onebad928s

Todays Autocross at Nassau Coliseum turned out to be a ok day since we had rain during the night. Finally we had 3 928s show up. So you would think compition would be tuff and plus we all had manual cars which is rare. Well to my surprise they moved me up to the Modified class (6 cylinder 3200CC and up,996 GT3) class. Lucky for me no one else was in that class so it was a easy first. If someone was to show up i have my work cut out for me. The other 2 928s were pulling some good times for the track condition. Even though im not in the 928 class anymore we still need more down there. Next race is June 6th at the Nassau Coliseum just check at ( www.metronypca.org )

Lou
83 928 5speed

Tahoe Shark

I attended my first autocross this weekend in Reno, NV. We were the only 928 and it was a Porsche club event. The first day we got 5 runs. It was cloudy and windy and in the low 60's. The car actually did well, the driver, thats another story. My wife and I both had instructors for the first 3 runs and learned alot. It was interesting because when assigning the instructors, no one had ever driven a 928, or knew how they handled and they were slightly puzzled as to which instructor to assign to us (we eventually got some real class guys). Then we were on our own for the next 2 runs. Both of us posted our fastest times during those laps.

Day 2 was much warmer, no wind and more cars. Still the only 928. During the night someone evedently put a hex on the car. First run the car was on ball bearings, I could not stop the car from sliding. I figured that I had just chosen the wrong line or I had forgotten everything I learned the day before. After the 3rd run, and frankly quite frustrated, I checked the tire pressure. Holy Sh***t 48 lbs front and 47lbs rear. I asked around to several of the really hot 911 guys as to what they run for pressures hot and cold. I got a wide range of answers. So I made an executive decission to lower the pressure. Yesterday they were 40lbs front and rear hot. I let 3 lbs out of all of the tires bringing them to 45 and 44lbs. My 4th and last run was .8 quicker and the car was still squirley. That leads me to believe that I was still to high.

Since I don't know any 928 autocrossers, and the autocross forum is mainly 911/914's, can those of you who really know this car help me. The car is aligned correctly, and has new Koni adjustable shocks, stock springs and a DEVEK front sway bar. I have Michelin Pilot Sports 265/17 in front and 285/17 in the rear. What cold & hot pressure should I see? Would the pressures change for a DE event? Higher or lower?

I know most of the time gains will come through becoming a better driver, but I need to establish a base level on the car setup. My wife and I both agreed that we want to continue with autocross and well as other events so we can explore the cars's limits, and we were all smiles dispite Sunday sliding drills. All advice is welcome.

Thanks in advance!!!!

onebad928s

Tim,
I was running full pressure on my tires since i didnt want to roll the tire and destroy the rim lip. I also have the 285 on the rear but in 18. My first lap i spun the car (fun!!) but was all over the place coming out of the corners. It seems the back of the car likes to fish tail especially when you try to power out of a turn. Just remember the first lap or 2 is the learning to know where to push and let go and get a feel for the car. All the 928s at the race was loose but so were the other cars. By second half everyone had it down and dropped there times about 2-4 seconds. The question is were you bumped to another class or it was your wife and against you and did you have fun. Fun is what counts.

Lou
83 928 5speed

Tahoe Shark

We had nothing but fun!!

Actually we were the only "Ei" car there and we ran by ourselves. Did you by any chance check your tire pressures?

Thanks

onebad928s

Tim,
I was running 50PSI the rated pressure for my tires 225/40/18 and 285/30/18. By second half of the day i wasnt sliding so much and i was talking to a few people to see what line they were using and i was also watching the racers as i worked the course to see where they were messing up also.

