Marlon Targa 86

Hey,

I took my car to the Willow Springs Raceway about a month ago and had the time of my life. I got new Kumho ECSTA SPT tires and I'm ready to hit the track again in October on the Button Willow track.

My question is: knowing my car has about 43K miles and runs great, but has no special "track mods" (except the tires), would you take that kind of car to the track or am I shortening the lifespan of the engine and tranny considerably? Also know I don't push the car that much: no speed shifting, no screeching tires, etc. Just fun driving.

Marlon

RT930turbo

These cars are built to be driven; take it to the track and enjoy it! As long as you don't abuse it, (which it sounds like you're not), they will last a long, long time.

Have fun!

84_Carrera

Absolutely. My '84 Cab has seen a couple of rainy DE days as well.

"Track Mods" are NOT necessary for a DE day. A safe (mechanically & non-leaking) vehicle & driver, are.

pmason

I mostly use my 84 Targa for the track, I have around 45k miles, don't need to do much to go to the track, but I have been free falling down the slippery slope on upgrades.

Amber Gramps

Did someone say targa? Here is Ed's '84 lightly(chuckle cluckle) moded targa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EihKqctYwU

TroyN

Sure, if you'd let me!

tlarocque

The car will probably last longer if you take it to the track and drive it like it was meant to be driven. Although not the quickest, my '88 Carrera with 130k miles is the car I most enjoy driving on the track. I do drive it pretty hard when I take it out and the car only seems to run better on the way home. Don't be afraid and have fun!

911tracker85

I went to my first DE in my 85 targa about 10 yrs ago with about 75K miles, totally stock.

Marlon,
it sounds like you have now been infected with the disease. just accept the fact it is incurable.

attending track events on a regular basis is the only treatment. and then as the disease advances, the performance upgrades slippery slope syndrome develops.

the minimum would be to get a good set of track brake pads and flush the brake fluid with a high temp, such as ATE superblue.

for these generation 911s that have been well maintained, and if you drive the car "properly" - hard and fast but properly, the main expense track sessions will create is just increased frequency/attention to maintenance and 'consumables' such as brakes/tires.

now at 130K miles my car is running better than ever. my wife would ask "what was wrong with [what ever I was replacing]." usually nothing. but over the past several years, upgraded brakes, torsion bars, suspension components, cams, chip, exhaust, etc, etc. followed. this past winter I finally caught up on the saftey content with a bolt-in cage/seats/harnesses/HANS.

on reflection, my one point of advice is to start considering safety content before/as you slip down the performance upgrades slope. be safe and develop your skills and feel for the car.

one benefit of track experience is you will be come a better driver on the street. and rather than be tempted to take unnecessary risk on the public highways you get to drive on a track in a manner you could never do safely on the steet.

years ago I was talking to a guy at a DE who just bought a new BMW. he said a friend asked why he would take such a beautiful/expensive car to the track. reasaonable reply, "why would someone buy such a car and NOT go to the track. that is what they are for."

let the track therapy begin!

enjoy.

Marlon Targa 86

Ok, since we're on the subject:

When you guys are driving a "stock" 1980's Porsche on track, what are your findings in terms of:

1. Grip?

Got new Kumho SPT's and I'm excited about getting more grip than my worn out BFGoodrich tires.

2. Transmission?

While driving on the track, I'm always trying not to shift in high RPM's or speed shift. I guess, I'm afraid of hurting the tranny

3. Tire pressure?

Tire pressure seemed good throughout the day, without me having to bleed the tires at all. Is that normal? Or am I not pushing the tires enough? The temp on the track was about 90 degrees.

4. Brakes?

At what point/speed am I risking warping the rotors?

Marlon

ron mcatee

You betscha I would. Drive the crap out of it too. It will only run better. If you didn't know, when 911 engines came off the production line, they were tested for 1 hour in the test cell at Redline RPM.

I_am_imprezed

1. The average high performance street tire wont have that much grip on a stock Porsche. If your not making the tires scream your not pushing hard enough (or at least to the cars capabilities). This includes braking and cornering. Fresh Kuhmo's with lots of meat should grip very good for a street tire.

2. You can run the car close to redline (porsche's are built tough) just be easy with your shifts and heel-toe rev match when braking to reduce driveline shock

3.Every tire is different and i am unfamiliar with yours but Set your pressures to somethiing like 35all around and check them as SOON as u come off the track. If your putting something like 10lbs in them your pushing hard. If Optimal pressure is 46lbs on your tires (just an example) try to make your hot pressures as close to that as possible.

4.Brakes...(its not a braking track its a racing track) but seriously good pads/fluid should be plenty good for a green run group driver. Make sure you use a true track pad and not a high performance street pad...with either ATE blue fluid or Brembo fluid.

g-50cab

I thought the same thing when I brought my 49,000 mile cabriolet to the track for the first time - it always runs better after a weekend of running it (now at 69,000 miles)

Jaws911

"I do drive it pretty hard when I take it out and the car only seems to run better on the way home."

+1 -what he said ( '86 Cab)

Ed Hughes

Well, as noted above, your only real danger is that you'll get better at driving your car, and start seeing some limits-so you'll spend a few $. Then, you'll need to keenly evaluate what you can do to improve it, and still keep it at the level of street car condition that you want.

Mine's no show queen, but she looks great and has for the 7 years since I painted her (with maybe 40-50 track days in the duration) and is quite strong mechanically. Most cars that are tracked see a bit more preventive maintenance and certainly refurbing as upgrades are added.

I went way down the suspension steep slope recently, so she really is pretty rough on the street if you're just loping around crummy Calif roads-but she ran on only mildly improved suspension for a few years for track days and was always quite capable yet still comfortable on the street.

You can achieve a good balance, IMO.

While we're on the subject, Ruby is signed up for a DE @ Calif Speedway in Fontana on 9/13. As part of my prep last weekend, the brakes were flushed, they were last done way back in Feb of this year, and new rear pads ordered. The pads were just under 50%, but you want all the mass you can get at the track. Neither or these were necessary, but this goes to show that some maintenance or conditional aspects of cars that get tracked semi-regularly can be above and beyond what may be the norm.

Marlon Targa 86

How much does a brake flush cost?