I recently did a PDK pan replacement with new filter and fluid. I replaced the OEM pan with an after market aluminum pan to improve cooling. It is an easy DIY job. Chris I know you have been thinking about installing a center radiator. I don’t think the 2.9L needs one and they add weight in the wrong place. Two other simple tricks to improve PDK cooling: 1) replace the cheep plastic water valve controlling coolant flow to the PDK heat exchanger with a metal hose barb. That valve is a liability. Mine failed at my second track day. 2) zip tie the trailing edge of the plastic under tray to hold it up to allow more air to enter the PDK scoops.

I’m enjoying this thread. Keep it going.

 

I agree with you on the 3rd radiator. So far my water temps have been steady around 215F on track. I also don't plan to run on hot days. I'll run Laguna Seca during the summer months and the hotter locations in the Spring/Fall.

I'd like to see a picture of your zip tie mod. I was just under there trying to get rid of some vibration noise and didn't see a good place to tie the back edge of the undertray to the chassis.

 

My car has a couple rattles that have been driving me crazy lately. There's something in the rear trunk area. There's also a buzzy noise coming from the driver's side door near the upper speaker grill. I had some free time today so I thought I'd take a look at it.

First, I removed the tail light access covers. The driver's side wasn't bad but the passenger's side was a little rattly. Then I tapped on the rear hatch cover. It was buzzy on the passenger's side too. I removed the cover and tapped around on the hatch. It seems to be better. I took it for a drive and I could hear the harmonic weight on the hatch rattling occasionally. I took the weight off and examined it. The silicone bushings are intact but they seem really soft for the amount of weight they are supporting. I decided to fill the gaps in the bushings with clear silicone RTV. I'll let it dry overnight and see how it looks in the morning.

Next, I removed the driver's side door panel. That was fairly uneventful but when I removed the mirror adjuster two small metal clips fell out. It looks like the tabs holding the clips onto the adjuster just broke clean off when I popped the adjuster housing off the door. I glued the adjust back onto the housing with Shoe Goo. It works great for these type of repairs. I examined the door and I didn't see anything that could be making the buzzing noise. I moved on to the door panel and it sounds like the grill is a little loose at the top. There's no way to remove it so I pried the gap between the panel and grill open and shot some super glue into the gap. I'll check it again tomorrow to see if there are any other places that might be causing the noise I'm hearing.

I ordered some 4mm sound dampening material from Amazon that I'll add to the hatch, interior cover, door and door panel.

 

One thing that helped with regards to rattles on mine is to apply some Tesa tape on any plastic-on-plastic joint when I took most of interior out for suspension swap and headliner replacement. Also replaced any of the metal clips that looks dodgy — it cross references to a VW and you can get a pack of 30 from for cheap. For the hatch luckily the PO had strategically applied some 3M electrical tape on the outside of the 3rd brake light and the harmonic weight is not rattling.. yet..

 

This morning I re-installed the door panel and then went for a 30 minute test drive. The rattles and squeaks seemed to be gone. I think the harmonic weight was the cause of the rattles I heard from the rear. When I got back I added some sound deadener to the hatch and interior panel. I also added a strip of 1/4" x 1/8" weatherstripping to the 3rd brake light where it contacts the interior panel.

The Tesa fuzzy fleece tape seems like a good addition for my tool box. I ordered a roll. If the hatch is still squeaky I'll add it around the perimeter and anywhere it contacts another panel.

 

I added sound deadener to the tail light access covers. I tapped on them after I reinstalled them and I could hear them rattling against the interior plastics. I added a strip of the 1/4" x 1/8" weather stripping at the top inside edge of the covers and those rattles went away.

I'll take it for another test drive this afternoon. I'm hoping I've killed off the worst of the squeaks and rattles for now though.

 

I took a 160 mile round trip drive from my house to Alice's Restaurant in Woodside on Saturday afternoon (Hwy 152, 1, 17, 9, Skyline/35 and back). The trunk area is much quieter than before. I didn't notice any rattles coming from the back of the car unless the pavement was really rough. The doors both have a buzzy rattle on medium to rough pavement. It sounds like it's coming from inside the door, maybe the window regulator? Anyway, it's a big improvement from before.

