How budget-friendly can a ITS RX-7 get?

hi,

After reading/watching so much about ITS road racing I'm getting very interested in it. But apparently I'm not a rich man so I must be sure about the costs of entering the sport...

From many classified posts about used FC's for ITS, it almost seem like impossible to find anything lower than $10k.

Of course, with the many modifications done to the rx-7 that's probably not too much to ask for. But I wonder, what are the absolute minimum setup one can enter ITS with. And is it really impractical to run a race with that barebone setup?

Any help appreciated.
ben

I guess you already own or like RX-7's that's why your interested in ITS. IT A,B,C,are some what less expensive, but if you want to run in ITS, the RX-7 is a good low cost (releative to the BMW's and Porsche) way to go. $10,000 for a car that has a welded cage, good motor and trans, correct rear gear, set up suspension, ect, is a good deal. Yes you could build your own car for less, but in the long run all the little things add up fast.

My 7 is a low buck car, Junkyard motor and trans, stock rear, Mazda motorsports suspension, nothing trick or fancy except for a welded cage. Most of the work was done by myself. It's a 7-10th place car in the northeast, runs about a 1:03 at LRP and it cost about $8000 with out my time and sweat.
Now if you want to run up front be prepared to spend way more, or start with a BMW.

I have been prepping/taking care of an ITS RX-7 here in the MIDIV for over 3 years now. The owner has very little mechanical knowledge but enjoys the hell out of driving. She has a fairly limited budget so our approach has been to, each winter, work on specific areas of the car. When we first got the car it was totally stock with a bolt in cage.
The first major project was to fabricate a real cage and install a header and proper exhaust. Next came IT suspension and some Autometer guages. Then 15x7 wheels and an aluminum racing radiator (bought a used radiator).
If you are on a limited budget but are patient you can work on it one project at a time. The nice part about this kind of approach is that, as you are working on your skills as a driver and getting faster through driving better, The car is also progressively getting faster. The only real key, though, is to make sure your having fun, because that is what it is all really about.

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Nico
KCRaceware (816) 257-7305
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by theenico (edited November 14, 2003).]

I agree with Nico. Mainly because that's exactly the approach I've been using this past year.

Nico I know you know all this but just for the benifit of the original post.

I started the season with a very under prepared 1st. Gen RX7. It had a bolt in cage, header, fuel cell, seat, strut brace and kill switch. With the help of a lot of MiDiv folks I've been making improvements over the year with the goal of just getting as much seat time as possible since this is basically my first year. Most of the money went into suspension and brakes. I did have to replace an engine after that last event at Hallett, but at over 200K miles and 8 years of racing the old engine was bound to go sometime. I got a little better each event and still have some development to do on the car this winter.
I'm certainly not an expert on the issue by any stretch of the imagination. If you have the money to do all the stuff to your car you want and still get lots of seat time then go for it. If not, make the improvements your budget will allow and still let you get the seat time. I, for one, don't have the funds to make all the changes or upgrades I want to make and still race and I can't think of anything worse than having a car that might be competative and not being able to race.

Monica kicked some serious a** against GT cars at the last event at GIR.

Thanks folks. I think I got the idea.

Now can someone tell me where I can find the rules of ITS? Is it even published?

Also, are ported engines allowed in ITS? I think I've heard someone had them. But I've always thought that performance-wise the IT cars are required to stay stock...

Ben,

In the 2003 GCR you'll find the IT rules between the Touring/Showroom Stock section and the Sports Racer section near the back of the book.

All the permitted modifications are detailed in this section but specifically to your question about porting -

GCR ITCS Page 11 Section D.2.a Any porting or polishing is prohibited.

There is also a table listing model specific items such as weight, gear rations etc. The 2nd. Gen RX7 info is on page ITCS 25.

Good luck. I have tons of links to RX7 pages for parts if you're interested. Where are you going to race?

