I was going to say this but I am trying to not be snarky. Apparently it is Road Atlanta.

Several posts up, jakermc posts conditions under which OP might be safe to justify taking this car on track with the fault. If I read correctly, there are 11 'ifs' to be sure OP is safe. Half of these are assumptions about what's wrong with the car, half of these are assumptions of driver skill. Jakermc's post makes no sense because he contradicts himself. He says that if there is a serious fault, a driver with advanced skills can manage it. Then he says the only reason he would drive the car would be if he was relatively inexperienced and wanted the learning 'opportunity' of driving a hobbled car. Huh?

Also gotta consider driver age respectfully - 77 year old reflexes are not the same as in our youth. I'm no spring chicken (63) and give great props to OP for tracking at 77. I hope to emulate him. BUT, but at some point we have to invoke common sense.

A car with a suspension fault on a high speed track (Atlanta) driven by a 77 year old that MIGHT be safe if jakermc's 11 conditions (which can't be tested ahead of time) are met and he's a super driver who can correct bad things at speed.

Come on. Enough already. If it gets fixed, drive and enjoy in good health with my admiration. If not, consider alternatives like an arrive and drive rental. It's unfair to everyone else on the track otherwise.

This thread is out there as a matter of public record and it looks like OP is posting here with his real name being his user name. It would be negligence to take the car on the track with the fault and I doubt any track insurance covers that.

It looks like the event is Peach State PCA. I'm sure OP will do the right thing but maybe someone from their DE program is on this thread as a check and balance.

 

I have since learned that the suspension fault causes a default to the same sport settings I use on track. Had a fellow track enthusiast take it out for a spirited drive on the back roads. He thought the handling and balance were great. That said, if the fault is still around, I will, of course dial it back a notch or 2. I have thousands of laps on this track. FWIW, I have been driving in our top group for several years with no complaints except those offered in jest by guys I keep passing. I asked a legitimate and responsible question. Why would I have a problem with anyone know who I am. I appreciated the spirit of your post until you did this: “It looks like the event is Peach State PCA. I'm sure OP will do the right thing but maybe someone from their DE program is on this thread as a check and balance.”
Maybe you shouldn’t take a chance that the PCA folks will learn of my nefarious scheme. Why not take it upon yourself to be sure they do? That should get your virtue-signalling creds up there in lights.

 

Maybe I overstated it with that part and I can see how that touched a nerve. I'll own that social misstep and apologize for it. Being concerned about safety is hardly virtue signaling though and not driving a car on track with an unexplained fault is safety 101. I'll leave it there. Have a safe event.

 

You don't ask a safety question on rennlist unless you want blinded by a solar farm worth of virtue signaling......

 

not on a 987. Maybe that changed? That the DCS replacement brains can be swapped in without coding might be an indicator, or do they require coding on later models? They don’t do that much, I can’t imagine they require any deep integration.

 

That may have changed.,I wound up ordering one on ebay. They couldn’t promise me that no recoding would be necessary, but I found one with precisely the same numeration as the one I have in my car. They use the same part in the 991, but I’m hoping that one that came from a 981 GT4 can be put in another one without needing to be recoded. I will share what I find out as potentially useful information.

 

Quick Google search indicates a new PASM module will need coding. As I remember you are 90 miles from dealer. No other indies in your area with a PIWIS? You might reach out on the forum with a separate post to see if anyone in your neighborhood has their own PIWIS. Driving to Atlanta the day before to get it coded might be an option. Might be someone at the track with a PIWIS but unless coordinated in advance would be a treasure hunt.

 

Not to be snarky, but reading comprehension may have failed you on this one. Here is exactly what I said:

"If you are wrong about the second question and you have a shock misbehaves, are you experienced enough to sense it and adjust accordingly?"
----- There is a difference between advanced skills (your words) and experienced (my words)

"But if I was in the earlier stages I would not want to miss a track day and the opportunity to practice and keep learning."
----- There is s difference between relatively inexperienced (your words) and earlier stages (my words)

I'm guessing you have not done this very long or advanced far enough to understand the differences in what you said and what I said? I was describing an intermediate level driver, you were describing a newbie in the green group. An intermediate driver is both experienced and in the earlier stages of their learning. There is no contradiction. Please do not interject your words into mine.

