ajcjr

Im looking into buying a 718 for weekend and track. Probably 5/6 track days. What mods did you do for tracking the car. Does anyone drive there car on the street with a harness system installed.

Also plan on buying a used/ Porsche Cert (s) model , any years better than others?

Thanks

X2Board

I just did tires (RE71 R), and a track alignment. The stock suspension is limited in adjustment, but works well enough for my level of driving. I'll be upgrading to GT3 LCAs front and rear, as soon as my warranty is up, next January.

PDK 718 CS, with SPASM, PTV, and SC.

Meraki Autoworks

Proper wheel/tire setup.
DSC Sport suspension controller
Coilovers

I'd say those are the basics. Obviously you can get super into it and get roll bars, upgraded suspension arms, LCAs, etc etc..

-Josh

ajcjr

I am thinking a roll bar that will not make driving on the street dangerous.

Sean in Texas

If you are just starting out, there probably isn't anything you need to do to the car.

As you get faster, and notice that the shoulders of your tires are starting to wear, THEN do a track alignment. THEN think about changing pad compounds and brake fluid. THEN think about stickier tires (RE-71Rs are excellent)

There is no reason to go whole-freaking-hog with a bar or harnesses...you don't even know if you're going to enjoy it yet.

Tracking is a slippery slope, don't make it steeper than it needs to be.

DO consider buying a helmet/HANS combo sooner rather than later.

ajcjr

Thanks, i track motorcycles and have raced SCCA SRF in the past, i still have my Hans from racing. After being in a full out race car i think i may feel naked without the harness and hans.

Buckett76

5-6 days a year? I wouldn't do a whole lot to it.

Step 1: Get a helmet, add some camber (-2 deg) and go to the track.
Step 2: once you burn off the tires get some RE-71's,
Step 3: once you burn through the brakes you could go Girodisc and some track pads for better braking
Step 4: repeat steps 2 and 3

Beyond that I wouldn't go crazy. Car has plenty of power and if you want to enjoy on the streets those changes will have minimal impact on that front.

In terms of car, depends on your budget, I would say either get a used base model if you want cheap thrills or if you want all the baked-in track focused options get a GTS (18), you could go S but then you'll want to sift through for those with PTV, SPASM, PSE, etc and I had one that struggled on the track due to turbo limitations (YMMV on that front). All versions are very capable so maybe just shop around for the best deal, the track features are good to have but remember this car in its most basic form will handle very well, the rest enhance it but aren't necessary by any means.

sobiloff

It sounds like you don't have a car yet, so I'd recommend staying away from the S at this time—many people are having trouble with the waste gate actuator over-heating and the car going into limp mode. The GTS uses a different actuator and doesn't suffer from the problem. (Porsche has acknowledged the issue, but does not have a fix. Suncoast has been trying various solutions, but no success so far.) PTV is a really great option to look for—it's not RWS like on the 911s, but it's pretty good none-the-less. I found SPASM to be comfortable enough for a weekend car, but I did go ahead and upgrade to a DSC Sport controller which increased the comfort on the street and the performance at the track (plus it lets you tune the suspension to your individual liking, too).

Also, definitely get some better than OEM brake fluid in the system. I usually use Motul RBF600, but splurged on some Castrol SRF for my CGTS.

Since you're experienced, I'd definitely get a track alignment (max out the front negative camber) before heading to the track. Many cars are thrown out of alignment from shipping, most dealers don't bother to verify new car alignment prior to releasing the car to the customer, and the stock alignment (even when correct) promotes understeer. You can typically only get about -1.5° of camber out of the stock front, but generally that's good enough to avoid serious outside shoulder wear and it tames much of the understeer. However, be prepared to get some camber plates if you're fast enough to overwhelm the outside shoulders with the limited negative camber you can get with the stock suspension.

Again, because you're experienced, I'd say get a set of 18" track wheels (Apex SM-10 or Titans) and some 200-treadwear rubber. (I'm running RE-71Rs, but I'm also hearing really good things about the new Yoko A052s and will likely try those next.) The 20's look great, but the rubber's generally too expensive to run at the track.

Monitor your brakes closely. Assuming you know what you're doing, you'll likely melt the caliper seals pretty quickly. (Some folks suggest that titanium backing plates can help prevent that.) You'll probably upgrade to Ferodo DS3.12 pads after you wear out your stock pads. I went ahead and installed brake caliper stud kits at the same time to avoid stressing the aluminum threads every time I have to change pads. And, after you reach the wear limits on the OEM rotors (or you start getting stress cracks) you'll want to upgrade to GiroDisc rotors (or maybe even the Essex Radi-CALs). But all this depends on how hard you are on your brakes, and honestly the OEM brakes are pretty good for many people. Clark @ApexPerformance is a great resource, especially if you have brake questions.

