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To Sticker or Not To Sticker

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42
23
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Tennessee
Do pardon my naivety on this subject, but stickers? I have spent a lot of time on this page over the last couple of weeks, and I have seen a TON of truly incredible cars, lots of which that have a bunch of stickers. I've kinda fallen in love with this look so I decided instead of trying to Google detective this to understand it I'd just slap it here. So, for those of you that have stickers, are they actually stickers like the ones you get from ordering a CAI or exhaust? Or are they vinyl? And are they sponsors? Or just brands that were used on your build?

Again, I feel kinda silly asking this question because to most of you its probably a "duh" topic, but something I know nothing about.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,424
8,349
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
The bulk, for most drivers, are products that have purchased or ones that have contingency programs in various racing groups like SCCA or NASA that do give discounts or even free products for specific wins. Usually if one has a contingency sticker that has a program for using their product the benefits are often just discounts. For instance , say you are using a certain brake pad, you have their decals on your car and you win a Regional race. You may get a coupon or discount percentage for another set, or in the case of a major race you may get a full set of pads. You may even get a small amount of contingency money in some Series and of course if you get to a Pro Series the benefits increase.

The other area is they may be racing requirements, where , for example , one must have specific decals on their cars to compete in the Solo National Championships in Lincoln , Nebraska. Often some of these same decals are required to run in major points events around the Country. Road Racing , certain time trials , etc. may have similar rules as these decals are usually sponsors of the Series or Racing Group.

So , to answer you question, many decals are required, some are for contingencies for the drivers, and often individuals will put the products they purchased on their cars regardless if beneficial monetarily or not. Many folks who autocross put all their decals, numbers etc. on magnetic vinyl and a good place to check this out is at soloperformance.com. DaveW , a TMO member, has been taking care of many racers and autocrosser's decal needs for years. Keep in mind most groups may only require numbers, so that is often the only thing you need to compete and it does always look good to have something that looks professional or matches your car, imho.
 

ChrisM

Mostly harmless.
1,180
1,419
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
South Carolina
I like the track outlines a lot of people put on their cars so I always try to get one of those. They can be a great way to break the ice. I have some companies' stickers on mine because they gave me exceptional service. I don't particularly like stickers so I keep them small and out of the way unless it's required by the organizer. Optima, for example, requires you to use their stickers as a way to advertise for the sponsors whose participation helps lower the price of the event.

I've got one sticker on there that's my silent ideological protest that nobody sees.

Then there's the screaming orange cone sticker above my taillight because it's hilarious. Always got to have something to laugh at.
cone.png
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
I use stickers to cover up "Whoops!" marks on the body caused by my ham fisted non existent skills. I have 4 of them on the hood alone from putting in the aerocatches. And the louvers, don't even look at that one. This is why I often use professionals to do stuff for me as well, there's only so much room for stickers on the car!
 

Ludachris

Chris
Staff member
Moderator
1,658
1,962
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Newcastle, CA
I can confirm the stickers with the QR code linking to your build thread work and are awesome as well.
I really need to make those available for all members to order once I get caught up from the move. All the development work has been done, it's just a matter of testing it all and making it live.
 
42
23
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
Under 3 Years
Tennessee
Thanks for the link!
Man, 18" sticker...is there anything smaller?


Sorry, don't mean to steal away this thread.
No worries abt stealing! This was only made bc i didn't know if people used vinyl or just normal stickers. And plus i was interested in TMO stickers too.
 
539
687
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
SoCal
No worries abt stealing! This was only made bc i didn't know if people used vinyl or just normal stickers. And plus i was interested in TMO stickers too.
To give some more input on your original question and from an amateur enthusiast or hobbyist point of view, I originally strayed away from any stickers on any paint surface as to keep the paint in perfect condition. Then as the weekend track days accumulated and so did the tire rubber smears and small scratches, I started caring less about having pristine paint.
I use magnetic car numbers that I remove between events. I also have tow stickers on the bumpers and NASA stickers front and rear. Neither of these are required but the tow stickers help incase you need a tow off and NASA because I like to support their organization.

Now that my mustang is no longer my daily, I will likely put vinyl car numbers on #becauseracecar
 

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