Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » letting some one else race your car.... 1 2 3

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  March 17, 2011 8:56 p.m. EricM Dork

  How well do you have to know them?

  H Stock locally is very competitive, lots of cars and drivers. Some of them even have done well at the national level.

  Turns out that our first autocross of the season will have EVERYONE there. As such, people from other less populated classes are wanting in on the action. I happen to have a (locally) competitive HS car, not me driving, but another drive has gotten FTD-i in this car.

  So, I have been asked by a couple people to whore out the car.

  How well do you gotta know some one to let them drive your car? In the past I have only allowed very close friends drive any of my cars.

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  March 17, 2011 9:40 p.m. aussiesmg SuperDork

  It's up to you, while it can be generous, if they over rev it and break something, who pays.

  I would limit it to those you know enough to trust...just my .02c

  Cornering is like bringing a woman to climax. Jackie Stewart

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  March 17, 2011 9:46 p.m. unevolved Dork

  My roommate has as much seat time in my car as I do, if not more. It all comes down to how well you trust them to do the right thing if the car breaks.

  Texas A&M Racing

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  March 17, 2011 9:55 p.m. mtn SuperDork

  I'll refrain from saying much because I probably know most of the people you are talking about. (Don't worry, I won't cross post anything. I'm not that dumb).

  How much do you trust them, can they afford to fix it, can they fix it themselves, who else has let them co-drive, if the car breaks can you live without it for so long, etc.

  I've had people I barely know (at that time) let me co-drive in anything from a beater civic to a Trans Am to a Z3 to a 350Z; you just have to make sure you both know what the deal is if something goes wrong.
  

  The only reason that I'm not offering one to some is that my brake pads are getting thin, and they need to last me at least until the beginning of summer. I shouldn't have any issues with it, but I'd rather not speed up the process more than I am.

  Anytime somebody tells you that vodka mixes well with anything, slide them a jar of mayonnaise and tell them to practice what they preach.

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  March 17, 2011 10:05 p.m. moxnix Reader

  When I first started out I was a little more picky about people driving my car but as I have gotten into it more and gotten to know people and more about my car I have gotten less picky.

  Some cars I have no problems letting people drive. I have let lots of people drive my STS miata and there are many more people that I would let drive it if they asked or if they needed a ride. I even offered it to some friends to drive this year without me since I am driving one of my other cars.

  My RallyX RX-7 will have 3-4 drivers at every event this year.

  But it is your car and your comfort level so if you don't feel comfortable letting them drive it don't let them.

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  March 18, 2011 6:54 a.m. ZOO SuperDork

  My rule for my Miata is this: if you ask me, you can drive it. But, I'd expect "sharesies" if you have something I wish to drive. And I'd better really like you if you drag a brand new tires 50 metres into a stop box because your car has ABS, and mine doesn't.

  I'm marginally more selective in the BMW -- simply because it is a bit more of handful if you don't know about RWD and power.
  

  Sharing your ride focuses on the grassroots aspect of the course, and really helps build community. I've learned a ton, too, by having fast drivers drive my car, and watching their lines and what they do.

  I'm usually in the passenger seat, for that very reason (and to slow them down a bit if I'm worried they will show me up

  1990 Miata, 1998 M3, Locost in progress

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  March 18, 2011 7:34 a.m. nocones HalfDork

  Easy solution.. Just let me drive it!

  I'm fast, I've driven the bug, and I've routinely taken other peoples cars and flogged them with 0 breakage!

  Its a fine line. I usually want to ride with the person once to let me see how they drive. I've had tons of people let me drive cars some of them I barely knew, and when my MG is done I intend to return the favor to some of them and to "pay it forward" to get some people addicted.

  I'll be there next weeked in the Miata so I don't need a ride but I'm letting Joe S. drive my miata.

  Daniel

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  March 18, 2011 7:46 a.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

  Depends on the car for me...

  On a general level, i don't really let ANYONE drive the MX6, because well... it's not easy to drive, at all.

  On a competition level, i'll be letting people drive the Escort. It's important to me to get the impressions and suggestions for improvement of the car from those that have more experience than myself.

