Prep time (hours)

[JBlock]

Typically, how many hours a week do get to devote to the car (or yourself, workout etc.) each week, now that the season is going?

[TimH]

Typically, how many hours a week do get to devote to the car (or yourself, workout etc.) each week, now that the season is going?

A couple.

[racerdad2]

Not nearly enough !

[2BWise]

Easily 20 hours a week and that's purely time spent in the garage. If you include workouts (tailored for the efforts required in the car) then that is another 10. So, generally 30 hours a week go into preparation for racing. Too bad I don't get paid for these hours. Then I could really afford to go fast.

[kea]

It depends on your abilities, equipment, knowledge and class/type of vehicle.
Some spend little, some spend more (that goes for time or money).

[Neil_Roberts]

15% more than you have.

[brownslane]

Four to One. It takes four hours of prep time on the car for every hour it is driven. Of course, that does not include fabbing new parts or crash damage.

Years ago John Graham Sr. had a space in our condo race shop. All he EVER did on his Crossle was change the oil, put air in the tires and pressure-washed the car after each race.... Literally. Never did another thing. He never blew up, had a failure on-track. He did that for five years that he was in our shop. Boy, Crossle 32's are robust!

T

[rmccown]

At least twice as many as you have your car on track.

[Brian]

I always figured between 4 and 8 hours. I like to put the car up on stands, take as much bodywork off as is reasonable and clean the chassis by hand so I can inspect for cracking. Same with suspension, bellhousing, nut-and-bolt it, etc. I don't change the oil that often but obviously fluid checks, valve lash, etc. If it's a car that needs it, it gets scaled and the setup checked. If something broke, it goes up from there.

Brian

[JBlock]

Looks like the trend is no-trend, lol. A lot, next to none, (or my condition) more hours than available. So, maybe the better question is “how many hours would you devote to going faster?”

[kea]

What scca class are you in ?

[stonebridge20]

People come in my shop all the time and ask how long it takes to get a car ready for a race. My answer is always the same, "It takes the exact amount of hours you have"

[brownslane]

People come in my shop all the time and ask how long it takes to get a car ready for a race. My answer is always the same, "It takes the exact amount of hours you have"

Which, usually, is about 110% of the time you thought you had available!

I ascribe to the Jim Hall approach; everything done on Wednesday night if you leave on Friday. Includes all cleaned, fueled, buttoned up, weights checked and initial suspension settings on the car. Log book filled out and the tuning plan created. I am always amazed how many times I have done the above only to find a bad fuel pump, coil, kill switch (you know the deal) that happens when we try to fire the car at the track; if we had not done all the other prep work we would NEVER have been ready for first out....

I like to be one of the first guys on the grid as well for each session, ready and waiting. Lowers the stress, also gives me maximum time for tuning.

[Daryl DeArman]

I can't believe how many people unload their car with stuff still on the "checklist" especially when they are doing 6-8 weekends a year.

FV was the lowest prep time:track time and it was about a 2:1 ratio for me. Change oil, nut and bolt, adjust brakes, set valve lash, clean and go.---funny about the same routine between sessions too.

EProd was probably on the order of 4:1 as the car was more difficult to service, scale, align. Motor required more attention, more interior to clean. Brakes and bearings required more attention.

FF was in the middle, probably more towards the FV scale. More maintenance required but easier.

Racing roundy-round we had a 22 race season between Easter and Thanksgiving. Had to work on it all-the-time. But then there was a crew of 3+driver to prep. That was demanding---don't know how the WoO guys do it.

As far as my personal prep----mentally I tend to stay focussed at the track. I enjoy socializing but no alchohol, plenty of sleep, not thrashing on the car 30minutes before the call to grid, etc. Always ready to help someone else thrash at the last minute, but that's their stress not mine. Physically; I bike about 2 hours every other day---but that's me trying to get back into racing shape. I haven't raced since 2006 and youngest is off to college in a year so I see myself back in a car of some sort soon.

[chrisw52]

Typically, how many hours a week do get to devote to the car (or yourself, workout etc.) each week, now that the season is going?

So far, 4 weekends, non-stop, in a row...


trying to repair some damage from a missed shift.

[Daryl DeArman]

--duplicate

[Neil_Roberts]

I ascribe to the Jim Hall approach; everything done on Wednesday night if you leave on Friday.