Lou
83 928 5speed

Jim bailey - 928 International

Tim was it a true autocross where you just do a single lap for each run ? or did they have 15-20 minute practice lapping sessions ? If the former , then you "only" had at most only 20 minutes of practice TOTAL in two days . If as I assume the tires were nearly new the full tread depth is a big negative and the tires are not going to stick . I would recommend that you try to attend one of the POC short track schools at the Streets of Willow Springs . The one day school and next day event will get you more than TWO HOURS of driving as fast as you can !! and exposure to driving on a skidpad where you can see what happens when you brake and accelerate while turning . If I were to guess and I am , I would speculate that to some extent the second day you were trying very hard to go faster and were over driving the tires and the sliding around heated the tires . If you observe the low horsepower cars being smooth , holding momentum , not turning in too abruptly all that applies to the 928 EXCEPT you have the power under your right foot to induce oversteer in just about any corner . Power sliding the rear end around corners while great fun tends not to be all that fast ...lots of smoke , noise , and fury and keeps you really busy but not fast . Good to see you getting out there enjoying the car and as you point out practice , practice , seat time will make the most difference . While the prospect of a weekend in Rosamond ( Palmdale /Lancaster) might not seem very attractive , the opportunity to get that much experience which will literally will get you up to speed , more than makes up for it . Should you do such a POC short track event keep an eye out for a very brown 1980 928 . Sept. 4 POC has the next school with an driving event on the 5 th . The POC website : www.porscheownersclub.org ph # 949 - 360-6475 Laurie Taylor

Cameron

I just completed my first POC Drivers Ed event. Having done a few autocrosses I will say that yes they are alot of fun, but the DE is much more satisfying. Much more track time, good instruction and you put the car in an environment more to its character IMHO.

If you enjoyed the autocross, you will love a Driver's Ed.

.....Cameron
'91 Euro GT

Tahoe Shark

Jim
The autocross was one warmup lap then a timed lap for each time out on the track. So each "session was only about 100 seconds. You are right, that is not alot of time, and yes it could have been all me that was screwing up. It is just that as soon as I brought the tire pressure down the lap times dramatically went down. I suppose I could have driven differently that lap, but I don't think so.

Are short track events like DE's? I am planning on doing a couple of DE's in the next 6 weeks or so up north. I would love to come down there and meet all of the so cal rennlisters at Willow Springs, but I'm not sure time will allow. I'll definately try. I would like to come to "Sharktober Fest"this year. Choices, are everywhere. I am looking forward to getting more instruction to even scratch the surface to the Sharks potential. I'm very fortunate that my wife is enjoying the car too!

When you go to a track, autocross, etc. do you necessarily set your tires (cold) to the max rating as onebad928s does? In any case I guess it's going to be a set of tires every year.

Dennis K

Hi Tim -

I used to run Michelin Pilot Sports on my car in autoX's and I was using much less pressure than you. I'd usually run 32 psi (f) and 30 psi (r) cold because at DE's those would be my target pressures hot. One thing to note though, I was running 245/40/18 & 275/35/18 tires so I had slightly shorter, stiffer sidewalls which could support the car's weight with the low pressures. On 17's I'd try 36/34. You can also do the autoXer trick of putting chalk marks on your sidewalls to see how far the tire is rolling over and adjust pressures if you see a problem.

For my car at DE's I'd start at 27/25 cold and measure pressure after a few hot laps. Usually would have to bleed off a pound or two. The best way to adjust tire pressures at the track is to use a pyrometer and measure the temperatures across the tread. Varying car setups and tires can make choosing the right pressure difficult if you don't have tire temp info.

The car is definitely going to slide around a bunch. We've got relatively heavy cars that are somewhat under-tired for how much torque we've got. Add street tires to the mix and it's a wheelspin festival.

Let me know if you have any questions about DE's in NorCal. I've run with most of the DE organizations and can direct you to the good ones. Have fun out there.

ew928

Hi Lou,
Perusing the MetroPCA Porsche Post few issues ago
stipulated that Porsche's with adjustable coilovers are
automatically put into the modified class.
Guess they didn't consider the newer 928s when
making up the class rules.

Ernest (NYC)
Just had my rear height lifted 3 turns after PCA head 928 tech guru
John V. noted that my 928 was low riding in the back.

onebad928s

earnest,
my stock 928 came with factory coilovers (bilsteins) but it wasnt that to tell you the truth it was the lack of

sound deadner,
sunroof system,
heating,
a/c system,
power seats,
and all the carbon fiber
so basically the weight reduction but its all good

Lou
83 928 5speed