FM 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 this class. If you have changes, please reply below, and I will update the spreadsheet.

Class name: FM

Engine make: Mazda

Engine model: 13B

Displacement: 1300

Power at crank, HP: 180

Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 180

Weight with driver, lbs: 1,350

Purchase new, $: ?

Purchase new $ in what year: ?

Tires set, $: 970

Tire competitive heat cycles: 8

Engine rebuild, $: 6,000

Engine competitive hours: 80

Fuel $/gallon: 7.00

Fuel gallons/hour: 10

Brake pads set, $: 160

Brake pads hours: 10

Other operational costs, $:

Thanks,

Greg Holmberg

[mstephenson51]

Couple of these are tough.... There are no "new" cars.

Typically the complete race ready car is $22,000-25,000
Tires are closer to $1080/set
I would guess that engine competitive hours is closer to 150. (Mo or anyone else correct me if Im off, but seems like they last)
Gas is more like $3/gal, pump gas plus oil mix in
Gearbox maintenance: $100/ hr ish.
Mufflers tend to break, so: $339/ 40hrs
Ball-joints/Heims are 40 hrs max: $500/40hrs

I think that's about the list for regular stuff. Damage, accidents, misuse etc are extra.

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 this class. If you have changes, please reply below, and I will update the spreadsheet.

Class name: FM

Engine make: Mazda

Engine model: 13B

Displacement: 1300

Power at crank, HP: 180

Torque at crank, ft-lbs: 180

Weight with driver, lbs: 1,350

Purchase new, $: ?

Purchase new $ in what year: ?

Tires set, $: 970

Tire competitive heat cycles: 8

Engine rebuild, $: 6,000

Engine competitive hours: 80

Fuel $/gallon: 7.00

Fuel gallons/hour: 10

Brake pads set, $: 160

Brake pads hours: 10

Other operational costs, $:

Thanks,

Greg Holmberg

[holmberg]

Couple of these are tough.... There are no "new" cars.

Typically the complete race ready car is $22,000-25,000
Tires are closer to $1080/set
I would guess that engine competitive hours is closer to 150. (Mo or anyone else correct me if Im off, but seems like they last)
Gas is more like $3/gal, pump gas plus oil mix in
Gearbox maintenance: $100/ hr ish.
Mufflers tend to break, so: $339/ 40hrs
Ball-joints/Heims are 40 hrs max: $500/40hrs

I think that's about the list for regular stuff. Damage, accidents, misuse etc are extra.

I added a column for "Purchase, used". Many people suggested that.

What was the last year you could buy a new FM? And what did it cost then?

Tires: 8 heat cycles?

Engine rebuild: $6,000 ?

Fuel consumption: 10 gal/hour? FM's have a lap speed of about 94 mph, so 10 gal/hour is about 9 mpg. Sound right?

Brake pads: $160 and last 10 hours?

Gearbox: if a weekend is 8 sessions (including Friday practice), at 25 minutes each, then 3.33 hours. That would be $333 of amortized gearbox cost for the weekend? Are you sure? That seems really high.

[mstephenson51]

Yeah, the stuff I didn't comment on was pretty close. I have been doing about 4-5 gallons per 30 min session, so 10/hr is about right.
Tires will last 20 heat cycles, but fall off about 7-8 cycles.
I think 2002 was the last new FM? Moses knows better, but there aren't any new ones I don't think. Years ago I think I was told a new FM was about $40k.
$6,000 engine rebuild I think is accurate.
$300 gearbox upkeep per weekend is a good average. What I hear is roughly 5-6 weekends and then replace 3-4 ratios and a couple dog rings; that should average about $300/weekend. Depends how easy on the shifting you are. some people get 2 weekends and some get 10 I bet.
Brake pads sound about right at $160/10 hrs.

Hope this helps, that is a really great spreadsheet! Great for pointing people towards a class. Might also add a column that says "development class" and have a Yes or No for if there are things you can develop (body, engine, etc). FM would be a no, everything is spec and a sealed motor. F500 would be a yes, since you can change a lot of stuff.

I added a column for "Purchase, used". Many people suggested that.

What was the last year you could buy a new FM? And what did it cost then?

Tires: 8 heat cycles?

Engine rebuild: $6,000 ?

Fuel consumption: 10 gal/hour? FM's have a lap speed of about 94 mph, so 10 gal/hour is about 9 mpg. Sound right?

Brake pads: $160 and last 10 hours?

Gearbox: if a weekend is 8 sessions (including Friday practice), at 25 minutes each, then 3.33 hours. That would be $333 of amortized gearbox cost for the weekend? Are you sure? That seems really high.

[mstephenson51]

You know, I may have opened a can of worms here.... I bet a lot of classes listed have costs that are not on there, like gearbox maint, clutch, whatever wears out on those classes. They are racecars afterall. There isn't a part on the car that doesn't need attention periodically. I tried to mention EVERYTHING that gets attention in a season, so I apologize if I skewed the numbers by doing that.

Again, anyone better informed than I am, please add to the discussion if I messed up.

[wannabe]

Yeah, the stuff I didn't comment on was pretty close. I have been doing about 4-5 gallons per 30 min session, so 10/hr is about right.
Tires will last 20 heat cycles, but fall off about 7-8 cycles.
I think 2002 was the last new FM? Moses knows better, but there aren't any new ones I don't think. Years ago I think I was told a new FM was about $40k.
$6,000 engine rebuild I think is accurate.
$300 gearbox upkeep per weekend is a good average. What I hear is roughly 5-6 weekends and then replace 3-4 ratios and a couple dog rings; that should average about $300/weekend. Depends how easy on the shifting you are. some people get 2 weekends and some get 10 I bet.
Brake pads sound about right at $160/10 hrs.

Hope this helps, that is a really great spreadsheet! Great for pointing people towards a class. Might also add a column that says "development class" and have a Yes or No for if there are things you can develop (body, engine, etc). FM would be a no, everything is spec and a sealed motor. F500 would be a yes, since you can change a lot of stuff.

Don't forget fuel cell replacement every 3-4 years, seatbelts, replacement of upright bearings and I'm sure I've forgotten some other stuff

[mstephenson51]

Yeah, but I would imagine everyone has about the same cost of fuel cell and (within reason) same cost on wheel bearings

Don't forget fuel cell replacement every 3-4 years, seatbelts, replacement of upright bearings and I'm sure I've forgotten some other stuff

[holmberg]

Yeah, but I would imagine everyone has about the same cost of fuel cell and (within reason) same cost on wheel bearings

Yes, exactly. We'd be here forever if we tried to document every cost, many of which are common to most classes. I'm just looking for things that are significantly different between classes, or that this class has that may be outside the average.

If you think that fuel cells, belts, or wheel bearings for FM are significantly more than other classes, then let me know.

[holmberg]

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