[evanescent03]

Planning an HPDE (Chin) trip to COTA next spring, trying to decide if I should trailer my SS1LE the 1,200 miles and make a trip out of it ... or rent something and fly in. I’ve done some preliminary searches without much luck ... found an e36 M3 with Motorsports SW but that’s not super enticing ... something more modern (Cayman, Corvette or camaro) would be more interesting to me for such a wide open track. Also not really interested in a full on race car/prototype stuff bc I don’t want the spend my whole weekend figuring out a nutty car.

Anyone have experience renting a track car for COTA?

Thanks for any input!

[SCCAForums]

We rented Camaro SS' back in 2018... I think Avis & Budget had them.

Best regards,
Dave

[waterman]

Try Enterprise Exotic or Turo.

Just don't mention COTA and definitely purchase track insurance.

[ZRacerLE]

Road trip if you can swing it

[kropscamaro16]

hertz rent a camaro if you can find one lol or c7 z06

[evanescent03]

Thanks everyone ... forgot about the mass market rental companies ... I recall Hertz marketing some mustangs a number of years back and saw some at the track... with so much GPS tracking (pun?) going on, I think I’d only use one of these if they explicitly allow use at the track which I’m guessing is none of them .. I’ll see what their fine print(s) say though and call ahead to see what they say.

Thanks again for the input!

[TWG1]

Is Corsa Crew going to be there? They’ve been at all the Chin events I’ve attended (Barber, Road Atlanta). They rent cars trackside. I’d reach out to them directly, or go through Chin for contact info.

[weemus]

I would tap Chin. They can point you in some worthy directions.

[carguy55]

I'll probably be out there.

Here's one place for street cars:

https://exoticcars.enterprise.com/en...ns/austin.html

Here's a place for race cars:

https://w2wracing.trackrabbit.com

[evanescent03]

thanks for all the ideas guys. been a while since i've driven COTA so I'm pumped and want to make sure I have multiple options so it goes off without a hitch, so to speak. Some interesting choices here, i'll dig a little into a few of these for sure. thanks again!

matt

[MatthewAMEL]

Just FYI - Hertz sold all their C7Z's in an effort to hold off bankruptcy when COVID first hit.


They do have a limited selection of special edition ZL1's.


But none in TX.


https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/misc/...tom_camaro.jsp

[Sorange]

I'm pretty confident that the Enterprise exotic collection will not allow their cars on track. Most of their cars have a 100-200 miles per day limit as well. I've rented a Porsche from the one in Naples, FL a couple times and I do usually get them to waive the mileage limit. Being a return customer helps with that fight though.

[cdrptrks]

If you do go with a mass market rental car please bring quality DOT4 brake fluid with you and do a flush before driving it on track. And check your remaining brake pad thickness before each session. Braking from 140mph to 40 on the back straight is no joke. Also don't mention or ask about track use if you want to remain a future customer. And buy track insurance because their damage waiver and your normal insurance are both very unlikely to cover any on track incidents.

[cdrptrks]

Regarding GPS/speed tracking, I wouldn't be surprised if they had it installed on the exotic car rentals.

For regular rentals, I know of someone who rented a V6 Dodge in Florida a few years ago and drove it at a PBIR HPDE event without any issues during/after. That particular car required removing a fuse to fully disable traction/stability control which also disabled ABS so you might want to discreetly check how to disable those systems on your phone if you plan to do so on track (preferably without losing ABS) before selecting a specofic car. And mass market rental reservations are not guaranteed so there's a chance they might not have any Camaro SSes or Mustang GTs when you show up even if you reserve a car from that class which is a risk on a nonrefundable HPDE event although you could walk different company's lots to look for a car you want if that happens.

I have also driven 2 different Camaro SS rental cars (and a V6 Camaro) spiritedly in the LA area canyons without any issues during/after so I doubt they track the speeds remotely.

I also met an experienced driver in a Camaro SS airport rental car at a 2 day MSR Houston HPDE event last year and he had fun although he mentioned the pads were nearly gone and he experienced some brake fade (probably from the stock DOT3 brake fluid IMO).