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These cars do need a lot of investment to make them go fast. Fortunately they provide a very unique experience and feel when being driven well. Getting from my car into a 991 GT3 or RS simply does not provide the same level of tactile excitement, but I may be stubborn. Once the 992 GT3s and new GT4s come out, it may be time to retire this car from track duty...so another good year ahead. Not really sure what the replacement, if any would be?
don't talk about the investment to make a street car go fast ! It's taboo ;-)
Tactile excitement is a good way to put it.
Repacement ? Dunno really I still enjoy my 964Turbo a lot... Still a damn fast car. Also the 996 and the 997... some day may be a 991 or 992.
Where you are now my advice would be to give the Cup cars a go. I see some trailer space in that garage ! But once you take that step...
996/997/991CUP none of them will let you down, they have it all, sensations, speed, involvment, tactile excitement and running costs !
don't talk about the investment to make a street car go fast ! It's taboo ;-)
Tactile excitement is a good way to put it.
Repacement ? Dunno really I still enjoy my 964Turbo a lot... Still a damn fast car. Also the 996 and the 997... some day may be a 991 or 992.
Where you are now my advice would be to give the Cup cars a go. I see some trailer space in that garage ! But once you take that step...
996/997/991CUP none of them will let you down, they have it all, sensations, speed, involvment, tactile excitement and running costs !
Right now I am just doing DE and improving my skills. Most of the fun comes from driving with friends, which is why I tend to use different tires. Getting a cup car would totally shift the balance of power, so that may be overkill for my use case. There is also this silly thought of being able to convert the car back to stop for day to day enjoyment. And while I already have a trailer, not sure my wife would approve another toy!
If I continue this hobby the most logical thing would be to do some type of amateur racing, like a spec mustang or a comparable GT car (M3, etc.). But that approach takes a lot of the fun out of it, as winning ends up being the focus. Let's see how it all goes!
These cars do need a lot of investment to make them go fast. Fortunately they provide a very unique experience and feel when being driven well. Getting from my car into a 991 GT3 or RS simply does not provide the same level of tactile excitement, but I may be stubborn. Once the 992 GT3s and new GT4s come out, it may be time to retire this car from track duty...so another good year ahead. Not really sure what the replacement, if any would be?
i like the older cars. Similar feel. Little less pace. Very fun.
Adi when I get my 964 up to NorCal this summer you can take it for a spin. :-)
If i were to get a 'new' car for a track b*tch it would be a 991.1RS. They're on the downswing, massively fast and capable.
More fun and more skill to drive at limit compared to the 997? probably not, but they are fast for sure.
funny you mention mustang.... gt350 are seriously cheap by porsche standards. biggest issue is they are FAT. I'm used to a 3k lb gt3rs ad my 2650 lb 964. Those things stock are like 3800 lbs. Sound SO good tho.
Yeah it's impossibly hard to keep up with the 991gt cars but you know you are doing the work ^^ https://youtu.be/MO_cu9VW22M
Oh, it is definitely fun trying to keep up, but at some point, all things equal, there is just no chance The new cars are just so friendly and so fast so easily, makes it tough.
Originally Posted by Spyerx
Adi when I get my 964 up to NorCal this summer you can take it for a spin. :-)
If i were to get a 'new' car for a track b*tch it would be a 991.1RS. They're on the downswing, massively fast and capable.
More fun and more skill to drive at limit compared to the 997? probably not, but they are fast for sure.
funny you mention mustang.... gt350 are seriously cheap by porsche standards. biggest issue is they are FAT. I'm used to a 3k lb gt3rs ad my 2650 lb 964. Those things stock are like 3800 lbs. Sound SO good tho.
I was thinking along the same lines Spyrex...a 991 RS could be good, but the reality for me has been that outside the few laps I do for PB times, 99% of the fun comes from driving with friends and chasing each other...so parity is important.
I rode passenger once in a track prepped 964 and it was insane...you can feel every pebble on the track; talk about a tactile experience and that was me being a passenger.
