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      10-14-2019, 05:32 PM   #1
dradernh
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What is the Expense of Attending Track Events?

TLDR; In 2019, I spent $590 per track driving day.

My answer to that question is shown in the data below. Except for track tires and track pads, I haven't included any of the expenses of the 2018 initial preparation of my car for street/track duty. Those expenses can be seen in this post: https://www.2addicts.com/forums/show....php?t=1532418.

I've had some additional work done since posting that data; e.g, I had a front swaybar installed last week. None of the additional work is included in the data below either.



Other drivers are bound to calculate their track expenses in different ways. My principal purpose in showing this information is so that drivers who have yet to attend track events will have a general idea of the expense involved.
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      10-14-2019, 07:13 PM   #2
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Thanks for starting the conversation. It's very interesting to see how much costs can vary.

Here's mine:


These are averages over enough events that taking an average is ok statistically.
They don't include upgrades to get the car track ready (capex), just recurring costs (opex).
I don't track food/gas/hotels.

Most categories are self-explanatory. The less clear ones:
- setup is alignment/ride height/corner balance. Dominated by alignments -- hitting curbs tends to throw things off.
- repairs are... repairs due to various track accidents -- cracked splitters, cracked windshields, bearings, bent wheels, etc.
- consumables are all fluids, filters, wheel mounting hardware, etc.

The number I pay the most attention to is "Average per day without registration". It normally fluctuates between $450-500. Right now, it's on the higher end because I just finished a lot of repairs and still haven't amortized the cost over enough events.

It's interesting to see a pretty large difference in both registration and tires per day. Part of it is just me messing up a few times (e.g. registering for a whole weekend, but messing the car up on Saturday). But that's still not enough to explain it. If I had to guess, I tend to do events with 2+h on track time per day, which is both more in registration and in wear.

Either way, fascinating data, thanks for sharing.
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      10-14-2019, 10:22 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msendit View Post
Most categories are self-explanatory. The less clear ones:
- setup is alignment/ride height/corner balance. Dominated by alignments -- hitting curbs tends to throw things off.
- repairs are... repairs due to various track accidents -- cracked splitters, cracked windshields, bearings, bent wheels, etc.
- consumables are all fluids, filters, wheel mounting hardware, etc.

It's interesting to see a pretty large difference in both registration and tires per day. Part of it is just me messing up a few times (e.g. registering for a whole weekend, but messing the car up on Saturday). But that's still not enough to explain it. If I had to guess, I tend to do events with 2+h on track time per day, which is both more in registration and in wear.
Thanks for adding your data. Hopefully, others will do the same so that potential track drivers will be able to see the wide range of possible expenses they might encounter - whether by choice or not.

I've been fortunate to not need any repairs so far. My alignment was checked after the front swaybar was installed last week, and it was unchanged after five events.

I'm driving much less than you are. Over the course of a three-day event, I'll drive a total of 3-4 sessions of 6-8 laps each. I'm driving ~11-14 minutes in each session, so ~35-55 minutes per event.

As you can imagine, I've yet to experience any wear-and-tear. I'll have the calipers disassembled this winter to see how they're holding up, and I'm looking forward to discovering the condition of the pistons and seals. That's likely to be the first maintenance performed on the car that isn't routine.
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      10-18-2019, 07:16 AM   #4
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Don’t forget the cost of:
- lodging
- decreased tread wear miles
- decreased suspension life.
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      10-18-2019, 09:45 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini View Post
Don’t forget the cost of:
- decreased suspension life.
This is from the seller and installer of my Koni-based coilover suspension kit:

"And to top it off they come with a life time warranty for the original owner!"
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      10-18-2019, 10:26 AM   #6
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These are the things that I can't put on paper. I know it's a lot, and I just accept it.

It's easier to figure out how much money I don't have lol.
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      10-19-2019, 10:54 AM   #7
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My favorite description of track days: "Turning money into noise"

And my man-math is seeking the rest of the equation. Anybody able to calculate the cost of something like golfing, or bass fishing, (meth addiction?) so we can figure out how much we are all actually SAVING by choosing this hobby over others?
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      10-19-2019, 08:54 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
TLDR; In 2019, I spent $590 per track driving day.

