Re: Formula Mazda
Turbo, I would be happy to help you do a due diligence on buying a race car in general and an FM specifically. We should do some Emails to discuss your particular situation, but for others who want answers to your questions, I’ll pontificate briefly here.
First, let me say that there are a lot of details and obstacles to having a racecar that should not be underestimated but can be overcome depending on an individual’s desire, resources and personality. I say that as a caution for both the cavalier individual who thinks it’s no big deal and for the somewhat more reserved individual who fears it’s too daunting. There is a wide spectrum of racers and racing budgets; each person needs to be realistic as to where they are now and where they can comfortably go in the spectrum.
Towing: yes you can tow on an open trailer; I started out on an open trailer using my wife’s Subaru Outback, pulling almost 3000 #. But......No hills and I was careful, so never had a problem. I held out longer than most (3 years) before buying an enclosed trailer and the required bigger tow vehicle.
Where to drive and how to learn;
• I had never been in a purpose built race car before I bought this FM; not even a Skippy Miata. All my experience had been track days in the NSX. I learned how to drive it in
Trackmasters and
NCRC events. I still race with NCRC
(ARC) and have never had a close call on track. However, your concern for being on track with large sedans is justified and I don’t race 10/10’s with them. The older I get, the lower the testosterone and the more I think about what could happen, so risk avoidance can vary.
• Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve found the experienced drivers to be aware of where I am on track and being polite about not blocking. Most of the time you can pass on the straights easily, but there are big powerful cars who sometimes cannot resist the urge to pass you on the straights then hold you up through the twisty bits. But that’s possible and will eventually be anyone’s track experience; racing or otherwise.
• It is possible to just race and do open test days with other similar race cars on track. But the number of days will seem limited compared to your early novice desire to just get on track as much as you can.
Cost of an FM:
• Initial cost: For a beginner, you should definitely stay away from a $10K “project” car. You want to drive, not tinker, so a good solid car is going to be closer to $20K. You can find some OK cars for a few K less, but they’ll like need some work; may not be hard work, but it’ll involve some money and parts. I was fortunate to luck into a virtually new car; had 5 hours on it driven by a clueless geek who barely got it warmed up. So I drove my ass off for a couple of years before I had to really do much work; and of course, I was pretty easy on it too since I didn’t know how to push it hard.
• Ops budget: My race car experience parallels my airplane experience: buying it is one thing; operating and maintaining it is another. But the good thing about a hobby race car like the FM is that you can safely cut corners. Here’s a few examples:
o Tires; $900+/set delivered to the track, mounted and balanced. The fast guys use a set a race weekend (2 races or 2.4 hours on track). When I was racing frequently with those guys, I’d run a set for 2 weekends. Now, racing with ARC for the last year, I safely run tires long after the fast guys are done with them and I sometimes use their cast offs. I may be a full second a lap slower than sticker tires, but I’m having fun and don’t hardly care. Walter Mitty type racing can sometimes be like golf; you’re fast or slow any given day and don’t really know why.
o Engine rebuild: The engine never blows up, it just progressively loses HP. Now the fast guys of yesteryear (Joey Hand, Scott Speed) would rebuild every year, maybe twice a year. Nobody does that now; at least not the track record holders I race with. Rebuild cost now is $5500 plus shipping and R&R. I’m on my 6th year and my motor is not the main thing holding me back.
o Spark plugs; they are $140/set, but like the engine, they are not critical, you can replace frequently or every couple of years; or starting out, you can run $5 plugs from Pep Boys; the car will run fine for learning.
o Gas: 91 pump gas; add a bit of 100 octane if it’s hot, but $8/gallon gas won’t get you any noticeable power.
o Brake pads; the real good ones (Ferodos) are $240 for all 4 corners and last anywhere from one race weekend to 2. Or you can run cheaper Hawk Blues or Cobalts that will last all year; I used those the first year or 2.
o Video, data, pit-car radios. These are fun and add to the experience but not necessary to start out obviously.
o Extras: the fast guys carry a bunch of inventory and can rebuild almost anything at the track. I don’t do that and am prepared to put it in the trailer and go home if I wreck or break. However, when I’m racing with my FM buddies, most of the time I can get the parts from one of them there, so frequently I do fix the car at the track and only miss a session or two. That’s the beauty of a spec car.
Anyway, this is just scratching the surface of things you have or will need to think about. There are some great threads on “getting started” in both the
ApexSpeed and
the FM forum. In fact you might get some answers and some laughs in my clueless newbie threads from late 03 thru 04 in the FM forum. I was exactly in your shoes 7 years ago. My handle on there is NSXted.
You can EM me at tidlof (at) sbcglobal (dot) com.
