Look what I got . . .

[Richard EVO]

I have tracked my NSX several times since I bought it last April, but I can't risk it as a full-time track day car.

So I rented a Formula Mazda recently at Willow Springs Int'l Raceway big track in Rosamond, CA, mostly to check it out to decide if I wanted to buy it. The first run session was terrifying, because I had never driven an open-wheel car before, had only driven a straight-cut gearbox once before, and was driving in an advanced group with lots of fast 3,000+ lb. modified streets cars, while I am trying to figure out how to drive a 1,140 lb. formula race car.

I got better as the day went on, and was flying around the track in the afternoon. This thing is amazing, and I have a long way to go to learn how to drive it well enough to go W2W racing with SCCA and HSR West. The experience of having your butt that close to the track and it feels like you could just reach out and touch the front tires is just crazy.

So I bought it!!! It is being stored at a shop at WSIR that will be providing me trackside support and maintenance in the beginning. I will be running open test and tune days there and getting some coaching over the next few months, and after the summer break, I plan to start racing in Sept. 2012. This is the next logical progression in my racing and open track obsession. I could just pee myself.

Here are some pics:

 

[pgilliam1]

Lucky! Care to share a ballpark $$$$ cost (just had to ask)?

 

[Track Addict]

Lucky! Care to share a ballpark $$$$ cost (just had to ask)?

I also wonder.

That looks like SO MUCH FUN! I have to admit I am uber jealous.

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: Congrats and welcome to the family

We'll be looking for you to come up and race FCC with us here in NorCal. Not too many of us here race SCCA anymore.

The trick will be to 1) recalibrate your butt and 2) get all those NSX/street car mental videos out of your head. After 8 years, I'm still not sure I ever did.

Anyway, you'll love it.

 

[Jacob_Seattle]

Agreed, this is an awesome purchase. What did you pay for something like that? What kind of speeds can you hit on the long straights (over 150mph??)? How about the safety? Are you concerned if you take it into a wall (God forbid), does it have crumple zones? Thanks for sharing.

Jacob

 

[92 white 0650]

Re: Some basics on the standard Formula Mazda

Agreed, this is an awesome purchase. What did you pay for something like that? What kind of speeds can you hit on the long straights (over 150mph??)? How about the safety? Are you concerned if you take it into a wall (God forbid), does it have crumple zones? Thanks for sharing.

Price? You can see FM's for sale at http://www.apexspeed.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=76.

Speed? Most road courses (Laguna, Infineon, Thunderhill) in my neighborhood only have straights long enough to get to 125. To go faster, you'd sacrifice downforce and speed thru the other 90% of the course.

Safety? This car was designed to be a school car for Russell back in the '80's and tested by a young Michael Andretti. Compared to most formula cars and sports racers, it's the "proverbial tank." It has a tube frame with no actual crumple zones designed into it but does have a battery box (nose mount structure) that provide some "crumple zone' in the front. And each corner folds up to provides somewhat of a crumple zone. Pretty safe (relatively speaking) especially on road courses. Easy for me to say since I've never thought about putting it on an oval. The fear of a high speed oval would be getting upside down on top of something not smooth and ending up like Dan Wheldon. But that's true of any open cockpit, open wheel car.

Here's a vid that might wet your appetite. Indy car support race at Infineon. http://vimeo.com/14562231 And no, that's not my car upside down at the 8:40 mark.

 

[Track Addict]

I want a single seater SO BADLY!!

This thread really makes me think it could happen...someday.

 

[d.n]

That's a pretty sweet gig to have it garaged at the track. No tow rig BS etc really cuts down on costs and TIME. Although all wrenching would have to be done at the track...

 

[Richard EVO]

I want a single seater SO BADLY!!

This thread really makes me think it could happen...someday.

I have been thinking about this for about 4 years before actually biting the bullet and buying one. You just gotta jump in with both feet.

 

[docjohn]

single seaters seem like a heck of a bang for the buck...but if you decide to use it as an hpde car,you will feel "vulnerable" and if you race it...well many thoughts of your frailties will start creeping in...so much so that if you have children and a wife,thier worried looks start to enter the mind also....just ask Wei-Shen why he retired his FM.

 

[g3driver]

So. It's been a year. How do you still like it? What did it cost to run the car last year? I was thinking of doing the same thing you have done but think it would cost more than just running my nsx in a time trial series.
Any info would be great!

