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Basically they confirmed everything that we have been talking about relative to the alignment. They are going to work with Ira and Manthey (sp?) to sort out a few things and come back with a total package that can sort out the alignment / suspension without having to replace the struts. More details will be presented when we have an actionable plan in place...hopefully next week.
We agreed that I'm going to burn up the stock brake pads rather than do a swap. Already made the full aero adjustments. I'm going to have them do a full brake fluid flush, install the brake caliper Tarret studs that I grabbed and maybe throw on some wheel studs. Oil change at 1000 miles, which should come up this week. That's about it in terms of changes until I can run the car hard for 5 or 6 events. Right now I think Im stuck waiting for Nov 20th (HOD @ Thunderhill) before I can get out and get some data together with the car.
I did get my data telemetry setup this week and need to McGyver the OBD2 port to prevent my toe from hitting the cable when plugged in along with sort out a mounting for the unit mid car...I'll have a full write up with pictures once I sort out those issues and get my mounting parts from Amazon.
Really need to sort this out. Probably going to remove the port harness and push the whole thing back behind the fuse box.
Nice info! I look forward to the result. Sadly I continually have my money (slightly more than MSRP, but way less than crazy 30k markups) turned away by Porsche dealers so a GT4 may not be in the cards for me any time soon.
I've been wanting a GT3 for many years too and may pick one up, but the GT4 really got under my skin (in a very good way) when I just recently drove one.
Break in complete per AP math. Happy that's over. Ready for track days.
Oil change completed at 1000 miles. Dealership thought I was crazy to do it so early. $250 cost for oil change.
OBD2 Port Relocation Project Problem: OBD2 will be a data source for my track day telemetry. Right now, the Autosport Labs Race Capture Pro 2 box wants a hard wire to the ODB2 port. This is also how the device is powered. As you have seen in previous posts, the port with cable is perfectly placed to allow my toe to smash it over and over again when using the dead pedal. I wanted to make sure that I dont cause big damage to the port while on circuit.
Solution: Move that thing! The OBD2 port is mounted in a plastic housing box which clicks into a metal bracket that is "made in England". By squeezing the wide section of the mounting bracket, you can nudge the whole port out of the metal. Once loose, wiggle the plasticy bits apart and get some slack in the cable. From there, take a small flat head screw driver and release the purple OBD2 port from the plastic housing. Once all free, you have options. I opted to use the negative space within the metal housing to loop my OBD2 cable through, anchoring on the fuse box housing to keep cables out of the footwell. Zip ties keep the stress off the OBD2 port when connected and when disconnected the Purple Monster just hangs there happy and free of any other cables or mechanical bits. Frankly, this is my hack, so I would love some feedback from those who are more mechanically inclined. Let me know if you think my functional and direct approach will stand the test of time or if Im just being too simple minded here.
Whole housing wiggle it loose with a pinch.
Port without housing. Easy using tiny flathead screwdriver.
Zip tied port with full connected obd2 cable
3 zip ties to reduce stress in cable
Up close
Obd2 cable routed through fuse box housing to keep away from feet.
Got my first trackday in. 3 GT4s in attendance. I got 12 laps in that were not lead follows for students. The first session with this car actually had me nervous. I'm not sure why, but I really wanted to take things slow and see composed the car was. I was happy to put in an out lap and then a 2:07:20, then 2:07:40, then 2:07:50. I like consistency. You can look at the GPS data and some other metrics like throttle, yaw, etc...here:
The cars out of control good. You all have read what people have said so I won't go into my own thoughts too much. Brakes are flawless. Steerings great. Grip is mega. Gearing is FINE, powers plenty. The car doesn't put a foot wrong. I think the wing in full aero mode is causing more drag than grip, but I will test that later with proper A/B methodology.
For me the car felt best and most planted with hot temps of 32 right side, 30 left. We setup the car this way due to track configuration. TPM was hating on me all day and I did find myself messing with clearing alerts on straightaways. Would prefer to get rid of that, but can't because of the circuit mode low initial setting thresholds.
Top speed was 129.95. I mention that not because of the speed, but because it leads me to the biggest finding for me for the day. This is the first time that I have owned a car that has made me get overly concerned about safety. I feel that the GT4 is SOO capable and so well poised that I as a driver am able to get into the pace of proper race cars. The car out of the box has race like grip. All of this pace, performance, grip etc but without the safety setup of a racer. This worries me. I came to the conclusion that shiny side down could lead to a collapsed roof. I'm probably going to prioritize harness bar, seats and belts so that HANS usage becomes the norm for all sessions.
