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Thinking of Motorsport......

c2105026

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Hello all.....

I am thinking of getting back into motorsport. Only real reason why I stopped club-level motorsport in 2011 was that I had switched to a big sloppy auto (The VX...) from a Mazda 3. Now I have a delightfully nimble manual Fiesta. ATM just thinking about motorkhana, supersprints and hillclimbs (i.e. Cams speed licene only - not circuit racing).

Only concerns
- Mechanical wear and tear - the motorkhanas are done on dirt surfaces (for the club I am interested in - bathurst light car club) so should be fine but what should I do regarding tyres on the tarmac/speed events? Bear in mind Fiesta needs to be driven to/from the venue, so needs to be legal. Like, how badly could road tyres be chewed up?
- Damage - how concerned should I be of hitting walls (speed events are on mt panorama circuit)? not covered by insurance so could be a biggie. Again this only applies to the speed events.
- Any point modding the veheicle? I am thinking not, at this stage......

Thoughts?
 

Big-Al

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Don't race anything unless you are prepared to scratch it, dent it, break it, or write it off.

I have seen a few street legal cars written off in silly accidents at modern regularity events. The owners were understandably upset.
 

Voodoo_SV6

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Agreed with Big Al. However, I would strongly suggest you consider hiring a car trailer each weekend. Driving a car to the event to tear a wheel off it and then having to pay for a tow truck will cost you 10x more than the trailer hire. Been there, done that
 

c2105026

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Don't race anything unless you are prepared to scratch it, dent it, break it, or write it off.

I have seen a few street legal cars written off in silly accidents at modern regularity events. The owners were understandably upset.

yeh, saw that happen too at the last hillclimb I was at (Lancer evo 9); though I imagine that wouldn't apply to motorkhana. They do khanacross, but there are some old bangers you can hire from the club for this.
 

c2105026

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yeh, saw that happen too at the last hillclimb I was at (Lancer evo 9); though I imagine that wouldn't apply to motorkhana. They do khanacross, but there are some old bangers you can hire from the club for this.

duplicate post
 

Big-Al

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From memory it is 150 bucks to get a flat bed to take your car home from the track. A trailer is a great idea but a lot of guys risk the tow fee.
 

c2105026

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Agreed with Big Al. However, I would strongly suggest you consider hiring a car trailer each weekend. Driving a car to the event to tear a wheel off it and then having to pay for a tow truck will cost you 10x more than the trailer hire. Been there, done that
my other car is the VB; it can't tow a damn thing. I am beginning to think motorkhana might be a 'safe' option......
 

Ian Johnston

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I remember towing a single axle trailer with my 6cyl VC Commy with a 64 Chev on the trailer.:rofl2:
260klm trip, very nervy trip I tell you.
That was 32 years ago. Regs a little different now.
Have to agree with Big Al on his 1st answer. We have a lot of dirt khana stuff here, mostly purpose built cars though.
 

Decicrate

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Only concerns
- Mechanical wear and tear - the motorkhanas are done on dirt surfaces (for the club I am interested in - bathurst light car club) so should be fine but what should I do regarding tyres on the tarmac/speed events?


Go to the wreckers and get a second or maybe even a third set of rims. That way you can have some tyres for dirt and some for the track without destroying your everyday tyres. This will also let you run a better tyre suited to what ever event that you are doing.



Bear in mind Fiesta needs to be driven to/from the venue, so needs to be legal. Like, how badly could road tyres be chewed up?


It comes down to how hard you are pushing, type of tyre and type of event. See above..

- Damage - how concerned should I be of hitting walls (speed events are on mt panorama circuit)? not covered by insurance so could be a biggie. Again this only applies to the speed events.


Its not a matter of "if" you have a crash more of a matter of when you have one!! The harder you push the more events you do, the higher the risk.
I have done a couple of events at Mt Panorama, and its not the type of circuit that forgives a mistake!!!!

- Any point modding the veheicle? I am thinking not, at this stage......


Start with some nice basic suspension, a good set of brake pads, good tyres and when you have found the limits of the car, start to think about bigger mods or another car.

Thoughts?

Go out have fun, don't try to drive past you ability and listen to the fast guys as they are a wealth of knowledge!!
 

Jesterarts

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Buy an older mx-5, one after 91 has the improves motor from memory, and go nuts!

Should be able to get something around 5k and then if you crash it, you still can get to work.

It also means that you don't mess up a comfortable daily car with mods for a track. Doesn't make sense to compromise every day driving for better result over a couple hours on a weekend.
 
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