Advice for the new boy

[TJ_79]

Afternoon all!
looking to take the plunge after dreaming for years and start racing, hopefully in the CSCC tin tops series next season! Ive been trawling the forums and taking in all the advice but i have a couple of specific questions if anyone can help;
1. A friend and I will be looking after our own car and are capable of turning a spanner with the occasional glance at a manual but what would you list as essentials in your tool kit for a race weekend?
2. Our budget isn`t massive but we are looking at spending around 3 - £5000 on a car to get us into the swing for the first season or two, any suggestions? Looking at 306`s, Fiestas, clios etc rules say it must have its original engine and gearbox. Something reasonable to put back together if it ends up in the gravel or worse! Does anyone have any thing for sale?

Some great threads on here so thanks for your help, loved the recent "baptism of fire" by thurbs!

Cheers, TJ

[Trev450]

The best advice I was given was to purchase something that is already prepared. You would be surprised at how much you could save.

[TJ_79]

That's what I was looking to get but not found a great deal of prepared cars for sale within the budget yet, it's out there somewhere though!

[frodo_monkey]

Although I have something in the classifieds, it wouldn't really suit...

What I did see is this:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/motorsport/...

If you can haggle it down a bit, I reckon thats not a bad car at all for the money! Cheap cars are out there though, I've recently picked up a mk3 Fiesta from the classifieds on here already race prepped (but needing some work) - will be out, hopefully in TinTops, for a lot less than your starter budget...

[TJ_79]

Cheers frodo, that's a lot of car for the money!

[andy97]

And it comes with a trailer at that price.

Looks nicely built and has a Stack dash and a good quality seat . Would need a bigger tank probably but looks good at that price.

Edited by andy97 on Thursday 27th August 07:35

[e36er]

You'll probably find a few things come up when the season finishes. Have you looked on TSL Timing to see the results? That's the way to find out which car to look for. I know there's a Focus that wins regularly, but that's ex BTCC.

You'll enjoy TinTops though, it's a great series.

[TJ_79]

So any any tool advice? What's your standard kit for a day/ weekend?

[BertBert]

I have quite a lot of stuff, not an exhaustive list...

Sockets - big general purpose set
Small sockets - er small ones
Tool box - general spanners, wrenches, pliers, screw drivers, drivers, stuff etc
Allan key set
Splined drives set
Torque wrench
Torx bits
c spanners
Special/modded sockets for hub nuts
ratchet spanners
Quick lift jack
chassis stands
Footpump and tyre pressure guage
Battery charger
gaffer tape
cable ties
Brake bleeder
Funnel and fuel jug
Multi-meter
Spares
- all the consumable fluids
- brake pads
- electrical connectors
- metric nut and bolt set
- imperial nut and bolt set
- master cylinders
- HT leads
- sparkplugs
- electronic ignition set
- coil
- fuel pump
- jubilee clips
Awning and 20l drums to anchor awning
Gloves
Underpants
Dancing girls
C...... no, going to far!
HTH
Bert

[TJ_79]

Thanks Bert! That's the sort of list I was after. I'm starting to build the inventory, thinking I might need a bigger shed or turn it into a garage!

[TJ_79]

Still looking for a race prepared car, 1600-2000cc (ish) thinking 306, fiesta,145, that type of thing. Seen a couple of interesting options so far and thanks for the suggestions for those that have! I'm guessing the winter is the best time for cars becoming available? But if anyone knows of anything in the meantime feel free to nudge me before the long haired general discovers my hidden funds!

[TommyHalliwell]

Hi there I will have a car available following the RoR at Anglesey that will fit the bill, an endurance spec MGZR. She's fast, handles well and built by a specialist race engineer. It may be a little above your current budget but we may be Abel to do something on it.

Tom

[TommyHalliwell]

Hi there I will have a car available following the RoR at Anglesey that will fit the bill, an endurance spec MGZR. She's fast, handles well and built by a specialist race engineer. It may be a little above your current budget but we may be Abel to do something on it.

