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I agree! I want to cage my car soon, but not for W2W...just for safety. And if I ever did W2W it would be strictly with people I know like in LCS, but never in open NASA or SCCA unless I was in a spec Ford or Miata that I could like you said...write off. I love my Elise way too much to bump it in open racing, it would get destroyed lol. That reminds me I wanted to get track insurance soon...
 
Discussion starter · #22 ·
Kelley...thanks for the pics!

Good points by all...I am really trying to decide whether to go all out with the Lotus in regards to cage, etc...prob. will.
However, I don't think I could mentally "write-off" the Lotus in a crash....all the work put into it would not be taken light financially.

Makes me wonder if I should get a spec Miata, race-prepped Boxter....or even a Formula car...
 
Jim, what will be the specific requirements for W2W?

Peter, if you add a roll cage...no more street driving?
Peter,
In a nut shell you will have to be scca approved.
roll cage
suppresion system
nomex everything
hans device
In car camera
front and rear tow hooks
scca also requires a port to check fuel. We will not require that. The rules committe will prepare a detailed list for distribution soon.
 
Kelley...thanks for the pics!

Good points by all...I am really trying to decide whether to go all out with the Lotus in regards to cage, etc...prob. will.
However, I don't think I could mentally "write-off" the Lotus in a crash....all the work put into it would not be taken light financially.

Makes me wonder if I should get a spec Miata, race-prepped Boxter....or even a Formula car...
There is on track insurance available . Contact me for details. Jim
 
This is JMO. Unless you are ready to write your car off as a total loss, I would think twice about racing it.

That is what one of our instructors told us when I first started. Yes...he was right. Man...was he. During my first year I saw 2 write-offs in 2 of the 3 classes I was racing. I had sponsors, but I was the main dog. $$$$. One of the current pro racers, who was a teenager then, was my pit crew in the Mazda venture.

I won a bunch of Nationals, was invited to the Runoffs (top 3 drivers in your class got the invite) and got punted off the course...rear ended...more than one time. After 2 races, the cars fenders were hit on both sides, guys later said they were "losing their brakes." :rolleyes: A "sorry" didn't pay for the repairs. And with the SCCA, at least then, you couldn't show up with a dented or messed car.

If it was a glass Lotus, I would have been screwed. Less skilled and non-thinking drivers, thought they would dive inside me at the last moment and take the turn with only one wheel on the marbles and the rest of the car in the dirt ...blah, blah,...lots of crazy and dangerous moves. One was even flagged for his BS antics. Guess he thought he was Parnelli J. Again, if driving a Lotus...pull over and park it...instead of continuing to race. Unless, you can afford to write-it-off.

When three or four cars are approaching a 2 car MAX turn, there's a good possibility that someone is going to get crunched. The Lotus is not a real good car for "crunch" type racing. Either end, just a slight tap and your into mega $$. Definitely not to be used as a "race car" and daily driver under those conditions. Accept the possibility of your baby being in for repairs a lot, if you want to be one of the top finishers race after race. And NONE of the time-outs may be due to your driving skills! I'd venture that every driver out there is an Alpha male or female......or both! rotfl Couldn't be serious for too long.

Trailer it...because if you're really racing something will happen to disable you. Either you will break something or someone will break you...unless you're car is like Bruce Willis in the movie "Unbreakable."

Again JMO...I think if you really don't want to waste your Elise/Exige get something you can ball up and walk away from, then kick back and say, "Can't wait 'til the next race at Laguna, it should be fixed by then."

Like the instructor said years ago, think about whether you can lose your car and forget about it. Does anyone agree...or am I just blowing smoke?

Anyway, good luck to everyone. HTH
%100 in agreement
which is why when i thought about making my lotus a track ready car, the $ amount to spend was estimated at ~$10K for everything to be ready for the race group.
it took very little time for me to realize that for the same amount i could ( and did) spend on a fully race prepped spec miata that i could not worry about, AND have lots of other IDENTICAL cars to race against.
 
