Rrrockhound

Just completed my first DE and I have to say I'm hooked. My 85 944 has 79k miles and I like to keep it mint. It also has some sentimental value. I anticipate doing 3-4 events a year. Anybody have any tips for tracking a car while keeping it cosmetically and mechanically sound? Is that totally unrealistic?

ltc

Cosmetically (assuming you keep the shiny side up), 3M clear film, the upcoming PPG spray on clear bra (I just had it applied to my Ford Escape Hybrid as a 'guinea pig'), rolls and rolls of 3M blue painters tape or the recommendation at the bottom of page 1 of this thread:
https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...=284893&page=1
should work well.
Mechanically, it will be keeping up with consumables (brakes, tires, fluids, filters), avoiding missed shifts, caring for your clutch, allowing for proper cool down time and most importantly, listening to your instructor.

3-4 events/year in the beginning run groups seems reasonable and keep the car in excellent cosmetic shape.

Best of luck, be safe, have fun

luckett

another early 944 can be had for a minimal expenditure. why risk damage to your cream puff and be worrying the whole time? that takes all the fun out of it.

944CS

go to www.platz.com
go to the Phil's Automotive, Ltd. website
click on the latex rubber paint protectants link

Flat Top

Tracking a car is very hard on all components. The first thing you will notice is that your windscreen takes a pounding with small chips appearing. If you want to keep it mint - don't track it.

Johan
www.almost.co.za

JayP

If you're just playing around, 3 or 4 events a year and not really pushing anything you can probably get away with a creampuff.

Thing is- you'll want to go faster, run more events, maybe modify the suspension, and start pushing the car. You'll end up backwards in the dirt. It's gonna happen.

Want to get serious about DE's? Start looking around for older 944s. Ask some 944 guys at the track if anyone has a prepped car for sale.

gums

It'll work for awhile, but then you'll want to make some mods to the car and as you start going faster and moving up in run groups, you'll get caught deciding what the car was intended for. At that point you'll either go away from the show car idea and run the stink out of it (not a bad idea for an '85 anyway) or find other cars to beat up on. Or, it's also possible that fate will intervene and decide for you, somewhere off the intended racing line. In any case, it's more about you than the car. Do you like to wax or drive?

38D

As everyone has already said, if you are that concerned about it, don't track it.

analogmike

In a DE your car does not get as messed up with tire and rock debris on the front as in racing, unless you have a jerk in front of you who won't point you by... So avoid tailgating and your windscreen and front should be ok for years at 3-4 events per year.

}{arlequin

i remember seeing a boxster wrecked during a de. the car had a front bra, individual bras for each side mirror, as well as tape on the leading/trailing edges of the wheel wells. seeing it all crumpled up, i found some dark humor in the fact the owner went to great lengths to protect the car's finish... i remember wondering whether the owner was glad he put the bra on

unless all you do is just look at the car in your garage and wipe it w/ a diaper, you won't get any more damage on your car from an occasional de than you would travelling on a highway....

DJF1

kind of OT really, but why he will not sell the product to be used on a Fiero? LOL

M758

Well I just don't think is possible.

Mechanically the car can take the pounding. Your maintence requirments will increase, but I have always found my street driven 944's to run BETTER after a day at the track. What is bad is when they sit too long.

Cosmetically you are hosed. At least in arizona there is really no way to run DE's and not have the car see some abuse. The desert enviroment is just too hard and there is just too much sand/dust/rocks off line and off track to prevent sandblasting. This might be better in Ohio, but cleaning rubber tire marks off the car is pain too.

Best thing you can do is if you really want to do any form of track driving get a beater 944 for the track. One thing that will happen is your comfort level will increase 10x. Years ago tracking my 944 Turbo I was always worried about scratching or denting in any way. I did number of track days in it and that feeling just held me back. So I picked up and old beat-up 944 NA and my comfort level on track was great. I knew that if it got scratched dented, etc I would not care in the least. It is not to say I drove around not caring, but it was not a concern of mine. I could focus on driving knowing that if the worst happened or (even something minor) It would be no skin off my back. My pride and joy was back home safe. Hey if fender got dented in the track car... take hammer and pound it out. Then keep going, hell If the motor blows up cause I forgot to add oil? Darn... motor gone... time to find another, no big deal. It is amazing how much more relaxing and fun track time is when you are not concern about every little scratch & ding. Plus you can mod the car over time making even more fun.

Hey a few years after I was drivng my track car turned race car I picked up and 83 944 NA for parts. Turned out to be good enough to drive and It became my autocross beater. Since my race car was not street legal and this was it was much easier to take this out to autocross. I had my wife drive it a few times and I would tell her drive the stink out of it. I don't care what happens too it we can always fix it. It gave her comfort knowing I would never be upset if she broke something... Then one at one autocross I had the car do a 1/2 spin on me. Ended up sliding into parking lot berm and curb. Bent the rear suspension and even worse tweaked the tub. Upon detailed inspection... car was right off. Certainly repairable, but not given is value. Nice thing was I only felt bad since I had fixed it up to try to sell off just days earlier. Oh well. Parts value is STILL worth more what I orginally paid and more than what I could have sold it for complete anyway. That is why beaters are always nice.

gums

I lived the same dilemna when I was tracking my '98 C2S. In fact, all my street/track cars before that (4 or 5 of them over the years). I kept them all beautiful. I developed a very deliberate and methodical driving style as a result, always taking care never to make a mistake and never to damage the car. I survived years of DE's in this way, and always in the uppermost run groups. However, I began to fear that soon my number was coming up. So, I sold the C2S (for other reasons as well) and bought into my race car. Now, my coach tells me that I still drive too cautiously, when racing, and that although I'm fast and getting results, I feel that I'm still reluctant to overstep my bounds and push the limits. When I drive rentals or beaters, I tend to go for it harder.

kurt M

Go the the track enough and you will learn not to care what the car looks like.

JayP

But you kinda do... No one wants to look like a beater. Unless that beater is faster then hell.

I've been driving my daily driver at DEs going on 10 years now and just lately bought a house with room to store a 3rd car. (Part of the negotiations w the wife on upgrading to a bigger house.)

Even playing it cool at an event, you're still going to mess something up... brakes will get floppy, wheel bearing shot from DTM'n over a curb. My old A4 still has dirt sprinkling out of places from a spin 5 years ago!

So now I have streetable track car- a 944S a fella had used for autox. Weltmiester this-that installed already, pre-dinged and loud. 2 more weeks until MSR- and it's killing me.