Looking for a Co-Drive Next Season
 

Long time :wink2: Anyone up for having a co-driver next season?
I live Washington, DC; willing to pay per-event and would love to learn a thing or two.

I have a slight preference for an STX prepped car, but will take what I can get.

Also, not totally sure how co-drive arrangements usually work; (e.g. you break it you buy it?) so feel free to spell it out for me.

I live in a Condo in downtown Washington with no-garage so I'd greatly appreciated being able to get back into the sport, I won't be moving to the burbs anytime soon!

I'm also interested in how these arrangements work and how much money you'd be looking at per event.
I would be interested in letting someone co-drive my car, but it's not nearly as well prepped for STX as most other guys here because of the rules of the timetrials I also participate in on track.

My co-driver buys half of the tires and helps prep the car before the season and helps change tires before events. I buy any hard parts. That is how the co-drive arrangements I've been a part of (on both sides) have worked, and I think it's probably common.

I know of others who add in charges for "wear and tear," or for damage deposits. My co-driver would be on the hook to pay any damage he caused (e.g., hitting a curb, etc), but I'm not holding any of his money. Things might be different if it wasn't someone I know and trust, but I probably would not have someone I didn't know as a co-driver.

^^ wow, maybe I should just come codrive with you. I would love to be off the hook for buying, prepping, and maintaining a car (and in my case the trailer, tow vehicle) just to show up and only pay my share of tire use and do a small amount of work that I'd be doing any way. Can I get an after event back rub too? :lol:

Just joking to make a point. Lets consider a few things, and this will vary quite a bit

Buy and fully prep the car including the personal labor etc
Vehicle maintenance, insurance, storage, fuel, etc. .
If you have a trailer & tow vehicle all of the above applies to
Spare wheel sets, parts, etc
Additional mods or changes that might happen (decide to build a different intake etc.)
Testing different setups and those parts, costs, etc (tires, springs, swaybars, fuel, travel ...)

In reality, most codrive situations are essentially a gift because very rarely do they share the true burden of what their share should entail. The negatives of a codrive are the lack of control and say in certain things. From a practical sense unless they happen to bringing something else like the experience and know how that you may lack on building, prepping, and setting up the car then they should be doing a lot more than just covering the half of their direct usage. If a transmission blows the cause of it blowing is likely the wear and tear, not who happens to be shifting it at the time, which might be you than them. Two or more drivers means 2x or more wear and tear on everything. Everything.

Well it is Christmas.... Thanks, good info in-there.

*shrug* my co-driver is better than I am, so that is certainly something I value; I'd give you the same deal. ;) I wanted a co-driver. If my co-driver was a novice, I might ask for something more. And that's the deal I had as a co-driver.

There is some extra wear on the car. It's something I've considered. My car isn't just an autoX car, so the extra wear of co-driver runs is a small percentage; if it was a dedicated autoXer, I might feel differently. If I had a tow vehicle, I might ask my co-driver to kick in for that, especially for non-local tows.

Others' calculus might work out differently than mine does, but I can comment only on my experience and reasoning. The question was asked; I answered. :dunno:

I believe that valid reasoning was covered. I was poking as much fun at myself as you since I probably qualify as the exact opposite extreme.

True.

I don't want to blow Team's cover, but let's just say he is a generous human being and co-driving with him is a pleasure.

:beer05:

Simply put, whatever u and the owner agree to.:icon_tup:
last year my new co-driver covered the cost of a set of R-comps on a CS '01 Miata. Not the car for teh class, or prepped at the start of the season, and half way thru teh season it was on to CSP. If a 2nd set of tyres were needed it would be my turn. Any damage he caused was on his dime, and he would cover my event fee. And as an attorney he would cover me for any self inflicted stupidity, deserved or otherwise. He finally let his s2000 go after it was broken into for the whatevereth time.

I brought the car, the maintenance, the parts. I had to teach him how to swap tyres appropriately. Train him to be a co-driver when it came to spraying or tyre cleaning when then car got back to grid.

Now if its a co-driver who is bringing something to the table, can fab, wants to work on the car, has data aquistion, or is a superior driver, the "payment" is a bit different.

Are you all talking autocross or HPDE / road course events?

I imagine you'd see similar arrangements, but the potential for wrecks/damage/liability is much higher.....kind of changes the equations a bit...

Auto-x; wasn't there someone that used to be on here that was pretty active/successful in the DC region?

you might be thinking of Chike.

Wasn't him, but based on his silence I don't think he'll be giving me any gifts :doh:

Ol' Saint Nick knows who's naughty and who's nice :lol:

:)

I asked Syvain Tremblay the same thing. Just can't understand why I have not received a response.

try a 5 or 6 figure gift ;)

Chike is selling his RX-8. probably why he hasn't responded....

^he should have just painted it orange ...

I guess it was me??? In STX in 2010, I finished 2nd in the DC region's season championship and won the NE Divisional...

As Eric mentioned above, my RX-8 was for sale. Sale is currently pending to a Pro Solo National champ and it should be picked up in the next 7-10 days.

Good luck finding a co-drive PoLaK. I'm going to the world of USTA League tennis and picking up co-drives from time to time with some friends of mine in the DC region.

P.S. I don't check this site much these days.

wow, you gave it away ...

http://www.sccaforums.com/forums/for...28/scope/posts

Yeah he did. Thanks for driving values down even further. ;) :lol: