P1/P2 operational costs

[holmberg]

Over on the General Formula Car Discussion topic, I've been conducting a survey of operational costs for each class. Here I'm only interested in costs that differ significantly between the classes, and not, for example, entrance fees, hotel, food, etc.

Drivers from some classes have responded with data for their class, and the result is a spreadsheet in Google docs.

Here's what I have for P1 and P2. If you have changes, please reply below, and I will update the spreadsheet.

First, P1:

Class name: P1

Engine make: Suzuki

Engine model: GSX R

Displacement: 1000

Power at crank, HP: 197

Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 86
Weight with driver, lbs: 1,000

Purchase new, $: 90,000

Tires set, $: 1006

Tire competitive heat cycles: 8

Engine rebuild, $: 5,000

Engine competitive hours: 27

Fuel $/gallon: 10.00

Fuel gallons/hour: 10

Brake pads set, $: 188

Brake pads hours: 27

Other operational costs, $:

And for P2:

Class name: P2
Engine make: Suzuki
Engine model: GSX R
Displacement: 1000
Power at crank, HP: 180
Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 80
Weight with driver, lbs: 1,000
Purchase new, $: 80,000
Tires set, $: 1006
Tire competitive heat cycles: 8
Engine rebuild, $: 3,500
Engine competitive hours: 27
Fuel $/gallon: 10.00
Fuel gallons/hour: 10
Brake pads set, $: 188
Brake pads hours: 27
Other operational costs, $:

Thanks,

Greg Holmberg

[David Ferguson]

Class name: P2
Engine make: Mazda
Engine model: MZR
Displacement: 1999cc
Power at crank, HP: 197
Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 160
Weight with driver, lbs: 1,300
Purchase new, $: NA
Tires set, $: 980
Tire competitive heat cycles: 6
Engine rebuild, $: 3,100 -- not rebuilt - New from Mazda
Engine competitive hours: 5000+ mi in USF2000 usage.
Fuel $/gallon: $2.85
Fuel gallons/hour: 9
Brake pads set, $: 290
Brake pads hours: 25+
Other operational costs, $: Pays Mazda Contingency for winning.

[farrout]

For both P1 and P2, using a Purchase Cost of a new car does not tell the entire story. Many drivers will purchase a used car which can still be competitive Nationally but as we all know it is the driver that whittles away those last few seconds. A Stohr WF1 can be had for anywhere from $35K to $60K. A lot of that price is dependent on the car's pedigree and the level of spares.

[holmberg]

David, I added a line to the spreadsheet and inserted this data.

Class name: P2
Engine make: Mazda
Engine model: MZR
Displacement: 1999cc
Power at crank, HP: 197
Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 160
Weight with driver, lbs: 1,300
Purchase new, $: NA
Tires set, $: 980
Tire competitive heat cycles: 6
Engine rebuild, $: 3,100 -- not rebuilt - New from Mazda
Engine competitive hours: 5000+ mi in USF2000 usage.
Fuel $/gallon: $2.85
Fuel gallons/hour: 9
Brake pads set, $: 290
Brake pads hours: 25+
Other operational costs, $: Pays Mazda Contingency for winning.

[Lotus7]

Class name: P2
Engine make: Mazda
Engine model: MZR
Displacement: 1999cc
Power at crank, HP: 197
Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 160
Weight with driver, lbs: 1,300
Purchase new, $: NA
Tires set, $: 980
Tire competitive heat cycles: 6
Engine rebuild, $: 3,100 -- not rebuilt - New from Mazda
Engine competitive hours: 5000+ mi in USF2000 usage.
Fuel $/gallon: $2.85
Fuel gallons/hour: 9
Brake pads set, $: 290
Brake pads hours: 25+
Other operational costs, $: Pays Mazda Contingency for winning.

Hi David,
Please clarify, you get 197HP for 5,000 hours (!), then replace it with an entirely new engine for $3100 ? Builder? (Elite?)
Thanks

[David Ferguson]

I indicated 5000 miles, not 5000 hours. Let's guess that might be 65 - 75 hours of racing -- 3 - 4 seasons for most folks.

You can purchase a complete long block from Mazda for $3100 (plus tax and shipping). I can move my parts (dry sump, front pulleys, water pump, intake, fuel rail, exhaust, various cover plates) to the new engine in a few hours and install it in the car), and it will make the same horsepower (used to be 200+, but my new dyno software has a different correction, now the same data is 197hp).

You can also have this done by Elite, and they may charge you $2500 to disassemble and re-assemble the new engine, plus the $3100 for a new long block.

To be clear -- the parts to prepare a $3100 engine for racing will probably cost $10-12k, but they don't need to be replaced very often. I'm talking about Dry Sumps, Intakes, Injectors, ECU, wiring, sensors, flywheel/clutch, exhaust system.

[holmberg]

I indicated 5000 miles, not 5000 hours. Let's guess that might be 65 - 75 hours of racing -- 3 - 4 seasons for most folks.

The P2 lap record at Thunderhill (2.866 miles) is 1:42.187, or 101.0 mph. So a rough guess would be 5000 miles / 100 mph = 50 hours. That's what I put in the spreadsheet.

That works out to be $62/hour for the engine, or $207 for the weekend in my 8-session scenario. Which is pretty low for this level of performance. The MC engines in P2 cost twice that to operate per hour (mostly due to shorter lives). The $3/gallon fuel helps lower costs too.

[David Ferguson]

I have a hard time doing every lap within 1 mph average of the lap record. But perhaps that's easy for you.

[holmberg]

OK, it appears that all the discussions in all the communities have died out, so you can find the results in the spreadsheet.