Some thoughts on "Race Cars for the Road"

"Ryanator122" (hawkeye122)
08/07/2014 at 16:47 • Filed to: None

If you're anything like me, you've probably watched a video !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and thought to yourself "I'm not a man of compromise. I need a race car when I drive around, because that's pretty sick, yo." Do you REALLY want that though?

We've all seen and read reviews of track-day cars. The Platos and the Clarksons drive them around rather quickly, talk about how fast they are, and then complain that they aren't "Appropriate for every-day use". You think to yourself "They must not be car guys. It's all about the drive. But I mean, come on, they drove Caterhams . Those don't even have doors. I bet a Porsche Cup car would be juuuust fine to drive around town. Hell, you know what I should do? Strip the interior out of my Civic, buy some hard shocks and just drive that around. Yeah, it'll totally be sick!"

So hopefully I can share my thoughts on the subject, and start some discussion about how much is too much when it comes to turning your car into a "Race Car"

The link above is an on-track battle between current McLaren Factory driver Kevin Estre and current Aston Martin Factory driver Niki Thiim at the Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit. It sums up 90% of why a racecar for the road is a bad idea.

1.) Race Cars are hard to drive.
Sure, they appear to be normal cars, but with a good race set-up, I think it's fair to say we may find that a Porsche Cup car is hard to drive at speed. The drivers above are some of the best in the world, and on worn tires they're barely holding the cars on track, tossing them around, trying to find speed. There's a reason they don't just let ANYONE with a large check into racing- you've got to go and get your license first. While that probably has more to do with racecraft than car control, I think the point still stands that Race Cars are built for Race Drivers, not a 22 year-old student trying to get his Masters Degree in Journalism.

2.) Race Cars are firm.

Watch as the drivers try to cut the curb. The cars hop into the air and return to the ground, because the shocks are obnoxiously stiff. The drivers don't seem to mind; they do this every day. And besides, the rest of the track surface is relatively smooth, so they don't much mind.

Anyone who has ridden in a car with "Track suspension" know what I'm talking about when I say they don't really use shocks, but rather just a bit of re-bar in each spring. For short drives it doesn't matter, but when you're doing 50 on a slightly-old road, you feel every single bump, rock, ant, crack, filled crack, leaf, or anything else on the road. It's freaking miserable.

The above two points can be solved by doing one thing: softening the suspension. Make it a bit more predictable at the limit, a bit less stiff on the road, and you'll probably manage. But what happens when you do get to the track? Your suspension is too soft, and you kick yourself for making a compromise.

3.) Race Cars have no creature comforts.

In the town I live in, it's not uncommon to see temperatures as high as 115 degrees in the summer. Some series DO require that the cars include an Air Conditioner, but is it going to work the same a s in your well-insulated, multi-vent Camry? Probably not. You'll get out during your morning commute covered in sweat, wondering what you were thinking when you made your car choice.

Additionally, the seats aren't designed for comfort, but rather support. You may find one particularly comfortable, but your passengers may not be to keen on the 6-point harness, IF you opted to have passenger eats.

Because you own a race car, you've opted for a larger fuel tank since your range was next to nothing at 13 MPG, so you've got no room for stuff.

4.) Race cars have no grip.

"Woah woah there bruh. Race cars are fast because they've got more grip. You're insane"

You can't legally run your Hoosiers on the road, so you'll settle for R888's, which are decent, but don't really provide the same grip. You'll also find they're more expensive to run, and last for a shorter amount of time.

I'll be the first to admit that there's nothing as cool as strapping yourself into the seat of your personal track-weapon, flipping all the switches, hearing the fuel pump kick on, and then stabbing the ignition button, queuing the sound of GOD erupting from your straight-pipes. But is it all worth it? What is a race car with softer suspension and ample creature comforts? A normal car.

But damn do I still want one. I still want my car to be devoid of anything useful, loud, inconvenient, and expensive to drive; sign me up.

How about you? Race Cars- Good Idea or Bad Idea?

DISCUSSION (17)

Brian Silvestro > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 16:51

I'd dd the shit out of a classic car, and those are basically the same thing.

I'd also dd a 3-Wheeler.

Jedidiah > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 16:53

Bad Idea. Race cars belong on the track or the strip. You don't need to take it on the road when you can just go to the track on the weekend.

Road cars belong on the road. Nothing is stopping you from modifying your road car to make it perform better, but there is a point when there are so many modifications that it becomes entirely useless.

The man in the iron mask > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 16:53

I think AC is necessary, Radio would be cool since you are not racing you dont need to weight less. That is all i ask.

Will with a W8 races an E30 > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 16:55

Bad idea.

Racecars suffer from the supercar attention grabbing problem, both with the public, and the police.

You can't leave anything in the car because you can't lock the car

You have to take the steering wheel with you whenever you get out or it will get stolen

Climbing in over a door bar gets old very quickly

The harness takes forever to buckle

Backing up is much more difficult with a halo seat and a 5 point

Even high end seats are rarely tolerable for more than a few hours. Low end ones only 30 minutes.

