[Steve91T]

And I don't think it's going to be in an F-body.

I've got a 97 SS with tons of mods. It's an absolute blast on the track, but rather expensive. Tires, brakes, fuel, and not to mention opti sparks (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) . I love HPDE's, and I still have tons to learn, but I am dreaming of wheel to wheel racing. I've been doing HPDE's on and off for 12 years now, and I'm very comfortable in the experienced groups.

I've been thinking for years about Spec E30. It seems to be in my price range, but the cars, to me, are boring. I know everyone raves about how much fun the series is, but it doesn't excite me.

Spec Miata is another boring car, just more expensive.

FFR challenge would be fun, but out of my price range.

I've lately been thinking about Legends cars. Either that or the Thunder Roadsters. I've heard they are a blast to drive, relatively inexpensive to maintain, and if you crash, it's a lot easier to fix than an old street car. I live in VA, as you guys know, Charlotte, only 3 hrs away, is home to racing. The legends cars were born here, and has the largest turnout. Seems like you can get a legends car for less than $10K used. That's more or less the cost of a Spec E30.

I also know they can and do race them on road courses. I'm not sure what I think of the small circle tracks, but I'm sure they'd be fun.

Anyway, what do you guys think?

This is something I'm looking at doing in about 2 years. I'm going to be heading to pilot training for the Air National Guard sometime early next year, but after that, I'll have some free time again. It'll give me time to save up the money.

Thanks guys,
Steve

[Blainefab]

With NASA, it seems that the group of people in each class matters as much as the car that they are driving. NASA encourages folks to get to know fellow drivers, and I believe this reduces avoidable contact on track. NASA is also very open and likes to show new racers around.

So, go to some NASA events, find the series directors and tell them the decision you have ahead of you and ask them the questions - they will have a more regionally specific response than we can here. Here in NorCal, the Legends and TR group tends to be separate and isolated from the rest of the classes - they do their own tech, have their own impound and scales, and do not appear to mix with the rest of the racers. I'll SWAG that that is part why, in sessions that they are mixed with other classes, they tend to cause a lot of angst on track. Working impound, I've been the first official ears that a racer gets to after a session, and I can't count the number of times I've heard "that damn Legend is a (insert insult here)". Probably completely different lines and braking points have something to do with that. If your region has enough car count to have dedicated sessions for the Legends/TR then this won't be an issue.

I've been close to SpecE30, built one, and NorCal has the largest fields in NASA - we've scaled 32 cars after a qual. SE30 is a true spec class - no monkeying around with brakes or suspension. Beyond the safety prep, you'll need to spend well under $1000 on spec shocks, springs and exhaust. Wheels and tires are $800 a set, complete. The cars are extremely well matched, performance is up to the driver and fine tuning setup. The BMW hardware appears to be bulletproof and plentiful in boneyards.

CMC is struggling in some regions, healthy in others. Rules creep has zinged the cost compared to E30. You and I are Chevy guys, if I was building a budget car it would be for CMC - there's a history (legend?) of competition between the bowtie and blue ovals that complements the class, and is absent in SE30 and SM. The disparity of platforms makes for many more choices and opportunities to spend money. Above all, V8's rock.

If you can't build the car yourself, buy an existing car. Get to know the cars and teams in your region, schedule your buy for this time of year, prices are lower in the last part of the year. While there are beater cars in any class, CMC has been around for a lot longer than SE30, and while I believe you'll spend less on a CMC car than a SE30, there will be some questionable older hardware out there - I would encourage you to have an independant shop do an eval on any used race car. The thoroughness and accuracy of annual tech varies a lot from region to region.

This post has been edited by Blainefab: Sep 19 2011, 07:01 PM