jbdmd

I posted this on autocross too but this group gets more traffic:



Hello

I did my first autocross this weekend with the pca I am hooked!

I have a few questions though:

1)Am I killing my car? (I mean more than the tires...and I was in second gear the whole time)

2)what is it going to set me back to change have a spare set of wheels with sticky tires...perhaps kumho...or similar (preferably used)

3)What other mods can i make to my stock car that will not void my lease but will improve handling?

Thanks

safetywork

Jason,

Firstly I don't know anyone who've gone to an autocross and not get hooked. Secondly, I haven't met anyone who after attending autocross or two that didn't begin the upgrading process.

I autocross my car as much as I can and I haven't had any issues (cross my fingers). I only have one set of wheels and tires, so I don't know the cost of a spare set but I would guess $3,000 or more depending on tires. As for upgrades that won't void your lease, I would re-align the car to just a touch of toe in (this should allow for quicker turn in). Next I would have the camber adjusted to 0.5 negative for the front and 1.5 negative in the rear (this should increase the tires contact patch during turns and reduce understeer).

TT Gasman

Depending on the course layout, autox can be very hard on your car(M96 engine) IMO. The only time I have ever "heard" my lifters was after a hard autox run. Was it oil starvation?? Who knows. I track the car a lot at DEs and never had said problem. So I'll stick to the bigger tracks...

ZBlue996Kam

Adding toe in will make the car harder to turn.

Making 0 toe or toe out will make the car turn in quicker.

chris walrod

As fare as toe, be careful how close to '0' degrees (front) you go as your car will wonder all over the freeway and you will have to constantly 'chase' the steering.

By best suggestion is keep the car as it is and drive another 5 autox's before thinking about making changes, especially tires. Keep street tires on the car as long as you can. I believe its develops you as a driver better.. Just my .02

BTW, congrats on getting out there to an autox. Too much fun!!

Steve in FL

DJ 996: I _think_ the 3.6L 996 motor was changed to reduce the oiling problems attributed to the 3.4L engine under sustained high lateral Gs. Or at least PMNA doesn't offer the mod kit like they do for the 3.4L engine.

TT Gasman

Steve,
Yes they do , the Motorsports Oiling kit is available from Porsche Motorsports for the 3.6. As a matter of fact the oiling upgrade is still a component of the X51 kit on the 3.6 as it was on the 3.4. While the 3.6 may be improved , it still seems to be susceptable to oil starvation in certain high G situations.

Palting

IMHO, autocross seems harder on the car then track driving. Acceleration, braking, changes in car attitude, all are more abrupt than what you would do in DE. On the big track, loading is more progressive, while it is more abrupt in autocross. I don't like to say "jerky", because it should never be jerky either in autocross nor in DE.

In autocross, because it is so safe and the chances of hitting an immovable object are so remote, one has the tendency to push the envelope a bit more. I've never spun out on the track, but have spun out in autocross.

Overall, I'm going to do a lot less autocross than the big track, maybe even just stick to the big track, due to the above concerns.

Steve in FL

DJ 996: Thanks for the update, I hadn't noticed there was an oiling kit for the 3.6L. There is a reason I ordered a GT3.

jbdmd

thanks for the replies!

keep em comin'!

MJones

Hardest on the tires for the short time that you run.

996FLT6

Well never had done an autocross but for those who have-any other cars that had blown up in an autocross. I imagine if other makes do autocrosses without any hitches the P-car would do fine. Are the g-forces in an autocross extended to a point oil starvaton would occur?

1AS

In my humble opinion, after going back to an autocross after years of club and vintage racing, autocross' unique stress is that you're on the red line so much. Because it's all 1st or 2nd gear, you're always gaining revs quickly. Although I only did 3 runs on the Tire Rack track in South Bend, I spent more time at 7000 in my Elise than I would in 10 laps at a typical road racing track.
On a track, you more commonly use 3 and 4, so you are accelerating between 4,000-7,000 ( in that car) at a lesser rate. The only Ferrari I ever saw explode a flywheel was at an autocross. AS

TT Gasman

No problem Steve, don't rub it in. When do you take delivery? Euro delivery would be awesome in that car!
That GT3 is the best car Porsche sells IMO, just wish it had a rear seat for my boys.

Steve in FL

DJ 996: No Euro delivery for me, I'm too cheap to spend the extra money. And if I drove it on the Autobahn I'd be having flashbacks every time I got it on the highway here so I tell myself I'm doing the right thing.

Hopefully the car will be delivered in early April but I'm still waiting on the production date. I'll need to get it broken in quickly so I can attend the May 8th DE at Sebring (the last one before September). Now that I'm unemployed I should have plenty of time to put miles on it though so maybe AOL did me a favor with the layoff. It would have been nice if they'd waited until _after_ the GT3 had been delivered though.