I know everyone loves to look at photos, so I thought I would share a few from the BMWCCA HPDE at Summit Point this past weekend. The weather forecast predicted gloomy conditions for Saturday all week, but were predicting clearing for Sunday. Of course on Sunday there was a torrential down pour almost the entire day.


Well, Saturday was by far the better day, and for many of us (myself included) that was a first time experience driving at speed in the rain.


Thankfully, the 996tt was actually pretty predictable in the rain, and I found the Toyo Proxes T1R tires on my car actually worked pretty well in the rainy conditions. On the first lap out with instructors driving and showing us the racing line, coming out of turn 2 the instructor in front of us lost traction and spun wide, then over corrected and spun back too far the other way. He caught the grip, and then my instructor lost traction in the exact same spot! Wow, it was only about 9:00 on the first day, and now instead of being nervous about driving at speed in these conditions, I was just about terrified...


Sadly, a couple of the BMW Ms in the D run group had off track adventures over the weekend with an E46 M3 being towed off on a flat bed Saturday, and a shiny new M4 with the expensive Carbon Fiber brakes being saved by a gravel trap on Sunday. Seeing that wrecked M3 in the paddock reminded me we go out to the track to have fun, but wrecking your car is nobody's idea of a good time. So with the potential for slipping and hydroplaning lurking all day, I just backed off a little intent on having fun, and keeping my car under control. I did feel the car dance a little in the turns a few times which was good for the confidence, as when it did slip a little, it always felt like the car was still under control, but just pushing the limit of traction a little.


Here are just a couple of shots of my Seal Grey 996tt in various locations on the Summit Point Main Course. Oh, and I can't help posting one shot of the 996tt stalking a red M3 just for fun. In that shot we are winding through the technical carousel area where I found the 996tt was able to hold its own quite well, with a quick pass opportunity coming up just shortly ahead on the uphill straight following turn 9. Actually the owner of that M3 also owns a 996tt, and he commented later after that pass he got a good chance to hear the Kline exhaust, and thought it sounded sweet.


In another shot there is a beautiful silver 991 C4S that was in my run group. The owner was a very nice gentleman from Pittsburgh who loves the HPDEs, and I really enjoyed meeting him and many other new friends.

 

Nice! Do you have your coolant lines pinned/welded? Did they ask about that at tech?

 

Thanks, it was a fun weekend.


I have not yet had the coolant lines pinned or welded, but having quite low mileage on the car and running in very cool conditions, for this event I felt there was a very low risk of any issues with the coolant lines leaking.


Actually since this was a BMWCCA event, the tech inspectors were not very familiar with Porsches, there was no tech issue with the GT block coolant lines.


But to be safe, I had inquired about this prior to the event, just to be sure there would not be an issue at the track.


I have noticed that some of the PCA events "recommend" that if you don't have the coolant lines pinned or welded on these motors you should run only pure water or a solution with water wetter coolant.


I have attached the tech inspection form from my local PCA chapter, that states they "recommend" this preventive measure for GT block motors. I have already contemplated having the coolant lines pinned and will most likely get that done to be safe. I do know that if I decide to frequent HPDEs with this car, I will be certain to have the coolant lines pinned.

 

Great info. Thanks!

 

Awesome! I love it when guys stay at the track on rain days and have safe fun.