Working with Bill has been absolutely fantastic so far. The transmission is apart and apparently there is only normal wear after 50+ track days and ~100 hours of operation, but it was definitely good timing for a refresh. I guess my heel toe shifting isn't as terrible as I thought it was
Besides the syncros and normal refresh items, I am also adding the 2nd steel gear from a cup car and replacing the 3rd gear as preventative maintenance. Since the gear ratios are pretty good on the tracks I drive, I am leaving those alone. So the final decision will be around a possible addition of the Motorsport 4.0 R&P. There seem to be various views on the pros and cons around this, but I am just not sure that I feel like shifting into 5th gear a lot...seems like a major pain, especially comparing the gearing chart to the track speeds my car does (i.e. there would be quite a few 5th gear situations and downshifting from 5th to 2nd). At the same time, it seems to be like a fun mod!
LOL, you taught me that lesson...proper lubrication is always very much needed Speaking of which, apparently the Guards LSD looks brand new after 50 track days...so lubricating this stuff with DELVAC often works wonders!
Recently Porsche had a marketing campaign to celebrate the release of the 992. As part of the process they allowed existing customers to submit their stories of various Porsches that are published in a coffee-table style book. I submitted a story late at night and to my surprise it was published. Unfortunately their formatting made a mess of my pictures, but still kind of neat. Just wanted to share the link if anyone wants to check it out. You can also see all the other entries as well.
It has been 3+ months since the last track day and a fairly painful wait for the rain to stop and the car to be completed. The car was finally back together, the rain stopped for a brief moment and Speed District was hosting a wonderful Thunderhill event this Friday! It was time to try all the new upgrades.
The transmission rebuild was completed by Bill Rader, who was awesome to deal with. He performed a complete refresh and we added the 2nd gear steel syncro, replaced the 3rd gear as a precaution and added the 4.0 R&P. We reviewed the gearing charts for 4.0, 3.89 and re-gear options, and for the tracks I use the 4.0 was by far the most cost effective approach. Transmission came back super clean and well packaged! Thanks Bill!
My Penske suspension was rebuilt and setup by Anze Suspension on the east coast with some help from the Penske engineers. I decided to use slightly stiffer springs this time and ended up witth SWIFT 110/160 setup. The shocks was somewhat a challenge to mount as they have "race car" dimensions and required modifications for a street setup. Big thanks to Tarett for customizing the mounting plates, etc.
As always Alekshop did a great job with the install and alignment/corner balance and track prep. With those parts on the car it was time to head to TH!
I was using older tires as the goal was to do a shake down, make sure everything works on the car and get a feel for the new setup. The gearing completely changed the feel of the car and completely overwhelmed my senses. There is the obvious difference of what gear you are in, but the sound of the car changes due to generally higher RPMs and of course the throttle application requires a different approach as well. Generally there is A LOT more shifting, probably 3x times as much as before on a 3 mile track like TH, but the experience of it all is incredible. The car definitely stays in the powerband more and has wonderful corner exit speeds. It will definitely take some time to get used to it on each track.
The suspension can only be described as epic. Despite a slightly lower ride height and stiffer springs than before it exhibited incredible damping characteristics, while maintaining a superb/firm feel and control of the car. I am pretty stunned as to how good the suspension felt and this was coming from a nice Tractive setup that yielded some seriously fast times. For those that know, turns 3-4 at TH tend to be very bumpy and you cannot even feel those road imperfections anymore.
All in all the day went as planned, with Speed District organizing a great event (total of 20 cars and 2 run groups). My tires were 4 days old and were at the end of life, but still yielded nice 1:58 laps, with the best time I ran with this car being 1:55.2.
The afternoon was spend driving with Aleks and his newly setup GT4. The cars are nicely matched and provided some fun driving.
Speed District also provides free photography by Cali Photography and they include some nice videos and slow motion shots...just a neat feature.
The next set of track days will likely include Sonoma with HOD on March 14, PCA Thunderhill March 22-24 and Speed District at Laguna on April 3. Looking forward to seeing what the car will do once I am used to the setup and have some proper tires on! Big thanks to all involved in the setup over the last 3 months.
