bowmanm98

Hey I'm wondering what kinda lap times the Porsche Racing Club guys are turning in this class? How many cars are on the track during this race. I'm guessing they group a couple classes together. What lap times do you need at Infineon to hang with the pack?

karlooz

check here for 2005 results http://www.porscheracingclub.com/php....php?year=2005

Tom W

Most recent Infineon times (last weekend) are at: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showevent.jsp?id=172682 PRC is Group E. Are you asking about GT-3?

The track was pretty slow for Saturday morning practice but warmed nicely for qualifying and the race. Sunday was the same. We also ran with the NASCAR turn 7 so the times are about 2 seconds slower than with the normal turn 7.

jrgordonsenior

Tom do you know which configuration we'll be using next weekend?

karlooz

hey tom. the field is kinda thin kn GTL. is it usually like that?

Tom W

John: No (you mean for the 28th/29th?). It was a big surprise to us to go out at 8:00 Saturday morning and find the normal turn closed with cones. It's kind of funny to come around the turn and suddenly see a tight row of cones where you have the car pointed! I think I like the extended turn better as it adds yet another interesting twist to a challenging drive. You missed a great weekend of racing as both GTA and GTC had some strong competition and battles.

Carlos: GTL is a new class just created this year. There are three of us now and many (5-6) more are talking about joining the class next year. The GTL cars should be pretty close to GTC cars and many GT-2/GT-3 cars. Don normally runs up with them. I have fun racing with slow cup cars or GT-2/GT-3 cars too, but am a bit slower due to an extra 450 lbs and less experience.

I was a lot slower than "normal" last weekend as I've only driven Infineon twice before and we made some substantial changes to my car's suspension that are forcing me to learn to drive better. (Infineon is not the track I would normally choose to test and tune a car.) While I found the car really hard to drive, Rich Walton took it out and rolled off a few 1:51's without trying too hard - it was a bit humbling and humiliating. It made it very clear the importance of being smooth. I used to throw the car into turns more to get it turned in and rotated. With full mono-***** and much stiffer springs (700/1000 instead of 500/700) that is no longer required, and as I learned, no longer an acceptable way to drive the car. I was reducing my lap times by 1-2 seconds per session over the weekend, so I figured it showed I'm not too old to learn. I do have hopes that the changes will allow me to get below 2:00 at Thunderhill (with the cyclone).

bowmanm98

What is the minimum weight of the cars. PRC-3 is 3.4l max correct? They must be really light if they are turning 1:51s with less than 300hp.

Do you need a full cage or will a DAS weekender be sufficient?

karlooz

ya weight is the big issue with the newer cars. i think the minimum weight for a 996 is ~2600lbs. not bad for a 996 but that's a lot of cash to bring it down to that weight (carbon doors/hoods/quarter panels, sunroof delete etc.) but in the end it is still much heavier than an early 911s. you can get the weight of a 911 down to the low 2000lbs. put a 3.4L in it and watch out! the only thing the 996 has for it is a modern suspension.

you'll need a full cage for racing. i believe you'll have to follow NASA's rules regarding saftey equipment.

Tom W

PRC GT and stock classes are the same as PCA. The PRC specific classes are Toyo Spec (GTS) and GTL. I do not believe there is a minimum weight in the GT classes and I would not assume that hp is less than 300 in GT-3. The faster cars are all less than 2300 lbs (with driver) and the exact weight is not something most of them are willing to disclose. GTL class rules specify 2300 lb with driver and they pretty much limit hp to 300±5 too.

Any car raced with NASA requires a full cage. The rules are ambiguous regarding if the cage must meet PCA requirements or NASA requirements and there is some lee-way (but very little). You must have a NASA logbook for your car and a NASA license to race with PRC.

karlooz

ahh, i just checked pca club racing rules. minimum weight for GTA (996+ factory race cars) and GTC (cup cars) is 2425~2550 lbs. it says nothing of minimum weight for the other gt classes.

it would still be hard to get a 996 down 500 lbs. the 1999 c2 is a good starting point since it's the lightest of the 996 chassis.

Tom W

Carlos: I agree. I've certainly found it's not easy to get a 964 tub down to what an earlier 911 tub is and I'd expect it would be even tougher for a 996 tub. It would be far cheaper to simply buy a cup car than to try and convert a 996 street car into one too.

karlooz

at least there is a precedent with your car. Geoffrey's 964RSR conversion weighed in at ~2050 dry... amazing.

Tom W

Yes, and I think about how he got there every time I consider throwing more money at the car to reduce the weight. I think I've concluded to simply spend time driving it and becoming a better driver before I spend even more on the car.