Posted By: racefanigan on January 15 2019 at 09:25:19 AM
Welcome guys, to the never ending debate of engine costs! I would just like to point out some things that people might not think of.
Someone mentioned building a 360 rather than a 305 for 30K. Yes, you are right, you could build a competitive local 360 for that cost, and are racing for a little more money. However, what people fail to think of when it comes to 360 racing over 305 racing is rebuild time/cost. Your 305 can likely go for 40 races before it needs to be rebuilt. Your 360 will need a rebuild at double the cost every 20 races. So if your rebuild on your 305 costs you $2k every 40, and your 360 costs you $4k every 20 (hypothetical numbers, rebuild prices vary because major components need changing more often), you've already spent 4 times the money in rebuilds alone on the 360 by the time the first one comes around on a 305. Not only that, 360 engines put more stress on internals than 305s do, so that means that you are replacing a $1600 Sonny Bryant crank long before a $500 Calies or COMP in your 305. That is just the way it is. Yes, 305 engines can cost a lot of money, and I am not saying that I agree with that completely, but no racing will ever be cheap, and the beauty of the Racesaver rules, it it does in fact keep everything even. The engine that I had cost $11K in 2015. The night I won, the 3rd place driver had an engine that cost at least double mine. Thats the way the rules are. In a 360, a guy that has a $40k engine makes much more power than a guy that has a $20k engine, it is not as drastic in the 305 deal. The rebuild factor alone puts you ahead on the long run with a 305, regardless of what you initial investment is.
I am not sure on what your local payout is for Racesavers, but around here, (Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota) they generally pay $500-$700 to win, and $175-$225 to start. Now there is no more "Weekly" 360 racing around other than Knoxville. Jackson has the Midwest Power Series, NE has the NE360 deal, and SD/IA has the MSTS . I believe most of those races pay somewhere around $1200-$3000 to win (most likely closer to the lower end on most of them except for a few specials) and $200-$500 to start (again, most likely closet to the lower end). Around here, you would be dumb to not have a 305 engine. Half of the 360 races in the 4 state area pay the same as most of the 305 races do to start. Granted winners share is not the same, start money pretty much is spot on. And they have really taken off around here.
I would rather build a 305 for $30k over a 360 for $30k when the purses are that close, because I know how much more it is going to cost me over time to keep that 360 engine running on top, versus what it would for that 305.
|
