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I was thinking about all the weird **** I've done to this car since i got it, all the cool parts, how much more fun it is than when it was stock and how its a confused machine pretending to be a track car. The reality is yes, I want it to kick *** at the track - but - if I was to dedicate it as a track only toy, I just would not get to use it enough, it gives me too much joy to be relegated to so little use and at the moment, it needs to be able to keep a MA registration and pass an inspection so I can legally drive it on the road. It needs to be civil enough so I can drive it to the roads I like to drive fast on and to the tracks in the northeast. So, full cage is out, slicks are out, carbon doors are out...etc...
I have done some stuff to this car that many would probably not consider doing to their car, I wanted to put it out there for people to be able to ask questions and give feedback and for me to pass along my skewed opinions on the path I've taken with the car.
I will also post updates here for those that want to follow along.
For those interested - there is some history on the car in THIS thread which goes over some of the early mods I did last winter and some history from when I bought the car.
Where we're at now...
My goal with the car is for it to be reliable, light weight and provide the sensation I used to get from motorcycles, built to do one thing so pay attention and do that one thing.
In keeping with the reliability theme, not much going on with changes to the motor. The car won't make the kind of power I would really want unless/until I put a Mezger engine in it. So, its got the below to try to make sure the power it does have, it keeps having. About 85K on the ODO I think. Fluids are changed very regularly and any small maint items like belts, and hoses are changed at the first sign of wear. The only mod that may have increased power would be the muffler deletes, and I did them for the sound and weight savings.
Muffler Delete
UAOS
LN Engineering 2QT Deep Sump
LN Engineering Spin On Filter Adapter
Napa Gold 1042 Oil Filter
Driven XP9 or DT40 Oil
LN Engineering Magnetic Drain Plug
LN Engineering Skid Plate
Direct Feed IMS
The Suspension consists of Öhlins coilovers and Tarrett drop links. I have and will be adding GT3 Cup Camber plates, LCA, toe links and other odds and ends soon. The car has been corner balanced and aligned and runs just under - 2 DEG of front and - 2 DEG of negative camber, it needs more. The Öhlins are worth the hype and expense in my opinion - I will have to go pretty far in my endeavors with this car to out grow them and go with something more exotic. We'll see if stickier tires exposes any flaws, but with I think with 200+ TW tires, this is a pretty good setup that can be repeated by anyone willing to spend the money with very good results.
Ohlins R&T Coilovers
Tarrett Drop Links
GT3 Cup Top Mount (soon)
GT3 CUP LCA (soon)
GT3 CUP Rear Toe Link (soon)
I have made a lot of changes to the interior, both for weight reduction, as well as for that sensation I talk about in the opening - making the cabin an easy place to drive fast without distraction. Not only the everyday distraction like your phone etc... but from distraction like sliding around in your seat as you're cornering or the sweat on your palms making you notice the steering wheel. The frunk is gutted and so is everything behind the front seats. No radio/speakers/airbags/center console, lower console. It is much louder in the cabin as a result, coupled with the muffler deletes, there is no other way to say it, the car is loud as **** and you hear everything it's doing - windows up or down, don't matter.
CAE Shifter
Custom Made Shift ****
Recaro SPG Driver Seat
BK Auto Drivers fixed Mount
Sparco EVO II Passanger Seat
BK Auto Stock Slider Adapter
Schroth Harness
RSS 930 Roll Bar
OMP Steering Wheel
NRG Quick Release
NRG Hub
The items really specific to weight reduction - the car should weigh well under 3K LBS
Radio Delete
Odyssey PC680 Battery
Rennline Battery Mount
Battery Kill Switch
Console Delete
I have found the brakes in very near to stock form to be way more capable than I am brave at the track. I ran my first bunch of days with the only variation from stock being Castrol SRF fluid. I experienced minor fading towards the end of a 20 min session. When I smoked the stock pads and rotors I swapped them out for something more track focussed - although I have not run them on track yet, the initial bite is much more aggressive than stock. Also, get the GT3 brake ducts, they are larger than the stock ones and are stupid cheap - everyone who ever has to jack up and work on their own car should do this - it will take you 15 min if the car is already on stands and the wheels are off.
Hawk HP + Pads
Sebro Slotted Rotors
Castrol SRF Brake Fluid
GT3 Front Brake Ducts
Exterior stuff - if it comes on the cup car - its good ****... that's my thinking. I have not got to try out any of the aero stuff yet on track - I'm pretty excited to get the opportunity though. I also added Joe Toth dive planes in the front in the hopes it make for a relatively balanced setup. There is the chance that because the non GT car is so down on power that the drag from the aero outweighs the benefits additional down force, maybe... I don't know. For now, I like the way it looks and know the parts are factory race car proven.
GT3 Cup Mirrors
GT3 Cup CF Decklid
GT3 Cup Wing
GT3 Cup Side Skirts
Demon Speed 997 Style Uprights
Joe Toth Dive Planes (For 986...will work on 996)
LED Tail Lights
An area at the top of my list to address are the wheels and tires, they work great on the street but I want to go wider, and sticker for the track. Currently run stock LW wheels with PS4S 225/40 and 285/35. 12MM Front and 17MM Rear spacers. The spacers are wasted space and the wheel wells need to be fitted with the widest wheel tire combo I can fit... so stay tuned for that. I will keep this setup for the street likely assuming the tires that are on there live that long, if not - I'll likely sell the setup to help fund some Apex or Enkei wheels.
Michelin Pilot Sport 4S Tires
Refinished LW Wheels
12MM/17MM Spacer
Check out my YT in the link in my sig for some video context of how the setup all works both on the road and the track, I'll update this thread as I contemplate and add new parts...
