So I'm Starting a Chumpcar Team

"bigfish13.jf" (bigfish13-jf)
11/08/2013 at 12:25 • Filed to: None

Anyone who has done Chumpcar or LeMons care to share some advice?

DISCUSSION (12)

For Sweden > bigfish13.jf
11/08/2013 at 12:27

Double your budget.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > bigfish13.jf
11/08/2013 at 12:37

Where?

/has virtually no odds of being near said ChumpCar team, consarnit

bigfish13.jf > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
11/08/2013 at 12:40

It'll be based out of Lima, Ohio

Will with a W8 races an E30 > bigfish13.jf
11/08/2013 at 12:43

As ForSweeden said, double your budget. Again. Don't buy a turbo car, or you can triple your budget. Go for something light, it will significantly bring down the cost. Also do your homework when picking a car. You want something light, bulletproof motor, and easy to work on with readily available parts. If you're doing Chumpcar, and want to be reasonably competitive, throw the $500 car notion out the window. A competitive chumpcar starts with a $1500+ mostly rust free shell + ~$4000 in preventative maintenance (bushings, tires, brakes, motor refresh, fluids, shocks) and safety equipment (cage, seat, fire suppression). Expect to spend ~$2800 per race weekend if nothing breaks. This includes a full set of tires, pads, rotors, and an oil change (you will use all of them), entry fees, ~10 gallons/hr gas, and transportation. If you have a heavy car, like a camaro, that number jumps to $4000/weekend. Turbo cars rarely finish races. Street cars just arent designed to handle the underhood heat of a turbo for 7+ hours at WOT. The best cars for chump seem to be E30 325, E36 (accept penalty laps), and various other random very well built cars. As for LeMons - I've never done it, so I'm not sure, but under the newest set of chumpcar rules a lemons car will just be a rolling obstacle in a chump race.

TLDR: Ive never done lemons, but a competitive chumpcar is an E30 325. Expect to spend $5500 before your first race. Each weekend will cost just under $3k. Laptimes are on par with a shitty spec miata or any RX8, BRZ etc running 200 treadwear summer tires.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > bigfish13.jf
11/08/2013 at 12:45

If it gives you any reference, a quick chumpcar runs ~1:52 on the Gingerman Long course. I haven't chump raced on any of the other tracks near OH.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > bigfish13.jf
11/08/2013 at 12:56

Regrettably a bit far. A solid day's drive for me.

It's a "Porch-uh" > For Sweden
11/08/2013 at 12:59

Yup. It's cheaper than racing NASA or SCCA, but don't expect to actually go for $500. Have you been racing before? Do you understand what it takes to build a race car, or is this new to you? Our first LeMons car was about $6K when it came down to it.

Make sure you have at least one master fabricator on the team, especially if you want to keep costs down and be somewhat competitive (or finish).

Casper > bigfish13.jf
11/08/2013 at 13:07

Take the initial value of the vehicle (for instance $500) and multiply that by 10 to get ready for the race. Then expect to pay 50% of that every race weekend. For a $500 value car I would assume $5000 to prep and $2500 to race. My personal philosophy is to add 20% overhead to that simply because myself and the people I usually participate with are not experts and "learning" incurs additional costs.

Casper > Will with a W8 races an E30
11/08/2013 at 13:09

That's some good advice. Listen to this guy. I don't necessary agree with dogging turbo cars in general, but turbo cars in that price point will certainly cost significantly more to prep. The cooling alone on a turbo car is a significant investment.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Casper
11/08/2013 at 13:18

The problem with turbo in chump/lemons is that in general, you cannot provide sufficient cooling without incuring penalty laps. You also have to remember that this is an endurance race. What works reliably for a street car that occasionally goes to the track, or even a dedicated track car, may not be reliable enough for endurance racing. Your car has to be incredibly robust to drive at 100% and still finish races.

Casper > Will with a W8 races an E30
11/08/2013 at 13:36

I agree with that. In order to upgrade oil cooling, capacity, and standard cooling components, you will be looking for penalty... but it can be done. The bigger issue is the turbo it's self. The options for turbo cars that meet the requirements are very limited and will almost certainly be old school journal bearing turbos. Keeping them running efficiently so they don't burn out is hard enough, not to mention keeping the fueling proper.

Personally I don't mind being penalized laps. I look at ChumpCar and LeMons less about trying to win and more about fun. Otherwise I wouldn't run half the people we do because they aren't good enough drivers, but they are good people.

bigfish13.jf > Will with a W8 races an E30
11/08/2013 at 14:13

I definitely appreciate the advice. the BMW's that you mentioned were at the top of our list as far as cars that we are looking for. I don't know anything about BMW's, is there anything that I need to be looking for? common issues, that sort of thing.