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I have registered to enjoy my first track experience early next month. My initial excitement has started to turn into concern. My 99 996 tip coupe is new to me - and I have made the investment in the IMBS perm fix, new water pump, AOS, suspension, tires, and fresh oils. I have read in these forums that tracking can be hard on car (e.g.,brakes, tires, oil)
Have fun tracking is one of the reasons I purchased the car. My concern is damaging was has become a great daily driver. Can I have both? Should I be concerned? Thank you in advance!
To my knowledge, no X51. Just read about it, and it seems like a straightforward R&R. And to clarify, it will be a daily driver 95% of the time - track a couple of days every few months (until I get completely addicted!)
I see no reason why you should be worried to take a Porsche 911 to the track for an enjoyable high performance driver event. That's one reason why you purchased a Porsche 911. It's a HIGH performance sports car and it will be fun on the track. Enjoy it! It's not made of china! Some basic research about track days and some common sense preparation should be enough to have a blast. I've seen all kinds of cars flying around the track, your Porsche should be just fine. It's unlikely an amateur driver on street tires is going to push a stock 911 past it's operational limits.
Those were cool, thanks. Jake sounds nothing like I expected
Never been inside an engine so I'm asking from a lack of knowledge, but it looks like the baffle spacer would cause it to keep a fair amount of old oil in the engine no matter how long you let it drain. Is that true? If so, isn't that bad?
Don't worry. Go have fun. As a novice, you won't be putting high stresses on your car. When you advance to the A group then you will need some mods but until then... have a blast! I can't wait till my first track event this season - PCA track day at Pacific Raceway in May.
Hmmm... well, I tracked my 996, as have many others. I disagree with those who say that it isn't hard on the car. It is.
Now, can you track it and have no major issues? Absolutely. Can you track it and blow the engine? Absolutely.
I highly recommend the deep sump if you are using sticky tires and driving on a track with big sweepers, a banked sweeper, etc. I put a 2-quart deep sump kit on the Boxte'. The car now holds 11.5 quarts.
Put in a better baffle system too, to ward off oil starvation issues.
Change the oil much more frequently if you track it.
For your first day on track, get the car in good shape (good brakes, fluids, street tires) and have fun. You won't do anything to it that would break it.
Have fun. It's the most fun you can have with clothes on.
As others have said, with a bit of extra maintenance, you should be "good to go" to have a blast. Yes, stuff can happen, just like stuff can happen on the street. In the beginning of your track career, you and your car should be fine. P-cars are one of the few cars that can be driven to the track, enjoyed on the track and then driven home......I can;t wait to hear about the smile on your face on the drive back home.....Good luck and enjoy......remember, once the hook goes in, it usually goes in deep and then it is a very slippery slope, daily driver or not.
You'll be just fine on the track especially since it's your first time. I'm assuming you're not going to a massive oval track like Pocono Raceway (technically a triangle) because on Pocono Raceway (a 2.5 mile triangle) even a novice driver can get up into high speeds (over 120 mph) on high banked turns (14 degree bank on turn 1). Oil starvation is an issue for virtually all stock cars on that type of track.
At the very minimum you should: change your oil before going. bleed your brakes with new brake fluid, bring a tire pressure guage and air compressor (unless they have air readily available at the track), "trak tape" if you want to protect the front bumper (otherwise expect some damage), glass cleaner, rags, extra oil, box or bag to put EVERYTHING you need to remove from the car in.
I'm going to New Jersey Motorsports Park on April 23rd with a bone stock 2002 911 C2 tiptronic with 120,000 miles on it, street tires, I'll post the pics and /or video on Rennlist.
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Should I be worried???
