That's some $$. Is Rich "Uncle" Pennybags sponsoring? If so, I'll woman up too

 

That's some $$. Is Rich "Uncle" Pennybags sponsoring? If so, I'll woman up too
[/quote]
If it's you, then I'm sure you have to blow him first.

Speed costs money. How fast ya wanna go?

Yes, the four day school costs more than a one or two day. That's just kind of how that works. But if you want to do it, then you pay the price for admission. I have never regretted for a moment a single cent of my hard earned money which I spent on that trip to Bondurant's school. Best damn four days with cars ever.

 

I'm in a similar situation - I want to go on track, but I am not comfortable doing so. You are one step ahead of me in that in that you have already taken the S out.

I am not comfortable on a track without the following as a minimum: roll bar (with a diagonal), seat and harnesses. Just take a look at this video: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMmjaaSQP08[/media].

This is a rare scenario, but I would not take chances and compromise on safety. I don't plan on tearing up the S to make that possible. Instead, I'm considering first to co-drive with someone who has a Miata with the safety gear I mentioned above. I'd pay their entry fee and split other expenses (a total of $400-500). Down the road, I may also get a Miata for track use. This way if I do lose a car, I'd much rather replace a car that's worth $5K than my AP2 that's worth $20K.

That said, I would recommend going to HPDEs (PCA, BMW CCA, etc.). This is a cost effective way to get seat time with instructors while driving your car or co-driving with someone. You can also ask other experienced drivers (ideally with S2000's) for ride alongs - This will help you determine the best line, how to handle certain turns/scenarios, etc.

If you take your car out, consider getting track insurance. It's worth the peace of mind if anything happens (hope not!), it also won't show up on your driving record.

 

This video convinced me to buy a halo'ed seat, since I already had a bar.

 

Comments on roll bars, safety gear and insurance.

It always pays to have the additional safety gear. For most people who'd pass a broom stick test you're in the 'safe' zone on the S2000. It also has far stronger pillars then most soft tops. I recall when Honda tested it, it got a 4 star on roll over. If memory serves me the highest roll over rating of any convertible on the market.

Unless you have a roll bar it's not a good idea to come off the stock seatbealt. Keeping the stock belt allows you to move out of the way and move around when in a roll over. A 5 point will keep you in place.

The track day insurance is expensive. Last time I checked it was $250 day. My car worth just $15k, paid off and a toy would have to be seriously damaged for that rate of insurance to pay. If you do 6 track days/year you will pay $1,500 in one day insurance. You also have to factor in the detectable. Which for the policy I looked at I think was about $5,000. $250 insurance for a 6 session 20min/session is expensive.

 

Quick google search finds cheaper insurance here http://www.motorsportreg.com/index.c.../hpdeinsurance

Whatever you do not call your insurance company about coverage. You're most likely to be dropped.

 

If insurance is important for your situation , review your policy. The events that I attend, PCA, are all Driver Education events and are not timed! Driving education events do not void your coverage with our insurance company, I checked and was NOT dropped! The issue is a timed event. Travelers is our group.

The most recent track policy went from single event coverage to 3 event minimum......shop around and you can find coverage for a single event.

PCA events held at Barber are two day with instructor for $450.00! Excellent track without the extreme speed that other tracks challenge new drivers with, As Dave has mentioned, Little Tally is a great track to get started on.

 

A lot of those loopholes are now closed and have statements to the effect of racing in any organized track, private or public. They've removed the requirement to be time in most cases.

If your travelers policy statement doesn't have such language you're golden. From what I've read you'll get your car fixed and then you'll be dropped. With an at fault on your insurance record. I think this might be the one main upside to driving someone else's car.

Might be worth removing your plate from now on.

 

BMWCCA won't allow convertibles unless they are fully caged. Not roll bars, caged.

I would love to run some of the BMW DEs, but won;t do that to a street car.

You should have a number of local orgs that do DEs. Here in DFW we have Apex and The Driver's Edge as the larger ones. Many other TX tracks have their own DE or open track days( with instructors).

Look around and you should find a number or them, then you ask around on which are good and which are not.

 

i'm on the exact same boat. I used to track my DC2 integra frequently, but that's because KBB was only around $5k. If it was a loss, it would still suck, but not as big a deal as losing my Ap2 which is worth $20K+

I've had so many people try to nudge me to track my s2000 but really, it's not worth the risk to me until it's much older and worth much less. I did it once, just to get it out of my system and see what it's like in the S2K, but that was it. When I can afford it again, i'd like to purchase a cheaper car so I can track in peace without worries! Many people say, eh, just go 5/10, you don't have to go 10/10 on the track. While this is true, for me, I don't have fun unless i'm really trying (at least 8/10).