Ah Spring is here, all the track junkies are coming back.... :-)

 

LOL, yeah what's that saying - "what part of racing and porsche did you think was not going to be expensive?"

I was actually hoping for my pre-season bill around 5K. The 11K definitely surprised me, although just about half was on stuff that was either a one time thing, (like some cosmetic stuff or just making the car more user friendly) or some pretty major maintenance that i won't have to do for some time. But, i guess there's always going to be a major thing that comes up LOL. Then, there's the dollars spent on stuff that is completely not necessary - like the helmet paint job (posted pics last month), as well as doing a livery on the car. There's almost 4K that i'd like to have back!

Shop was going to drain tranny fluid to see if there was any metal. was getting a crunch going into 3rd gear towards end of event. so far so good. haven't gotten a call yet. Got a text last night from him saying "call me right away". i told him i'd almost rather get a call from my doctor saying "call me right away"

 

yeah, we come crawling out of hibernation. This is one circumstance where i'm happy i don't live in a warm climate year round. i couldn't afford to track the car all year round LOL. the winter is to rest my wallet. i just usually stock up on brake pads and tires.

 

Expensive is right-
I was looking at upgrading my 6TT over Christmas and wanted wing/clutch/billets so decided to go another route and swapped for 7.1 GT3 then proceeded to track prepping that: CCWs, NT01s, studs, exhaust, alignment, PFC08s, then installed bits from the 6 (seats/Rollbar,harness,fire). Looking forward to that first track day with you D and very interested how it will perform compared to the 6TT... certainly will miss the torque!

 

Hey Guys, thanks for stopping in!

I have been throttling my pre 2014 track maintance expenses over the last three months so I didn't receive a $11-15K bill, but rather a more palatable monthly charge. Dropped the car off yesterday morning for new AP Racing CUP Rotors and hardware, the last major pre season expense before our first event other then rubber.

Enjoying a little RR this weekend in Tahoe before heading to Thunderhill next weekend.

Cheers!

 

So it has been a few months since i have been on track…as we all know….the last time out was my first outing on Toyo triple 8's and i was very unhappy with the lack of their performance and the VERY small window of optimum grip they offered. Well, since then and, several hundred street miles later, they performed very well today. Quite honestly, I cannot actually complain with the level of grip and confidence they provided me with this outing. However, after the second track day these meats have seen some serious sidewall degeneration, check out the outer edge wear indicators on the rear tires:



Here are the fronts:



On the upside EtchHead, made his debut with his new (to him) 997.1 GT3! He was MUCH TOO KIND and offered me an outing in the car. I have driven his car before, but only on the street. Its definitely no Turbo, but it is, a GT3 and it is a very unique and a impressive beast….indeed. As I pulled out to the hot pits I could immediately feel the weight difference as well as sensing the GT3 having much less rolling resistance than my Turbo, and what a blast taking it up to 8,000 rpm's before shifting!

Once EH really gave me the opportunity the drive his new pride and joy…I told him I would take it easy and just do two or three warm up laps and then one (eighth tenths) hot lap to she what she could really do. That didn't go as planned. After the first out lap I had some much confidence in the GT3 I was ready to let her sing at full note. Shortly after, I caught up to one of my 2013 competitors and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do some lead-follows. He decided to give me a point by and then sucked up to my rear…game on…we had quite some fun until the low fuel light came on. At that point I pulled into the pits and swung by EH and told him he needed to get in the car with me (he has a competitor for 2014! Meaning his new GT3. Both in the GT-2 and/or GT-1 classes). By the time we fueled up, we only had one lap left in our session. Therefore, we waited for our next session.

Once back out, (EH in his car, but in the passenger seat),I told him I would do a typical warm up quali lap and then go full monty on lap two….hmmm...was that really the right thing to do in someone else's vehicle????….Lets just say on lap two we hit some traffic and on lap three I was ready to let her fly! Coming into T1, in forth gear and almost flat after braking while going through the turn (slightly late)….the car was drifting all the way to the far right edge of the track on the gators. At that point the rear end began to come around! Well, you can only imagine what happened next. Lets just say several loop-dee-loops…on track and then a few more off track…by the time we stopped spinning we were back on track and well into the entry point of T2! Yes, this was a triple digit MPH rear-end breaking loose event…it was quite a ride... and we were VERY LUCKY that nothing traumatic happened to say the least!

