new to racing cars, need help preparing car for track

[g0fasst]

i race 125cc karts but my local track was shut down about 6 months ago so i thought it would be a good time to try out cars. i live 1 hour from buttonwillow, 2 from laguna seca and 3 from willow springs. i am purchasing a mostly stock s13, just a 3inch exhaust system all the way through with a stock sr20det and am on a limited budget. this is more expensive then karting so this may be an ongoing process, but i want to learn the very basics of setting up a car for the track, and hopefully sooner then later, for competition.

i know i need a larger radiator, tires, brake pads, and all fluids. i will remove as much as i can from the car for a specific class. the entire suspension and aerodynamic systems on cars are completely different then karts and i really dont know about any of it. im not sure where to go regarding the suspension components, a starting point for suspension tuning (spring rates, sway bars, camber or even tire pressures,), wings or really anything about it.

i will run the stock turbo until it dies, which i would assume wont be long after i start tracking the car. once it dies i am leaning towards replacing it with the gt28rs. i know i will need larger injectors and a tune, although i dont know where to have it tuned, but i am not sure which other modifications will be necessary to make the car reasonably reliable and within a specific classes rules. i want the boost to be towards reliability instead of power. i wouldnt mind driving the car in a higher class but i dont want to be in a class the car can not be competitive in.

i joined the forum to look all of this up specifically and i was just posting here to get anyones advice or input on any one of these questions, or all of them. thanks.

[UNITEDMASTER]

what is your true goal??? if you are trying to become a"pro" driver. I would say dont waste your time sinking a ton of $$$$ into a 240. continue with 125 shifters travle out of your region & see how you stack up to new competion. then try to get into one of the smaller single seater classes if you have the funds. Just my .02

Or save your $$$ begg your parents & family for cash and buy a purpose built race car. I have seen Van deimen's going for 11-15G with spares package. Run that for a while with the pinto motor then build yourself a killer duratech on the side. Now you have a real race car that you can run on the national levle.

Or have a look at sports racer 2000's,csr &dsr classes

[slider2828]

Racing a swapped 240sx will put you in probably a very competitive class against cars with better chassis. IF you are looking to race, choose another platform.... otherwise the 240 is fun to mess with.

[drift freaq]

It all depends on what kind of racing you want to get into. You come from 125cc karts and I am going to assume they are shifter karts. That's the closest thing to Open wheel Formula car racing out there.
Now given that you might want to check out the Mazda spec stuff. If you really want to go enclosed wheel racing I say a Miata is a good way to learn your chops. Like others have said you want to run set up 240 its going to through you into a extremely competitive class that has cars that can trounce your ass unless you have big dollars.

It all depends on how serious you are with this stuff. Racing is not cheap even at the SCCA club level.