so, im coming up on a track day, first for the 8 , and this even is requiring #'s(past ones ive attended did not), i dont really wanna go the whole blue tape route, so i was curious where you guys are getting #'s from, are magnetic ones usable? and will they actually work at 100+ mph? any thing temp vinyl, like, statick cling or something. track day is the 28th!! i need to figure something out fast. thanks

 

I purchased a pair of magnetic signs from an office supply store (Staples). I do not recall them being expensive, but it was a special order from the print shop. If you select a 3 digit number the chances of some other car having the same number is low and they can go over 100 MPH.

 

I just had to make a set of numbers for autocross. I went to my local craft store (Micheals or JoAnn's) and picked up a roll of magnetic material. It comes in a 12"x24" sheet for $10. It's the same material refrigerator magnets are made out of. I downloaded and printed some number stencils, and then I used them to cut the numbers out of the magnetic sheet. So for $10, I was able to get my set of numbers and my class letters.

 

I bought a 12"x10' roll of magnetic sheet off of eBay. Cut to shape and used Krylon Fusion for contrast.

 

Walmart sells "Glass Chalk" in the automotive knick-knack section (next to the chrome skull shift *****). Cheap, simple, easy to remove, multiple colors. I also use it to mark the tire sidewalls.

http://www.glasschalk.com/

Oh, and enjoy the heck out of the track day! Most fun you can have in public with your clothes on!

 

Home Depot / Lowes sells magnetic vent covers, 3 for ~$6 iirc.

I use those for all my number making, and get about 4 numbers per sheet, depending on font.

It's a bit thinner than the sign shop stuff, so it flexes a little easier.

 

I use kitchen contact paper to make numbers. It's available at hardware stores. It doesn't stick as strong as most vinyl stickers and comes off easy. I double under the lower edge to give me a spot to pull them off when the track day is over.
Duplicacolor is suppose to have a temporary paint, that comes off, too. I haven't seen it in the stores.

 

I've spent way more time making my own numbers/letters, than what my time was worth (vs. just buying them). Here are some of my lessons-learned:

Magnetic vent covers sold at hardware stores have a tendency to come flying off, even < 100mph. I now buy thicker magnetic vinyl, sold by the foot, about $6 for a 1' x 2' piece at my local sign shop. [When making magnets for a light colored car, you may want to paint the vinyl a different color -- vinyl spray paint from an auto parts store has worked best for me.]

The static cling I've tried doesn't stick when it's too hot or too cold.

Fonts: I wasted time hunting for the 'right' font to make my own stencils. (Learned it's a better use of my time to learn to drive fast, rather than spending time making pretty numbers/letters.) Also, picking a number that's straighter to cut (1's, 7's) is much faster than 6's, 8's, or 9's. Finally, I wasted a lot of ink printing large numbers on paper that was just being used as stencils -- so I figured out that printing those fonts in a lighter color or shading (and / or using a draft print setting on my printer) made the ink cartridges last a lot longer.

Flexibility - putting all of your numbers/letters on one piece of material is fine if you're always going to be able to use that identification, but I've seen people show up for events assuming they could use '99', and then find out that number is already reserved. Separate numbers/letters allow more flexibility.

How I do it: I use Microsoft Powerpoint, pick a font, and make it 900 pt; light gray. Type in my numbers; adjust the font size if needed, then adjust the placement of the number on the page to fit, then print.
Cut the number(s) out, and trace onto the vinyl; cut the vinyl. In my case, my letters are smaller, about a 50-75% ratio of the first font size.


p.s. The contact paper idea is great! That'll work for aluminum doors, too.

 

http://www.soloperformance.com/Track...bers_c_50.html

Not sure if they can get them to you in time for your track day, but give them a call. They shipped mine very quickly.

 

^^^ That's why I like glass chalk. Less than 30 seconds to put numbers, any numbers, on all four sides, can be changed almost instantly, comes in 8 colors, never worry about damaging them or losing them at any speed, come off in under a minute, storage is not an issue. $3 at wallyworld.

 

We use the magnetic ones but put a piece of scotch tape over the leading edge

 

I've used IZoom Graphics for magnetic numbers on my last two cars. Great quality, great customer service, etc. Sean is a class act. The magnets in the above picture survived repeated trips to 120+ mph down the front straight at TWS, so I'm sure they'll work for you.

 

Is that car jacked up in the back?

 

hey op which track day are you going to?

 

I've tried all the various routes to nice track numbers, expensive cling vinyl, magnetic numbers, even chalk, etc. Cling doesn't always; magnetic can leave at 100+mph, chalk just looks lame. And when you have things made for you, then some event will say you need some different numbers FCOL!

The always works, always clear, easily made solution is to use any WP or graphics program, create whatever size of numbers required for your event, print on whatever color paper you want (I like white), cut out a rectangle containing the numbers out of the sheet small enough to fit the side windows area, and tape them there with clear tape. Looks good, lasts all day.