Newbie questions

[Sgtrod]

Sorry I am new on here. Can formula vee cars have super bike enginesinstalled or are these other engines in them? How fast are these cars? I had a 550hp corvette. Any comparison acceleration wise?

These prices seem comparable to say an ATV. Any financing for these.

Sorry for the questions but I like to go fast and these cars seem fast and fun.

[Tiago Santos]

Well, acceleration wise, you'll be horribly disappointed. The corvette probably weighs about 3400lbs with you sitting in it, so there's 6.1lbs for every HP out of the motor. A vee is 1025 (assuming you can get to minimum weight) and let's say 60hp, so there's 17lbs for every horse. The Corvette will accelerate almost 3 times as fast as a vee. Not even close! No bike engines in FV, just VW 1200cc air cooled engines.

The vee will corner about 60% better than a corvette. And you'll be sitting about 2 inches from the ground. So it still feels pretty fast, but it's not really comparable. Personally, I'd give up straight line speed and acceleration over cornering any day, but I understand those who feel otherwise

Pick up a vee if you want to RACE wheel to wheel for cheap - if your only goal is to go as fast as possible, you'll have to look somewhere else. While FVs can be faster at most tracks than some tin top classes, we're the slowest open wheel class out there.

[Sgtrod]

I am very disapointed that none of these open wheel cars can have a bike engine shoved in them.

None the less, thank you very much for taking your time to fill me in.

Rod

[Bob Neumeister]

LOOK FURTHER DOWN THIS THREAD FOR THE FORMULA B (FORMULA 1000).

THEY HAVE 1000cc BIKE ENGINES STUFFED IN THEM

[Matt King]

On the subject of financing a race car, the old adage "if you can't afford to push it off a cliff, you shouldn't take it to a race track" still applies. It can also get pretty ugly trying to explain to your banker that you don't have a title for the shattered pile of fiberglass and tubing in your trailer.

[Sgtrod]

Wow, thanks for the responses. I know theres a lot of money around here but I havent seen any formula 1000s I can afford. Im not a serious competitor or anything.

My journey got started by talking a budy of mine into building a frankenstein type racer/kart with a cool bike engine. Next thing I know I see these cool looking Vees. I thought maybe it would work.

Sorry if anyone took offense to my earlier response.

[Matt King]

You can build pretty much anything you want and race it in Formula S as long as it passes safety inspection. So no reason you couldn't put a bike engine in a Vee chassis, it just wouldn't be a Formula Vee. There's also F600 with bike engines.

[Tiago Santos]

No offense taken, just trying to steer you in a direction that would make sense for your expectations..

In addition to F1000, there's also F600, a new class similar to F500 but with 600cc bike engines.

Keep in mind these are all structured racing classes, with strict sets of rules, etc. If you're only looking to drive around a track without actual wheel to wheel racing, then the options really open up! You can do just about anything you want, including somehow trying to stick a bike engine in a vee

[Sgtrod]

Good, things are looking up. So Formula 600 and Formula 1000 have bike engines. What about FF and the others listed?

[Tiago Santos]

Nope, that's it for bike engines. Other than, like Matt said, Formula S - which is a class for anything that doesn't fit the other sets of rules.

[problemchild]

All kinds of small cheap bike-engined race cars at your local short track, dirt or paved. Dwarf, cup-lite, legend, mini-sprint, micro-sprint, mini-modified, 3/4 midget, etc all in similiar price range to FV. Pretty cool!

[gbmetcalf]

I love my Vees but what Greg said is true. There are a cornucopia of bike powered race cars that are not formula cars. Besides Greg's list don't forget the D and C sports racers. I owned a Legends car and they are SCCA approved for regional racing the coupes with very little alterations and the sedans with a road course kit installed. They are fun, fast, and exciting to drive........ BUT they are not a formula car.

G.

[tombien]

If you haven't tried shifter karts you might be surprised at the acceleration and cornering. Your Corvette will feel like a Hummer in comparison.

Granted, this isn't the fastest Vette, but the kart has 125cc. A 250cc kart would be, well, faster.

Kart vs. Corvette

[farrout]

If you want a motorcycle engine and want to be one of the fastest on the track, try DSR or CSR. Not open wheel, but fast in the straights and the turns

[protoform]

There are lots of classes, as has been stated already. It all just cost money. do you have a budget? You might just want to go to some events and see what is out there. roadracing, AutoXing hillclimbs, oval track the list goes on and on. I race a Vee and have raced many faster cars but this has been the most challenging and fun. Karts are also very cheep .You could pick up a 125cc shifter Kart on e-bay for am guessing now 3 to 4 k but Unless your a very good driver. And most new drivers think they are. and find when they get into a real racing class there not so good . lol I wouldn't start there. they pull 3.5 g's in the corners and are very fast almost scary fast. I would say try 100cc pistonport Kart $1200 to $1500 usdollars 110mph topspeed. again not like a corvettte but corning is in the 3.5 g's again will fit in the back of a pickup truck or van and helmet drivers suit for 2k your racing Good Luck have fun just do it.