A friend and I will be attending our first autocross later this month (thanks Sam!). The organizer has already told us that we'll need numbers, no shoe polish.

Where is a good place to buy a set of numbers? A little internet research hasn't turned up much. We're looking to share the set between ourselves and maybe one or two other cars. I assume that we'll need letters as well for the class designation. Thanks guys.

 

Can you number the back quarter panels and hood? If so I got some magnetic sheeting and made my own numbers.Of coarse of a contrasting color.They are pretty cool last a long time.I would never put shoe polish on my paint.

 

Check in the back of Grassroots Motorsports Magazine and I'm sure you'll find some vendors. I'm using some light adhesive numbers from Solotime out of Kansas. They stick to the doors and peel off with no problems at all. I can easily get more than a season out of them.

A cheaper solution is to put magnetic numbers on your rear quarter panel. That's what I did my first year of autocrossing since I already had some numbers from a previous car.

 

You have a couple options.

Google for "race car graphics" should turn up a bunch of vendors. I use Solotime. They have magnetics, reusable vinyl (multi-use; what I use on my C4), removable vinyl (one time use), permanent vinyl, and static cling.

You can also buy sheets of magnetic material at TAP Plastics, print out some stencils on your computer, and cut your own numbers. I've many people do this though, and it doesn't look quite as professional. But it's cheap.

Last thing, magnets are by far the easiest solution. Static cling requires you to wet down and squeegee when applying. Vinyl requires you to clean the surface before applying, or the numbers get dirty and won't stick anymore. Vinyl is not conducive to multiple drivers either, the numbers must be peeled slowly to avoid paint damage... so buy some fat masking tape and use it to X out digits as needed. Magnets stick to a dirty car fine, and last about forever, and work great for multiple drivers.

Edit: You can also buy rolls of white Contact shelf paper at Walmart. Similar stuff to reusable vinyl.

 

Cheap easy ghetto fix...

i bought some Business card magnets... They are a business card magnet that you glue a business card too and put up somewhere.

IT ws like $8 for a pack of 20 at an office Max.

I bought those, then got soem normal house number stickers for like $2 for 4 sets of my letters and numbers GP 0661. They are real cheap.

I stuck a number on each one, so now I have numbers I cna put on other cars, my own, and when i drag race I jsut put the numbers on.

They have enough holding power to have one set on my hood, and a set on each 1/4 panel at speeds of 110, for about 2 minutes. Never lost one at maybe 8 autocrosses, and 50 passes at the drag strip.

I like having the versatility of individual numbers, if my girlfriend decides to go( she wnats to) I can make up differne nummbers, I can be 60 and she can be 61, what ever we can make with my 0661.

BTW as fpr static clings, I advise against it, might get costly, and they have the tendency to stick to each toher and rip when you try to seperate them( I work at a movie theater, we have staic clings for all kinds of movies and we have these problems.)

 

I just made some. Go to a Michael's, Hobby Lobby or whatever arts and craft store you have near you. I bought a couple of rolls of thin magnetic sheets, 1'x2' for $10 a roll ($5/sqft). They also have contact paper, both sheets (8.5x11) or rolls (I think 6'x18").

I use Macromedia's Fireworks to pick a font and size I needed, printed it, cut it out and used it as a template. Just lay it on the magnetic sheet and cut around. Then lay the vinyl out and cut the same around it and stick them together. THe magnetic material is thin and conforms well to the car. We'll see how long it last. The magnetic roll I got has an adhesive on one side, once that adhesive and the adhesive on the vinyl touch, they're stuck!!

In the SCCA the numbers must be 8" tall on a contrasting background. Your class letters can be more like 3" or so. Just make sure everything is legible.

I'll put a picture up tomorrow.

 

Lest we all forget, if it's a 4th gen f-car the only metal surfaces are the quarter panels and hood, and magnetic won't stick to plastic.
One really cheap and dirty method that some people use is blue painter's masking tape (hopefully your car isn't blue!!). if you take some time with scissors you can create pretty decent looking numbers that will peel right off when you're done for the day, and a roll costs like $3.

 

yeha I know I have a 4th gen, they only see the number on the start line if it is on your hood(like mine are), they see it, and clearly on both quater panels, black numbers/lketters on wihte squares.

As for blue tape, don't work on my quaser blue car

 

I sent you a pm!

 

Hey Steve did you ever get your numbers cut out?

I found some magnetic 8.5x11 at Joann's and I think I'm gonna get that and try some of that new fancy Krylon Fusion plastic paint on it. Wonder if it'll stick to that magnet stuff... Wal-Mart sucks. They don't carry it yet.

 

You know, I ended up buying my numbers, but I'll bring some of what I did cut out to show you. I just didn't have the time to do it myself. Of course, I don't have the money either but.......

 

At the divisional there was someone selling magnetic sheets for $8 a sheet. They had all different colors. Go here ->to see Good stuff.

 

Heck, that's cheaper than what I was going to make. Especially with that super-whammo-bango-rama Krylon that's probably $7 a can.

I believe I might just order a sheet of blue magnet.

 

Yea, it's good thick stuff too. I did 2 large wire wheels, both Apex stickers, two Solo2 stickers, a Hoosier sticker, two Atl Region stickers (small, I'm going to replace them with the larger ones) and one other small sticker with one sheet.