%100 in agreement
which is why when i thought about making my lotus a track ready car, the $ amount to spend was estimated at ~$10K for everything to be ready for the race group.
it took very little time for me to realize that for the same amount i could ( and did) spend on a fully race prepped spec miata that i could not worry about, AND have lots of other IDENTICAL cars to race against.
I can think of many cars i could race but i choose to race my lotus. I drove your former spec miata for a couple of laps and was bored out of my mind. No offense to your car but it lacked the excitement and passion that the lotus has.Our series is based on a time trial series with the idea to create a competitive race series out of it. I think in any racing you have to be aware of the fact that accidents do happen. Your Miata must have been in many accidents based on the number of dents on the car lol.Fishguy, i respect your numerous posts regarding safety equipment and doing the right thing. I want our participants to be safe and have the right equipment in the event of an accident. Our first race of the season will be at spring mountain March 28-29.
 
This is JMO. Unless you are ready to write your car off as a total loss, I would think twice about racing it.

That is what one of our instructors told us when I first started. Yes...he was right. Man...was he. During my first year I saw 2 write-offs in 2 of the 3 classes I was racing. I had sponsors, but I was the main dog. $$$$. One of the current pro racers, who was a teenager then, was my pit crew in the Mazda venture.

I won a bunch of Nationals, was invited to the Runoffs (top 3 drivers in your class got the invite) and got punted off the course...rear ended...more than one time. After 2 races, the cars fenders were hit on both sides, guys later said they were "losing their brakes." :rolleyes: A "sorry" didn't pay for the repairs. And with the SCCA, at least then, you couldn't show up with a dented or messed car.

If it was a glass Lotus, I would have been screwed. Less skilled and non-thinking drivers, thought they would dive inside me at the last moment and take the turn with only one wheel on the marbles and the rest of the car in the dirt ...blah, blah,...lots of crazy and dangerous moves. One was even flagged for his BS antics. Guess he thought he was Parnelli J. Again, if driving a Lotus...pull over and park it...instead of continuing to race. Unless, you can afford to write-it-off.

When three or four cars are approaching a 2 car MAX turn, there's a good possibility that someone is going to get crunched. The Lotus is not a real good car for "crunch" type racing. Either end, just a slight tap and your into mega $$. Definitely not to be used as a "race car" and daily driver under those conditions. Accept the possibility of your baby being in for repairs a lot, if you want to be one of the top finishers race after race. And NONE of the time-outs may be due to your driving skills! I'd venture that every driver out there is an Alpha male or female......or both! rotfl Couldn't be serious for too long.

Trailer it...because if you're really racing something will happen to disable you. Either you will break something or someone will break you...unless you're car is like Bruce Willis in the movie "Unbreakable."

Again JMO...I think if you really don't want to waste your Elise/Exige get something you can ball up and walk away from, then kick back and say, "Can't wait 'til the next race at Laguna, it should be fixed by then."

Like the instructor said years ago, think about whether you can lose your car and forget about it. Does anyone agree...or am I just blowing smoke?

Anyway, good luck to everyone. HTH
Thank for the advice. Its time that everyone consider on track insurance.
 
I drove your former spec miata for a couple of laps and was bored out of my mind. No offense to your car but it lacked the excitement and passion that the lotus has.Our series is based on a time trial series with the idea to create a competitive race series out of it. I think in any racing you have to be aware of the fact that accidents do happen. Your Miata must have been in many accidents based on the number of dents on the car lol.Fishguy,
so you raced the car with other cars that were like it around you.............. i thought not. try racing that car with eqaul cars around you, and then tell me about exicitment and passion.
and the dents........... those were from a competitive race series........... i rest my (or Ol'racers )case.

one t-bone that i hammered out the front right fender,and painted with my spray can and was back out for the next session.
The rest, well lets see, i brushed a wall at PIR, and it just "adjusted " my side view mirror and left a line of blue paint on the side of the car by the fenders, I also got tapped a few times in the back.
the front fender was like that when i got it, which also shows that it wasnt just me who got "bumped" when racing.

any of those things would have destroyed my lotus.
I just responded to another posting in this thread of an equal minded person and was going to leave it at that.

now i am repsonding to your post.
i will leave it at that and stay out of your business venture.
 
