cost thing... is a hard question to answer. It depends greatly on what car you decide to run, what needs done to it, how thorough you are, how many upgrades you do... etc.

I'd say as a general rule, expect to spend $5k to get a car, and fully prep it for the first season of racing. During the season, expect to have to put a decent amount of money into it to maintain it, replace broken parts, etc.

Some parts you'll need:

Car itself
cage (I can't recommend enough how much more worthwhile it is to have someone weld in a cage - bolt in cages are a pain and not as safe)
seat/bracket/belts
motor 'freshening'
replacing worn/tired suspension, driveline and steering components
brake calipers/rotors/pads - get pads that will hold up to some decent heat and track racing
Wheels
tires (dunlop Star specs if you want to be competitive)
Personal safety gear - sky is the limit but Helmet, suit, underwear, gloves, socks, shoes, and I recommend a HANS type device.
Tools and spares to bring to the track - as luck dictates the more you bring the less problems you have :)
Tow vehicle and trailer to bring the car to the track
Parts vehicle?


also, the 2012 schedule will be out in a month or so.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Hrm, so team four, that's $5000/4 ~~$1300 / 12 months ~~$125/month.

How crazy do people go for spare parts? Seems like you'd want to have spare axles, brakes, alternators...fuck, a whole spare engine/trans?

Wonder how much renting a race trailer and filling it with car/spares would end up costing. Does anyone just drive the car to the track and then drink beer and AAA it home when it breaks?

I have a spot on the side of my garage that I parked my bro's DSM in for a while...no room to work on it back there though. I suppose it's 'in the theme' to just buy a POS, race it, and then park it outside the rest of the year though, eh?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I've been wanting to do this ever since I went and watched my buddies team at BIR. Unfortunately I have no time, money, or space to do it at this time :( Wish I did, looks like a total blast.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

It's a lot more money than people think. Between setting up the car and getting it track worthy. Getting everyone on the team race suits/helmets/gear etc. Then arranging or buying a trailer, tow vehicle, gas to/from, new tires every race, gas for the race car, spare parts, broken parts/wearables, etc.. it keeps adding up.

So figure 5k on the car up front, then at least 1-2k per race?

Oh, btw, we are building a car for next year as well.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Like Shane said, I think it's a lot cheaper if there's more people in your team. I'm sure someone should have enough time to drive if there is another 24-hour race event. I spoke of this Chump Car idea to my cousins and brothers and I think we'll do it in the near future once we're "settled" down in life. I think driving a civic would be very fun...that or a 240sx(they're gettin' cheaper and cheaper every year.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

For sure. The $5k I listed is strictly for the car. If you're adding in race suits for everyone, a tow vehicle, trailer, radios, GoPro, race costs, and repairs in between races, it does indeed explode to quite a bit more money. We spent about $900 on a full radio setup alone.

Even crapcan racing ain't cheap! Fair warning.

I look forward to seeing the mk3! That was on my list of possible cars to build next. But we've invested in the civic for another year.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Is there a link to the rules somewhere?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Yea they're SUPER hard to find :D

I looked them up after this post. Good read.

http://www.chumpcar.com

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Well that's pretty vague lol, sounds like this valued at $500 thing is pretty lenient huh?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Did you read the AIV rules? Those are what govern the actual car valuation.

lets see a MAP car out there!

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Kind of, but if they value at over that amount, you get penalized. It's more complicated than it sounds, and from what Shane has relayed, a lot of work to convince them of your cars value(need evidence of as many same make/model cars selling for what you are claiming etc).

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Hmmm, I still wouldn't mind doing this, but it'd have to be a DSM. There's tons of shitcans out there for $500, I've got tons of spares, and I can work on them in my sleep. Hmmm, it does sound like fun.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I don't think i've ever seen anyone drive their chumpcar to the track. A lot of people park their cars outside and/or in fields over the winter. But most people are doing work on their cars, if they are competitive. It depents on how seriously you want to take it. Personlly, I think if i'm gonna take the time to prep a car and race, i want to do it right and be competitive.

We bring a spare engine with trans if ours goes bad. But if we have to swap an engine, we won't be competitive, at that point we're just doing it to get more seat time.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

http://www.mitsustyle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30347

cheap start!

Re: Want to race for real??
 

