PaganiZonda Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I'm thinking about buying an Integra. I'd like to spend a little bit of money on building it into a race car. I live in the Midwest. A couple questions: What class should I aim for if I want to be competitive at a low cost? How much money should I spend on building the car to the specific class? Can a car still be street legal in this class? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FBody383 Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Since there's been several looks and no replies... Be sure to contact your local region; they can put you in contact with folks driving the kinds of car you are interested in. Make a couple of events and, if you don't have any track experience, do some HPDEs while you're hanging out with the folks driving the kind of car you're interested in. Now that you know the guys driving... you get the point, they can also point you to cars for sale, builders, prep tips, etc. Class is personal preference; I'm a small block V8 guy and '09 rookie in Camaro Mustang Challenge. I hung out with the CMC guys for a year and a half getting to know the group while doing some HPDEs and researching the cars. I ultimately chose to build a car but there have been some good bargains to be had recently if you would rather buy something complete. I beleive there are cars in Performance Touring that can remain street legal. Read through the rulebook, attend a couple of events, meet the people driving the cars you're interested in... Welcome to NASA; you're going to have a great time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor57 Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 The slower the class, they cheaper (usually.) The lighter the car, they less you will spend on tires, and brakes (usually.) Spend what you can, there is no rule about how much to spend. If you really want to get in cheap, you should buy a built car. ITB cars can be had for under $3k with spares. I built a legal car (but real slow.) For under $3k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninetyfourintegra Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 PT is likely a good place to look if you want to run an Integra. HC is a bit light on attendance around here (read: None in MW/GL in 2009). I would still look to buy a used/built car. I built my Integra and would not do it again. The delta between what I spent in 2 yrs vs what I know I could have bought (I looked at the built car and all) is thousands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weed Wacker Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Disclaimer: This answer is ASSuming you either have only run HPDE's or never run at all. If im wrong then reading this will waste your time You asked if it can still be street legal, is it going to be your daily driver as well? If it is, i would shoot for a lower side TT class like TTF/E/D. Even at that point it could be quite expensive. You don't want to mod the crud out of a car and then have it break on you far from home so sticking close class-wise to where your car starts will atleast help to prevent that. My neighbor drives his TTB cobalt to the track and back, it seems to work for him... Honda Challenge or Performance Touring would be cool, but if you don't have/do not want to spend the money on a dedicated track car i would hold off on any wheel to wheel ideas for now. In TT your going to be in a (relatively) safer environment than W2W so there is less of a chance of wadding your car up. Plus, you still get to beat the crap out of your car legally while competing against yourself and others. While your hanging out enjoying yourself with the awesome (read: characters) of nasa midwest you will have more than enough time to figure out where you fit with your car and what your trying to get out of it. To directly answer your questions i would say: We are building a PTE/TTE Camry that should be around $5k all said and done not including the car cost. It will be street legal except tires but its not the person's daily driver. We are also building a prelude that the TOTAL investment will probably be in the $6k range. Neither cars are pretty, nor are they likely to set the world on fire, but they will be out there racing which is the important part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaganiZonda Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 Thanks for everything. Now I have base knowledge on where to start. Another question: I've seen this in the enduro rules. Why can't you change more than one tire and add only 10 gallons of fuel at a pit stop? In endurance races you'd be pitting alot more often for fuel wouldn't you? But it's not a disadvantage for you if everyone is using only 10 gallons. And I'm sure if in some way you have more than one FLAT tire, the official will order you to change both. Is the one tire rule put there because tire wear isn't really a major factor in the classes with less powerful cars? Actually, that's a couple more questions, but I'd really like to know. Thanks again guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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