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I tend to agree with Richard regarding the costings.

I haven't really added up the cost of mine but if I had paid for the cage and dry sump it would be up around the 140K mark. Probably more as everything was purchased new this time around. And the engine was rebuilt before being fitted as well.

I know Duncan's car besides being very tame is also very expensive. (his on a good wicket with engine rebuilds now so hopefully he won't need to be spending too much now)

Jay's GTR (my old one) owes him more now than what I would have sold him the entire car for.

I know the old grey car owed me over 90 grand once it was dry sumped. It has the best Ohlins I could afford, the best of everything suspension wise besides stock geometry it was really well developed.

The costs pile up when you start buying good suspension and brakes etc. Once you buy good parts they also cost alot to maintain.

My pagid pads from memory are $1100 front and $860 rear I get four meetings from a set of pads. Needless to say I buy second hand cup car pads for 130 bucks and replace them when there well and truely buggered.

I gave up on overhauling the sequantial box, engine every 6 months of racing if I want it to stay competative. The spending never ends.

Another thing to consider is the initial cost to get the car up to scratch. you fork out track hire and fuel, wear and tear etc for approx 4-6 private practice days before the car is even ready to get serious.

Jay would know but I think we did 4 or 5 private days in the new car before we raced it. Its still not 100% right and I think another 2 testing days will get it sorted. Its at the pointy end of one category and a mid fielder in the other series atm.

There's probably been a few grand spent just in private testing days.

I dont see the point of attending a super sprint or state round etc if you know the car is not up to scratch.

I had to run and have X rays today Steve. I have a figure in my head that id accept but I really don't know if I want to part with it yet. Its currently in storage.

We decided tonight that Jay is going to take it out to the SAU Gp day. I trust him with it, dunno if he trusts himself with it but will soon find out how hard his willing to push.

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hey guys,

well i really appreciate all feedback and advice you have all passed on. i guess there is a whole lot more to be considered than i first though. (for example, using an rb20 or sr20)

hence another reason for this post. and as this is something new for me im happy to take on any advice.

so for now i think i am going to go with a gts shell and make that a starting point and then make some other decisions a little later down the track.

but for now just want to say a big thank you for giving me some ideas and what sort of things i need to think about.

Definitely a gtst with rb25 conversion if you have a budget of under $50k to spend.

I quickly bailed out of the gtr track car when I realised just how much a half decent car would cost to build, but building it is only half the cost. The other half is actually keeping it on the track in perfect working order because it will most certainly break and every time it does it's $1000 a piece to fix.

Do something different and buy an old mini and fit a Yamaha R1 or Suzuki Hayabusa engine to it.

Do it! 32 gtst...build it up over time.

don't worry about the price of the shell its not a factor, the last 32 gtr shell we bought was under 3k, gtst is about the same.

only cheaters need a front diff.

Do it! 32 gtst...build it up over time.

don't worry about the price of the shell its not a factor, the last 32 gtr shell we bought was under 3k, gtst is about the same.

only cheaters need a front diff.

That's it....

I'm removing my front diff.

Yeh go an R32 gtst and have a bit of fun & learn the car. Then when the power bug hits pop in an rb25 (about half as expensive to get power from than the 26). Other good first track options are s13 silvia/180sx, rx7, mx5 ... all gems ;)

Or do like Bzerk and drop in a v8 :D

yeah, the cost of the actual car is a very small expense over time. a set of tyres is $2000+ and you need a few sets each year. a set of brakes is $10K up front then $2K every time for rotors all round and say $1000 for pads. a set of good shocks starts at $8K and if you want some really good gear budget more like $20K and all this stuff becomes necessary to compete when you are running a big powerful GTR. a good cage anywhere from $4K to $10K+ if you want chro-mo. box, $20K for holligner or buy a PPG for say $8K and then spend about $3-$5K per year maintaining in (parts and labour).

I think you're on the right track with the GTS and work into it from there. GTRs suck as a track car, but they make you feel like a bad boy when you're driving one, and the sound and feel of one is unique. that and the fact that you can make a $150K R32 GTR track car as quick as a $500K V8 super car and it's on slicks... with that perspective they can be made stupid fast.

I have to admit, that I regret developing an R32 GTR as a track car.

Although I knew what I was getting myself into, in terms of financial outlay, I feel that I could have gotten a hell of a lot more "bang for buck" elsewhere.

If you really do have the $100-150k budget to build a top shelf GTR track/time attack car, there are much better options out there.

For instance, a Porsche GT3 Cup car.... There are hundreds to chose from now the series has died. Heaps are listed at $99,000 asking, and aren't moving, due to severe lack of interest and the whole GFC bullsh1t... These are $250-300k cars, which you can pick up for $80-85k. Less if you find a desperate seller.

Bulletproof engines, and sizzling lap times for a relatively small entry price. Would make one HELL of a time attack and supersprint car.

Oh well. I'm still young. After I'm done playing with this toy, I'll move on to much better starting platforms :cheers:

I have to admit, that I regret developing an R32 GTR as a track car.

Although I knew what I was getting myself into, in terms of financial outlay, I feel that I could have gotten a hell of a lot more "bang for buck" elsewhere.

If you really do have the $100-150k budget to build a top shelf GTR track/time attack car, there are much better options out there.

For instance, a Porsche GT3 Cup car.... There are hundreds to chose from now the series has died. Heaps are listed at $99,000 asking, and aren't moving, due to severe lack of interest and the whole GFC bullsh1t... These are $250-300k cars, which you can pick up for $80-85k. Less if you find a desperate seller.

Bulletproof engines, and sizzling lap times for a relatively small entry price. Would make one HELL of a time attack and supersprint car.

Oh well. I'm still young. After I'm done playing with this toy, I'll move on to much better starting platforms :)

yep spot on. like you said if you are smart and come to the realisation that this "$20,000 track car GTR project" is realistically a "$20,000 this month but another $130,000 over the next 2 years GTR track car project" then you would be much wiser taking that budget and spending it on something else. a 996 GT3 cup car is a great choice if you have some dough. me and 2 friends ran one for a couple of years in prod sports (till my friend put it in the wall hard at T1 eastern creek). they are super reliable, and being so popular (well they were) there is a heap of parts and a heap of cheap second hand parts if you're on a tight-ish budget. being purpose built track cars they are reliable, tough, and fairly simple to work on and tune.

and there are a heap of options out there that offer just as good value.

BUT like I said there is something special about the GTR that keeps us retards coming back for more punishment and we should not forget they break because they are going way faster than they have any right to be as a 20 year old, japanese POS!

I realised the financial costs of a GTR track car just before I was about to get the cage fitted. Hence why I ended up with what I did, apart from gokarts it would be the next cheapest way of having fun at the track.

BUT like I said there is something special about the GTR that keeps us retards coming back for more punishment and we should not forget they break because they are going way faster than they have any right to be as a 20 year old, japanese POS!

QFT!! Going in my sig, if you dont mind :D

Why couldn't one get a GT-R, throw some semis, suspension, rotors, pads, seat and harness and leave it like that?

Let me get my flame suite before anyone responds :)

Nothing wrong with that at all, but this thread is about track cars... Not road cars that get a punt around the track now and again :P

Nothing wrong with that at all, but this thread is about track cars... Not road cars that get a punt around the track now and again :laugh:

In that case, at what point does a road car become a track car? I have thought about building a track car, but sure as hell know I can't afford +100,000 to do it :banana:

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