Annual Track Expenses

[Kdubski]

What are you guys spending on track days annually at a hobby level? Aside from day passes, tires, etc I'm surprised how much things add up and curious what everyone else spends (if they dare keep track).

[Estoril]

Mine is a dedicated track car. I approach it as the cost of doing business at the track. I want and need to the car to be reliable, so its up on the shop lift often. I don't wait for things to break. I am big on preventive maintenance, highest quality fluids and pads and I have my tire preferences. MSI studs are replaced every 18 months. Its just the cost of the activity. You can manage it a bit - like choosing tires with longer life. Its about choices.

[Wernd]

Jesus it's ugly!
Bought the car in 2022 with 59k miles on it for 34k, my Google sheet is currently over 105k, yes I'm well aware I'm an idiot! I just love the E46 platform too much (came from a ZHP)
I'm an instructor so schools range from 150-300 for the 3 days with a rare one that might be free.
I insure the car for 60k so there's another 400 for the weekend
Hotel is generally 100+/night
2 tanks of gas Friday, 1 sat, 1 sun
Oil and brakes are from fcp
Whatever travel expense as I don't do local events as my club in Iowa is dead. For instance 2 weeks from now I'll be at NCM with KYPCA

Is this what you're asking?

[Wernd]

I forgot to mention I do 6-7 3 day events each year.

I will double down on what Estoril said as it's great advice. Do preventative maintenance not reactionary...... When you break down just before your second session on a Saturday your cost skyrockets due to missed track time. Like he said, plugs, coils, wheel studs, front control arms should all be viewed as consumables that need replaced before they fail. I say control arms because I use curbs...... a LOT!

[samthejam]

Too much.

I do it on an absolutely shoestring budget.

So far I have been getting 2-3 events and 8k street miles out of my 200tw before they make daily driving a nightmare. So that alone is an easy $1200 every 2-3 events. If you have extra wheels, you could do it pretty cheap on scrubs but the inconsistenties from tires and hassle of flipping/finding a place to work on is mentally draining. As well as make it to difficult to learn if you are starting out.

Pads for PFCs are $700 for front and rear axle. So far pad wear has been reasonable besides COTA.

The CSL/Comp rotors are $500 for just the fronts. You can use stock m3 blanks to save some coin.

I do an oil change after every event, this you could also like do thru fcp euro. It isnt completely free because you have postage, I don’t do that.


Brake fluid flush, and other fluids should probably be changed once a year so add that in.

Keep in mind consumable cost will vary on how fast/hard you are on the car. For me those are the biggest consumables, and that’s assuming the car is already built.

So if you want to upgrades as you progress, the sky really is the limit as what you can spend on upgrades.


I instruct so entry fees are free, but if you traveling hotels add that cost and entry fees.

For me it is quite financially draining and a lot of weekends spent not spending time with my wife, prepping car, maintaining car or sourcing parts.
When I got my E46 it needed everything. It still needs a lot, I’m at about 14k nowish? In less than a year just building it for HPDE, maintenance and I have been keep track of tire cost. Can’t afford to take it to shop so I have to DIY everything. Also a lot of asking people to borrow workspaces or tools.

If you just want to do some events in novice or intermediate and are fine staying there, it can be very affordable. If you want to make your laptimer go to a low number, and are trying to “compete” (its a hpde so technically no competition) with much more modern cars with more tire and more hp. It can be very expensive.

If you want to do Time Trial or W2w that’s a different breed of expensive. Time trial isn’t too bad but tire cost will be a big one to stay competitive I believe

I don’t have an exact amount but it’s way more than my E28, but I outgrew my E28. Cracking strut housings, subframes and engines were becoming replacement items. Not to mention all the cracks in the unibody.

My hope is, it will be like my dad’s M3. When it is built it will just be consumable cost like tires, brakes gas and fluids. Whereas the E28 everything was becoming consumable.

If you find a car already built and sorted you’ll save a lot if you want a dedicated track car. Also assumes you have the time and space for a car like that to only be used.

If you just want to get started, do basic maintenance and get out there to see how you like it. Take it slow, have fun and ignore the timer.

[Nate047]

I don’t keep track of it because I’m not a masochist.

[Feffman]

I don’t keep track of it because I’m not a masochist.

I plead the 5th!

[George Hill]

Depends on how fast you want to go or I should say what you don't mind the limitation of the chassis being.