HOD was hosting an event at Sonoma Raceway and I got lucky with a last minute spot opening. Events at Sonoma are pretty rare so could not say no! The goal for the day was to try out the new suspension on this bumpy track and learn the gearing. While the event was sold out, D group had some good drivers with great awareness, which made traffic a non issue. Since Sonoma is 30 minutes away from me, I decided to drive there, which meant I was going to use my old RE71R tires.
I also put in an extra seat as my wife decided to spend the afternoon at the track with me.
Considering it was her first time being a passenger at Sonoma she lasted a solid 5 laps before it was time to get out of the car
The gearing with the 4.0 R&P was a 50/50 experience. Certain sections of the track there are no good opportunities to properly up-shift, as the cornering speed and the corresponding g-load are just too high, causing me to short shift early (e.g. turn 5, entry into the "esses", etc.). Other sections it worked really well as the higher RPM range allows more torque and power out of the turn, which is very useful in the uphill sections like turn 2, 3, 4. Sonoma is such a busy track that I cannot tell just yet whether the gearing truly helps or not.
The Penske shocks did not do as well here as they did at Thunderhill, where the shocks made it easier to go faster. This is a very bouncy/rough track, and eventually I adjusted my driving style to compensate, but it was a bit like trying to work around a sub-optimal setup. Of course the suspension is adjustable, but I wanted to try and minimize the variable, as my focus was learning the gearing and shifting points.
Ultimately I was able to do some consistent times. My personal best here is a 1:46.05, so not bad for older tires. I can't wait to go back and try a new set!
Wife was able to capture some recordings of the car from the outside; it sounds better than what I remember.
Overall, it was a great experience, as it feels like a privilege and a true event when you get a chance to drive Sonoma. Definitely my favorite track in NorCal. Next up should be PCA at TH followed by Speed District at Laguna (new tires for that event), of course pending more rain!
HOD was hosting an event at Sonoma Raceway and I got lucky with a last minute spot opening. Events at Sonoma are pretty rare so could not say no! The goal for the day was to try out the new suspension on this bumpy track and learn the gearing. While the event was sold out, D group had some good drivers with great awareness, which made traffic a non issue. Since Sonoma is 30 minutes away from me, I decided to drive there, which meant I was going to use my old RE71R tires.
I also put in an extra seat as my wife decided to spend the afternoon at the track with me.
Considering it was her first time being a passenger at Sonoma she lasted a solid 5 laps before it was time to get out of the car
The gearing with the 4.0 R&P was a 50/50 experience. Certain sections of the track there are no good opportunities to properly up-shift, as the cornering speed and the corresponding g-load are just too high, causing me to short shift early (e.g. turn 5, entry into the "esses", etc.). Other sections it worked really well as the higher RPM range allows more torque and power out of the turn, which is very useful in the uphill sections like turn 2, 3, 4. Sonoma is such a busy track that I cannot tell just yet whether the gearing truly helps or not.
The Penske shocks did not do as well here as they did at Thunderhill, where the shocks made it easier to go faster. This is a very bouncy/rough track, and eventually I adjusted my driving style to compensate, but it was a bit like trying to work around a sub-optimal setup. Of course the suspension is adjustable, but I wanted to try and minimize the variable, as my focus was learning the gearing and shifting points.
Ultimately I was able to do some consistent times. My personal best here is a 1:46.05, so not bad for older tires. I can't wait to go back and try a new set!
Wife was able to capture some recordings of the car from the outside; it sounds better than what I remember.
Overall, it was a great experience, as it feels like a privilege and a true event when you get a chance to drive Sonoma. Definitely my favorite track in NorCal. Next up should be PCA at TH followed by Speed District at Laguna (new tires for that event), of course pending more rain!
01-18-2019, 04:47 PM
don't talk about the investment to make a street car go fast ! It's taboo ;-) 
The new cars are just so friendly and so fast so easily, makes it tough.