So - 1st order of business upon getting the car back is to make sure it runs. Some of you may remember I got in my head it would be a good idea to "thin" out the wiring harness. With the removal of so many stock components, a ton of wiring was left that simply had no where to go. Well, those of you who know our cars know that there is a fair amount of interdependency in the electronics and, at least in my head, messing with the harness was fraught with danger.
So what do I do...
THAT, that is what I do.
So, being the smart guy I am, because there is no ECU or battery, or frankly a lot of other things I need to start the car during that process, I don't.... I didn't really think at the time it would be 5 months until I would get back to it. Haha... it was.
So, for a while, about 5 months actually I have had this nagging thought like... Man, I really hope it starts or I am in for a world of hurt of which I am not particularly adept...
I get the car in the garage and within a couple hours dash is back out, doors are off and I am starting to get the harness reasonably laid out. I then started to hook up all the things I knew would be required for the car to run - ECU, immob, ignition, dash and do a once over on both the fuse box and relay box to make sure all the wires I cut are not going to ground on something and create a bright, bright light. Reasonably sure I am good, I put the battery in and put power to the car... NO FIRE - YAY, then turn the key to the accessory position and holy sweet jesus did I get warning messages - Outside temp, oil level, fuel level etc... literally 10 plus errors. Remembering that outside temp error, I have seen before when one of the cluster plugs was not fully seated so I went back and double checked and yep, found one that faked me out. Fixed that, flipped the key to accessory and, No Errors.... Yay again.
Next I am ready to start, I cobble together a couple pieces of copper pipe to loop the heater core hoses together (she gone) and go to fire her up and.... NOTHING. No attempt to turn over, only after a couple times when I hold the key do I get a double beep from the horn. So what do I do, what any smart guy would, call a smarter guy ( @theprf ) and he says, did you plug in the little 2 pin connector on top of the ignition and I'm like - nope, I hope I didn't cut it off. Well, I didn't, I found I had run it in a weird way so it wasn't dumping out of the harness trunk in the right direction, the connector itself on the ignition in kind od nondescript so I missed it. Well, you know what ? I plugged that baby in, turned the key and she fired to life in a couple cranks !
SHE LIVES !
I killed it quick, I have some jenky stuff going on temporarily, but that was what I needed to know, it runs so I can move on to routing and securing the harness with minimal worry I will need to cut anything open.
Thank you @theprf - It was going to take me a long time to figure that out and you spat it off the top of your head.
So be a smart guy like me, when you're stuck - call a smarter guy !
Zbomb, the car looks great. After driving a 944 for many years to the track I can attest to making the suspension too stiff for the street. So fight the urge to put stiff springs on the car. I've spent many a lap at NHMS (formerly NHIS), LRP, Mt Tremblant and Watkins Glen. I'd also be careful driving the car on the street with race pads, as they need lots of heat to work. One night on the way back from Lime Rock, with tire trailer in tow, someone pulled out in front of me about 500 yards ahead. No problem you say, except I was going about 65 mph and the jerk was in no rush to speed up. I got on the brakes hard (yes, slotted rotors and race pads) and wasn't slowing down any time soon. I probably got within 10 yards of the jerk's rear bumper. Moral of the story, don't drive on the street with track pads!
Who cares what other people would or wouldn't do to their car? Its your car and you are never going to please everybody anyway. So you are well under 3k pounds now? I would have to imagine that is a blast to drive even with the M96 engine. How much do those wheels weigh? Probably going to pay a decent chunk of change but you could get a set of wheels in the 17-18lb range and knock a few more pounds off each corner.
Great thread and love the that you harvested a cup car.... Half the fun of getting your car ready for the track is the journey to get it there. Are you going to paint it al black or leaving as is?
Nice. I was going to ask about your exhaust because it sounds fantastic. Now I know.
Probably not going to see you again this year, tho. Perhaps next year.
Honestly, start doing real DE events with a legitimate program and get an experienced instructor in the car. That will do more than any bolt ons.
Further, id be surprised if that car is much under 3000, if at all
Surprise !
It weighed 3008 LBS before:
Replace stock battery with PC680
Replace Pass seat Sparco
Gut interior/stereo removal
Gut Frunk
CF Decklid
Added:
Cup wing / Uprights
Cup Side Skirts
Dive Planes
LN Deep sump/skid plate
I'll definitely put up the results after the new suspension pieces go on and the car goes back on scales for corner balance/alignment. We could place wagers - 2890...
Nice. I was going to ask about your exhaust because it sounds fantastic. Now I know.
Probably not going to see you again this year, tho. Perhaps next year.
Great thread and love the that you harvested a cup car.... Half the fun of getting your car ready for the track is the journey to get it there. Are you going to paint it al black or leaving as is?
Not sure - I was definitely going to paint it, then I put all the parts on and was like huh... maybe... So we'll see.
Replace stock battery with PC680
Replace Pass seat Sparco
Gut interior/stereo removal
Gut Frunk
CF Decklid
Added:
Cup wing / Uprights
Cup Side Skirts
Dive Planes
LN Deep sump/skid plate
I'll definitely put up the results after the new suspension pieces go on and the car goes back on scales for corner balance/alignment. We could place wagers - 2890...
What DE program do you suggest ?
Have just done weight removal stuff. You lost maybe 60lbs. That interior is not gutted.
You added back maybe 15lbs...so maybe 2960
Pca is a good start. Just doing solo track days is a great way to pick up bad habits
Great looking build! How are you liking those LED tail lights? My passenger side has the typical crack, and been looking at the OEM looking LED replacements.
09-26-2020, 01:38 AM
zbomb's confused 996
Walking the legal line. Maybe it's a new racing class.