My answer to that question is shown in the data below. Except for track tires and track pads, I haven't included any of the expenses of the 2018 initial preparation of my car for street/track duty. Those expenses can be seen in this post: https://www.2addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1532418.

I've had some additional work done since posting that data; e.g, I had a front swaybar installed last week. None of the additional work is included in the data below either.



Other drivers are bound to calculate their track expenses in different ways. My principal purpose in showing this information is so that drivers who have yet to attend track events will have a general idea of the expense involved.
Looks about right. Including tires, mounting, brake flush, inspections, lodging and track fees I spent over $4500 for 4 weekend events (8 days).
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      10-24-2019, 11:14 PM   #9
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The bigges question is what is the cost of not tracking🙂
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      10-25-2019, 01:46 PM   #10
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What insurance do folks use ? Travelers won't cover. Guessing here, but thought good place to ask thx

Hagerty's ?
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      10-25-2019, 03:38 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 4Hockey4 View Post
What insurance do folks use? Hagerty's?
I don't know if Hagerty's offers track event insurance or not. I'm using OnTrack Insurance: OnTrackInsurance.com. In the past, I've also used Lockton Motorsports: https://locktonmotorsports.com/hpde-insurance/.

Whatever you use, it's worth talking with an agent to determine how to value your car. There's no sense in paying for coverage over and above the value the insurance company would put on it in the event of its being totaled.
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      10-26-2019, 01:37 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
I don't know if Hagerty's offers track event insurance or not. I'm using OnTrack Insurance: OnTrackInsurance.com. In the past, I've also used Lockton Motorsports: https://locktonmotorsports.com/hpde-insurance/.

Whatever you use, it's worth talking with an agent to determine how to value your car. There's no sense in paying for coverage over and above the value the insurance company would put on it in the event of its being totaled.
I thought the agreed upon value policies let you set that? Is it still up to their valuation, even if you declared a higher value?

I switched from Hagerty to Lockton after Hagerty doubled their rates.
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      10-26-2019, 01:49 PM   #13
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I use Lockton. Never had to make a claim but it’s good for peace of mind.
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      10-26-2019, 04:07 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maynard View Post
I thought the agreed upon value policies let you set that? Is it still up to their valuation, even if you declared a higher value?
If you talk with an agent at one of these companies, I think they'll tell you that in the event of the car being totaled they're only going to pay out the actual cash value (market value) of your car. That's regardless of the value you chose that was used to establish the premium.

Another reason to speak with them is to get their input about valuing any modifications you've made. For example, how should a $4K Stoptech BBK that's seen twenty days of track duty be valued? The general advice I received was to take the amount of money I spent on significant upgrades, divide it in half, and add that to my estimate of the market value of the car to come up with a final value for the policy.

I didn't go down the full list of my mods with the agent, but coilovers seemed to be an example of a mod that holds its value, while wheels and tires were considered to have added little or no value. We didn't spend time going into detail, but I would imagine that high-end forged wheels with fresh, expensive rubber would change that calculation to some extent.

When it comes to the mods' increase in the value of a wrecked car, you'd probably end up negotiating. Same thing for the car, too, if you thought that the adjuster was undervaluing it.
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      01-24-2020, 02:33 PM   #15
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Hagerty does do track insurance and they ask you to specify and value mods (so you can include your $4k brembo upgrade).
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      01-27-2020, 11:44 AM   #16
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I'd say about $400-600 per event all in. Depends also what's done to the car to mitigate premature wear on components etc. So upfront build/spec'd track car may cost less to run for the year, after the initial investment in parts.
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      01-27-2020, 12:07 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan86 View Post
I'd say about $400-600 per event all in. Depends also what's done to the car to mitigate premature wear on components etc. So upfront build/spec'd track car may cost less to run for the year, after the initial investment in parts.
I'm going to my seventh and last event in June, and my initial build cost will add $2K to my overall average per day cost. Ouch!
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      01-28-2020, 08:30 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
I'm going to my seventh and last event in June, and my initial build cost will add $2K to my overall average per day cost. Ouch!
Why last ?
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      01-28-2020, 01:46 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dylan86 View Post
Why last ?
I planned when I bought the car in June, 2018 to track it for three seasons at most, and then only for two or three events each season. Bringing a car in which I could instruct was one of the motivations for getting an M240, and I don't plan on instructing anymore.