Data from the day
Date: Nov 20, 2015
Track: Thunderhill Willows, CA
Configuration: 3 mile w/ T5 bypass
Weather: low 70s, sunny, windy
Event Host: Hooked On Driving
Setup:
Full aero
Alignment: stock
Sway bars: stock
Tires: Pilot Sport Cup 2s w/ 0 heat cycles
Data logging: Yes
Comments / Notes: Coaching day, feel the stock car day. Tire pressure alerts are lame.
End of day tire wear notes: nominal
End of day total lap count: 12
Session 1
Fuel level at start of session: full
Passenger: No
Tires PSI - starting out
FL: 27
FR: 27
RL:28
RR: 28
Tire temps end of session
FL: o104 m103 i109 = 31.8
FR: i111 m117 o122 = 33.3
RL: o99 m104 i102 = 32.8
RR: i118 m119 o120 = 34.7
Oil level / pressure / temp: 4 bars
Session 2
Fuel level at start of session: half
Passenger: Yes
Tire temps end of session
FL: o137 m135 i141 = 33.8
FR: i154 m153 o162 = 35.2 (grrr overdriving)
RL: o130 m137 i147 = 35.4
RR: i154 m149 o151 = 35.1
Oil level / pressure / temp: 4 bars, all good.
The car obviously needs some alignment corrections, after a stock track day I am working to get things ironed out a bit. Remember, this cars mainly for fun but it needs to get me to and from the circuit. As a result, we are going to be approaching modifications in phases with phase 1 being:
- RSS front thrust arm bushings install
- front camber shims install
- RSS adjustable rear toe links (RSS302) install
- Endless RF650 brake fluid flush
- brake caliper stud installation
- 4 wheel alignment
So, that whole post about ripping out the OBD2 port to get it away from feet etc...yeah, scratch that. In researching the OBD2 PIDs that are available and looking at some GT3 guys posts that have the AIM Solo DL solution, I came across this:
And, well, its perfect. See photos. No more worry about hitting feed and the OBD2 port is back in its harness where it belongs. I run the flat cable into the interior seams and off to the side of the seat. If I forget or mess up while getting out of the car, OBD2 connector comes loose and no harm done.
Now that I have all of this ironed out, I plan on doing a CAN tap, because what we are getting off of the OBD2 port is garbage. I can only get speed, RPM, Throttle Position (not scaled right, starts at 15% to 85% on my tool), Engine temp (which is different value than what the car says in the dash) and thats it.
Im hoping that the CAN data is better and more comprehensive.
Katmeho, a friend and I were driving the other two GT4's at T-Hill on the 20th. Good to read your comments. We drove both cars as delivered and found the understeer to be greater than expected. Tire adjustments by On Edge Performance helped but I think your next round of adjustments are probably the real cure. I enjoy reading your very through posts on the cars and your driving impressions. Stop by and say hi next time we overlap at T-Hill.
Katmeho, a friend and I were driving the other two GT4's at T-Hill on the 20th. Good to read your comments. We drove both cars as delivered and found the understeer to be greater than expected. Tire adjustments by On Edge Performance helped but I think your next round of adjustments are probably the real cure. I enjoy reading your very through posts on the cars and your driving impressions. Stop by and say hi next time we overlap at T-Hill.
Yes. My daughter and I were running together in the B group. She drives the Cayman R and I was in the red GT4. Great day. I can't wait until we get some break in miles and a track alignment on the car. The R was transformed by Sharkwerks and TC Design. Their alignment and suspension work was excellent. I will use them to set up the GT4 and look forward to reading your impressions after you get the work done you mentioned in your earlier post.
Yes. My daughter and I were running together in the B group. She drives the Cayman R and I was in the red GT4. Great day. I can't wait until we get some break in miles and a track alignment on the car. The R was transformed by Sharkwerks and TC Design. Their alignment and suspension work was excellent. I will use them to set up the GT4 and look forward to reading your impressions after you get the work done you mentioned in your earlier post.
Sweet. I had lunch with your buddy that was car sharing the R. Lovely to meet you guys. Can't wait to be back. See you Dec 4th at Laguna?
Why not after a session adjust the pressures via a tire gage to what you want hot; restart the car and set the new pressures on "circuits mode"as new target pressures?
^^ because if you wait long enough it gies below and sometime you lose the circuit option out of the menu.. So First summer Tires, drive until registers than stop and reset again. Better but still no good. Should be perfected when 992 arrives.
XPEL complete. Done by CFT Films (formerly KME) and all I can say is that you can't tell. Anywhere. No seams. Brilliant work and attention to detail by Kris and Mike.
Do you mind sharing contact info for CFT? I've seen the recommendations for KME and Kris in other threads. But, I still have not successfully found them online etc.
I just picked up my Cayman GTS from Sonnen last week and want to get paint protection soon.
10-19-2015, 01:28 AM