I worked for Jim Hall for 4 years, and that's exactly his approach. It was a bit of a surprise to me that the cars were only fully assembled when they were on the track, or in the trailer. The rest of the time, they were exploded into a zillion pieces, getting worked on in fine detail. In those 4 years, we scored the highest number of race laps completed every year. We also led the field in practice laps completed at Indy every year.

A long time ago, I did some volunteering for a minor league circle track racer who would let his car gather dust until the night before the next race, then work on it all night, load in the dark, tow to the track, and race on no sleep. His results were predictable, but he never learned.

My definition of common sense is learning from your own mistakes.
My definition of intelligence is learning from other people's mistakes.

I know a lot of people who have one but not the other.

Few amateur racers approach the motorsports challenge as an all-encompassing program. Most racers learn to execute the tactics, but few consider that tactics flow from strategy, and strategy flows from principles. Those are the elements of a successful program, whether it's motorsports or any other endeavor.

[Neil_Roberts]

That was demanding---don't know how the WoO guys do it.

WoO cars look like they do because they have to be easy enough to be able to assemble a whole car in a few hours. They race for money every night somewhere, so missing a race due to crash damage is just not an option.

[brownslane]

[QUOTE=Neil_Roberts;394061]It was a bit of a surprise to me that the cars were only fully assembled when they were on the track, or in the trailer. The rest of the time, they were exploded into a zillion pieces, getting worked on in fine detail.


Neil, when I was younger I would bring my dates and friends up to the shop to see my race car. They were always shocked to see the car on stands, all stripped, in a thousand pieces. They couldn't understand the correlation between disassembled and ready to race.

If you did not clean it, oil it, paint it or wash it, then it is not prepared for racing.

I once lost a RR lower trailing arm rod end at the top of 2 at Mosport, with the predictable results. All 4 corners off, front and rear wings, bodywork etc. A trip to the hospital after BIG marks on my helmet.....perhaps if I had cleaned the rod end before that session I might have found the crack.....lesson learned!

I rebuild a corner each weekend while at the track. That way I have a complete new chassis every 4 weekends. I also nut and bolt the car before each session. I use a LOT of Wd-40. Not good for much else than cleaning the suspension and aero tracing. But it does a great job of that.

BTW, keep WD-40 away from anything electrical. Once the volatiles evaporate, much of what is left s sulfur....mix sulfur and water and you get H2SO4. Sulfuric acid. Bad for electrical. Banned by FAA for that reason.

Years ago my wife and I went HSR racing with friends in their vintage car. Between sessions Lou (my wife) and I were buried in the car, cleaning, wiping down, nut and bolting. Our friends actually asked us what we were doing......they could not believe we would spend that much time on the race car when you could eat and socialize instead.......

Best, Tom

[Camadella]

Wow, those are what I consider to be some low estimates.

I always figured I had to spend 10 to 20 hours working on the car for every hour I raced it (in F2000) - but maybe I'm a slow mechanic!

[Daryl DeArman]

Wow, those are what I consider to be some low estimates.

I always figured I had to spend 10 to 20 hours working on the car for every hour I raced it (in F2000) - but maybe I'm a slow mechanic!

Access, simplicity, and lots of track time per weekend skew the numbers.

[Purple Frog]

From the time i back up to the shop at the end of a weekend, to when I pull out to go to the next weekend, there always seemed to be over 25 hours spent on car, etc. Many times it was more.

[racerdad2]

I know this... Starting this at age 60 (still thinking I'm 16) EVERTHING is taking longer... IF my speed of prepping the car is directly proportional to my lap times, They'll need a calendar instead stop watch

[924RACR]

LOL... you guys are so lucky...

My wife and I agree, having come independently to the same conclusion that I've over 100 hrs/hr on track...

If that doesn't sound like fun - don't build your own car (especially bodywork)!!

[DK540]

Excellent reading for a newbie (me). Thanks for a good discussion!

David

[beachguy12]

I refuse to reply cause my wife may read this.

[gord leach]

I refuse to reply cause my wife may read this.

Uuummmm....... I have a fold out Futon bed in the Garage, trust Me it is a good thing.

She knows where I am all the time, work or garage. Granted she does b!tch about the stereo on 11 sometimes.

[DanW]

Minimum 25 hours between events if I don't break anything.

I start and keep a "Whine List" of problems I encounter at every event. This becomes the corrective/improvement task list added to the normal maintenance.