There are fair points made on both sides of this debate.
I am self employed but I rarely have "disposable" income these days. I have taken my car on track and found that I could have a lot of fun and more importantly find my and the cars limits without danger of prosecution and far less danger of damage as all the cars are going in the same direction and there are less hidden dangers as things like fuel spillages etc are generally spotted by the marshalls and cleared.
I agree with Gareth that if you do take your car on track it is better to have a few pennies put by for things like brake pads/fluid etc which may need replacing afterwards but there is also the option of taking it on track and not driving it to the absolute limit to reduce the chance of things breaking/blowing up.
I know this may be seen by some as not enjoying the car to the full but it could allow you to enjoy it for longer. I am not saying that if you take your car on track that it will break. I have not broken anything on my car when on track despite a trip accross the green stuff coming out of Corum, but there is always that chance so be aware that it can happen but don't neccesarily stop you from going on track at all.
I for one do not see that the forum members etc are trying to "force" us to take our cars on track but merely encouraging those that want to use their cars in that manner to participate.
As far as the monthly meet goes, part of the appeal for me is the people that attend, not just what they drive to get there. I have turned up a couple of times in my Hilux instead of my car for various reasons, not once has anybody critisized me for it or in anyway tried to "push me out" because my car was not there.
use it or loose it mentality
What an interesting topic
A few thoughts of my own. BigPower was instigated by Duncan and myself for those that like to do 'it' as opposed to talk about 'it' so I'm not sure if that covers 'use it or lose it'
My Skyline is quite expensive to use hard, whether it's on the road or track, but my leaning towards fast driving means that to use the car means visiting tracks more regularly. If I'm to do that, the car needs to be improved and that's when the expense starts.
I have bought a cheap Golf Gti to have a bit of fun in and this will double up as an alternative track car whilst the Skyline is off of the road. Less desirable? A matter of choice really. I can probably do 10 track days to 1 in terms of running costs between the two cars I own and I would always prefer to be out there taking part as opposed to watching, but to each their own.
Gareths piss taking stems, in my opinion, from some laughable excuses he provided when he couldn't/wouldn't do an event. Instead of saying that he didn't want to do a trackday, he said something along the lines of 'I can't because we've just had brickweave done and my cars in the garage' Banter ensued, more excuses also and that's when the banter perhaps went over the top. That was one of the reasons I said that Gareth could drive my GTR around the Nurburgring, so that the piss taking could be over. Finito!
A well prepared, well suited car needn't cost a fortune to run on the circuit. I think that many of us use our cars before they are optimised and the expenses are one of the downsides to using a car that does not ideally fit the purpose.
I think the attendance at the meets has nothing at all today with the attitude on the forum and everything to do with the fact that it's winter, dark, cold and many people have better things to do. When the sun shines and the events are up and running the meets will be bigger than ever.
Onwards and upwards :thumb:
A few thoughts of my own. BigPower was instigated by Duncan and myself for those that like to do 'it' as opposed to talk about 'it' so I'm not sure if that covers 'use it or lose it'
My Skyline is quite expensive to use hard, whether it's on the road or track, but my leaning towards fast driving means that to use the car means visiting tracks more regularly. If I'm to do that, the car needs to be improved and that's when the expense starts.
I have bought a cheap Golf Gti to have a bit of fun in and this will double up as an alternative track car whilst the Skyline is off of the road. Less desirable? A matter of choice really. I can probably do 10 track days to 1 in terms of running costs between the two cars I own and I would always prefer to be out there taking part as opposed to watching, but to each their own.
Gareths piss taking stems, in my opinion, from some laughable excuses he provided when he couldn't/wouldn't do an event. Instead of saying that he didn't want to do a trackday, he said something along the lines of 'I can't because we've just had brickweave done and my cars in the garage' Banter ensued, more excuses also and that's when the banter perhaps went over the top. That was one of the reasons I said that Gareth could drive my GTR around the Nurburgring, so that the piss taking could be over. Finito!
A well prepared, well suited car needn't cost a fortune to run on the circuit. I think that many of us use our cars before they are optimised and the expenses are one of the downsides to using a car that does not ideally fit the purpose.
I think the attendance at the meets has nothing at all today with the attitude on the forum and everything to do with the fact that it's winter, dark, cold and many people have better things to do. When the sun shines and the events are up and running the meets will be bigger than ever.
Onwards and upwards :thumb:
Details of the Insurance???dynamix wrote:logan - can you give details of this ?blacky wrote:Things can still go Pete Tong in a resonably big way in any competitive motorsport! I know the hard way now!
Luckily I had taken out Event Insurance otherwise my bank balance would be knackered! But this now makes me think about Personal accident insurance as I am too self employed!
I always insure when going on track so if the worst did happen it would just be a bruise not a complete kick in the face financially. Competition is different though.
http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk/
Very helpful people, paid out no problem after my little off into the kitty litter!