I'll soon be 72 years of age, and my skills have begun to diminish. Not driving much doesn't help with that - when I was doing this regularly I was at the track a good forty days each season, and my skills were always pretty sharp. I was also doing regular car control work in the summer and winter during those years.

I've done everything I've wanted to do with this hobby, sparing no expense along the way. Mostly, I drove the E36 shown below, a 2:00 car at the Glen. I really miss the sharpness of a pro-built race car. Here's a lap in the E36 shot during aero testing at the Glen: https://youtu.be/NMdnioBa0E0.

Before I hang the helmet up, I'm going to a David Murry Track Days open-lapping event at the Glen, my favorite track: http://www.davidmurry.com/event-regi...-international.



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      01-28-2020, 09:03 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
I planned when I bought the car in June, 2018 to track it for three seasons at most, and then only for two or three events each season. Bringing a car in which I could instruct was one of the motivations for getting an M240, and I don't plan on instructing anymore.

I'll soon be 72 years of age, and my skills have begun to diminish. Not driving much doesn't help with that - when I was doing this regularly I was at the track a good forty days each season, and my skills were always pretty sharp. I was also doing regular car control work in the summer and winter during those years.

I've done everything I've wanted to do with this hobby, sparing no expense along the way. Mostly, I drove the E36 shown below, a 2:00 car at the Glen. I really miss the sharpness of a pro-built race car. Here's a lap in the E36 shot during aero testing at the Glen: https://youtu.be/NMdnioBa0E0.

Before I hang the helmet up, I'm going to a David Murry Track Days open-lapping event at the Glen, my favorite track: http://www.davidmurry.com/event-regi...-international.



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      01-29-2020, 04:05 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dradernh View Post
I planned when I bought the car in June, 2018 to track it for three seasons at most, and then only for two or three events each season. Bringing a car in which I could instruct was one of the motivations for getting an M240, and I don't plan on instructing anymore.

I'll soon be 72 years of age, and my skills have begun to diminish. Not driving much doesn't help with that - when I was doing this regularly I was at the track a good forty days each season, and my skills were always pretty sharp. I was also doing regular car control work in the summer and winter during those years.

I've done everything I've wanted to do with this hobby, sparing no expense along the way. Mostly, I drove the E36 shown below, a 2:00 car at the Glen. I really miss the sharpness of a pro-built race car. Here's a lap in the E36 shot during aero testing at the Glen: https://youtu.be/NMdnioBa0E0.

Before I hang the helmet up, I'm going to a David Murry Track Days open-lapping event at the Glen, my favorite track: http://www.davidmurry.com/event-regi...-international.



That's awesome man, great tidbit about you for sure
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      02-26-2021, 11:52 AM   #22
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Has it already been a year since we talked about tracking costs?

In the meantime, I put enough on-track hours on my momentum car, so that a cost comparison with the 2er makes some sense (no point taking an average over just a couple of sets of tires, for example).

As before, this is only tracking OpEx (tires, brakes, fluids, etc), not the cost of the parts to make the car track-ready. IMHO, this is the metric that makes more sense, as long as you go to the track often -- then the CapEx (coilovers, fancy calipers, etc) gets amortized. I also don't track fuel costs very accurately, so they're not included here.

Anyway, here's the numbers:



Most important row to pay attention to is the bottom one.
Nothing particularly surprising in the breakdown: bigger, heavier and more powerful car is quite more expensive to run. Especially harder on tires and brakes.

To put these numbers in a bit of context here's a few basic stats about the cars.


--------| M240 | MR2- |
Weight: | 3575 | 2612 |
Whp:--- | 335- | 168- | (never dynoed the 2er)
Lap:--- | 2:01 | 2:09 | (Thunderhill 3mi, same driver)
Tires:- | 71r- | RS4- | (most typical tire on each)

Last edited by msendit; 02-26-2021 at 12:48 PM..
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