so you raced the car with other cars that were like it around you.............. i thought not. try racing that car with eqaul cars around you, and then tell me about exicitment and passion.
and the dents........... those were from a competitive race series........... i rest my (or Ol'racers )case.

one t-bone that i hammered out the front right fender,and painted with my spray can and was back out for the next session.
The rest, well lets see, i brushed a wall at PIR, and it just "adjusted " my side view mirror and left a line of blue paint on the side of the car by the fenders, I also got tapped a few times in the back.
the front fender was like that when i got it, which also shows that it wasnt just me who got "bumped" when racing.

any of those things would have destroyed my lotus.
I just responded to another posting in this thread of an equal minded person and was going to leave it at that.

now i am repsonding to your post.
i will leave it at that and stay out of your business venture.
My point was not directed at you but rather your car. It did nothing for me on the track. I did not need to race it to know that it was not for me. I agree with you that it is far less expensive to repair the miata but so is choosing to do anything else that cost less. Everyone should know that there is the possibility of an accident on track. Its racing plain and simple. You don't need to explain your on track incidents your car spoke for itself. Lol. JMO
 
Peter,
In a nut shell you will have to be scca approved.
roll cage
suppresion system
nomex everything
hans device
In car camera
front and rear tow hooks
scca also requires a port to check fuel. We will not require that. The rules committe will prepare a detailed list for distribution soon.
You also have to take the steering lock out.

Make sure that your cage meets SCCA spec before putting it in.
 
Without getting very far into e-genitalia wars...I will say that based on data I've seen from folks driving their Lotus fairly hard, the ol' Spec Racer Ford has identical cornering speeds (just slightly lower straight line speeds because of less horsepower) and (especially on the West Coast) large entry fields. Very good cars can be had for well under $20,000...and... you get an open cockpit :)

Steve :)
 
Discussion starter · #33 ·
Without getting very far into e-genitalia wars...I will say that based on data I've seen from folks driving their Lotus fairly hard, the ol' Spec Racer Ford has identical cornering speeds (just slightly lower straight line speeds because of less horsepower) and (especially on the West Coast) large entry fields. Very good cars can be had for well under $20,000...and... you get an open cockpit :)

Steve :)
Hmmmmm....link to classifieds?
 
Change of subject - good thing since we all drive Lotuses - I just made reservations at the Nugget Pahrump and they had ONE more room with a special price that includes steak dinner at the steakhouse downstairs for less that the LCS special price (126 for 2 nights). If you want that room, let ME know since I reserved it under my name. It's got one king bed.
 
Thanks Steve for the info on SRF's...I'm going to rent one of these bad boys!
Eddie,
you will have a great time with the car.
Also it will be a good way to keep your SCCA license valid, as there are some SCCA rules about running a certain amount of sanctioned events in a certain amount of time to keep your SCCA racing license active.

not exactly sure what the #s are, but i know there is something about it in the GCR(which i try not to read).

I also looked at some results from cal club, and the SRF seems to have the largest fields currently, and the cars are truely spec cars because the engines are all sealed.
SM has really gotten away from its origins with the pro built motors vs crate motors.
good choice!!!!
 
Discussion starter · #37 ·
Eddie,
you will have a great time with the car.
Also it will be a good way to keep your SCCA license valid, as there are some SCCA rules about running a certain amount of sanctioned events in a certain amount of time to keep your SCCA racing license active.

not exactly sure what the #s are, but i know there is something about it in the GCR(which i try not to read).

I also looked at some results from cal club, and the SRF seems to have the largest fields currently, and the cars are truely spec cars because the engines are all sealed.
SM has really gotten away from its origins with the pro built motors vs crate motors.
good choice!!!!
Yes, the SRF fields are huge...and driving skills are what's important in these cars...

Heh, the GCR is like a phone book.
 
Maybe we should have a thread entitled, "We do not think you should race your Lotus because it could be dangerous to your wallet and you certainly can't understand that for yourself." It would seem more appropriate for this discussion.

Btw, the Lotus Trophy series in Australia is a very healthy series as is the one in the UK. And yes, they are actually racing Lotus cars W2W! How stupid they must be.
 
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