NOLA track day experience
12-30-2012, 11:38 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
NOLA track day experience
Well,
I finally was able to have some time off that coincided with an open track event at NOLA, a fairly new track here in South Louisiana.
First off, this is a very nice facility guys/gals. The grounds are very well laid out, huge paddock area, very nice karting track and club house.
Then there is the track, billiard table smooth, nice curbing, good grip, fast, technical, awesome. No elevation changes, but keep in mind, we are in South Louisiana, the only elevation changes we have here are man made levee's.
The day started out cold, so pressures where set a little higher than usuall, the initial out was very exciting as it took a while to get the tires up to grip, I almost spun although it felt like I was tip toeing around out there. By the third lap, the tires were starting to give some decent feedback and grip then my day took an unfortunate turn.
Toward the end of long straight, shifting from 3rd to 4th, when I let out the clutch at the end of that shift I noticed a small vibration coming from the rear of the car that I had not felt before. As I finished the 4th lap, slowing, scanning the gauges, looking at my rear view window looking for smoke or oil, I came into the pits fearing the worst.
After a little troubleshooting from the NolaSport (local Porsche specialist shop) guys on hand, we were able to rule out the engine and narrow it down to something in the drivetrain, probably in the tranny. I went back out for a gentle lap or so and noticed that the small vibration was slowly getting worse as the tranny heated up and eventually it became more and more difficult to shift between 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Clutch was still functioning as per normal as well. Strange but there is definitely something wrong within the drivetrain.
John the owner of NolaSport offered for me to drive my car to his shop where he then handed me the keys to a nice Porsche Cayenne to drive home that is two hours away from NO. What can I say, these guys are a class act. They really know what customer service is all about.
So a heartfelt Thanks goes out to NolaSport for there help at the track and their generosity as well. Once the New Year holidays are over they will pull the engine and tranny to begin the evaluation of what is really wrong with my baby.
Now for silver lining, if the tranny is the culprit, now would be the time to change some gearing to make her more track usable. I still drive my car to my local events so I would like to keep the sixth gear stock. I have been researching within this forum for a few folks that have done this very mod. It would be nice to hear feedback from a few of these folks if you would care to comment on pro's / con's , lessons learned, etc, etc. that would be appreciated.
Without knowing what may need attention in the tranny at this point, I was hypothetically thinking on changing , the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears to make spacing between gearing a little closer and of course leaving 6th gear stock for economy when driving on the street from event to event. I also noticed in my research that a few guys also changed their R&P as well. Not sure if this is for me as it would take away from economy when traveling in sixth. Will need to research and learn more about the gearing and R&P before making a move.
Well now just sit tight until the prognosis comes in and we can formulate a path forward with the car.
So long story short, NOLA is a very nice track that unfortunately I did not get enough time on but I am definitely looking forward to getting back there.
NolaSport, who as far as I know, usually are present at all local track events, set up in the paddock with a huge tent, tools, trailer, etc. for basic track support for their customers and any other Porsche folks that may need any assistance at the track.
I have to say, it is very refreshing to see a Porsche specialist shop cater to the track enthusiast Porsche owner as much as they do. In my opinion, this is what Porsche is all about. Too often, folks mistake The Modern Porsche as a nice luxury GT car that, if you have the money, can have nice color matching A/C vents with leather wrapped sun visors and so on. Not what Porsche is about in my opinion.
Also, I absolutely love my 6-3. It sucks that this problem reared its ugly head but I fully understand that we all have to pay to play. When running our cars on the track, these things will happen from time to time. Unfortunately this weekend at NOLA was my time. Life goes on, in the end the car will get more servicing and will also be even more fit for track work. I can't wait to get back out there.
I finally was able to have some time off that coincided with an open track event at NOLA, a fairly new track here in South Louisiana.
First off, this is a very nice facility guys/gals. The grounds are very well laid out, huge paddock area, very nice karting track and club house.
Then there is the track, billiard table smooth, nice curbing, good grip, fast, technical, awesome. No elevation changes, but keep in mind, we are in South Louisiana, the only elevation changes we have here are man made levee's.
The day started out cold, so pressures where set a little higher than usuall, the initial out was very exciting as it took a while to get the tires up to grip, I almost spun although it felt like I was tip toeing around out there. By the third lap, the tires were starting to give some decent feedback and grip then my day took an unfortunate turn.
