Looking at Chump Car...

Hey everyone.

I have been mulling over doing Chump Car for a while now. I think, considering my budget and whatnot, this may be the only way I can get into racing wheel to wheel. Thus, I think I am going to take the plunge. I am not sure if I can be ready for the last couple of events in Sonoma or Laguna Seca this year, but I can try.

I have found a couple of f-bodies nearby that might work, as well as a couple of Fieros (weird, but true). I have also seen an NX2000 and a couple of Subies as well.

What should I prioritize on a build aside from safety? Decent tires and brakes and making sure the thing runs well seem to be obvious. Should I look for a parts car to scavenge? What things caught you out that you were not expecting?

In addition, I am thinking of starting off with a car that is Chump/LeMons eligible, and then, time and budget allowing, move it up to different racing classes and/or time trials. Has anyone had any success doing this?

Thanks for the input, as always.

GS

What do you wanna do? Compete or just be on track? Choosing a car that is moderately quick and fuel efficient will help you be competitive. The bigger the car the more fuel, tires, and brakes it will consume thus driving up the cost of race weekend. Don't skimp on safety. We just finished our car and made it to our first race(have ran with other teams). Reliability is everything. Spares are a must. We bring tires, rotors, pads, hubs, belts, hoses, diffs, transmissions,radiators, fluids,etc. with us. So using a car that is easy to find parts for is a plus.

AIV is very important in Chump. Nobody wants to start a race a couple of laps down. Of the cars you listed, Subie's or the NX2000 is what I would run as long as you can get the value down. Neither might be the easiest to get parts for but they are out there.

As far as running in different classes, it's possible. I've seen quite a few E30's run with NASA/SCCA that also run chump. I would like to swap out our suspension and go run with NASA. Just need to see what class we would fall into and if we would be competitive.

Any way you decide to go you will have a blast.

As with any racing, buying an already built car can often be the cheapest route. One usually pays pennies on the dollar for what the car originally cost the builder. Chumpcar is no exception.

To build a safe, reliable car that is a mid-pack competitor will cost many times more than $500. Second bit of advice: if you do decide to build a car, go with what you already know. If you tinker with Subarus for instance, or have a garage full of spare parts, then usually it's best to build that kind of race car.

We have to tow ours great distances (think 1500 miles one way for some of the events), so we only do a few events a year. You have tons of other racing options in California, so building with an eye to the specs in other series probably is worthwhile since your budget for towing will not limit the number of weekends that you can compete like it does us. Unk577 is right; the lighter car really does use less tire, less brake, and less fuel.

Good luck!

My friends are running an NX2000 and just finished second at The Ridge race with it.

It's a Sentra SE-R with a more slick body and a factory LSD.

They bought it after watching the Sentra SE-R of Roque a squadron run away with several events and their Miata's were all but outlawed.

Thanks guys!

I will probably go the build route, even though it is more expensive. I am a tinkerer, and that is a lot of the fun for me. Being competitive is not the main goal anyway. I really just want to get out there and race.

I think an NX would be cool, but I am just not sure about the wrong-wheel drive. I'll take a closer look at what people are running in Chump and see what strikes my fancy.

rodrammage took the words out of my mouth. I'd start with whatever car you've got at least one spare motor sitting in the garage for. We have pretty much depleted our massive collective pile of 1st gen. CRX stuff in the last few years. Kinda sad, really.

NX2000 also did very well at our one chumpcar race in Alberta last year. It's kind of a cheater car almost, good aftermarket via Sentra SE-R, 140hp, fuel efficient, factory LSD, lightweight, etc.

I'd say another one to look at would be a 90's curvy body Escort. Or just stick with a Civic, they are pretty easy to dominate with if you don't need the hp's.

Chump and Lemons cars have crept up to the point that you will need a reliable 250+hp if you want to be in the top 10. Some of those cars are ridiculously fast for a crapcan series. Or for a top 20 finish, you can go out in just about anything that doesn't break.

Tyler H wrote: Chump and Lemons cars have crept up to the point that you will need a reliable 250+hp if you want to be in the top 10. Some of those cars are ridiculously fast for a crapcan series. Or for a top 20 finish, you can go out in just about anything that doesn't break.

Huh? Then why did Hong Norrth manage a 1st and 2nd place finish with their MX-3's at CMP last weekend? Surely you don't think they're pushing 250+hp out of their little FWD crap cans?