 

[92 white 0650]

Costs; depends on how you're counting and who you're counting for

So. It's been a year. How do you still like it? What did it cost to run the car last year? I was thinking of doing the same thing you have done but think it would cost more than just running my nsx in a time trial series.
Any info would be great!

It appears that Richard has not been around since June last year, at least he hasn't posted, so I'll answer that question based on 10 years of running one.

Well, truth be told there is no single straight answer that anyone will cop to all the time. Racers all have an agenda when saying what a race car costs to run. If you are trying to convince the wife it's cheap, you tell her what tires, gas and entry fee costs, then add in a dinner or 2 and motel. Then you tell her you'll be stretching those $1200 slicks out to at least 3 race weekends. If you're being "honest" with yourself while trying to justify the race car, you'll add in the cost of a trailer and tow vehicle, the hourly cost of a motor maybe and a few other items like brake pads and you'll admit you ain't racing on one set of tires more than 2 race weekends.

But still, you haven't gotten to the point of accounting for the many expendable parts such as gears and dog ring replacement, $140/set spark plugs, annual rod end replacement, and test days. And of course, you tell yourself and the wife that parts don't break and crashes never happen, so you'll never be fixing the car, right? I mean you're used to an NSX, how different can this little thing be?????? LOL. And all the while, you do the work for free because you love it and you never give a thought to the hours learning how before you actually do the work.

However, if you're renting out your car, like I do periodically, you'll be adding the more infrequent costs like new rotors, clutch, wheel bearings, MSD box, seat belts every 5 years, data acquisition, radios, video and other unavoidable costs. And you'll be more aware of the time it takes to put the car on track and have it run competitively. Overall, for a race weekend that starts with a Friday test day, I spend 35+ hours putting my rental driver in the car and making sure he has a good time.

But back to the bare bones cost for a wide eyed noob who's going to learn and run this car single-handedly (that was me in 2003), here's some basic things to consider:

1. $460/hour on track = car/chassis/engine/gearbox parts cost (wet; 91 pump gas, syn oil) (Parts only; you supply the labor except for the $6950 sealed motor rebuild)
2. $1150 Goodyear slicks, mounted and balanced (1 to 3 race weekends per set or you can run the cast-offs from the fast guys; been there done that)
3. ???? Tow costs' vehicle and trailer (I started out with a single axle open trailer towed with a Subaru Outback (in Central CA; no hills)
4. $100 - $350/day event entry fee.

Parts costs are here: http://www.formulamazdaparts.com/

Typical race time is 2.5 hrs on track/race weekend (not including practice days). Practice days might be 2+ hours on track. In our FCC series we do about 7 or 8 double race weekends per year.

So, to state the obvious; running a race car is like flying an airplane; capital costs pale in comparison to operating costs. But, like flying, there's nothing else like it. I had my NSX from 1994 to 2004, running it in track days at NSXPO's and Central CA tracks. When I bought the FM, I did not hesitate to sell the NSX because I knew it would never feel the same.

This is a lot of harsh reality, I know, but I hope it helps. If you want to know more, come see us at Infineon for the March 16-17 Formula Car Challenge race (part of NASA).

 

[SFNSXguy]

EVO -- Have a wonderful time with your new toy -- I know you will!
For those concerned about "open wheels" may I suggest a used Sports 2000 car (ran several in the 1980's and '90's). Costs are similar to what's mentioned above, but you do have body panels all around you (no interlocking of wheels). I tried Formula Ford back in the late 1970's (after more than a decade in an E-Production Porsche Speedster) and I just couldn't get used to seeing my front wheels and the vulnerability it brought.
Used Sports 2000 cars typically come with a ****lode of spares (body, chassis stuff, wheels, gears, etc.).
As pointed out by Ted, it's the on-going costs that can make one blanch -- but remember: it's a real race car -- much faster than any NSX -- and a lot cheaper to run and maintain too.
Probably the most $ is tied up in a tow-car and trailer (and their storage), so I suggest making a deal with a track-side shop to store and help maintain whatever you can't do. If you want to run other tracks occasionally, you can rent or arrange transportation. Sonoma Raceway (nee Sears Point/Infineon) and other California tracks have these services. Do a little research.
Then - go have a ****load of fun!