You guys are missing the point, you can buy into a team for a race just to try it out. Fair warning though if you try it, you will be hooked, chumpcar is like crack.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Hopefully next year I can look at a minimum coming out to pit or buying into a seat for a race to get my feet wet. Like most everyone on here I have an interest in building one.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I have interest, but finding a team of wokkies, as im 6 foo5 300 + makes fitting in a car not so easy, also trying to find 4xl driving suits arent gonna be cheap
..... I have a truck and trailer though... hmmmm

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Might be a little tough to pass a running AWD by as an $500 car, if it was NA then shouldn't be a problem and might not break or drink gas like crazy.


Serious $500 valuation problem here, they probably don't come up that much on Craigslist and to find 10 of them for around $500 or less would be hard.


You don't need some crazy fast car, it's more important to be reliable, which we haven't exactly been. If you show up with some crazy fast car, you aren't going to make any friends out there and you will eventually get penalized from winning by too much or sandbagging. Most of the cars out there are from the 80s or early 90s and are realistically putting down 80-150whp. There are some heavier cars out there putting down a bit more, but their weight keeps them fairly even or slower than the light lower power cars. There is a beat up SC400 automatic out there that I have no idea how they get by the $500 valuation and it is decently faster than everyone else in a straightline, but it breaks all the time and they have a hard time finding parts for it during races. There is also a stripped BMW 540i auto that just about everyone hates that eventually got put into a different class a couple races ago, then they tried to make it more legal and got back in for the Chumpionship, but it's extremely unreliable so the owner has been trying to sell it to focus on their other E30 chumpcars.

One word of warning, the teams that run the tracks around here are pretty fast and not because they have a lot of HP. There are a lot of BIR and BMW club instructors out there, ex SCCA drivers, ex Porsche cup drivers, ex Rally drivers, etc. We don't have any Spec E30 race series around here like in other parts of the country, so you see a lot of them in chumpcar too. It's a lot of fun regardless of if your running in the top 10 or not though.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Ah I didn't see the download link to the right, they're a bit more detailed in there lol

Re: Want to race for real??
 

You've seen how ugly my Galant is. I'm sure there'd be some leeway on the $500. :lol:

Could always set it up n/a & fwd.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

well unfortunately its not necessarily about your specific car as it is your 10 AIV ads from the internet, average of which being your value. Any mods are added on top of that.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I can find plenty of rough 91 Galants for around $500

I cannot find many running Civics or BMWs for that kind of $$$ though :lol:

Re: Want to race for real??
 

searchtempest.com is your friend for AIV needs...

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I would love to do something like this but just don't know if I will have the money for it next year, I could probably have the time to help turn wrenches since I don't have a fun car any more.

Your galant would be awesome brian and that other ralley 1g would be pretty easy too. Booooo for monies

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I'd love too.. but I need to kick some weight first.. fat guys and racing don't mix :)

Re: Want to race for real??
 

As someone who used to race weekly at the local NASCAR tracks, I vastly prefer Chumpcar racing at this point in my life. It's such a great atmosphere and the tracks they race are amazing.

If you really want to get involved, see about joining an existing team. Our team has prepared two cars for Chump and spent very close to $3500 on each one. We scored a lot of deals through racing buddies and had all of the tools already.

Car prep is huge. That's where you win the race. Don't just replace the beaks pads and call it good. Replace the brake lines, rotors, etc. Going through the car and addressing every part will ensure you finish. That's why joining an existing team is a good idea.

As far as gear goes, we had a rookie on our team this past race and he used www.racesuitrental.com. He had a great experience with them and it was under $200 for everything needed.

I still recommend this racing to everyone I can. It's a blast and I'm super excited to run more races next year in the Chevette.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I'd love to join a team, anyone looking for someone next year?

Re: Want to race for real??
 

We are always looking for crew who knows how to wrench and knows hondas... or a very organizational type who will take care of logistics, schedules, details, etc.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

Check out the schedule, and get into contact with the local teams. There's always a team that had a guy bail and need someone who can pay their way.

Or join a team as a crew member, show them you're capable and get along with everyone and progress to a driver in an event or two.

Re: Want to race for real??
 

I dont know crap abut honda's but I can make a mean waffle? any one need a personal chef/hospitality???