rgs944

I think you are starting with the wrong platform. Buy a 914 and put a 400HP V8 in it. Update the brakes and susupension and that will give you one of the fastest track machines you can get for the money. There is no substitute for a mid engine low center of gravity car on the track. It really is too bad Porsche ruined the 914 by putting a gutless VW engine in it for the mass market.

Speedtoys

I would counter it forces you to learn more....

Speedtoys

That's your conclusion, limited by your own decisions.

Fun in corners is not a gearbox issue, it, IMHO, is 75% driver capability, 25% vehicle capability.

hacker-pschorr

+1
Sometimes lack of vehicle capability adds to the enjoyment.

The best cars in the corners are low(er) HP, and perfectly balanced.

See my avatar, that is Jeremy Clarkson explaining why the Toyobaru BRZ is quite possibly one of the most fun cars to drive in a very long time. If you could somehow give it 500hp without unbalancing the car (and adding weight), it would ruin it.

This coming from the guy that screams "POWER!!!!" every chance he gets.

IcemanG17

hacker is 1,000,000% right......I own an FRS......the single best handling street car I have ever driven on track......a large part of the fun is it isn't scary..... I have driven E92 M3 (414hp) and C6 Z06 (505hp) along with racers between spec miata to 400hp..... With just a couple simple mods (mostly tires and brakes) the FRS would be the ultimate drive to the track and have fun vehicle.....

Carl Fausett

I side with Mark Donahue on this one... and the epic 917-30. I want the power, and perfect setup and balance. It doesn't have to be either-or. It can be both.

That's what I want, mind you, not what I have. Not yet - but we try.

ledee416

I was referring to the ability to change gears going into corners.

Cosmo Kramer

Check out Iceman's videos passing Corvettes with his old 4.7 automatic estate racer. Autos do just fine at the track if you know how to drive them.

GregBBRD

Keep in mind that Andy's automatic is a far cry from stock....and I had it out, several times, to make it work the way it does. Hell, I had it out 3 times before I figured out the proper convertor. That engine made a "real" 500 ft. lbs. (DTS engine dyno at steady state load, not a one time spin-up, through the rpm range on a Dream-O-Meter) and I knew, at the time, that we could not have installed that engine in front of a 5 speed.

That "900hp" engine had something very "inconsistant" (I'm being magnanimous, these days) about it...wouldn't "pull" 5th gear......either at Bonneville or when Mark Anderson drove it.

If you've ever tried to put "a real" 500 ft. lbs. through any "style" 928 clutch, the clutch input shaft, and the torque tube....you would know that nothing there will "handle" than amount of torque, for "extended" periods of time. And even once those problems are solved....there's literally "truck loads" (off road racing) of data about how much power those stock C/V joints and axles will handle.

Whenever any particular vehicle "type" gets modified, there are always "limits" to what the chassis, the brakes, and the drivetrain will handle.

I feel very "limited" in what I can "feed" through the 928 with a manual transmission, right now.....

Yes, I know that there are people, out there, that think or claim to be making big horsepower and big torque out of the 928 engine....with the only proof being a "Dream-O-Meter" dyno chart.

But when the time comes to prove it, they suddenly have a 900hp engine that won't go over 205mph.

What does that "Dream-O-Meter" dyno chart mean when that happens?

Not much.

The Forgotten On

do any of you guys have any idea what amount of power a 3 speed auto could handle? I just want to know the limits so I don't break something and have to put a new one in.

Speedtoys

That's where that 75% comes from.

You don't do that.

Cornering is steady state stuff. Your braking and shifting is done before turn in to have the car settled from entrance to exit.


Anything else is racecraft, and you're not going to be doing that.


And oh ya..WHEN you change gears..."click"..and it's done...you only need 2 of em.

Lizard928

While I concur with Jeff that all shifting is done before the corner, I do not enjoy driving an auto on the track near as much as a manual.......

Speedtoys

And I agree with you 100%.

But at the power levels hes shooting for, its his only stable option.

Just..I appreciate he's trying, but he owns all the wrong kit for his big dreams here...and even if he did, he wants to go about it the hard way...which he is welcome to do.

But when it ends up another "Parts for sale from my 10yr GM conversion project.." it'll be sad.

A blown 4.7 would blow his mind, and well, work.