Below is a video from last Sunday when I was at Thunderhill, which is is off of Hwy 5 between Sacramento and Redding in Northern California. I ran with the Northern California Racing club for the first time. They are a nice folks, with run groups to accommodate all different experience levels, but I would suggest that you run with the PCA (meant PCA, not POC) if you are just starting out. They are also very affordable, less that $150 for a day at Thunderhill for five 20 minute sessions.

I ran in the Open group, where you can pass anywhere, including the corners. The driver's meeting was very short - pretty much "we expect that you know what you are doing or you are in the wrong group, don't screw up." My experience was everybody knew how to drive and passing was easy and well coordinated.

The car, a 2012 991 CS2, was in Sport Plus with the PDK in auto (but I occasionally downshifted manually to avoid the kickdown switch), PSM off and the rear spoiler up. The MPSS worked well as long as the pressures were below 40psi and the brakes with Pagid pads and Castrol SRF fluid worked great, despite the 100 degree heat.

When running hard in the early afternoon I got an overheating message, and Sport Plus was not available. I let the car cool off and all was fine. I swung by the dealer the next day and there were no codes or leaks, just got hot.

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome:

 

Hey man thats a great track, very consistent and sharp driving too..

 

Thank you! It is a really fun track and I am looking forward to trying the new 5 mile configuration soon.

 

Looks like a fun course!

I am from Sacramento and have a MY15 C2S scheduled for delivery in late september. I will have to check out the NCRC website and hopefully make it out there once the car is broken in.

I have very little track experience so I will probably take your advice and run with the POC.

Thanks for the vid and info

 

Very nice run - would love to see more of your videos.

 

Wondering if a third radiator (part of X51 kit) would reduce your overheating problem!

 

The NCRC have a school for first timers, but I think the POC has more experienced, Porsche centric instructors that can really get you off on the right foot. Once you get 3 or 4 DE's under your belt, the NCRC folks offer a great, inexpensive option. Glad to hear that you want to take your car on track, I think it is the best/only way to experience what it really can do. They are amazing.

 

Thank you, I will post some videos next time I am out, probably August. If you track your car, looking forward to seeing your videos as well. if you don't then I suggest you consider taking it to the track. Its a lot of fun.

 

I was considering the same thing. Up until last weekend, I never had an overheating problem, even when running in 100+ degrees. I am not sure if it was an usual thing or not, but I will certainly keep my eye on things.

Regarding the 3rd radiator, I heard second hand that it may induce front end lift due to the air flow through the radiator under the car. The air extracting hood of the GT3 is designed to remedy this. I was going to see if I could find out more before installing, but if cooling becomes a problem, I will look into that as well as an extra oil cooler.

 

Will definitely take it to track someday - it looks so much fun.

Since I drive like a granny - I think I should join Porsche Driving School first before taking it to track

 

Very cool how you've got the car's telemetry in the video. It looks like you've got very smooth car control, nicely done.

I couldn't watch the whole thing because I get jealous. It's been a long while since I've been on the track.

 

POC, NCRC, and the GGR chapter for PCA are all nice groups. POC is mostly socal though. If you're in NorCal, checkout Golden Gate PCA (GGR). Nice group, run well, good instructors. POC is great too, just most of their time is at the socal tracks. Ive had instruction from all these groups and PCA GGR & POC are both very good. Highly recommended.

 

Your PDK got warm. That is all. Thunderhill has a new technical section that I have not seen but the older track had long fast corners that were good for cooling. I have competed in the 25 Hours 5 years consecutively but the temps are low low low. Your 991 sounds awesome. If you need any additional input about PDK, tracking the new 991/981, etc., feel free to drop me a line. I would not worry though. You could add an air-oil heat exchanger but if your car in fact does NOT have a center 3rd radiator, that will solve 99% of the issues for a 911 at least. If you don't have the center 3rd rad, you don't need anything other than that.

 

Great driving! Looks like a long and tough track! Tell me about the in video telemetry? Great stuff

 

my thoughts exactly - and suncoast offer a kit for around $650 ...