Costs per run??

I was just reading an old thread where guys were saying it costs $2000 a run without breakages . I would like to know what exactly makes up that $2000 , I sure no it aint the methanol because that sure doesn't cost that much at least not here .

I hope people don't start saying fancy food and motorhomes and motels and stuff because in my oppinion those arent a necessity.

 

I simply look at the Year-End expenses divided by the number of time slips. You will be suprised! I figure $1500 for our budget. Curious for others input. At a MINIMUM i would say 7-$800/run. Now that was with a ROOTS blower, now we have a SCREW sitting on top, heck it may go down as we budgeted $500/race (regardless of runs) for blower maintenance!

 

Start adding all your consumables up, blower belts, valve springs, pistons, rings, rods, clutch discs, trans plates, tires, alcohol, etc. Then add travel exp. diesel, permits, food-even cheap racers have to eat. I think Randy Goodwin posted something about the actual cost a while back. Racing still costs the same now as it did before, all you have and then some! Doug

 

I am not talking about total costs because that can differ based on where you race and how far you have to travel and what kind of rig you have , I am talking about the individual run costs of the race car only .

 

Just the cost of the car (rods, bearings fuel etc), fuel to local races, and other things that add up without including tools, motels, toterhome , trailer, initial cost of car and stuff like that I figured it cost our team to race quick 8 promod about $250.00 to let the clutch out if nothing broke.

 

William-

Take the cost for things like Cranks, Rods, Pistons, Rings, Bearings, Springs, valves, tires, pads, oil, fuel, plugs, things that have a limited life span or are consumable, and divide it by the runs you make per year.

Now, some things cost you more if you have a problem (crank if you spin a bearing, etc). I add up my total cost just for the car and divide by my number of runs. Then you figure travel to the track, hotels, and food. You have to get there, you have to eat, and you need a place to stay, and you have your total cost per run at the end of they year for planning the future year.

I don't run a TAFC or TAD/BAD, I run a Nostalgia Nitro FC, so my costs will differ from others. But suffice it to say, it is not cheep!

 

dude... it seems to me that your question really isn't reasonable. it's impossible to run one of these deals (blown alcohol/nitro 6 sec or less) with out all of the incidental expenses... so total costs are what matters

 

i never really thought are cared what it cost per run and still dont as long as i can afford to have and run one of these cars to run im addicted to it but from the way things are starting to look i might have to consider thinking about rehab i wonder what that will cost

 

Sorry If I am sounding rude , I am aware about travel costs and initial costs of buying all the parts and the costs of travel . I am just trying to get an idea of how much each time you go down the race track costs .

I know that when you break something it raises the costs and that you have to have food and fuel money for traveling and a place to stay but those are travel and living costs .

I am trying to find out what the run costs are .

 

I asked a very similar question to Steve Boggs back when he was tuning for Joe Penland 95-96??? And he started going off about hotel, rentacars, and I was like "No man just the Car!" He said what difference does it make? Show me a racer who can make a pass without buying fuel to the track, food for the crew, it's all under team expenses!! And back then $1,000 per run was pretty common.

 

Unrealistic. That's like asking someone how much it costs to own a home but asking to them to exclude property taxes, yard maintenance, exterior maintenance, utilities, insurance, paint, mortgage, upkeep, etc.

It takes plane tickets, diesel fuel, crew expenses, lodging, entry fees, insurance, licenses, rig maintenance including generators and air compressors, rig tires and brakes, crank shafts, rods, pistons, springs, clutch discs, floaters, valves and valve train, belts, spark plugs, ignition maintenance, constant recycling of heads, blocks, transmissions, rear ends, tires, headers, body repairs, new superchargers and coatings, carbon brake maintenace, chutes replaced constantly, fuel, oil, chemicals, SFI updates, new rules expenses, certs and recerts, shop, utilities, etc., etc.................................

Sounds like you want to know how much it costs to make one run if you walk into someone's pit, get in the car, make a run, then leave. $30 for alcohol, $30 for oil, $25 for 8 spark plugs and $5.00 for lunch. Looks like $90 should do it. Unless you happen to be unlucky enough to screw up and toss the rods, split the block, knock the supercharger off the manifold, kill at least one head, split the body down the middle of the hood, break the windshield and have a small fire on that run setting off the firebottles in the process. Then you're looking at $25,000 plus $90 for a total of $25,090 for one run.

RG

 

90 dollars that sounds about right randy it all the other stuff cost so much but it sure is fun if six flags had a ride like that the line would be a mile long and take forever huh just like tring to make your first pass in are have funny car

 

Maybe this will help answer the guys Question,...
without getting carried away with every part in the engine, unless
you do the math, rods, pistons, rings, lifters, valve springs etc,..
divided by how ever many runs that you get out of these parts etc,..

some basics for cost per run,..
How much did the fuel in one run cost ???? 7 gallons 10 gallons etc,..???
How much does the set of spark plugs cost for 1 run ????
How much did the oil cost, for that one run ,.5 gallon or 14 gallon ????
How much did it cost for the upper rod bearings 1 run ????
unless you have a Minor Bros Racing motor then you get 30 runs,.hehehee
How much did the 3 discs and 3 floaters each cost divided by 2 or 3 runs ????
Rear tires cost say $1,000,..divided by say 15 runs = 67.00 PER RUN
Blower belt cost ?? divided by 8 runs = cost per run
How much did it cost for the car owner/driver to have (X) amount crew
to be there for the weekend,that make the car run.. divided by say 5 runs????
How much did it cost for a crew chief to be there divide that by 5 = ????

whats your totals...???? this theoreticly = cost per run....

Hope this helps

 

Even if you RUN down the track, you still got to eat, drink, and sh!t, the only thing that wont cost you, is the sh!ting part, the track lets you use the toilets for free.

