I've found this website...

[PaganiZonda]

Long time no post guys, but I'm back.

 

For the longest time, I've been stumped over where to start when building a race car. But tonight, I ran across this website:

 

http://www.gmecca.com/byorc/dstratstudyunderstand.html

 

With the help of my friend who is taking and understands Physics, and we're both in the same Geometry class, I'm going to learn every aspect of building a high performance race car.

 

I've taken notes over the opening page, and we're going to study it at lunch tomorrow. I'll buy books over the material, whatever it takes to get the project started in the next few years.

 

I realize at my age, that this will take a TON of money, and I accept the fact. I have a plan, one totally possible, to get me to where I need to be.

 

World of National Auto Sport Association: Expect to see my team on the track someday!

[WilsonPerformance]

I am not sure how old you are. but I would recommend starting with less sooner.

Competative racing is a gas. For my money I would continue to learn as much as you can but buy something already done that you can improve on. Spend as much as you can afford and start racing. as well as learning from books you need to get out there.

there are alot of race cars for sale on line. all of the clubs and HPDE groups usually have cars for sale on there web sites. lots of stuff on Racejunk.com

 

hope to see you out there soon

 

RW

[PaganiZonda]

I'm 15 and a half...

 

Part of my mastermind plan though, is to start racing SOMETHING (might not even be in NASA) in the next year or so for experience on running and maintaining a team. I already have a few people supporting the idea, and yesterday we decided a team name. We're saving as much money as possible.

 

I forgot to mention in my last post that my projection for the ST-1 Class project will start atleast 5 to 6 years from now.

 

We're taking it step by step, and the first steps will be small.

 

You will see me on track someday in the near future.

[Blackbird222]

I'll drop my $0.02.

I'm honestly giving you a set of advices from my experience, so please don't get offended by the rougher parts.

At 15 y.o. you're not likely to strike a decent discussion on any automotive forum, it's not likely that you'll be taken seriously because you don't even have a driver's license.

The good news is that you're -

A. interested in racing

B. have internet connection which means that you have a huge open source to learn from.

C. want to build something, and that means that you have a ambition which is a good thing.

 

So, with that in mind, here's what you can do.

If you are even mildly serious and not just a daydreaming kid (sorry, that's the part of me that moderated a huge automotive website speaking), there are ways to make your dream come true a lot quicker.

However, ANY form of racing will cost money.

 

Plan A, going racing as soon as possible -

Talking about racing and racecars on the internet ain't going to turn you into a racer, but having a go kart can.

This of course depends on your location and whether there's a place for you to drive it, but if you do have the ability, a go kart is the cheapest way possible to go racing, learn how to drive and get the basics.

You can get an example of how cheap they are here (look at racing karts) -

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Powersports_Go-Karts-High-Performance_?_npmv=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

Plan B, building a racecar on a tiny budget -

I don't know if you have the right hands to build something as complex as a racecar, as there's a boatload of planning, designing and fabrication involved - BUT - you don't have to reinvent the wheel and fabrication skills can be learned.

I'm building an ST2 car right now and my budget is fairly low, probably more than you can make in a summer break worth of shifts in mcdonald's but I've seen some completed cars for ridiculously small amounts of $$.

The car I'm talking about is the Locost (pronounced LowCost) and it is a replica of the classic Lotus 7.

It's a very basic car and because of that it can be made very cheaply.

Lots of info can be found on the net, there's a deep well of knowledge onthe british site at http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and on the US community website http://www.locostusa.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

Any topic that you have in mind have been debated before, use the search button on both sites to find the answers.

 

Moti

[2k2s2k]

Don't get discouraged by people on any of these forums. Try to locate somebody in your town that races, whether it's NASA or not, and offer to help them out for free in your spare time. Anything to get involved is better than nothing. I had the dream at your age too, and I waited way to long to get involved.

 

Good Luck!

[PaganiZonda]

I'll drop my $0.02.

I'm honestly giving you a set of advices from my experience, so please don't get offended by the rougher parts.

At 15 y.o. you're not likely to strike a decent discussion on any automotive forum, it's not likely that you'll be taken seriously because you don't even have a driver's license.

The good news is that you're -

A. interested in racing

B. have internet connection which means that you have a huge open source to learn from.

C. want to build something, and that means that you have a ambition which is a good thing.

 

So, with that in mind, here's what you can do.

If you are even mildly serious and not just a daydreaming kid (sorry, that's the part of me that moderated a huge automotive website speaking), there are ways to make your dream come true a lot quicker.

However, ANY form of racing will cost money.

 

Plan A, going racing as soon as possible -

Talking about racing and racecars on the internet ain't going to turn you into a racer, but having a go kart can.

This of course depends on your location and whether there's a place for you to drive it, but if you do have the ability, a go kart is the cheapest way possible to go racing, learn how to drive and get the basics.

You can get an example of how cheap they are here (look at racing karts) -

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/items/Powersports_Go-Karts-High-Performance_?_npmv=3" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

Plan B, building a racecar on a tiny budget -

I don't know if you have the right hands to build something as complex as a racecar, as there's a boatload of planning, designing and fabrication involved - BUT - you don't have to reinvent the wheel and fabrication skills can be learned.

I'm building an ST2 car right now and my budget is fairly low, probably more than you can make in a summer break worth of shifts in mcdonald's but I've seen some completed cars for ridiculously small amounts of $$.

The car I'm talking about is the Locost (pronounced LowCost) and it is a replica of the classic Lotus 7.

It's a very basic car and because of that it can be made very cheaply.

Lots of info can be found on the net, there's a deep well of knowledge onthe british site at http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and on the US community website http://www.locostusa.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; .

Any topic that you have in mind have been debated before, use the search button on both sites to find the answers.

 

Moti

 

I've already been around automotive boards for about three years now, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to cars, and I'm definately on surplus in my knowledge banks when it comes to Porsche, VW, and Audi technology. I know some of Mercedes and BMW, and some of alot of other makes, but mostly German cars.

 

I'm not daydreaming one bit either, I've gone over every step of building roll cages, tuning engines, suspension, etc...I'm ready to do this, I just need to increase my budget and get some experience racing.

 

Ahhh, yes, the Lotus/Caterham 7. Fastest car to go in reverse. Something around 120 in the 6th reverse gear I think.

 

I'll keep you guys updated on my financial situation, and my plan to get going. If you find any flaws or anything in it, feel free to help me out. I could use it! Thanks guys.

[PaganiZonda]

Don't get discouraged by people on any of these forums. Try to locate somebody in your town that races, whether it's NASA or not, and offer to help them out for free in your spare time. Anything to get involved is better than nothing. I had the dream at your age too, and I waited way to long to get involved.

 

Good Luck!

 

There's a few dirt track racers in my neck of the woods. I've been around them and learned about suspension tricks and stuff, but sadly, there's not enough road racers around here to really study off of. So that's why I get on the internet, YouTube, and just find stuff to study.

 

My biggest motivation is my dad though. Never has road raced before, never did any type of circle track racing. He motocrossed, but was interested enough to learn about road racing and that's how I came to like it. I'm one of the few people in my school (which is small) that could tell you about dive planes and diffusers, ECU and transmission gearing. Learned it all from Dad, oh, and the countless hours on the internet learning, and the countless hours watching F1 and the 24 Hours of LeMans and Daytona...