I felt terrible having an off in his new car…that being said…thats how well his car is set-up and the confidence it offers. Perhaps maybe we should have left the traction control on while getting to know this new beast!

 

Good grief! LOL glad it all worked out! Regarding the 888's - i've never used them but there is a saying i've heard - "friends don't let friends use 888's".

 

Eh, must be something in the water......I looped mine last Friday at High Plains which was the first off-the-track excursion I've ever had. Fortunately, except for losing the front spoiler lip and packing the wheels with dirt which necessitated remounting the tires, there was minimal damage. It did seem like someone threw a dirt bomb into the car though! Gaackk! Once the shop checks everything out and the detailers clean her up, it will back to the track this Friday.

I was running on R-888's for the second time as well and found them to be superior to my usual choice of RE-11's. Running 31/35 hot seemed to work well although we have once again reestablished that even very good tires will not overcome the laws of physics! Onward!

 

D glad you're okay are you trying to get EH back in his turbo

 

Hey Tom,
No, DEFINITELY NOT trying to get EH back in a Turbo. This GT3 is quite capable. In fact I think he set his best lap time to date at TH yesterday, first time on track in the car no less!!! Rumor has it I was pretty close to my fast times as well in his GT3. I believe this is the right choice/direction for him to progress into. Its a quick car (we) both just need to learn how to drive it!!!! That is if he ever lets me behind the wheel again!!!! LOL!!!!

Steamboat: This was my first off since the early 90's! YIKES....sucks I had to do it in someone else's car though...I definitely got lucky, I thought I was going to have to write big check!
As I mentioned I was very pleased with the eights on this outing as well. I was also very impressed with Etechhead's tires, NTo1's (I think ?) 18's 245/40 and 305/35 (guessing here).

E55AMG: Good Grief is right!!! LOL Not too sure what road tire I will go with next, but I did just order a fresh set of R6's today! Next outing is in two weeks.

 

Just getting back online- spent the last three days out at Big Sur and they are dark out there!

Happy to report I've pulled both right wheels and everything looks fantastic. Car is completely unharmed after two substantial offs. Have to say the level of "nanny" in Sport mode is much less than I'm used to in the 6TT. I did put down my fastest time with new NTs and PFCs but I certainly have a lot to learn with this car. It WILL make you a better driver and is more capable than the turbo especially out of box. Very impress on street as well.

D- you were putting down some sick laps and had me second guessing my skills and risk aversion until you had your "excursion"!! Thanks for that- next time pick a different car!!

 

LOL…I didn't pick the car... you offered it to me : ) …well…and I said I would take it easy. It just felt soooo good, I couldn't help myself.

Regardless, I agree the TT's have more in "nanny" control features, as the front wheel drive portion also aids in pulling things back into shape. Both "offs" were driver errors with both of us being too comfortable with our TT's and how they would save our assess if we slightly missed timed or judged the apexes. Both offs were caused from late apexing. Let's hope we shook all the demons out of your GT3 and now its ready to be treated with a little extra caution and respect while still besting your 996 TT lap times.

In the end, I think we both learned a valuable lesson and we should not take these vehicles for granted. The GT3 can bite, and bite hard without warning! Fortunately, this happened under very safe conditions and not in a "race" environment or in heavy traffic.

Wishing you the best on May 5th. Can't wait to see your official AMB times throughout the season and your ongoing improvement during 2014!

Cheers,
VID

 

Wow, D, is the GT3 that good ? You were as fast in a stock GT3 as your fully tricked out Turbo? Real questions for my education and not sarcastic at all.

Glad you are doing well. That sounded very very scary - triple digit spin .

 

No sarcasm taken. Yes, his GT3 was surprisingly good. However, its not a stock GT3 and has been properly setup and aligned for track duty more so then street use, including custom 18x9 and 18x12 inch wheels. A very reputable GT3 track specialist here in NorCal (TCD) set the car up for him. I was able to drive the car very fast right out of the box, but I do not think its as fast as my Turbo (faster than a average/average track prepped Turbo, yes). The times given were by spectators and were not official, therefore "their" fastest times were still 1.5-2.X+ slower then my official times, in essence which could be as much as 2-4 seconds off pace. However with that being said, I feel with more seat time (like a season) I could be very, very close to my TT times. Etchhead is a capable driver so it will be fun to watch him improve over the next coming months and hopefully we will see him improve upon all his times at LS, SP, and TH.

 

Below is a crappy iPhone pic of EH's car in 2014 Race Livery: