Old Car

I just switched classes and have an 02 Mastersbilt. It seems to be reliable, but maybe outdated. Running on my own limited budget. What's the best place to put money? Shocks, tires, engine, bearing birdcages? I'm just looking to stay with the pack.

I would contact Mastersbilt. My thoughts would be to purchase the "S7" package for the front end and a good shock package would probably make the biggest difference. I dont know what your engine program is but if its comparable to what the "others" have, this would be a good start. This is just me 2cents and probably doesnt amout to a hill of beans. Good luck.

shocks (that come with good support), tires, and seat time. not necessarily in that order either.

shocks,...tires,...seat time^^^^what he said!!

Shocks for sure

we run an older car (well my son 15 yrs old)and he keeps up if not is faster than alot of newer cars,its an 02,tape measure,angle finder,and plumb bob with someone that knows what these cars like and there is no reason you cant be up front
for shocks i would run off the shelf bilstiens (if you know what valving you need)
adjustable shocks are good but just not needed if you know what you like,ill get killed by the shock guys for this but if your going to spend money with them make sure your getting setup help too
ill say this about shocks and then let the beatings begin,they are the most over rated part of a late model race car period!!! if you know the valvings you need your not going to need expensive shocks,now on the other hand if you dont know the valvings you need,borrow some adjustable shocks from a friend,go test somewhere,then wright the valvings down and buy a set of shocks,this will same you a ton of money learning,and then if you do wreck it will only cost 100 bucks or so to replace a shock instead of 400 plus
jmo for what its worth
i will say if your shocks arent working properly(bent shaft,leaking,ect)that is a big problem,so check them every week for damage,and we dyno them from time to time

but 1st i would go over the car to make sure it doesnt have any binds and spend my money there 1st,motor,trans 2nd,shocks 3rd,and then tires
1 thing we did do a couple times is rent a track,i would say it saved us 1000's of dollars,because no one is around you if you do make some mistakes,and it will let u get used to the car and how it acts before you get around everyone

The race car doesn't know how old it is. Learn the car first, get it the best you can with what you have right now, Once you learn the car then you will better understand where the money needs to be spent. You will be surprised how many people you can outrun by simply knowing how to maintain your race car versus someone else.

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Originally Posted by grt74

we run an older car (well my son 15 yrs old)and he keeps up if not is faster than alot of newer cars,its an 02,tape measure,angle finder,and plumb bob with someone that knows what these cars like and there is no reason you cant be up front for shocks i would run off the shelf bilstiens (if you know what valving you need) adjustable shocks are good but just not needed if you know what you like,ill get killed by the shock guys for this but if your going to spend money with them make sure your getting setup help too ill say this about shocks and then let the beatings begin,they are the most over rated part of a late model race car period!!! if you know the valvings you need your not going to need expensive shocks,now on the other hand if you dont know the valvings you need,borrow some adjustable shocks from a friend,go test somewhere,then wright the valvings down and buy a set of shocks,this will same you a ton of money learning,and then if you do wreck it will only cost 100 bucks or so to replace a shock instead of 400 plus jmo for what its worth i will say if your shocks arent working properly(bent shaft,leaking,ect)that is a big problem,so check them every week for damage,and we dyno them from time to time

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Very wise. I come from a shock background and you are correct, you don't have to have the ultimate in shocks to race, but its the fad the last several years to spend crazy money on shocks. I do think the S7 frontend would be helpful, but not a must, the Smack cars were good cars. Just like someone else said, check the car over for binds and get some seat time. Find someone who'll be honest with you about how your driving compared to others, you don't need a yes man but someone to shoot you straight, someone to say,"Your all over the track and hung out!". My wife does that for me, LOL. Also I think a seminar would be a good investment.

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Originally Posted by SS Motorsports

The race car doesn't know how old it is. Learn the car first, get it the best you can with what you have right now, Once you learn the car then you will better understand where the money needs to be spent. You will be surprised how many people you can outrun by simply knowing how to maintain your race car versus someone else.