  But, regionally, it's a somewhat close-knit group. I know most of the people that would be interested in hooning my car have far nicer cars themselves, and respect each other's property. Plus... on my particular car, the worst they could really do is blow a motor ($500 at most to replace), cook brakes (cheap), or flat spot a tire. (Also cheap) If they were to manage to roll it, i'd be more concerned about their safety and well-being than my property.

  Besides... i've been allowed and even INVITED to "beat the living E36 M3 out of this car, it's how you go fast" from other people. Seems only fair that i reciprocate.

  To me, the main deciding factor is how high-strung/fragile the car in question is. Sounds like your car is stock. I'd say, let 'em go for it, unless you KNOW that they're a ham-fisted maniac.

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  March 18, 2011 7:52 a.m. ZOO SuperDork

  I should add that in our club a few years back a "co-drive" went horribly wrong; the car ended up jumping the curb and caused significant and expensive damage -- but the driver immediately owned up and was good for the repairs.

  1990 Miata, 1998 M3, Locost in progress

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  March 18, 2011 8:01 a.m. Slyp_Dawg HalfDork

  your car, your call, if you know they are a good driver or can be trusted to do everything they can to replace anything they break (or at least help with the cost or help with actually replacing the part/parts) and it's not a car you depend on day-to-day, I say go for it, but, it's not my car so I'm not really qualified to say

  "We are on the cutting edge of cocking about" Richard Hammond

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  March 18, 2011 8:13 a.m. z31maniac SuperDork

  If you can't afford to fix it, you can't afford to drive it.

  That's how I approach any drive, much less something like that.

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  March 18, 2011 8:19 a.m. mtn SuperDork

  nocones wrote: I'll be there next weeked in the Miata so I don't need a ride but I'm letting Joe S. drive my miata. Daniel

  (Assuming you are talking about Rantoul) What class are you running, and will you be there Saturday?

  Anytime somebody tells you that vodka mixes well with anything, slide them a jar of mayonnaise and tell them to practice what they preach.

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  March 18, 2011 8:29 a.m. EricM Dork

  nocones wrote: Easy solution.. Just let me drive it! Daniel

  Actually you were one of the "close friends" that was the exception I stated earlier. you, Pete/Pete, Joe S, etc...

  1991 Audi 90 Quattro 20V

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  March 18, 2011 8:34 a.m. EricM Dork

  Oh, and for the record,

  I have driven Petegossette's VW Jetta at an rallycross and broke the CV joint

  I have also seen a "very good driver" spin and back a Z51 Corvette into a fence. He took care of all the repairs.

  1991 Audi 90 Quattro 20V

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  March 18, 2011 8:49 a.m. DILYSI Dave SuperDork

  For a while, I would let anyone drive my car.
  

  At this point, I'm still pretty generous with it, but 1) it's pretty berkeleying fast - I want someone experienced enough that they know what to do when E36 M3 goes bad, and 2) it's kind of expensive to operate on a per-run basis. I figured up that between tire wear, fuel, engine wear, etc., it costs somewhere north of $30 per run to operate my car. So generally, I now only offer it up to people who I can learn something from, or who can offset the costs, or both.

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  March 18, 2011 8:57 a.m. mtn SuperDork

  DILYSI Dave wrote: For a while, I would let anyone drive my car. At this point, I'm still pretty generous with it, but 1) it's pretty berkeleying fast - I want someone experienced enough that they know what to do when E36 M3 goes bad, and 2) it's kind of expensive to operate on a per-run basis. I figured up that between tire wear, fuel, engine wear, etc., it costs somewhere north of $30 per run to operate my car. So generally, I now only offer it up to people who I can learn something from, or who can offset the costs, or both.

  $30 per run?
  

  How many runs do you get out of a set of tires?

  Anytime somebody tells you that vodka mixes well with anything, slide them a jar of mayonnaise and tell them to practice what they preach.

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  March 18, 2011 8:59 a.m. 914Driver SuperDork

  I let a friend drive my SAAB 96 once while ice racing; I've never seen him drive before. I was pissed, he couldn't out run or out drive the competition so he just blocked. I spent some time running around apologizing to friends and explaining it wasn't me driving.

  Never again.

  BMW -- You don't need a hibachi to cook rice.

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  March 18, 2011 9:08 a.m. dculberson Reader

  Coming from a Lemons perspective, it's a lot different for me. I would let any non-idiot drive my car, but I would expect a trade, session for session, and they better have something I want to drive! Of course, given my bizarre vehicle tastes, that's not hard.