Tom

[TommyHalliwell]

Hi there I will have a car available following the RoR at Anglesey that will fit the bill, an endurance spec MGZR. She's fast, handles well and built by a specialist race engineer. It may be a little above your current budget but we may be Abel to do something on it.

Tom

[andye30m3]

I've got a compact cup car for sale (e36 318ti)

All good to go, suspension brakes etc have only done 2 15 minute races so shouldn't need any money spending in it and the popularity of the compact cup should mean it holds it value

[TroubledSoul]

TJ_79 said:

Still looking for a race prepared car, 1600-2000cc (ish) thinking 306, fiesta,145, that type of thing. Seen a couple of interesting options so far and thanks for the suggestions for those that have! I'm guessing the winter is the best time for cars becoming available? But if anyone knows of anything in the meantime feel free to nudge me before the long haired general discovers my hidden funds!

If I could tell you anything, it is buy the car as soon as you can.

My Mrs and I also plan to go racing together and had hoped next year would be the start of it, but the car I bought a couple of months ago is still up on stands being worked on. It's a long way off and there's a long list of jobs to do. Things will take far longer than you realised and if you are to build the car yourself, you will probably need a year to get it done.

[lucadiella]

Great to hear someone is joining in!

I don't know much about tin tops but if budget is an issue I would urge you to go for a spec championship (one where all the cars are the same and this is tightly controlled) - if you don't you risk being unable to compete with people with much fatter wallets than you.

As someone that started out in Civic Cup this year I would strongly recommend the 750 Motor Club championships, a compact cup car would probably suit your budget. Having said that I am not being at all negative towards CSCC Tintops - I dont have any experience of that series.

Remember to look at the running costs also! A cheaper race car can be more expensive to run and vice versa!

Make sure you have a quality seat properly secured to the floor, 6pt harness and spend as much as you can on all your racewear.

Best of luck!

[Fishy Dave]

Your outlay does depend partly on your aims; are you looking for outright wins? If so then a one make championship can work out just as expensive as a multi class/make series like the CSCC Tin Tops, as the front runners will look for every advantage within those tighter regulations. I have a good friend who enjoys success within the Civic Cup and the amount he spends dwarves that of many CSCC competitors. If you want to just get out on track, have fun and maybe compete for a class win then CSCC Tin Tops is ideal. Feel free to get in touch with me for more advice, happy to post you some tickets if you'd like to come along and spectate [e-mail]

[TrackMegane]

I do Time Attack, all i take with me is a set of wets and a halfords tool chest and a jack with me to events.

If your car is built well you shouldnt need a st load of spares with you and being a budget racer there isnt a need to spend the money on spares just incase.

[Tanuki]

TrackMegane said:

If your car is built well you shouldnt need a st load of spares with you and being a budget racer there isnt a need to spend the money on spares just incase.

You can't really compare TA to full grid circuit racing through in terms of need for spares.

You could have, to put it in your terms, the most well-built car in the world. But that isn't going to help you if someone taps you going into a corner and bends something, now is it?

You have to take a relatively business-like and clear-headed approach to a) known weak links on the car b) likelihood of breakage.

Taking point a) I race K-series Elise's. K-series throttle position sensors are notoriously st and it's not helped by vibrations from constantly high RPM.

Could a TPS failure take me out of a race? Yes.
Is there a likelyhood of someone having one I could borrow? No.
Does a spare one cost a lot? No.
Does it eat space / weight? No.
Therefore do I carry a spare? Yes.

That is the approximate assessment process which anyone should apply to spares selection when racing.

Same with suspension components for point b). I'm not for a second suggesting it's economically or logistically viable for anyone at club level to carry a full set of redundant suspension spares. But If a corner gets tapped and the weak point which always breaks is the toe link, or track rod arm - then it's worth the monetary outlay based on a percentage chance estimation to take those with you as they could pay for themselves in race fees not being lost.

Edited by Tanuki on Wednesday 9th September 15:53