 

Thank you , yes I did just want to know the cost of a run and normal non damaged between round maintenance . I did not want to know the total cost of every other little thing . I am just figuring out the costs you guys have so that I have a little idea of what it costs . I am going to start buying up parts this year to work my way into drag racing so just thought I would ask .

Here in New Zealand there is not a single drag strip that isn't within a days drive away , no racer has huge Semi's and trailers , not many if any racers have motorhomes and most bring their own food and tents with them and sleep at the race track . Thats why I just wanted to know the costs of making a run .

 

Why not just answer the question

William,

I understand what you are asking and why you are asking it. We all know you have to get there, eat, stay etc. and you are right that varies by each individual teams level of what they wanna eat, where they wanna stay and how far they venture to race. We personally stay at the track, eat at the track and drink at the track to minimize those expenses so we can afford to field a top notch car with the best parts and keep it that way week in and week out.

I built an excell spreadsheet and put on it all the "consumables" and how much they cost and expected runs per item. ie 8 plugs = 36.00 x 1 run = plug cost per run 36.00. Crankshaft 3500 divided by 50 runs expected = 70.00 per run crankshaft expense. Blower belt 150.00 divided by 10 runs = 15.00 per run belt expense. you get the picture I hope. When I did this I came up with about $575.00 per run to run a screw blower TAFC that qualifies more often than not and is a contender to win every race we enter.

This includes nothing of the truck, trailer, fuel, food, lodging, breakage, not even diesel for the generator. Just purely running the car. Also doesn't take into account depreciation of the car or the major components like blocks, rearend housings (other that gear maint) replacing aging heads etc.

I would gladly email you the excel spreadsheet so you could modify it with your numbers if you like.

Keep in mind, my numbers are running the Miner / Fontana engine combo which is proven to cost much less in maintenance than the BAE deal, so you have to plug in your own estimates for componet cost and life expectancy.

I don't count all the food and travel expense in this because if I weren't racing I would be doing something that would involve travel, food, lodging etc so to me that is the cost of having a fun weekend with my friends. If it were golf, hunting, boating, skiing whatever you do for fun costs money.

A lot of people seem to get off on inflating the cost of racing when people ask. I don't know if they really spend some of the astronomical money I hear about or not, but I can tell you if you run a Miner engine, pay attention to maintenance and use your head, you can race for a lot less than most people say. That said, it still just costs all you have, and it AIN"T CHEAP!

Best regards,

 

Not to be a smarty pants , But..If you have to ask how much something
is,..you probly cant afford to run it,..I am living proof, and bairly managing.
My cost to run my nostalgia injected vega funny is about $114.00 for
just Oil, Plugs, and fuel,..1 RUN. Thats 3.5 Alky,.8 sparkplugs, 7 qts spendy oil

Hey while your there,.
Have you seen any old school funny cars ?? ????

 

The bottom line is figure out what you think your exact cost will be then double it and you wan't be to far off.
The problem is you need something to tow with. It will take maintenance, insurance, license, etc. etc. Both truck and trailer.
Next problem is you will never have all the tools you need and special equipment.
You can eat whatever and whenever you want but it still cost money.
You see there is no way you can just say what are the consumables cost for one run.
You will have to make a sizeable investment before the car ever gets to the track to make ONE run.
My suggestion is if you don't have a good education get one. Then work your ass off until you are smart enough to open your own business. Work your ass off in that business for 10 to 20 years and then think about going racing in Top Alcohol class.

 

Hand tools and stuff like that wont be a problem , and its not like im going to need a huge semi and trailer ,a pickup and trailer would do fine . You don't race trailers and I have no ego so wont be showing off . Machinists and machine shops wont be overly difficult to find becasue there are a few good ones in new zealand who are also drag racers . The thing is nobody here in new zealand is running consistant 5's yet all the alcohol guys are in the mid to low 6 second range with odd five here and there.

 

Interesting

This is always an interesting topic because this class brings a wide range of styles, egos, experience levels, and budgets. We had a start up team a few years back, and our owner had spent 3-5 years accumulating different components: block, heads, chassis, body, wheels, unique tools, clutch can, etc. Those are big dollars to get the foundation built, but vary widely on what you're trying to accomplish. The only real spares we had were the consumables; no spare block, heads, etc.

We never could have dreamt how much these machines consume, even when you're lucky enough to not toss a rod. The consumables alone: fuel, plugs, oil, tires, clutch discs, belts, valves, springs, crank, etc. are a decent budget for any team that's going to run 10-12 times a year, with 4-8 passes at each race. We never re-used the oil or the plugs, burnt the fuel up each pass, and needed tires more often than we could afford to put them on. If we had $1, that beast wanted $2-3, and could have consumed $4-5.

We did ok the first year or two (I'm guessing we ran it at $300-400/pass), and didn't have to replace a piston, piston ring, or didn't really make any catastrophic mistakes. Our first big ticket expense post-build, was having the #6 rod snap going through the lights at about 10,000 RPM. That was the last race of the season, so we had a few months to catch up and ease back into that fix. Probably a 10K non-consumable expense there.

One day, we failed to torque down the #5 rod cap after a late night service session after qualifying #2 at a division race. Threw the rod and put holes in both sides of the block on the jack stands in the pits warming it up for our first round on Sunday morning for our #2 vs. #7 match up. That mistake was expensive, and probably set us back to the point where we never really recovered.

The cost to builld one of these beasts is one thing. The cost to get it to the track with the right tools is another. The cost to keep these beasts running is totally different based on limiting mistakes, avoiding part failures, and learning to run the thing like your mind knows you can.

It's a great ride, though. Like any addiction, it consumes every thought, action, and dollar that you have once you get a hit. Don't let costs consume you and keep you from giving it a go. Good luck.