Toward the end of long straight, shifting from 3rd to 4th, when I let out the clutch at the end of that shift I noticed a small vibration coming from the rear of the car that I had not felt before. As I finished the 4th lap, slowing, scanning the gauges, looking at my rear view window looking for smoke or oil, I came into the pits fearing the worst.
After a little troubleshooting from the NolaSport (local Porsche specialist shop) guys on hand, we were able to rule out the engine and narrow it down to something in the drivetrain, probably in the tranny. I went back out for a gentle lap or so and noticed that the small vibration was slowly getting worse as the tranny heated up and eventually it became more and more difficult to shift between 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Clutch was still functioning as per normal as well. Strange but there is definitely something wrong within the drivetrain.
John the owner of NolaSport offered for me to drive my car to his shop where he then handed me the keys to a nice Porsche Cayenne to drive home that is two hours away from NO. What can I say, these guys are a class act. They really know what customer service is all about.
So a heartfelt Thanks goes out to NolaSport for there help at the track and their generosity as well. Once the New Year holidays are over they will pull the engine and tranny to begin the evaluation of what is really wrong with my baby.
Now for silver lining, if the tranny is the culprit, now would be the time to change some gearing to make her more track usable. I still drive my car to my local events so I would like to keep the sixth gear stock. I have been researching within this forum for a few folks that have done this very mod. It would be nice to hear feedback from a few of these folks if you would care to comment on pro's / con's , lessons learned, etc, etc. that would be appreciated.
Without knowing what may need attention in the tranny at this point, I was hypothetically thinking on changing , the 3rd, 4th, and 5th gears to make spacing between gearing a little closer and of course leaving 6th gear stock for economy when driving on the street from event to event. I also noticed in my research that a few guys also changed their R&P as well. Not sure if this is for me as it would take away from economy when traveling in sixth. Will need to research and learn more about the gearing and R&P before making a move.
Well now just sit tight until the prognosis comes in and we can formulate a path forward with the car.
So long story short, NOLA is a very nice track that unfortunately I did not get enough time on but I am definitely looking forward to getting back there.
NolaSport, who as far as I know, usually are present at all local track events, set up in the paddock with a huge tent, tools, trailer, etc. for basic track support for their customers and any other Porsche folks that may need any assistance at the track.
I have to say, it is very refreshing to see a Porsche specialist shop cater to the track enthusiast Porsche owner as much as they do. In my opinion, this is what Porsche is all about. Too often, folks mistake The Modern Porsche as a nice luxury GT car that, if you have the money, can have nice color matching A/C vents with leather wrapped sun visors and so on. Not what Porsche is about in my opinion.
Also, I absolutely love my 6-3. It sucks that this problem reared its ugly head but I fully understand that we all have to pay to play. When running our cars on the track, these things will happen from time to time. Unfortunately this weekend at NOLA was my time. Life goes on, in the end the car will get more servicing and will also be even more fit for track work. I can't wait to get back out there.
12-31-2012, 12:30 AM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Sorry to hear buddy after all the other work you just finished. Hopefully it is not to bad and you can have your car ready soon. It is time for us to track together again.
Happy New Year.
Happy New Year.
12-31-2012, 01:24 AM
#4
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I'm sorry you had these issues but glad you ran into John and Nolasport. As you said man they are a class act. Did he show you the new toy from Bromos. Hope to meet you on the track soon if you get time PCA is running some events at TWS.
12-31-2012, 10:55 AM
#5
Burning Brakes
Stephen – it was nice running with you on Sat, even if only a couple of sessions. Your car looks and sounds sensational. I could hear your throttle blips at least one or two corners removed on track. Jon and his guys will get you back up and running, and with slightly shorter 3-5 gearing on top of everything else you’ve done, your car will be pure perfection.
12-31-2012, 03:49 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
It was really funny, my wife was with me, I was of course drooling over the car and hitting John with a million and one questions about the cost, cost to maintain and operate, cost to rebuild the tranny, etc. etc. , all the while I could see my wife in the background. The more questions I asked the more her face would get contorted with greif. Ha Ha Ha, it was funny.
After we drove off I informed her not to worry, that I had no intention of getting one. You could physically see her exhale and her face finally went back to normal. ha Ha Ha.
Even though I said that, I sure would love to have one though, maybe in a few more years.
12-31-2012, 03:56 PM
#7
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Stephen – it was nice running with you on Sat, even if only a couple of sessions. Your car looks and sounds sensational. I could hear your throttle blips at least one or two corners removed on track. Jon and his guys will get you back up and running, and with slightly shorter 3-5 gearing on top of everything else you’ve done, your car will be pure perfection.