Most of winning Lemons is decent - but not great - lap times and clean, reliable, penalty-free laps. One error in a fast car immediately puts you out of contention. Sure 250+hp might let you make up one or two laps but when the winner is turning well over 300 laps that's not going to help a whole lot when you're out for a half hour due to a loose nut behind the wheel.

Chump is a little more HP focused. I would probably agree with you there.

dculberson wrote:

Tyler H wrote: Chump and Lemons cars have crept up to the point that you will need a reliable 250+hp if you want to be in the top 10. Some of those cars are ridiculously fast for a crapcan series. Or for a top 20 finish, you can go out in just about anything that doesn't break.

Huh? Then why did Hong Norrth manage a 1st and 2nd place finish with their MX-3's at CMP last weekend? Surely you don't think they're pushing 250+hp out of their little FWD crap cans? Most of winning Lemons is decent - but not great - lap times and clean, reliable, penalty-free laps. One error in a fast car immediately puts you out of contention. Sure 250+hp might let you make up one or two laps but when the winner is turning well over 300 laps that's not going to help a whole lot when you're out for a half hour due to a loose nut behind the wheel. Chump is a little more HP focused. I would probably agree with you there.

Wow. Beat me to the punch! Yeah, little over 100hp in the mx3's. A whopping 90 in the CRX, which has gotten 2nd fastest lap time at CMP. The MX-3's stay on the track the longest. It's how you win the race. And yes, we pass lots of V8's. I think it has a lot to do with that whole "exit speed" thing.

poopshovel wrote: Wow. Beat me to the punch! Yeah, little over 100hp in the mx3's. A whopping 90 in the CRX, which has gotten 2nd fastest lap time at CMP. The MX-3's stay on the track the longest. It's how you win the race. And yes, we pass lots of V8's. I think it has a lot to do with that whole "exit speed" thing.

You weren't at CMP were you? I checked with a couple of the Hongs there and they didn't know a poopshovel. At least they didn't think I was a total weirdo for asking them about "poopshovel."

There were dudes on both Kevin's and Mike's team whom I do not know. Maybe a whipping from the fuhrer is needed. I am the Imperial Grand Puba of Hong Norrth; or "Whitey" will do. Didn't run CMP this event. I'll be at Road ATL, either in the Hong Norrth or South car; maybe both!

Sebring was won by a NA 300z, 2nd was a Miata. The Z led most of the race but a couple of miatas and a 944 were right there all day. No 250hp needed

just got back from Sebring Chumpcar and did take note of what seemed to be a few $500? ex- SCCA Improved Touring cars and a certain Civic that was later admitted to have a type R motor? But yeah at the end of the day the most laps wins regardless of HP.

Chump's rules are pretty flexible on the $500 part. All you have to do is find several other ads for the same make/model around the country for $500 or less, and that is enough, regardless of the actual car you have. You then get to refresh the whole thing with "stock" parts and you are still considered to have a "$500" car.

Lemons sticks closer to the cheap car theme, but it is done more by the basic feel of the car, so if you want to race a 1978 Cadillac Seville, you will have far more leeway than trying to pass an E36.

Yup, Chump values the cars without the "free" equipment. Basically, if you stripped all of the allowed changes off the car and plopped it on CL, what would you get for it? Can you prove that? Good. No penalties for you then. If not, then you get some bonus laps. Obviously if you cheat completely and get caught? Well, you're DQ'd.

So a worn out IT car without the cage, safety gears, brakes is worth what exactly? Especially when you think about the limits of modifications allowed in IT.

Also Chump allows IT and Spec-Miata's run with them in their own class, without official scoring.

I suspect that Type-R Civic received some penalty laps and if not, they certainly will next time they show up.

At the end of the day, they want people to be on the track, having fun, mixing it up for as little cash outlay as possible. Check the ego at the door and race. If you can't control your ego, well there are plenty of other racing series to participate in.

BTW, a prime example was the team that showed up with a Chevette that was drug out of a field with a cage tossed in it. They were dangerously slow. However, John, the founder of ChumpCar said that was exactly what he had in mind for ChumpCar. Complete Crap-Cans out there being driven like rental cars by drivers who all have huge smiles on their faces while doing it. The Chevette guys had a blast and after the race, they pulled the now blown stock motor and put in a V6 and repaired some of the broken suspension, just as they should.

Does anyone have any stock shocks/springs for an ex beat to piss World Challenge Honda Prelude?

I heard from a friend who preps a succesful car that the car may look $ 500 but is pure race car underneath..

Also, I heard that there is a well sorted Lincoln for sale.