Hope that helps, and have fun!

ajcjr

Thank you for that info

Jet Jockey

2018 GTS here... In the last 3 weeks I have tracked the car at 2 different events for a total of 3 days on the track and a total of 16 sessions of 20 to 25 minutes in length in temperatures ranging from the mid 80s to low 90s with no issues at all (brakes, engine or tire wear)... The car was bullet proof mechanically and I hope it stays that way... Four more days of tracking coming in July.

List of upgrades...

- Upgraded to Girodisk front and rear and their S/S stud kit and I'm using PFC compound 08. Talk to Clark at Apex Performance for everything brakes for this car.

- Upgraded to Motul RBF600 brake fluid.

- Upgraded to S/S brake line.

- Upgraded with a camber plate to get an extra -1.1 of camber.

- Upgraded the front tie rod for bump steer adjustment.

- For the alignment I set the front camber at -2.2 degrees and the TOE at 0 degree.

- Also went with 18 inch SM-10 track wheel from Apex Race Parts... Front wheels are the wider than OE at 9 inches with an ET of 46 mm and for the rear I went with the OE size of 10 inches with an ET of 36 mm. I'm now debating if I should have gone for a 10.5 inch wheel at the back to stick on wider tires.

- Tires are Nitto NT01s... Front tires are 245/40/18 and rear tires are 275/40/18 (no rubbing).

- DSC PASM controller.

Please note there are two different APEX companies here.

CAUTION:

There are noise issues with the 718. If your track has noise limits you may encounter problems.

ajcjr

Thanks for all the info

sobiloff

Details? My track day at Laguna Seca at the end of August is one of the 90 dB limited ones. I was figuring I'd just have to turn off the sport exhaust, but if you have evidence to the contrary…

Nice mods, by the way!

Leecw

My stock CGTS registered a 94.6db at Laguna - surprised the hell out of me, you'll have to ensure that you have the PSE off and keep revs under the trigger for the PSE valves to open, going up the hill between turns 5 & 6, be careful going under the bridge. It's just a matter of lifting/coasting up the hill in 4th gear - at least that's my experience there

Jet Jockey

How am I going to try to keep this short...

We have a very, very strict 92 dB at 50 feet noise limit at our track.

They use to be somewhat liberal with the noise limit until 2 years ago when the track got taken to court again (many times over the years).

Cars that were never black flagged for noise infringements were now being told to get off the track.

Many high performance cars now even in their stock form/stock exhaust will exceed the 92 dB limit unless the drivers short shifts or lift. Some will modify their exhausts to quiet their car downs. Sometimes just turn down pipes will do the trick sometimes it takes more mods to the exhausts... Examples of this are the newer Mustangs, Camaros, Cayman 981 GT4, 911 GT3 and GT3RS to name a few.

However one very surprising car that is problematic even if it is a turbo car is the 718 and the weird thing is not all of them seem to have the problem.

I am new to tracking my 718 GTS with PDK... I only have 3 track days at our track with it and yet I have not been black flagged (yet) for exceeding the sound limit despite having the pedal to the metal.

Several other 718s running in my run group at the last event were black flagged, one with a reading of 100.3 dB and 98.9 Db on his second attempt. Needless to say that was the end of his two day track event.

The car in question also had problems last year (as others with 718S) and the owner did all kinds of things to the car to alleviate the sound problem... The valves were wired shut, he added two extra resonators and still he got black flagged... Many others with the 718s have also had similar problems so it is not a single car/case issue... I do not understand how this can happen considering others like myself (so far) have no issues.

I run my car with a PDK, is Sports Plus mode which only activates some exhaust modes when required automatically. In other words the sports exhaust does not burble all the time if any...I also run with all the nannies "OFF" which should not affect the sound level but who knows.

Als991?

For someone “getting back to the track” (which is where I was a few seasons ago), here are my thoughts. (Based in DE events in a 981S and then a 718S, including instructing.)

before first event:
flush brake fluid
if you need tires and have 18” rims, RE71
if you need tires and want a street/track tire, Potenza S-002 (ran a set over a dual-driver weekend and was surprised how well they held up at a reasonable grip level for a street tire)
pass tech

during first event:
monitor front tire wear and note how much additional front camber your driving style requires (difference in shoulder wear between inside and outside tire shoulders)
if car has PTV and/or you run with stability control on, monitor rear brake pad wear between sessions
pick a straight on the track to check oil/water temps and monitor every lap (unless passing/being passed/pointed-by)
enjoy how good the stock platform is, annoy 911s
if any hint of “limp mode,” get into the pits

after first event:
max negative camber alignment
track pads, upgrade fluid at same time
fresh oil, and maybe an oil analysis for peace of mind
pick a comfortable number and spend it: new track or street wheels, RE71s, G-lock, 3-pt Hans/helmet, full buckets and harnesses (both sides)


At second event:
pick up where you left off and develop a sense for the car
build a relationship with a good
local shop

after second event:
spend more on the car, if you want