Track novice

The whole slick thing would be a massive leap - it sounds like you have minimal track experience so you'd be better off with an old 360 Challenge (if you really need a track Ferrari) and a bunch of lessons - have a look at some of the threads in the tracking section - your current 458 should be fine for a few track days a year then if you really get the bug buy a much cheaper race car - maybe even look at the Challenge Club series

 

Come on up to Road America in a few weeks for the CCR races!

Challenge Car Racing

 

I'd also say, buy yourself a 360 or 430 Challenge (price difference isn't massive) and a bunch of lessons from a decent enough instructor.

If you do in the end want to race you could either enter the series for older Challenge cars or if you have deep pockets, the 458M Challenge series.

 

I'd like to suggest the alternate strategy of a week of driving school at Skip Barber and then a season in their race series. You'll get an amazing amount of quality coaching, an instructor on virtually every corner everytime you're on track. It's an arrive and drive, spec series so a) you won't have any of the hassles of car ownership/maintenance in the beginning to distract you from concentrating solely on your driving and b) since all of the cars are equal you get a very good indication of your proficiency relative to others. The fact that the cars are relatively low powered is actually a good thing as you're forced to learn good technique because you can't cover up errors with horsepower.

Then as soon as you're comfortable going fast and wheel-to-wheel you can go out and buy the fastest car you're willing to spend the money for.

 

That's what I am doing. The wife and I are flying in to spectate. I'd like to drive in the track day groups if I can find a car to rent.

 

Awesome, I'll be there both days as an instructor. Looking forward to meeting more from here in person.

 

The 360C is a tricky car to drive, much trickier than the 458C. I haven't driven a 430C, but I do have a couple friends with those and it's just not in the same league as the 458C.

If you want to get a 458C be prepared for 30K brake jobs, 4K shocks, etc. and as you get quicker you get one to two weekends out of the rubber. If you like tracking and you're just starting out I would recommend something that bridges the gap between road and track like a GT3RS or a stripped out M3. It's a dangerous thing to go from a little bit of tracking to a very fast car on slicks. Whatever car you decide to go with, get a lot of time with an instructor and get to know the car on street tires before jumping to slicks.

 

Welcome to the track addiction.... a few random thoughts

- the 458 Challenge Evo (the current spec) will be the car through 2018; a new car is likely to be introduced in 2017.

- a 458C is a "real" race car - power, sensitive to setup, requires skilled support for maintenance/repair and to optimize performance. The car flies; while easy to drive one quickly, it also means you are going quickly when you make a mistake

- like any (modern)(new)(serious) race car, it can be expensive to repair and maintain vs. other choices.

- If you are only going to go on-track "a few times a year", you should be fine with an appropriately capable and prepared road car. Only downside (my view) is that hard tracking does beat up any car, be prepared to maintain it. Also, I personally won't drive 150mph without a cage, fuel cell, race seat/harness, nets, HANS, fire system, etc...

- if you do go a dedicated track car route, lots of resources/threads here with opinions. my advice? 1) safe car 2) reliable car 3) get GOOD QUALITY instruction - hard to find, more valuable than any set of new sticker tires 4) a fast car.

- a 430C is a great track car. They are more expensive to buy/run/maintain/repair than a Miata or Corvette. However they are rewarding to drive! The key to your sustained happiness will be finding a good example (these are now vintage race cars - Ferraris - so you need to be careful). You'll also need/want to have support

FWIW, my wife just got back from another 2-day FDE advanced in Mont Tremblant. She probably drove one set of tires and one set of pads off a Speciale and F12, with superior instructor quality. Might be a great way to learn on someone else's Ferrari but access some of the best instructors in the US. It's expensive, but when you factor in 2 full days of thrashing Ferraris, tires, pads, track fees, hotels, instruction, etc etc... Of course a very good alternative is to get a good instructor and work locally.

good luck hope this helps

 

Based on our experience, tracking a street car (no less one of $300K value) is a bad and extremely unsafe idea....street cars although can be fun on the track, have limited abilities to especially grip and braking under heat...and to Entrophy's point- no cage, fuel cell etc is not safe as well.

Putting ego aside, driving a 360C with aero, or a 430C with aero is a less expensive way to get into a Ferrari race car & learn race craft, and allows you to "ease" yourself into the Ferrari racing game...a 458C is super easy to drive, but a mistake will cost you big time...and being a novice...mistakes will happen.

The parts on the 360c/430c cars is 1/2 of a 458C, and 1/2 the cost to buy the car as well. With the way the market is currently for 360C and 430C, you can easily buy a 360C and 430C, drive it for season or two and get close to your money back if you buy it right and maintain it properly. No matter what car you choose, prep, track support and maintenance is key. Good luck and be safe.

 

Instantly going to a 458 Challenge from zero track experience might be tricky. I built it up slowly and then decided 3 years ago to buy a 458 Challenge. I have had great times with it since but I got great instructors teaching me how to properly drive the 458 Challenge because it is a fast car and if you go over the limit the consequences can be very costly. You can't compare the 458 Speciale with the 458 Challenge. The 430C may the right car to look for provided you get proper instructors to help you get in tune with it. It is very addictive so I have to warn you … once you start with this there is no way back

 

If you haven't run a cup car series, You're gonna laugh at me, but if you really want a beater track car and be in a super competitive class:

Miata cup car will be a gr8 place to start and talk about something that can be beaten every weekend at the track.

Not to mention you will pick up a lot of driver training and not to mention should the car get written off will be easy to replace, talking apples and oranges I know but if you want to get into comp Motorsport and you have the budget of taking your personal 458 to a track day or tracking you're going to get far more driver experience then in your personal car, sure you going to pick up a lot of learning the car.

 

458C is NOT the car for you. It is a true race car and needs a race team to take car and manage it to be safe. You will go through 2 sets of tires per test day at the minimum (assuming no damage or other parts).

Start with the Miata.

Bob

 

Go to a 3 day racing school to see if the whole racecar thing is for you before purchasing one. Driving a fast street car on the track is one thing....driving a racecar, with its much higher limits, is quite another

 

Best answer so far from UA... I might add "needing a full pit crew" to run a 458CH/430CH at lapping events is laughable. That's if your deep pockets current 458 Evo "Corse Clienti" (short for dealers/factory make a lot money) They used to say that about the 430CH and look at all the guys having MORE fun w/430's with aero in CCS for a TON less cash.

Brakes 30K? yeah if you run a CH hard all season. If you do end up racing, covert to steel brakes and brakes cost the same as any racing brakes. 430CH/458CH Set-up? dead simple, a few suspension settings (pre-load mainly) and caster/camber. 430CH have more reliable g-boxes than 458CH.

Lastly, the experience/seat time/racing school will make you a great sports car racer promise is mostly a fallacy. Yes there are some naturals that come up through the schools. But there is no substitute for possessing the innate ability to FEEL what the car is doing or is ABOUT to do under braking, downshifting, under-steering, over-steering, how to keep the chasis from getting upset in a turn by smoothness in trail-braking, how and where to enter, apex,exit depending on the type of turn. Overtaking? Lets not even go there for now Much of this is quite hard to teach and have a student retain it. I think racing schools are a great place to discover any hidden talent or your enjoyment of it for far less than buying and selling a racecar. JMHO...

Most of the great drivers/racers I've questioned look at me with a blank stare when I've asked for advice in the above terminology. Unless they are ex-racer/instructor types that HAVE to learn racer/teach-talkytalk...

 

Another option you might consider: rent a 458 (or 430) Challenge and get an instructor. It's significantly less expensive than buying a car if you're going to do a small number track days a year, there is no commitment (unless you wreck it), and it will give you the same experience as owning a car. If you find you're hooked and the expense hasn't caused you to run screaming -- you always have the option of buying a car.

Finally, as others have mentioned, seat time and good instruction will develop your skill set quickly, so focus on those first. By the time you are consistently running within 6% of pro-level laptimes in the car you're driving, you'll know a lot about what you like, and you'll enjoy whatever race car(s) you choose a lot more.

 

Why not opt a cheaper track-oriented car like a Lotus Exige Cup? It's got all the safety installations of a race car and is a 'proper' car too. Or as mentioned above, simply rent a capable vehicle. But yeah, start with some quality instruction. Learn the principles of track driving and hone your skills in a cheaper and more friendly machine, before advancing to something as serious as a 458C.

I'm a fan of the Radical, Atom, Caterham etc. but understand the safety concerns associated with running them in the same heats as larger (regular) cars.