Track day running costs for SR3 / SR4
Discussion
I am trying to get a feel for the annual operating costs of running a SR3 / SR4 just at track days, let's say 2 times per month from April to October). I know that for those that are racing there are frequent rebuilds through the season. I have read some comments on the web where some people are questioning the reliability / strength of the motor.
As per thread on track days...
I used mine for trackdays all year round, and did yearly refreshes. There was nothing wrong with the engine, and no particular loss of compression. A few bits were replaced in the gearbox however, not that it affected it at the time. 5k should cover it fine, but surely depreciation and the cost to get a new car up to scratch will be the dominating cost? A set of slicks should last fine if you're happy going down to the canvas.
When racing you might rebuild if you've lost 10bhp and you want to win - and also to make sure it won't break, i.e. make sure it's as competitive as possible. On a track day, you'll blow almost everything away with over 30bhp lost. You can get Radical to check compression and/or put on the rollers while there for service/repairs if you really care.
I used mine for trackdays all year round, and did yearly refreshes. There was nothing wrong with the engine, and no particular loss of compression. A few bits were replaced in the gearbox however, not that it affected it at the time. 5k should cover it fine, but surely depreciation and the cost to get a new car up to scratch will be the dominating cost? A set of slicks should last fine if you're happy going down to the canvas.
When racing you might rebuild if you've lost 10bhp and you want to win - and also to make sure it won't break, i.e. make sure it's as competitive as possible. On a track day, you'll blow almost everything away with over 30bhp lost. You can get Radical to check compression and/or put on the rollers while there for service/repairs if you really care.
I'd suggest you rebuild after each year, track days often mean your engine gets a lot more use. Although racing is hard on the engine, it's only running under this stress for just over an hour at race meets excluding testing.
on a track day this could be a lot more, well over 5 hours if you get plenty of track time. I've seen quite a few people skip rebuilds thinking it'll be ok, only to see their engine blow half way throught the next year. It's a good idea to change the oil frequently, when racing we do this after every meet.
I ran my SR4 at track days for the whole of last year, about 10-12 days, and probably spent in the region of 7-10k maintaining the car, incuding tyres (about 2 new sets, I wouldn't go near the canvas!) and a rebuild at the end of the year. If you go racing or have a few big offs you can triple this.
on a track day this could be a lot more, well over 5 hours if you get plenty of track time. I've seen quite a few people skip rebuilds thinking it'll be ok, only to see their engine blow half way throught the next year. It's a good idea to change the oil frequently, when racing we do this after every meet.
I ran my SR4 at track days for the whole of last year, about 10-12 days, and probably spent in the region of 7-10k maintaining the car, incuding tyres (about 2 new sets, I wouldn't go near the canvas!) and a rebuild at the end of the year. If you go racing or have a few big offs you can triple this.
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