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This is so true. There are many racers that do little to the car between races. I enjoy going over the car during the week. Finding little problems, fixing them in advance, and relaxing when we get to the track. Keep detailed records of setups. Shocks, springs, bar locations, tire pressures, stagger, wheel spacing. You will quickly learn what you need to do every week as the track changes.

There no better feeling than being organized. Unload the car, and relax in the lawn chair while the others around you thrash. :)

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Originally Posted by Dragoon55

Very wise. I come from a shock background and you are correct, you don't have to have the ultimate in shocks to race, but its the fad the last several years to spend crazy money on shocks. I do think the S7 frontend would be helpful, but not a must, the Smack cars were good cars. Just like someone else said, check the car over for binds and get some seat time. Find someone who'll be honest with you about how your driving compared to others, you don't need a yes man but someone to shoot you straight, someone to say,"Your all over the track and hung out!". My wife does that for me, LOL. Also I think a seminar would be a good investment.

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i agree with needing an honest person to tell you how you are driving. They also have to speak the same way you do. Wifes are brutally honest, kids too, keep them around so you can still get the helmet on after winning a few races..

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Originally Posted by grt74

we run an older car (well my son 15 yrs old)and he keeps up if not is faster than alot of newer cars,its an 02,tape measure,angle finder,and plumb bob with someone that knows what these cars like and there is no reason you cant be up front
for shocks i would run off the shelf bilstiens (if you know what valving you need)
adjustable shocks are good but just not needed if you know what you like,ill get killed by the shock guys for this but if your going to spend money with them make sure your getting setup help too
ill say this about shocks and then let the beatings begin,they are the most over rated part of a late model race car period!!! if you know the valvings you need your not going to need expensive shocks,now on the other hand if you dont know the valvings you need,borrow some adjustable shocks from a friend,go test somewhere,then wright the valvings down and buy a set of shocks,this will same you a ton of money learning,and then if you do wreck it will only cost 100 bucks or so to replace a shock instead of 400 plus
jmo for what its worth
i will say if your shocks arent working properly(bent shaft,leaking,ect)that is a big problem,so check them every week for damage,and we dyno them from time to time

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Totally agree. Unless you can get the fancy wancy shock gooroo to come to the track and spend time explaining what crutch he is fixing with them they aren't worth the money. Once you find 4 that work leave them alone. I will take the beating with you. LOL . Special Shocks can limit you to running one line if they are too radical . Good luck finding that line before you get ran over!

1- Car preparation. The last thing you want is to tear the car up because you overlooked something, or thought it could wait until next week.

2- Seat time. You don't really know what you need until you know what you got.

3- Tires are important, and the prep of the tires is equally if not more important, but you won't find much info there.

4- Shocks are important, but unless you are up against some very stiff competition, you just need a good baseline that will not fade.

5- The importance of power depends largely on track (size, shape, conditions) Large track or tacky track means more HP needed.

Add this on tires , buy some used ones from a top team at your track. You will learn how to groove and sipe just by looking at these . Walk around the pits at a Lucas or WOO show , take pics of the tires in the racks ( discreetly ). Proper tire prep is gold , and it just takes work not money.

My car doesn't have the rf sticking way out like the new ones. Should I get a spacer for the rf?

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Originally Posted by dlm88

My car doesn't have the rf sticking way out like the new ones. Should I get a spacer for the rf?

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Start with BASIC Masters setup, don't compare your car to the newer ones. The RF sticking out could be for different reasons. 1) Some cars just have a wider front track. 2) Some newer front end designs have longer control arms on RF thus sticking the RF further out. 3) It could just be a wheel spacer. 4) Could be they don't know what they are doing and saw someone elses and thought they try it. GO BASIC TO START WITH, RIGHT BY THE MASTERSBILT SETUP SHEET. DO NOT OVER THINK THIS OR YOU WILL GET LOST AND NOT KNOW WHATS WRONG. Have fun. :P