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Future race decision

Discussion in 'General' started by dave3593, Mar 25, 2020.

  1. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    Guys I know this has little to do with bike racing but with the various backgrounds of folks here I thought this would be a good place to ask this question.

    I am going to keep racing bikes but I think iI want to get into some four wheeled racing. I don't have the money to race fast cars. I think most of us that ride bikes would find 150 HP sports cars boring so I am looking at a way to go kinda fast on four wheels.

    I have narrowed it down to two things. Either build a kinda fast track day car like a 500 hp lightened mustang (this is way cheaper than a real class legal car) or go the lay down enduro Kart route. The enduro karts run real race courses like Mid Ohio and Daytona and the faster stuff like B stock class (twin engine) hits 160 on the straights.

    So what do you guys think.
     
  2. noles19

    noles19 Well-Known Member

    Have you driven karts? and have you driven cars on course?
     
    TurboBlew likes this.
  3. Lavana

    Lavana The coming

    I keep hearing that once you’ve raced bikes there’s nothing like it.
     
    TLR67, 5axis and sdg like this.
  4. pscook

    pscook Well-Known Member

    Find a 24 hours of Lemons team that needs a driver so that you understand the dynamics and costs. Its about $3,000 to run a Lemons weekend (that's all team members food, passes, tires, gear rental if needed, etc) on a budget. That doesn't include the "$500 car" that costs about $5,000 to build after you safety it out. But you don't need a formal race license just a state driver's license.

    Or go to an autocross event and check out what's running there. You can probably get a ride-along just to see what the fuss is all about.
     
    backbone and YamahaRick like this.
  5. Gino230

    Gino230 Well-Known Member

    I had a 944 spec racer, that thing was boring as shit. I’ve made no secret of my abilities here- I’m a mid packer on bikes, and I’ll tell you that at my second track day, I matched the instructors winning time from the 944 spec race. Sold the car that week.

    that being said, this was before lemons and champ car made the entry / licensing process WAY easier. The PCA and SCCA stuff is a ball buster. My friend is building a spec E30 BMW for champ car, they basically run enduros so lots of seat time. I’d recommend renting a seat for a race and see how you like the environment and competition. That’s my plan, too. Champ car has some pretty good forums, lots of info on there.

    I’m actually building an iracing setup too, but that’s mostly to work on my vision / eye movement for bike racing, on the same tracks.
     
    dave3593 and Senna like this.
  6. SundaySocial

    SundaySocial Blue & Gold

    Shifter karts (CR-125) are a lot of fun for anyone with reasonable mechanical skills. Set up can make you scratch your head, but it is a learning type of fun.
    Most regions have Track days/Race Orgs that you can run the long tracks, and/or race. Just like most things you can go have fun with friends and spend a little, or work at running at the front, and spend a lot.
    I know a guy that put a CR-250 in a used sprint chassis ... Any Kart is a lot of fun, for not a lot of money. Check out RapidRacing in Indy.
     
    TurboBlew likes this.
  7. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    I drove sprint unlimited dirt oval karts a long time ago. Had a shifter cart also. It was fun. Cars? drag cars, autocross stuff.
    I don't expect to tear up the world in cars but racing bikes I think gives us an in.
     
  8. baconologist

    baconologist Well-Known Member

    2>4

    /thread
     
    5axis likes this.
  9. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    You're probably right . I figure anyone who has went down the long straight at Road Atlanta on a bike with the elevation changes and a turn right after the bridge where you come off the ground can probably handle a car. Doing it on a two stroke just adds to the experience. And I know I'm slower than most here.

    But it is fun sliding around on four wheels.
     
  10. YamahaRick

    YamahaRick Yamaha Two Stroke Czar

    I consider myself very lucky to have experienced Gravity Cavity before it was taken out. It was scary enough on a small displacement vintage bike (RZ350).
     
    CR750, motoracer1100 and Quicktoy like this.
  11. noles19

    noles19 Well-Known Member

    Gotcha you seemed to be skipping shifter karts etc so I was curious if you had experience in them
    Honestly with experience and those options if got with the mustang, way more options for trackdays and racing vs the Enduro kart
     
  12. turner38

    turner38 Well-Known Member

    Find a local short track and give that a go. Things happen a lot faster and it is a blast, slow cars on big tracks are boring to me.
     
  13. fastfreddie

    fastfreddie Midnight Oil Garage

    Honda Talon.
     
  14. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    I've never been to a car track day and probably will not soon considering current conditions. Does much fast stuff show up for the street car groups?
     
  15. CR750

    CR750 Well-Known Member

    If they race Min Sprints in your area they are a lot of fun, at some tracks they go as fast as the full outlaw sprint cars. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini_sprint They are a rush for sure, but be prepared to be humbled they are not that easy to drive. Also they can be raced on a budget which is similar to a motorcycle.
     
  16. eggfooyoung

    eggfooyoung You no eat more!

    Oh yes... Some really impressive stuff was at the one I did at Gingerman.

    I've done the back stretch at Road Atlanta, Mid Ohio, and others. I've been in kart sprint leagues, kart enduros, you name it. Same with XC stuff and dirt bikes.

    Its all what you make of it, and what your expectations are. 4 wheels can be a lot of fun in the right setting.

    I say go for it
     
  17. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    Like what? Souped up new vettes, turboed 911s, or pigs on roller skates (Dodge Hellcat).
     
  18. eggfooyoung

    eggfooyoung You no eat more!

    There was a Dodge there, but it was a purpose built track car, and was by far the fastest thing there that weekend. And plenty of exotics across all 3 classes.
     
  19. dave3593

    dave3593 What I know about opera I learned from Bugs Bunny

    Really! Thanks for the info.

    Sounds like I need to go look at a track day when they start back up. If I built a car, I would hate to get run down on the staights all the time.
     
    Last edited: Mar 26, 2020
  20. eggfooyoung

    eggfooyoung You no eat more!

    Lol. If you can drive, even a little, that won't be much of a problem.
     

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