I had thought in the begining That tires would be the big expense. I quickly
found
out that its not. Travel is without a doubt the most expensive part of the
deal. You are correct that alot of people don't want to know what it really
costs(AutoX). However most of us are not the type who would stay home and
watch TV all summer either. We(or a least I) would have to find something
exciting
to do. And it most likely would involve the internal combustion engine. Jet
skis,airplanes,dirt bikes,boats or something. Kinda sounds like we just came
back to spending money doesn't it. The point is if we didn't do this(AutoX)
most of us would be doing something else like it.
Mike B. TLS#1
rjohnson@friendlynet.com wrote:
> You know, I think that Mari has hit on a novel approach for this forum
> - facts and figures rather than guessing and opinion. Perhaps it will
> catch on! (But likely not. Dredging up facts is a lot harder than simply
> banging a few keys.)
>
> Observations:
>
> 1.) A number of posts lately have claimed that this sport is, or
> should be, cheap and inexpensive. Sorry - the facts are that this hobby
> is not. You probably don't want to choose Solo with a minimum wage job.
> Or try to pay for tires with food stamps. Try polo instead.
> 2.) A number of posts lately have advocated either "Street" or "R"
> tires as least expensive. Most of us think that, given either approach,
> tires are by far the largest part of our budgets. The facts show that
> they are not.
> 3.) I am continually amazed at the low rates negotiated in some of
> the "business deals" for paying co-drivers. Inevitably, the $$ doesn't
> begin
> to cover the owner's costs. A fair rental rate would need to be in the
> low three figures/day to accomplish that. And would still not cover the
> total costs of presenting the car at the start line.
>
> Notes:
>
> I have always tracked closely my autocross expenses. It's just part
> of my anal nature. Since my Team 'Net friends got me slightly past
> computer illiterate a few years ago, this task is pretty easy!
> Let me present the picture - averaged over the 1997 and 1998 seasons,
> to smooth any extraordinary expenses.
>
> In 1998, I ran 24 events. 4 Pros, 0 Tours, the entire BFG CenDiv
> Series, the Solo II and Corvette Club Nationals, and one test 'n tune.
> There were 37 event days, and 30 travel/down days. I made a total of
> 192 runs. I travelled 13,469 miles, using 1363 gallons of #2.
>
> Expenses related to the tow vehicle 31.7% of
> the total
> Expenses related to the trailer 22.1%
> Dues & entries
> 7.8%
> Meals (average $20.02/day)
> 8.0%
> Lodging (Stay in the trailer)
> -0-
> Interest
> -0-
> Misc.
> 1.6%
> Expenses related to the a-x vehicle 28.8%
>
> Breaking out the vehicle expenses:
> Depreciation 8.4% of the total
> Parts/Maintenance 8.1%
> Tires 6.4%
> Insurance 3.8%
> Fuel 1.9%
> Tags .2%
> Total 28.8%
>
> Hence tires, at 6.4% of my total autocross costs, represent a smaller
> expense than entries, food, depreciation, or parts & maintenance!
>
> These figures do all include depreciation (tow vehicle 7yrs, trailer
> 10 years, car 15 years) but no interest. Mine are all old and paid for
> - but for many of us, interest would be the number one expense!! Number
> two for a National program would be lodging. In these cases, tires
> would be an even smaller part of the total.
>
> And IMO, running a local program instead of Nationally only changes
> the scale - not the relative values. If you don't tow or trailer, most
> of those costs are simply re-allocated elsewhere.
> Many competitors I've talked with really don't WANT to know what this
> costs them. . . .
>
> Roger (Ohio) Johnson
>
> to: int:autox@autox.team.net
> cc: rjohnson
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