The assumptions about what was wrong about the car was based both on 20 years of track/racing experience where I have experienced nearly every fault possible and the fact that I own a shop that diagnoses and fixes these cars. I know that if more was wrong with the car, different error codes trigger additional warning lights. The absence of ABS/PSM/Traction Control lights was very telling. And the OP has now confirmed that the shock was defaulting to a single mode, confirming my original thoughts.

It's fun to virtue signal and play the safety card, but it's more fun to live life and drive. Calculated risks are part of the sport. You take one every time you put a wheel on track. Issues happen, and correctly assessing the risk keeps you in the game, safely. Come to a race weekend one day - you'll be shocked at how many cars have an issue of one kind or another and are still competing. If we needed every car to be perfect, at least 25% the field would be wiped out. I've completed entire races with a blown shock. I was slow but took the checkered without incident, it's really not a big deal.

 

Many thanks for taking the time to look and for the good suggestions. I do have shop with a PIWIS that is closer than ATL, so I will head that way if need be. Tks again.

 

jakermc - you own a shop that diagnoses and fixes these cars but you're OK with a 25% defect rate in a race field and drive around aimlessly out of contention on blown shocks?

Great advertisement! And superb racecraft!

I'm comfortable with the calculated risks of the sport. I may not have been doing this as long as you but tenure can't fix flawed calculations.

 

Again, you prove to have very poor reading comprehension. Never did I say my shop endorsed a 25% defect rate, I merely described real life. Seriously, learn to read.

You have also proven you have absolutely no understanding of any part of racing. No understanding of the prep work involved. No understanding of how a race weekend progresses. No understanding of why a racer needs to finish a race despite having a mechanical issue.

Personally, I raced with a blown shock because I was competing for a season championship. Points are scored every event, every race matters. A mid-pack finish with a defect scores more points than packing up and going home. I won the NASA TX Region GTS4 Championship that year, I would not have achieved that had I sat out the race. Maybe you are the kind of guy who packs it in when faced with adversity, I am not.

Have you ever watched an endurance race at any level? Ever watch the 12 hours of Sebring? Do you think that every car that crosses the finish line is in perfect condition? Do you realize how many have issues by the time the race ends? Are you suggesting they take your advise and quit early instead of finishing?

Back to the reality of amateur Club Racing, there is a wide degree of car prep. From garage builds to pro level teams. The cars are old. Parts are hard to find. Things break. A race weekend is often 3 days long. Cars that roll off the trailer in great condition may still have in issue during practice or quali, and the perfect repair or the perfect part may not be available. Teams traveled a long way to get there, money was spent, and every effort is made to stay on track. No one is suggesting to race unsafely, but unless you are a complete idiot or lack any talent whatsoever, most issues can be managed successfully. Understandably, there are some that can't handle it and yes, they should sit down. It seems you identify more with that group, and that's a great solution for you. But don't project that onto others.

 

Giving the thread a read indicates the OP is an experienced driver, attending a 3 day DE event.

IMO the acceptance of risk is higher when participating in wheel2wheel.

Even if assuming all in a run group are 'great drivers', I'd hesitate to drive a car with a fault in any DE events I've attended.

 

Hook, line and sinker! I only wish real fish were that easy to catch :}

I only threw out the zingers because you felt the need to insult me.

Thanks for the laugh.

At this point, the thread has run its course. We all agree that OP's car is 'probably' OK.

If you play Russian Roulette, you 'probably' won't blow your brains out.

'Probably' is not an acceptable threshold to take it on track.

I hope he gets it fixed so all this is moot and wish him a good event.

 

several years ago I asked a question here about a brake wear sensor cable a few days before a DE and the first thing my instructor said to me when we met up on Day 1 was “I’m supposed to ask you about your brake problem.” So, maybe. (I’d gotten it fixed before the event)

my issue with this isn’t whether or not the OP can handle whatever the issue is. It’s not even the idea that the OP could end up crashing their car. It’s the idea of going out on track, knowing there’s something wrong, and being the cause of someone ELSE losing their car, getting hurt, or worse. If this particular issue really isn’t a big deal and doesn’t impact OPs ability to handle the car then fine. We all assume a lot of risk on track, even the risk of people knowingly going out on track with a defective car. It doesn’t make it ok though. I hope the OP has a fun event, I’m sure there’s only a small chance something will actually go wrong, and I’m sure that if it does you’ll immediately go apologize to whoever you wrecked. Unlike the driver who wrecked me two weeks ago that was hard at work trying to reconnect an oil cooler that he screwed up the install on before I even got out of the ambulance. Good thing he didn’t miss too much track time.

 

Ooof…