Help me get into racing.

[boganbusman]

or you can simply buy a S2 liescence for live for speed, buy a Logitech G25, a motorcycle helmet and fireproof underwear. instead of paying 10-20 grand you've just paid 500 bucks. now go enter the LFS leagues and your set.

That doesn't even come close to racing in real life. It might be fun, but you won't get any adrenaline rush.

[Ludford]

Yeah I think I'd prefer to be actually driving a car.

[RSZETEC]

If youre wanting a cheap sporty car get a fiesta si 1.6 16v, great fun in standard trim but drop the 2.0 mondeo engine(bolts right in)and its a whole different animal, rsturbo brakes strengthened shell cheap parts its all going for it just dont start playing around with cambelts believe me its no fun

[Ludford]

I think I'll leave engine swaping untill my knowledge of mechanics goes passed changing a tire.

[Grez~Supra_RZ-S]

All the stats I can find for the Mondeo engine say 130bhp, is that right? The AW11 weighs roughly the same as the Fiesta, has 123bhp as standard, and is RWD. Whats better, the 20V 4A-GE bolts straight in and has 160bhp/145lb-ft.

[RSZETEC]

Yeah may only be 130bhp but its a cheap 130bhp. one of the guys on the car club im in for it managed to get one for 26 quid with a rusty mondeo attached consider i bought my car for 200 not a bad sort of price for a reasonably quick motor

[Grez~Supra_RZ-S]

That is impressively cheap.

[RedCarDriver]

1)where do I start?

More than likely, your best bet is autocross / SOLO. i've heard these are cheap and really hard to damage your car in.

2) does racing make your insurance go through the roof?

Probably not for autocross, but for any other type, probably.

3) how much is it to race around a track (with people and just on your own)

for autocross, like i said, it's probably really cheap.

4) does my car need and modifications?

probably not for autocross.

5) can I use a road legal car?

probably.


i don't know too much about it, but
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autocross
should help.

[donaldgladden]

...

if they guy hasnt posted in this topic for months dont you think he either gave up or already made it?

[Grez~Supra_RZ-S]

To be fair, if other people look in here because of the title, it might help others wanting to get into racing too.

Autocross is cheap, I paid £20 for my last event ($40), and it lasted all day. Contrastingly, somewhere like Silverstone will cost £210 for about 2-3 hours racing...

Its a lot less damaging to your car if you do bin it, but be warned cones do still cause damage. As you can see here:


I hit that cone at probably 20-30mph too...

All you need is a helmet and a licence. As far as Im aware, there are no rules saying that autocross events require road-legal cars, but obviously unless you have a trailer youll need one anyway. Modifications are up to you, these events are essentially ''run what ya brung'' days.

[boganbusman]

Modifications are up to you, these events are essentially ''run what ya brung'' days.

I thought there were many different classes, but perhaps that is only the larger-scale events.

I've thought about doing autocross, but to me it looks brutal (for the car). Contantly changing direction, chucking the wheel from lock to lock and ripping on the handbrake . . . I would feel bad if I put my car through that!
So circuit racing seems to be more like my thing, but as you said, it's expensive. Ahh . . . what to do

[Grez~Supra_RZ-S]

There are classes, but they tend to be categorised by driver experience, not power output. Its fantastic fun, most of the events Ive been to have been set up similar to B-roads, rather than ridiculous hairpins. Circuit racing is fantastic, but without sponsorship you wont be doing it regularly.