In other news, I'm signed up for a HPDE day at Sonoma Raceway this Saturday. This will be my first time on that track.

 

I took a 160 mile round trip drive from my house to Alice's Restaurant in Woodside on Saturday afternoon (Hwy 152, 1, 17, 9, Skyline/35 and back). The trunk area is much quieter than before. I didn't notice any rattles coming from the back of the car unless the pavement was really rough. The doors both have a buzzy rattle on medium to rough pavement. It sounds like it's coming from inside the door, maybe the window regulator? Anyway, it's a big improvement from before.

In other news, I'm signed up for a HPDE day at Sonoma Raceway this Saturday. This will be my first time driving on that track.

 

Sonoma is a fun track! Here is a photo of the zip ties supporting the undertray. I think I just went around some water hoses.

 

Thanks @GroupJ. I'm going to do an oil change and swap wheels/brakes in the next couple days. I'll take a look at the zip tie mod while I'm under there.

 

Yesterday I changed the oil after 6k miles and 2 track days and took a sample for an oil analysis. I don't mind changing my own oil but holy crap it is a freaking mess in this car. I've tried putting a gallon sized ziplock bag around the filter but that only seems to catch about 50% of the oil. Afterward I had to clean up an Exxon Valdez sized spill on the garage floor.

In hindsight I should wipe down every surface in a 6" radius around the filter before I install the new one. I failed to do that yesterday and found a quarter sized spot of oil under the car this morning. I really need to find a large drip pan or mat to put down under the car when I do oil changes from now on.

I pulled the street tires and brakes off the car. I've been using Porterfield R-4 pads on the front and R-4E pads in the rear. The front pads lasted about 4 days. The 4E are endurance pads and are supposed to last longer than the 4s but have slightly less bite. I took the car out this morning to bed in the pads. I was able to get ABS to kick in a few times so I'd say the 4E have plenty of bite.

I'm heading to Sonoma Raceway for a track day tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I've had several people tell me that it's their favorite track in CA.

 

The oil filter is a b*tch. I have yet to not have oil drip on my hand when removing it.

 

At least I know I'm not the only one. Thanks!

 

I drove Sonoma Raceway for the first time on Saturday. I've been putting off running there for a while because of all the horror stories I've heard. There are a lot of places where the walls are close and it's easy for things to go wrong. It's definitely not a place where I could go 100% right off the bat. There were multiple offs during the day. Most weren't too bad but I saw a new GR86 with the front bumper torn off and the entire right side mangled, a 986 Boxster with the entire left side torn up, and a brand new C8 Corvette with front end damage that had to be towed out.

I was running in the intermediate group and I was near the bottom for most of the day. Each session I tried to find someone whose pace was a little ahead of mine but it wasn't easy. My fastest laps started in the 2:05 range. In the final session I was finally starting to get my footing and got a point by from a guy in a M2 that had been ******* me all day. My final full lap was a 2:03.39 but I was up .86 seconds in the second sector when I saw the checkered flag. My optimal lap would have been in the low 2:02s.

I used Porterfield R-4E pads all the way around. They are lower bite than the R4 that I used before but for the most part I didn't have any problems slowing the car down. I think that I'll try something else after I've gone though this set though. This was the third day on this set of tires and I can probably get a couple more out of them. The tire temps were higher than I'm used to but it was a warm day (87F) and this track is harder on tires than the others I've ran. It could still use a little more camber in the rear but the adjustments are maxxed out. The pressures were pretty damn close.

184 184 191 | 183 177 172

166 168 165 | 170 168 168

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I daily'd a VW GTI Mk5, which has a similar oil filter cartridge housing to our 9A1, but the filter housing has a cap which can be unscrewed and there's a drain valve. There's aftermarket hoses which can be attached to the drain valve. Wish there was a similar housing available for our Porsches to keep things clean.