Cost for a days cover is circa 10% of the car value but you can insure the rolling chassis only (eg without engine and drivetrain) and save money!
My thinking was that it has to be a rally big one to write off the engine etc and if it is that big then the car is the least of your worries!
On this debate I would say there seem to be 2 sections of people, people who just like modding their cars and only doing road driving and those that have their cars for a specific type of event etc. Each to their own I suppose!
Me personally, if I couldn't afford to use my car on track/sprints I would rather have a cheaper car to allow me to do this rather than have an expensive really sooped up car that I can't afford to use, but again, thats my personal thoughts! i can understand people prefering to have a nicer car if they are not that fussed about tracking it etc.
Very helpful people, paid out no problem after my little off into the kitty litter!
Cost for a days cover is circa 10% of the car value but you can insure the rolling chassis only (eg without engine and drivetrain) and save money!
My thinking was that it has to be a rally big one to write off the engine etc and if it is that big then the car is the least of your worries!
On this debate I would say there seem to be 2 sections of people, people who just like modding their cars and only doing road driving and those that have their cars for a specific type of event etc. Each to their own I suppose!
Me personally, if I couldn't afford to use my car on track/sprints I would rather have a cheaper car to allow me to do this rather than have an expensive really sooped up car that I can't afford to use, but again, thats my personal thoughts! i can understand people prefering to have a nicer car if they are not that fussed about tracking it etc.
Well this has turned out to be an interesting thread.
I think that the club is big enough to cover all areas of owning a performance car and to be honest i feel that it does that quite well.
It's each to there own at the end of the day, i personally have thought about taking my car on track but know what i'm like an would push too hard and can't afford to bend it.
I have also thought of buying a dedicated track car but i'm not in the country enough to justify it.
So plans are to sell CSL and buy something cheaper and get on track but i have been saying that for some time aswell lol.
I think that the club is big enough to cover all areas of owning a performance car and to be honest i feel that it does that quite well.
It's each to there own at the end of the day, i personally have thought about taking my car on track but know what i'm like an would push too hard and can't afford to bend it.
I have also thought of buying a dedicated track car but i'm not in the country enough to justify it.
So plans are to sell CSL and buy something cheaper and get on track but i have been saying that for some time aswell lol.
I know this saved your bacon last year Logan but it sounds expensive to me. Ok if you trackday once in a blue moon I guess. But a regular trackgoer would be forking out entire value of car, or rolling chassis, over just 10 events!blacky wrote:http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk/
Cost for a days cover is circa 10% of the car value but you can insure the rolling chassis only (eg without engine and drivetrain) and save money!
Another option, on my policy with Keith Michaels at least, is trackday cover for something like 100 per day with a excess of around 1000. Much more reasonable deal to my mind.
My preference FWIW is to go without entirely without and have a car that I could replace if I really had to (tidy STi4 worth 4k before mods; Scoobs represent amazing value for their capabilities).
I would just like to add that my car is a big "work in progress" and as we all know, these cars can be very expensive to modify.
Personally im not happy to drive my car until i feel it is 100% ready for some serious track work. So would rather save the cash to put towards getting it where i want it to be rather than do a half hearted event just for the sake of getting out there.
I know that once complete the wait will be well and truely woth it
Personally im not happy to drive my car until i feel it is 100% ready for some serious track work. So would rather save the cash to put towards getting it where i want it to be rather than do a half hearted event just for the sake of getting out there.
I know that once complete the wait will be well and truely woth it
Frayz-Engineering Prodrive edition V7 STi
Built 2.5L, custom heads, GT35R, T-Logic, Tial, Fuelab, Injector Dynamics, GT-Spec, Exedy Compe R, Innovate, APS, KW, AP Racing, Whiteline, Noltec, Sparco, Speedline & S.R.E.
Built 2.5L, custom heads, GT35R, T-Logic, Tial, Fuelab, Injector Dynamics, GT-Spec, Exedy Compe R, Innovate, APS, KW, AP Racing, Whiteline, Noltec, Sparco, Speedline & S.R.E.
I know this saved your bacon last year Logan but it sounds expensive to me. Ok if you trackday once in a blue moon I guess. But a regular trackgoer would be forking out entire value of car, or rolling chassis, over just 10 events!Andy916 wrote:blacky wrote:http://www.competition-car-insurance.co.uk/
Cost for a days cover is circa 10% of the car value but you can insure the rolling chassis only (eg without engine and drivetrain) and save money!
Another option, on my policy with Keith Michaels at least, is trackday cover for something like 100 per day with a excess of around 1000. Much more reasonable deal to my mind.
My preference FWIW is to go without entirely without and have a car that I could replace if I really had to (tidy STi4 worth 4k before mods]
Sorry, meant 1% of the value, so mine is circa