Thoughts on Camaro Mustang Challenge?

Here in Texas this series appears to be pretty strong.

Anyone here consider joining a race series, including this one? If so, could you share your thoughts on the pros and cons of this series as opposed to SM, S944, SE30 and others that I may be overlooking? I have no W2W racing experience.

I have consulted the guys over at camaromustangchallenge.com as well. They're all pretty bullish on the series, as you might imagine.

Thank you. I'm within a few weeks of making a decision on which series to target. My aim is to take the rest of this year to get prepped for next racing season with a goal of competing in most/all of the events next year.

based on what i see around here, se30 seems to be the cheapest to get into for wearable items. CMC is good too, especially for first cost since camaros and mustangs are pretty plentiful, but the cars are heavier so tires and brakes wear out faster. se 30's also usually run in the same race heats as miatas and hondas so the whole group speeds are more similar. CMC cars run with AI and GT so there are some VERY fast cars out there and speeds seem to vary more car to car. for a first time wheel to wheel racer this disparity in speeds may be more challenging.

just my .02

If you are serious about CMC I do know a guy who was desperatley trying to sell his CMC Camaro due to leaving racing. It was a good runner for him in the series, if you want to consider buying a built car hit me up with a PM and I can get you the info if it is still on the market. (not mine no promises and such)

I do agree spec E30 seems to be a pretty hot ticket right now and they look to be having alot of fun, so take it for what it is. The cars are plentiful pretty cheap to build and maintain for race cars.

CMC has decent sized fields in SE but it is not as large as SE30. It really depends on what you like to drive and wrench on as to what series you wan to run in. CMC offer easy parts purchase at any local parts store.

Working on a CMC2 (3rd Gen) Camaro now, its been a process, but the competitors couldn't have been more forthcoming with guidance and friendship.

Talk to your local group

http://www.nasaproracing.com/aboutnasa/regions.html

This forum is pretty active

http://www.camaromustangchallenge.com/forum/

I like the cars are sort of like Nascars of old, the spending is very controlled and the people are fun (at least in my region)

Steve

I am super eager to race in CMC. I don't have a car, a budget, or a plan, but I want to do it. Then graduate to AI and then AIX.

itsarebuild wrote: the cars are heavier so tires and brakes wear out faster.

Don't dismiss this difference. For a first time racer, this is a huge difference in your running costs. Price the tires and understand you'll need two sets minimum (dry and rain). A third set for when the drys wear out is a good idea. Brake pads and rotors will need annual replacement at a minimum. Clutches in the V8 cars will need more frequent replacement. And oh yeah, then there's the fuel...I race Spec E30 and I've been a little taken aback by the costs just running a cheap car.

Anyone developed a race budget for this series? How long does an $800 set of tires last, how often do you need to replace $200 x 2 brake pads, etc?

Not looking for precise numbers; just a ballpark. Do they last 2 races or 8. That kind of thing.

From advice given, two sets of tires can last a season although to be at the pointy end you need more. I have 2 sets of rims for mine plus a spare in case of flat spotting.

One set of pads should last a season, momentum class as the cars are heavy but relatively underpowered.

Fuel is fuel, depends how long it is at wide open.

Most people run stock clutches and they last a few seasons, I have a button eBay special the same as on the Challenge truck which has over 500hp and holds fine.

I use 4th gen front brakes for the cheap rotors, cheap larger calipers. Modified using 1LE hubs (turn rotors down) for $ savings.

If you can find a caged shell like I did it is a very inexpensive class.

Spec tires, spec carb, spec intake, spec cam, spec hp, spec torque, spec weight, etc etc

Starting with the February 2009 issue of Hot Rod and running about 6 issues IIRC, they built a 1984 Mustang GT for CMC duty. It was a really interesting series, and I know I have them all somewhere, I am sure I could scan them for any interested parties.

^ Please!!

Maroon92 wrote: Starting with the February 2009 issue of Hot Rod and running about 6 issues IIRC, they built a 1984 Mustang GT for CMC duty. It was a really interesting series, and I know I have them all somewhere, I am sure I could scan them for any interested parties.

Looks like they're online.

Part 1: http://www.hotrod.com/projectbuild/113_0502_1984_mustang_gt/index.html

Part 2:
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_0503_road_race_fox_mustang/index.html

Part 3: http://www.hotrod.com/howto/113_0504_budget_race_car_part_3/index.html

That's all I found. Thanks for letting us know.

another rag (GRM) did a comparison between some different spec series, I think a CMC car was in it along with a Spec Miata and Spec E30 and a few others. A great article.