[hpaull]

I don't know how useful I will be, but I will give my insight. The first thing that is useful to know is what is your experience level? From there what are your goals? Then budget and things start to come into play.

Since I don't know your situation I will go a bit into what I have done and some costs and things. I started doing track days once I got my license. I was fortunate enough to be able to drive my mom's car when I got my license it was a little 4 cyl z3 and the cheapest car for me to be insured on at the time that my parents owned. I probably did about 20 track days and modified and fixed the car as I needed to. Then I graduated highschool and plans fell apart for my appointment to USAFA. So I started working and going to school.

Working afforded me enough money to get into kart racing at the local level. Then during my second race my congressman called me and I finally got into USAFA after 3 attempts. So the karts were sold off. And I had about a 3 year hiatus.

Then call it dumb luck I came across my current car 87 911. I started doing track days again my senior year at USAFA and fixing the car and such as needed. About 6 months ago I went off track at HPR and that is when I finally said it's time to go wheel to wheel. I set out a budget of 15,000 to get the car race ready. While it is still tagged it is not something I would want to drive on the street with a full cage, no interior, the suspension and brakes.

First off a cage with no helmet is not the safest thing to be in on public roads. Second it is loud inside the cabin, so loud that when I do take it out to get all the fluids and stuff up to temperature I need to at least have some hearing protection. Third the suspension in the car is pretty much all new and the roads out in oklahoma are not the best last thing I want to do is screw up my alignment and corner balance. Lastly the brakes race brakes work best at temperature. While you can change pads out I find it a pain because it usually means pads and rotors so you don't mess up a set of rotors that are bedded for a set of pads etc.

It has been fun and quite the learning experience converting the car into a prepared race car. Budgets get blown and you hit things along the way, especially in an older car, that are mission critical to fix, that you wouldn't have thought you would have to.

Then work out a budget. For me, I really wanted to get into formula mazda, but the budget was not there, and prepping the Porsche was the economic solution. But there are a lot of things you forget or don't think about for the budget.

I would say if you don't have a lot of experience hit some HPDE's they are a great time and if the bug really hits you you will want to go wheel to wheel even sooner. Right now I am saving for skip barber because I really want to do that, for the learning experience. Another thing you can do if you really want to look into a race car is find someone who rents them out for a weekend. A lot of options to look into. this is an area where a good plan will save you a lot of money and headache. Plus there are plenty of people out there who will talk to you and help out. Where you live can have a huge impact on what you might want to race, the SCCA isint the most kind sanctioning body to the 911. PCA racing might not be your style. NASA may blow the budget before you know it etc.


Another option would be buying a used race car that is ready to go, will save a lot of money. Also Safety gear for yourself will cost quite a bit. Helmet, hans, firesuit, underwear, shoes gloves are easily 2000 dollars and up and that is not for the top dollar stuff either. I would not suggest buying used safety gear either, but it'll be your own ass on the line.

Right now the 911 is almost done. I wont be able to do the first few races out here in the organization I will be running in called COMMA. But I will still be able to get on track to shake the car down. I have probably put about 20,000 dollars into the 911 to get it where it is now. I do not have a lot of time to do a lot of my own work so I had to bite the bullet and pay a shop, another thing to consider.

Now for your original question about cage cost. My cage work was 2600 dollars. It is a nasa legal cage with extra gusseting and anti intrusion bars in the front. You could look at some of the better bolt in cages as they will make you legal, but it comes down to how safe you want your car. For me there is a lot of tax dollar money going into my training and the last thing I want to do is shunt the car and have an injury that makes me a liability.

Any other questions about costs or anything I can try to answer. It is a lot to think about and can seem overwhelming if you go in unprepared.

good luck! and I hope this can be of some help?