911 Club racers respond please.

[B.Lane]

I want to build a 911 race car for PCA club racing. I have been reviewing the rules. I am not sure what class i wish to race in yet.
I do not have a lot of money, but have plenty of time and experience working on 911's. So far, from my research, i think i wish to run in a rather OPEN class of racing. I would like to slowly build a high Hp car and tweek it as the years roll by. I have a stock 911sc that is totally restored and i dont want to track this car. I would like to build up a 3.0 and race in the GT1 class but am not sure if this ie reasonable for me to do as it might get to expensive. i have been told to build a 2.7 up as it is a lot less money and a great engine to modify. I have been to one PCA race to observe but did not leave with as much info as i wish. Any suggestions for the budget racer? Any ideas as to what kind, size, car to go with? Class? year of car to start with?Keep in mind...i have limited resources but am very excited about the idea of racing....it has always been seomthing i have wanted to do.

[304065]

Do you want to race or do you want to be competitive?

To race it will cost you $50k to build a car. To be competitive or win it will cost you $100k. In GT1, more than that.

Why don't you start in stock class? Stock class isn't a junior league of PCA racing, it's a cost containment feature. By limiting what you can modify there's a natural limit to how much you can spend.

Download the rule book from the pca website and read it a couple times. It's fascinating, incredibly well written, and the list of what is permitted in stock class will give you an idea of what needs to be added to the car to bring it up to race spec. "Stock" isn't stock by any means.

Another thought is if you haven't raced ever before, you might start with a low horsepower car, and learn "energy management"- using the car's momentum to go quickly, not power-- and after a few years of flogging a 155HP 911E (for example) you will then step into a 750 HP GT1 Turbo that weighs 2000 pounds and dominate everyone in sight.

PCA club racing is one of the best things you can do with your Porsche- the people are awesome, the racing close and fun, and it's a great way to spend a few weekends a year. Best wishes to you.

[B.Lane]

Thank man...that is just the kind of info im hoping to see.

[Jess]

Hey B

I completely agree with what John said.

Starting out in racing and on a budget, GT is not the place for you to be. I think your best bet would be to find an SC that is in poorer condition than yours and build it to either G stock or F prepared. The prepared classification lets you do a limited amount of modification to an otherwise stock class car. On the other hand, the price difference between a nice SC and a beat up one might not be that much these days so you might just converting yours.

I race in F and find it to be a very competitive and relatively large class, especially here in Colorado.

I don't know if you've done this already the easiest way to get your license is to start doing Driver's Ed events. Fortunately, we have tons of them here for you to attend.

Feel free to ask email me if you have specific questions.

Jesse Wurmbrand

[chrisreale]

Correct me if I am wrong, but it costs about the same to build up any size six other than a 2.0, so just build what you want to run.

[aft911]

A pithy and accurate quote that one of my friends said was:

Stock class racing is writing a never ending stream of small checks

GT class racing is writing a never ending stream of large checks

Racing is expensive.

To build on what John said, if you want to contain costs, put most of your effort into your driving skills. You may not stand on the top of the podium but you CAN outrun the bottom half of any class regardless of what go-fast parts those competitors have. So you'll get more out of your $$ as you do eventually invest in the car and you're more likely to get to the podium... gotta have skills and car. From what I've observed F is the most competitive class of PCA racing. If you're going to run an SC stick in G. Another way to contain costs but start to become reasonably competitive is (on balance, not all or none) focus your investment on safety equipment and suspension over engine. Other than the power courses like Road America, I think you can be more competitive putting $5k into your suspension than the engine. My $.02

[B.Lane]

All great advice guys...keep it comin. JESS?? i live in Colorado too. Wonder if i have met you. I buy a lot of parts from Dart. Anyhow, where and how do i get my license?

[Dantilla]

I'm starting with a 944 I bought cheap to get my feet wet and see where it leads.

[Jeff Jagusch]

HI B. Lane,

If you are on a limited budget, there are MANY ways to race for less $$$ and racing a Porsche.
We have been vintage racing the last 10 years and have had a blast, I am restoring a 911 vintage racecar, but have currently been racing a Datsun. I can give you several examples where the difference in parts is moving the decimal point to the right for Porsche parts.
I know this is a PORSCHE web site, but racing is expensive no matter what, but Porsche's are far from the most cost effective racecars!

There is a VERY strong Vintage race community in CO, look into that!
Several people run older (pre '74) 911's that are also street cars, that may be an option?

Lastly, give Jeff Winter a call at (303) 427-0510 he is a past national champion SCCA road racer and has a prep shop in Arvada, CO , he's a first rate guy!

Good luck!

Oh yeah, many people have heard this one, but...
it has been said that the only way to make a small fortune in racing is to start with a big one!

[Jess]

B

Well if you spend any time around DART, I'm sure we've met!

I squander some of my most valuable time B.S.ing there with Dave and Art. In fact I keep my race car there as well. It's in one of the white trailers parked out back.

If you were down in Pueblo this year you might have seen me race. My car is a yellow 911, number 101.

Anyway, your best bet as far as getting a Club Race License is to start attending Driver's Education events next season. There is a minimum requirement of I think twelve days of DE and then you can apply for a license. Assuming you haven't run afoul of the chief driving instructor, you will then be allowed to race.

I am a PCA instructor as well as a club racer and would be happy to help you out in any way I can.

Jess

[Jess]

I just read Jeff's reply and he's got a great point.

If you're not set on racing a Porsche, you've got many options in Colorado.

I think the best bet is Spec Miata in the SCCA. While many PCA racers dismiss the SCCA as bumper car drivers, I think that to a large degree, the drivers are much more competent (sp)? there. I race with both groups and they are fun for different reasons. The PCA is good for making friends that share an interest in Porsches. Unfortunately, with thier rules, it's not really racing. The SCCA kind of has a problem with Porsches but the racing is honest, real, and many of the drivers are far better that PCA racers.

Jeff's idea about Jeff Winter is also a great one. Jeff could get you into a 510 or Z car for a very reasonable amount of money and guide you in the right direction within the SCCA.

Jess

[Jeff Jagusch]

HI,
Could'nt resist, back a few years ago, someone here made up some bumper stickers that read
SCCA -Spoiled Childern Crashing Automobiles

I enjoyed it!

Jeff

[Steve Marshall]

How fast do you want to go? How much do you want to spend? These are directly proportional and one of Newton's laws of speed.

GT on a budget is an oxymoron.

The hot ticket in stock class club racing are non sun roof Euro SC's running in F or 2.2 liter early 70's 911S cars running G. 944's also kick ass, but you sound like you're a rear engined air cooled kind of guy.

For your first year ALL the money needs to be spent on suspension, which includes tires. Suspension set-up, corner balancing, and weight distribution are also key. Brakes that don't fail half way into a race matter too.

[SteveStromberg]

We have this one for sale. As with all of Otto's Cars it's rather FAST.Watch the videos. Steve

www.ottosvenice.com

[Bill Verburg]

What makes racing fun is an even, affordable playing field w/ large #s of competitors. PCA stock classes are great for this. Especially G-F