Not counting repairs/upgrades:

• Hawk brake pads - FCP
• "Blank" rotors - FCP
• Castrol SRF brake fluid - FCP
• Oil Change - FCP
• Hankook RS4s - last forever
• Swapping to different pads and tires has doubled, maybe tripled my operating costs but picked up generally 1-2+ sec per mile on track

I camp at the track whenever possible and bring my own food/drinks

I also have been instructing which brings my entry fees to $0. I've also found that when I instruct I also don't do as many laps in my car, further reducing my costs.

I tow my car because I don't want to worry about having to drive it home nor do I have to spend any time swapping it to track mode from street mode. I own my trailer and my truck is relatively fuel efficient for a tow rig (11mpg/87 oct).

I also bring my own fuel because I can buy it cheaper outside of the tracks.

And echoing above saving $20 (or whatever) on deferred maint that costs you a weekend just blows that savings out of the water.

[SQ13]

Fuel hasn’t been mentioned much. I go thru about 4 gal per 25-30 min session at COTA.

Annual cost isn’t helpful since we don’t know how often you track and your driving style.
NT01s last forever and can be run down to the cords. PFC08s last forever. Run the rotors til the cracks are too big. Oil change and SRF annually. Hotels usually free thanks to credit card rewards. These days, I’m not willing to bin my car and walk away from it, so I’ll be adding track insurance for any upcoming events.

[Nate047]

Depends on how fast you want to go or I should say what you don't mind the limitation of the chassis being.

Not counting repairs/upgrades:

• Hawk brake pads - FCP
• "Blank" rotors - FCP
• Castrol SRF brake fluid - FCP
• Oil Change - FCP
• Hankook RS4s - last forever
• Swapping to different pads and tires has doubled, maybe tripled my operating costs but picked up generally 1-2+ sec per mile on track

Which rotors are you using? I saw the price of the OE BMW comp pack rotors skyrocketed since the last time I bought them. Front left for example are up to $466.99 (today) vs $276.49 (my invoice from Feb 2023)

Curious how we are feeling about these SHW rotors, I don't know if those have the same or similar coating to the Zimmerman rotors, which some people have had complaints about.

And while we're at it, how are we feeling about that coating subject...?

https://www.core4motorsports.com/coatings-and-wheel-stud-failure

[George Hill]

Which rotors are you using?

Previously had 330 rotors/calipers (S54 powered) and used Zimmerman for a long time. Cracked one at the track and swapped to Textar, no issues with that one for years now. *Hawk DTC60s

When I switched to M3 brakes I put on Textar rotors and Race Magic pads. *Note I don't have dust shields, but I don't think that ultimately matters on my setup.

I ran lug bolts forever but just switched to Core4 press in studs (otherwise I'd still be running bolts).

[bigjae46]

Tires last for about 10 days
Brake pads about 12 days although just starting using Hawk DTC70s and the first set lasted 10 days.
Fuel - 8mpg on track
4x oil changes, 1x brake flush, 2x diff and trans oil changes
$80/mo trailer storage

My car is at about 2520lbs with no fuel or driver so consumables are about 25% lower that most based on when it was a dual purpose car. I've also found that while I drive the car as fast as I possibly can at all times on track, years of experience helps to reduce consumable costs.

For out of town, I figure about a $1000 weekend for travel + consumables. I trailer my car. I could cut travel costs by camping at the track or staying at a lower cost motel. F' that...I'd rather get a good night sleep.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that I usually get the track fees covered being an instructor.

[newton22]

Fuel hasn’t been mentioned much. I go thru about 4 gal per 25-30 min session at COTA.

Annual cost isn’t helpful since we don’t know how often you track and your driving style.
NT01s last forever and can be run down to the cords. PFC08s last forever. Run the rotors til the cracks are too big. Oil change and SRF annually. Hotels usually free thanks to credit card rewards. These days, I’m not willing to bin my car and walk away from it, so I’ll be adding track insurance for any upcoming events.

How many years do you figure NT01s last? I don't track my car enough (1-2 events a year) so my NT01s have plenty of life but they're early 2022 code. Full time garaged car.

[dreamdrivedrift]

About $1.2K / day - entry fee + insurance for 50K value is about $600, then tack on the gas, brakes, tires...

[bigjae46]

How many years do you figure NT01s last? I don't track my car enough (1-2 events a year) so my NT01s have plenty of life but they're early 2022 code. Full time garaged car.

2 years, 3 max. That's assuming storing the tires in climate control. So those 2022 NT01s are probably close to trash.

I just instructed a guy that spun on the out lap, went into the hot pit and the next lap spun again. Couldn't even finish a lap. Tires had a DOT of 2019...garage kept.