Thanks
This will be in the SF region

Ben,

I'm in Milpitas as well, you're more than welcome to drop by and check out my ITS 7 and talk about the class/rules. Drop me a line at [email protected], I'll be around this weekend prepping for my race next weekend with NASA

Regards,

PaulC

Ben,

If you are willing and capable of performing almost all of the work yourself it can be a rather inexpensive car to build. Thanks to the availability of aftermarket parts and support.

I have played a role in building and maintaining two 2nd Gen rx7's. Neither of which were big budget teams.

Either car could be duplicated for $6k in parts and 500+ hrs. labor.

If you found a good donor car, with a good motor and trans. You could get by with:
$1000 for the cage.
$500 seat, belts, window net, E-cut off.
$1000 for a set of wheels and tires.
$400 for a header and muffler.
$600 for brake pads, lines and prop. valve

Suspension could run you anywhere from $1K to $5k+.

That's a $4500-8500 tab.

All new hoses, belts, wheel bearings, and fluids will add a couple of hundred as well.

So here you are at $5K + donor car with a good motor.

Logical upgrades from basic would be: fuel cell, halon system, different rear end gear, and an upgraded cooling system. That's an easy $2k.

Good steering wheel, quick release, gauges, paint, etc.

you can see how it adds up.

I wouldn't spend more than 1/2 of what it would cost to duplicate the car. I also wouldn't pay big money for a pro built motor. Primarily because you won't need it in the early days, and by the time you can use it, it will be tired and in need of a rebuild. Who cares if it has $800 worth of "new" Hoosiers on it? They are highly consumable items. JUNK spares are worth zero as well.

If you buy or build concentrate on safe and reliable first, then go fast.

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Daryl DeArman
I Love RX7's...they taste like chicken :P

Just curious as to why a 2nd gen has caught your eye in particular? Don't get me wrong, they are nice cars and huge leap forward in technology from first gens, but with Pro-7 / ITA 1st gens available ready to race for absolute BARGAIN prices everywhere why not learn your racecraft for pennies on the dollar? Ist gens aren't really frontrunners in ITA any more, but are not exactly dogs either. For the cost of one $10K ITS 2nd gen a new driver might actually by able to obtain a somewhat competitive ITA/Pro-7 first gen + all of the required safety equipment + an open trailer + a cheap tow vehicle and still have some money left for some race entries! Three important points to keep in mind: 1) You might find out that you lack talent, commitment, and or budget to continue racing and race cars DO NOT appreciate in value - it's best to start small. 2) An uncompetitive driver will hamper your program worse than an uncompetitive car! Make sure you leave yourself the budget and time to develop the nut behind the wheel and worry about developing the car when you are good enough to tell the difference! 3) Last but not least, if you reach a point where you can drive a stock rear suspension 1st gen Rx-7 quickly and smoothly then you are absolutely qualified to drive just about anything with non-stone age technology! (hehe)

Good Luck, and hope to see you out there! - Boswoj

Boswoj brings up a very good point and one that I can easily verify. I bought my 1st. Gen RX7 virtually race ready for $2750 then added about $500 in safety upgrades to bring it up to date and a set of tires for $600. Then I had an open trailer built for $1150 with duel axles and electric brakes. I bought a 1990 Dodge Dakota 4X4 for $2500.

I had way under $10K invested and went racing. I was not competative at first but for the low entry I was able to get in a lot of seat time and make improvements to the car as I went along and learned more about what improvements helped in the various areas.

The 2nd. Gen RX7 certainly is a leap in technology and performance over the 1st. Gen. However, for a entry level learning platform that has a huge amount of racing upgrades available, is dependable and economical to race, the 1st. Gen is still hard to beat.

Good point on the driver training aspects of the first gen 7s.

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Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]

Ben,

I was at Hallet a few weeks ago and saw an advertisement on their bulliten board for a 1st Gen RX7, race ready (if I remember correctly) for sale at about $3500. If you want to check it out call Connie Stephens. I don't have their number handy but you can get it from their web site.

Good Luck!
Scott Goble
Springfield, MO