94bird

I can tell you what I've budgeted for AI. Assuming you start with a race legal car . . .

2 sets of tires per year (doing 6-8 races) $1700.
Each race (entry and gas money included) $350-$400
Above assumes camping at the track
Brakes and rotors - 3 sets of pads and rotors per year - $500
Mod and upkeep budget per year so I don't have to detail the other misc things - $4000

This is not including bribing a friend to go with you to each race to help you out. I'm still working on the budget for that one.

If you start with a street car and want to convert it, I'd give a rough guess it'll cost you about $3500 for safety equipment (cage, fire system, seat, harness, wiring, driver's suit, helmet, etc.) Then prepare to spend some time over the winter stripping the car down in an effort to get down to Mustang fighting weight. I'm still not there. Then you have to do the suspension and engine work to be competitive. For a LT1 car I'd guesstimate about $2000 for a set of headers, cat back, camshaft, and computer reprogram. Suspension mods would include shocks, coilover springs, sway bars, control arms (front and rear), panhard rod, torque arm, etc. I don't think you could buy the parts new for less than $2500. New wheels for the Toyos can cost anywhere from $400 (AFS wheels off ebay new) to $2000 for some light weight wheels.

Damn, I'm depressed thinking I've spent that kind of money already. I'm having fun though, so that's what counts, right?

KwikistZ

You're damn right! It's all about the fun! That's why I wanna get into this. And I'ma build my own car cause I won't be racing till I get outta college, I just started. Headers aren't legal in CMC by the way. All this talking about racing makes me want to do it so bad

Sketchy

bsim

I'll also chime in to promote the CMC class (and not just 'cause my car is for sale too).

CMC is essentially a 'spec' class, where you can change exhaust from the manifolds back, but just about every other motor mod is a no-no. So there are 230 or 250 HP limits, depending on configs (check the rules HERE). While keeping costs down, it also breaks from the 'how fast do you want to go - how much $$ do you have?' mold.

It also stresses chassis/suspension setup and driver development over wallet size for lap times. A few weeks ago at Thunderhill, I believe the top 10 cars were less than a second and a half apart in lap times. Great close racing.

And as Jules mentioned, a good car with a good driver turns comparable laptimes to some of the AI cars.

If you're considering racing for the first time, CMC is great in that the costs are REALLY cheap (as far as racing goes), and if you're finding the need to spend more $$, you can always bolt the motor mods onto the car at a later time, and move up the money ladder to AI.

Also, as someone else mentioned, there are fellas that also run with the SCCA, in the ITE class. So you can run with two series if you like. But from what I've experienced, AIX and American Sedan are REALLY pricey to be competitive.

94bird

But headers are legal in AI, which is what I'm building my car for.

Building your own car can certainly be a fun project, but where the safety items are concerned, such as cage, window net, seat back brace, etc. make sure you get professional input so you do it right.