Have you guys read it, it's quite informative.. Im going to track my car as often as i can, probably at least 12 events a year, Florida circuit... Chinn, Hooked on Driving, Porsche Club events etc...
Are there Cayman track experts here? Has this thread been covered here? I havent searched yet or can someone bring it forward..
This was one of the best threads on track cost and basic exposure of details.
It was an eye opener on the realistic cost's to have fun and take care of the car...

 

Some will be perfectly happy with tracking a car with street tires, slightly modified cars that drive to/from tracks (like me) to dedicated Cayman that's trailered to/from tracks with a tow vehicle (a friend of mine).
The question is where do you see yourself fitting between these ends? I haven't read the thread you're referring to, but it's most important to understand some insurance companies do not cover use of cars on the track. Unlike accident on the street, accident on track may leave you with repair bills. Accidents on track, like accidents on streets, rarely happens.... but they do happen.

I'm not trying to scare you...DE's are probably safer than driving on street. Though, I just to give you some insight some of the "hidden cost" most don't talk about when factoring in cost of DE's.

Hope to see you at one of the tracks.

 

$3 - $4K per weekend - tires, maintenance, wear, entry, fuel, etc.

 

The cost of tracking is completely dependent upon how hard you drive the car.

If you drive smoothly and are very easy on the car, you can go 5-10 events without changing brakes or tires, and your car won't need any major mods. If you drive very hard and are trying to get every last tenth out of the car, you can easily go through a set of pads and tires in one event. You'll also need to beef up the suspension and brakes at a minimum.

For a given driving style, your major expense will be tires. If you stick with street tires, and make sure you've got the right alignment and pressure, you'll save a lot of money.

 

I've tracked my gen 2 Cayman 22 days in the past 2 summers. This car is my daily driver (in the winter too). These cars are relatively cheap to track in the sense that they are very sturdy and they don't need many mods out of the box to last and give you plenty of thrills. As far as mods that I have right now: camber plates (to increase tire life), brake lines (to improve pedal feel), GT3 brake ducts (to try to cool down front brakes), Pagid Yellows and upgraded brake fluid. My mods are what I qualify as defensive (try to make my consumables last longer). You still need to perform good maintenance on the car though. I change oil 2 times a summer, will try to flush transmission fluid and do brake flushes 2 - 3 times.

The main challenge I have faced is finding the best tire and so far I haven't found the perfect match. I tried the stock RE050A, the RE-11 and the Michelin Super Sports. The RE050A were excellent tires but sidewalls are too soft and the tire gets corded rather easily on the outside. Same with the Michelin Super Sport, corded after 3 events, twice. The RE-11 didn't give me confidence so I wasn't running great times with them but they seemed to have lasted like 6 events. Now trying the Yoko Advan AD08 but too early to tell until I get a few track days with them.

Issues with my car? None except that the rear brake calipers are turning black because of the heat. I know I could remove PSM but to me it's cheap insurance against an unfortunate event that could cost me easily in the 5 figures.

Approx costs (in $CAD) per event:

Gas: 2 x $80 = $160
Tires $1600 / 4 events = $400
Lodging + Food = $150
Event $400
Brake pads $550 / 10 events = $55
Front Brake discs $400 / 12 events = $35
Rear brake discs $400 / 24 events = $20
2 Oil changes $400 / 12 events = $35
Random yearly maintenance $500 / 12 = $40

Average cost per track day when all said and done: $1295

Easiest way to lower cost is avoiding lodging (if track is close to home) and finding tires that LAST longer. N-rated Porsche tires are not good for the track and don't last. For Cayman stock sizes I think the only ones are Re-11 and AD08.