You tend to scrape on everything thanks to the low suspension.

.....

I learned many of these after I tried it.

crowmolly > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 16:57

"Woah woah there bruh. Race cars are fast because they've got more grip. You're insane"

Even with the slicks, best of luck! Pebbles, sand, mud, potholes, nails, wet patches, oil slicks, etc will be a problem.

Driving with drag radials on the street after a misty rain can be a real PITA, I can't imagine trying to turn corners on them too. Run the BFG Rivals or whatever if you want but rain driving on a regular street will still be hazard prone.

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Brian Silvestro
08/07/2014 at 16:58

Reliant Robin?

CAR_IS_MI > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 16:59

While not a full purpose built race car, I did have a well set up track day car (big cam, tall gears, stripped out, stiff suspension, no AC, no radio, etc.) that I drove on the streets and it was fun as hell...

You know, when no one was around and the road was wide open... Or when I took it out into the canyon roads, and no one was around, and the road was wide open...

But lets face it, most of the time you're on the road, there are other cars and people and traffic and puppies and pot holes and construction and the list goes on and on and on.

You want to know what sucks. Go sit in a car with virtually no insulation, no A/C (just a fan), in 98* weather, on a busy highway in traffic. Lets make it more fun by adding an unsprung clutch with an 800 ft/lbs pressure plate. And for good measure, make the engine have an awesome loppy cam and tall gears so you can't really get the clutch out until over 10 mph.

Now lets sit in that stop and go for a good 5 miles or so.

You're sweating, your working hard to manage that heavy clutch trying to feather between the clutch and gas without stalling or breaking the skins free, and meanwhile playing dont hit the car in front of you with the break pedal.

One thing is for sure. You can skip leg day afterwards, you know, at least for your left leg...

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 17:00

Good idea, only if money is no object. Therefore, you can drive a nice comfortable DD on the non ideal days.

If money was no object I'd purchase one of the McLaren F1 GTRs.

Brian Silvestro > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
08/07/2014 at 17:02

Morgan 3-Wheeler.

YSI-what can brown do for you > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 17:02

Build race car(based on legal road car), drive to track, race! That would be my plan. Or you could get a trailer, but I kind of like the idea of you drive what you brought. At some point though, I would be like "I could be faster with ____" which ruins any chance of driving on the road. I would never drive a Race car on the road for the hell of it, cause that is boring!

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 17:07

1) Challenge accepted

2) That should be adjustable on good shocks, no?

3) Cool suit

4) With the interior stripped out, you can easily fit your slicks in the car and run normal tires on the road so you can switch at the track

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Brian Silvestro
08/07/2014 at 17:08

Ill daily a Peel P50

Brian Silvestro > norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
08/07/2014 at 17:09

I will not daily that.

With-a-G is back to not having anything written after his username > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 17:23

The difference between "sports car" and "race car" like like the difference between having a baseball and a glove for playing catch vs. having that and cleats, and stirrup socks, and anti-glare markers under your eyes, and playing so hard that you have to sit in an ice bath for a half hour when you're done. (Feel free to adjust the baseball metaphor to suit your local culture.)

When you're tempted to have a "race car for the road," think about the guy at the neighborhood park throwing the ball around so hard in his cleats with the anti-glare marker under his eyes, making dives and rolls into the turf, competing with no one . Think about how douchey he is, and then think again about your "race car for the road."

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > Brian Silvestro
08/07/2014 at 17:30

Youre right I probably wouldn't either.

McLarry > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 17:30

I agree... I might DD something like a 430 Scuderia, but a full on racecar is a bit much. One big factor is that you can't use all that race-spec performance on the road...the thing is made to corner at speeds that would land Patrick George right back in jail, and how are you going to justify making use of that on the road? Then you figure you're not going to want that kind of performance every day ... Some days you want to attack the curves, but maybe some days you just want to cruise. Well, cruising is way better with things like air conditioning, comfy seats, and suspension that moves.

Now a race car on a race track where you can run slicks and go around corners at 93mph...sign me up for that.

rotundapig > Ryanator122
08/07/2014 at 17:41

I've been DDing a car for 3-4 years now that is about as close as I can get for now to a track car for the road. It's a mk1 rabbit (golf) that has no interior, no dash (just a digital dash), no sound deadening, and a big turbo.

Kinja'd!!!

It's got coilovers that soften the blows from potholes a little, but is basically as you describe above.

Kinja'd!!!

I tend to treat it like a motorycle in that it isn't for every single day of the year, just when you feel like putting up with the weather, bumps, heavy clutch, etc. The advantage over a motorcycle is that when my cozy, slow car has an issue, I can throw all sorts of parts in the back of this to get my other car back on the road (I've transported a whole Subaru driveline from the junkyard in it).

Honestly, if I had the money I would keep DDing it and make it more of a track car (roll cage, big brakes, tilton pedal box, etc.), not less, I just wouldn't take it out in a blizzard.