  DILYSI Dave wrote: I figured up that between tire wear, fuel, engine wear, etc., it costs somewhere north of $30 per run to operate my car.

  Yowza!!

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  March 18, 2011 9:10 a.m. DILYSI Dave SuperDork

  mtn wrote:

  DILYSI Dave wrote: For a while, I would let anyone drive my car. At this point, I'm still pretty generous with it, but 1) it's pretty berkeleying fast - I want someone experienced enough that they know what to do when E36 M3 goes bad, and 2) it's kind of expensive to operate on a per-run basis. I figured up that between tire wear, fuel, engine wear, etc., it costs somewhere north of $30 per run to operate my car. So generally, I now only offer it up to people who I can learn something from, or who can offset the costs, or both.

  $30 per run?
  

  How many runs do you get out of a set of tires?

  I can squeeze 80 runs out of a pair of fronts, but they are pretty much "done" by run 60. At $600 per pair, that's $10 per run just on the front tires. Rear tires are better - I get a whole season out of them. Call it $5 per run. The last time the engine went boom was $3,000, and I figured out that I had gotten about 400 runs out of it. So $7.50 per run. I drop $500 give or take on random maintenance throughout the year (wheel bearings, ball joints, fixing random broken E36 M3, etc.) and put that in at $5/run. Fuel for the car is ~$2.50 a run. So that's $30 / run without talking about entry fees, upgrades, transporting the car, replacement costs for stuff outside of tires and engine, etc.

  Tires are definitely the biggest expense on the car itself, and fortunately the car is fast enough that I win about half of the tires I use, so that helps a lot.

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  March 18, 2011 9:13 a.m. Ian F SuperDork

  I think it depends on the situation... the car.. who's asking...

  The main thing that would hold me back from offering the MINI is the fact that it's half not mine as well as still being paid for. But like the OP, we have a number of very competent (Nationals winning) MINI drivers in our region and if one of them asked, I wouldn't say no.

  The TDI - No. That engine is so not condusive to auto-x driving that I wouldn't feel all that comfortable with anyone driving it. There's just too much shifting involved in order to get that car to go fast, which equals a lot of opportunities for expensive mis-shifts.
  

  The E30 - Probably... Once it's set up and has tires not made of concrete and I can put the TMS chip in it. As it currently sits, it's not a fun car to auto-x.

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  March 18, 2011 9:19 a.m. loosecannon New Reader

  I have had bad experiences with letting others drive my car. One guy accidently shifted into reverse on course and another went off the pavement in my freshly detailed Boxster and I'm still cleaning the dust out of the interior. A guy in our club let an experienced driver run his Camaro, who promptly went off, slid across gravel into a cement planter, caving the drivers side door in. The offending driver never even offered to pay for damages. As an owner of a kart track where I am letting others drive my stuff all day long, I'm telling you that people do stupid things and almost never own up to it, they will always blame the equipment for their crash.

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  March 18, 2011 9:21 a.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

  I destroyed a tire on a car i was co-driving this past season after a camber bolt let go.

  I bought another tire.

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  March 18, 2011 9:25 a.m. DILYSI Dave SuperDork

  92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I destroyed a tire on a car i was co-driving this past season after a camber bolt let go. I bought another tire.

  I borrowed a buddies wheels and tires because I wanted to see if I liked those tires. A wheel let go while they were on my car. 3 piece wheel and the inner rim shell started tearing away. The rims probably had thousands of runs on them, but they finally failed while I was using them.

  I bought him a new rim shell.

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  March 18, 2011 9:34 a.m. Bobzilla Dork

  Me.... I like to spread the wealth. I'm not picky about who drives my stuff. To me, it's an honor that someone would want to push my car to the limit.
  

  But then again, I'm a bit wierd.

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  March 18, 2011 9:42 a.m. 92CelicaHalfTrac SuperDork

  Bobzilla wrote: Me.... I like to spread the wealth. I'm not picky about who drives my stuff. To me, it's an honor that someone would want to push my car to the limit. But then again, I'm a bit wierd.

  Everyone wants a ride on/in Barbie The Plastic Pig.

  Wow. That came out REAL weird.

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