xsboost90

Took off friday afternoon for Indianapolis to putnam park race course. I got a ride friday night in a friends uber-fast 911 and watched some more cars take their lines around the track. I had been watching videos of putnam all the last week or two trying to learn the track. Saturday i had class in the morning then i got to run w/o a helmet on a slow run braking excercise and slow laps. My second time out was w/ an instructor again and i learned my lines better and better as the day progressed. The last session went great and my instructor signed me off for sunday by myself.

Sunday morning- walked the track and rehearsed my "lines" then waited for my turn on the track again. My first run was very good and i was following a very smooth line and passing many of the slower D group students. My second time out i put the hammer down and was passing people left and right while sticking to my lines and getting progressively faster. I clocked my fasted time 1:27 that session but not til after my cool spin off turn 7 after forgetting to downshift through the 85degree turn. My last time out there most of the people had left for the day and there were only a few in D class that were going to run, so we decided to put the video camera in my car on the rollbar. I put in a couple fast laps then decided to let a car that was keeping up nicely w/ me pass and make things more interesting for the video. Coming down the straight after one quick lap i heard the camera beeping that the battery had died, so i kept on anyway towards turn one around 105mph as usual. After turn one and two i started hearing a harsh clicking sound but then it disappeared. Then back in turn five i heard the click, then turn seven, then nine....one more lap then into the pits. The car was making a harsh noise like something grinding or rubbing the engine that increases w/ engine speed. I pulled the the car into our area and checked the belts but they seem ok. I start it back up and still clicking very harshly. IM hoping its not a bearing clapping that would suck....Anyways we put it on my friends trailer and took it to the shop. Ill check it out later, but im off to bed now.

pics of turn ten, my reaction after some fast laps...and me passing one of the red 944 turbos that i was lapping through the course of the day .

pearldrum944

Very cool! Sounds like you enjoyed it. Good luck with the engine problem, I hope it turns out to be nothing too serious.

Oh yeah, and get that video up on here.

michaelathome

Sorry that I couldn't hang out and stay for the event.

I did talk to the owner of the new to me 87 and he goes to Putnam quite frequently, he mentioned being part of/owner of a racing team. It all came across as a little confusing. I am not sure what kind of racing he is doing.

Originally he intended to do an engine swap on the 87 but picked up another Uber rare and is going to do the swap with that. He said that he was hoping to do a VW .:R32 swap and twin turbo it. he was hoping for 400+HP in a 2400lb chassis. Would be a fun ride. Not sure why he didn't just get a sorted out 951.

If you want I can PM you his name and #.

Michael

joseph mitro

DE is very addictive. and it's especially fun when you're passing faster cars because your line is better. as i've learned, though, i have so much to learn to be a better driver.

the ticking sound doesn't sound good. did your oil pressure drop? if you have a bad rod bearing, sounds like you need a rebuild. keep us informed. good luck

ps....do you have brake cooling ducts installed in the bumper? cool. and what size wheels/tires you running?

xsboost90

i didnt see my oil pressure drop, still seems fine when you start it. I had just topped it off before that session. The noise while it does sound like its internal it could just be echoing around, it sounds like a bad roller on the front or something. I pulled it off the trailer and it was making a bunch of noise, then i reved it alittle and it quieted down then started again, on and off. WE'll see i guess. Runs fine though!
the brake ducts are molded into the fiberglass bumper, but the holes are alittle small so when i get my brake duct kit ill have to open them up abit. My wheels are 15x7" phones w/ 225/50/15 kuhmo victoracers which held up pretty good really and surprisingly my brakes were plenty out there as well. My brake pads are pretty worn though now.

GlenL

And another guy tokes the go-fast crack pipe.

I'll be looking for your posts on suspension mods, engine mods, competition tires and brake pads. (What's winter for anyways?)

xsboost90

well we took the cambox off and checked out the lifters today, i have 7 that are hard as a rock and one that is totally spungy, easy to collapse w/ your finger. Im hoping that is my clicking in the top end, now that i think of it, it does sound like jeff's 924s when it sits for awhile and the lifters drain down. Im getting a lifter and gasket this week and now i have a chance to paint my cambox!

-glen- yeah im thinking new rotors/pads this winter, fix my oil leak and while im replacing the swaybar bushings may as well put in some better ones right? I also need some harnesses and some new slicks as well.

pearldrum944

Careful here, the position of the cam will (or should) have 2 of the lifters feel spongy. This is because the oil has been pushed out of them. Last time I pulled my valve cover off lifters # 3 and 7 felt weak, put it back together and that wasn’t my ticking problem.

xsboost90

none of your lifters should feel spongy, unless they are bleeding down. 7 of mine are good, one is real soft. We'll see i guess, but we had been cranking it before we pulled the cambox off, so the oil should have pumped it up. I have lifters sitting on the shelf that feel tighter than this one, and they have no oil in them! Besides, im not ready to admit there is a bearing bad. I DID hear some lifter float just a lap before the ticking started, i just thought i was not hearing right or something. The car also runs great and the noise sounds real tappy and in the top end. Ive heard lower end knock and this does not sound like that. If i go start jeff's car up after sitting, it gets the same real tin'ey tap in the top until the lifters pump up. Lets hope that is what i get for reving my poor car alittle too much. Time for solid lifters!

tifosiman

Or a 3.0 with the power to negate any need for 7K rpm's.

Techno Duck

Do you need harnesses to run in DE events? I would like to get into these eventually..though a bit to expensive for me at the moment. Not to mention im way to lazy to make the 100-150 mile drive to the nearest tracks at Pocono and Watkins Glenn. Not to mention if anything went wrong, AAA will only tow me 100 miles at best . Full face helmets required? I have a 'hybrid' helmet. It has portion that wraps around the jaw (mouth guard i suppose?) with an open eye portion.

joseph mitro

no harnesses or full face helmets required, although (depending on the host organization) you generally need a SA-95 or higher rated helmet. most organizations allow you to run your car completely stock. in fact, if you have a race seat or harness for the driver, you are required to have one for the instructor (passenger) as well.

good luck on the lifters. it sounds like this may be your problem if the ticking sound was up high not down low in the engine. my rod knock was quite noticeable and deteriorated quite rapidly after only 5-6 miles of driving (yea, i was ignorant at the time)

Z-man

Welcome to the addiction!

Now, be prepared to open your wallet and empty out ALL of it's contents!

-Z-man.

xsboost90

i think...yep, i think i already did!

xsboost90

well i guess it was a more expensive weekend then i thought, put the new lifters in and she's still a knocking. I guess its time to pull the motor.