Tom@TPC Racing

Onefstm-

P.S. I think you'll be astounded by the new software, 3-axis, springs, rear mounts, and toe links! You will never believe you are using stock PASM shocks!

MJSpeed

Tom,

First off, thanks for sharing your knowledge and info with all of us. I'm loving the idea of the DSC. Instead of going "backwards" to more traditional suspensions, it's well and truly a step forward in that it uses the better technology, well better.

This reminds me of the suspensions of formula 1 cars of the early '90's. Except theirs were oil filled canister driven. The idea is that the car stays flat all the time which improves the aero/downforce and tire patch contact.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but in laymen's term and I hope I'm not offending anyone involved in the development of this "box", the DSC is essentially a better/faster/more flexible processor, correct?

Either way brother keep me (all of us) posted.

cbweaver1

Hey Tom,

It is so refreshing to read informative posts like yours versus the seemingly never ending stream of self-absorption or worse trolling. Thanks for taking the time as these are the kinds of posts that keep me renewing my membership.

FWIW, you are spot on with regard to your thoughts on the need to cover the fan. Manthey offers a dual air inlet option for the .1 & .2 GT3 in much the same manner as you do except with the stock factory air box. They make a similar opening in the engine lid and match it up with a dremelled out cut on the left side of the air box then seal it with a CF lip on the lid side to match perfectly when it is closed. Part of their process also includes covering the outside edge of the fan in CF much the same you do so it doesn't cause the problems---well done. However, I know of no one in Germany doing what you are planning to release with the suspension for .1's & .2's. That sounds really trick, kudos to you and your team. I hope you sell them over here too. This is exactly what performance oriented GT3 owners who intend to keep their cars for the long run love to read and learn about.

Good Luck going forward!

Mvez

Yep, I currently use the OEM out tie-rod, so I can use your's. Thanks for all the legwork on the toe-curve, I certainly plan on using that information, and will either get a whole TPC set, or just the outer tie rods.

I use locking plates on the inside of the toe-links (instead of eccentric), which I believe sets them at the same 6-oclock position, but I need to confirm.

RedRSA

Hi Tom,

As mentioned in person, thank you for sharing so much information in this thread, and for providing technical insights as you very quickly and very impressively develop your car. Kudos and much appreciated!

I think the DSC box has huge potential and could be a game changer. While related to development of your car, I believe it deserves its own thread. If not now, then as soon as it is in full production and the website is active!

Eric

PS I bet I can guess the turbo/GT2 owners; sly dogs, never said a word! ;-)

fc-racer

Tom, thank you for sharing information in this manner. You are a rare class act. I had never considered TPC before but will now consider it for future purchases. I'm definitely in for the DSC system, it sounds like a perfect solution.

monk46

Tom, as a relatively new owner of a 997.1 GT3, I too am appreciative of the information you are sharing. I am also interested in the suspension upgrades you are working on.

widers911

Tom, thanks for continuing the update with your experiences. I have a .1 gt3 and am really glad i am local and have family by jessup. will definitely be visiting your shop in the future.

Tom@TPC Racing

Thank you guys for all your kind words! Will certainly keep the updates coming after we preparing a number of local customers car for a Watkins Glen event next week.

The drawings for the rear mount pieces are in the works!

ngng

Glad you've decided to make these...I was going to take a stab at it

ngng

I've always been amazed when companies mark up common technology. You see this in aviation all the time, e.g., 65k for a WAAS enabled GPS that corrects for clock and GPS drift...sounds fancy, except every smart phone has it

Protocav

Hi Tom, question for you. On your original setup with the .2 front springs and stock rears, you were running a full soft rear sway and the stiffer TPC front bar. When you went to slightly stiffer rear springs and much stiffer front springs (500/730 I think) did you leave the bars where they are, or will you be softening the front bar to compensate for the springs?

Tom@TPC Racing

I ran .2 front springs and .1 rear springs on stock shocks with TPC front bar 1 hole from full stiff and .1 rear bar middle hole.

Last Summer, on my previous 997(450/720 springs, TPC front/.1 rear bar), I tried full soft rear bar for one track event when the track was scorching hot and I was fighting for rear grip in one section of the track. I got the rear grip but it pushed. That particular event was more advantageous to have the rear grip and deal with the push. I have seen on a number of race cars they run full soft rear for most race events, but those drivers are racing and braking into the turns MUCH harder than I am driving in DE's.

To give you an idea on stiffness, TPC front bar is ~50% stiffer than the .1 front bar compared in the middle hole. The .2 front bar is a good bit stiffer than the .1, the .2 bar doesn't have a middle hole as it has 4 holes, it is still a tad softer than the TPC bar overall. Of the 997's that are racing in Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge, Rum Bum Racing is the only team using TPC front bar. We like to think it contributed to their series championship.

The answer for your question- I kept the sway bar settings the same with the new shocks and springs. It is my opinion that these cars(.1 and .2) are undersprung in the front from the factory. These cars will almost always benefit by using stiffer front springs to a point(which is why DSC helps a lot by stiffening the dampening, even with stock springs), especially when the front camber is in or above the 2-degree range. It has been my approach which I learned from TPC Racing to think of the effects from front-to-back and diagonal. To me, stiffer front springs not only help with braking stability, it also helps with coming off the throttle to make the transition smoother and transfers weight better to the rear. Unless of course it is so stiff that it overwhelms the tires. Which is not the case here in my very streetable car.

The next track event in this car is in mid-July. If there will be excessive push on exit, my approach then would be to Not soften the front bar, but instead stiffen the rear bar one hole. Or buy a TPC rear bar which has 4 holes instead of 3 for higher rear bar tuning resolution with the extra hole. Softening the front bar will make the car spin more easily at the limit. Again, this is just my approach. Other teams and drivers have their own approaches and preferences. You have to do what works for you.

Tom@TPC Racing

Thank you for following this thread and for your kind words.

Yes is the short answers.

Tom@TPC Racing

Good seeing you yesterday. And thank you for the gift. Yes I completely agree with you that DSC should have its own thread and it will.

To follow up to our conversion, the first two cars with DSC aren't the two cars in our region you were think of. Both the 2007 Turbo and 2008 GT2 were TPC development cars. TPC would not do an experiment/development of this magnitude on customers' cars. Once we got the DSC working well on the shop cars we did have a selected group of advanced-level drivers and racers to use DSC and we got data from them to refine the software/functions.

Here's the shops's red 2007 Turbo in Excellence Magazine-
http://www.excellence-mag.com/issues...b#.U53MyfldVZ8

Skip right to the last two pages of the article, the other pages are full of 700+hp blah blah blah. And ignore the comparison to the other 997 Turbo because the suspension setup between a race team and a street tuner wasn't even fair. The 993 Turbo was also a modded street car prepared by a very prominent race team on Hoosier R6's(they were handicapped by running 295 rears, but still Very quick indeed!). The TPC was a fully optioned street car with damptronics, 500/660 springs, TPC front bar and rear toe links, very early version of DSC, Toyo R888's and running with PSM "ON" (because the slip angle was very controllable) posted a stellar time. We found another 1.5 second after the article. This was before the repaved of VIR. This car was sold after the development. Its not in our region anymore.