ECS

Couldn't believe it. During the County quiet time on Sunday (10:00-12:00) my totally stock 997S got pulled for being over the decibel limit. They were nice enough to let me back out to do a cool down lap but I was pretty surprised. Also in my group a Zo6 got flagged (he wasn't surprised as the car has baffles that open under acceleration) as did a 996 GT3 (stock).

Great couple of days though with the exception of two instructor incidents, one person helicoptered out (Friday) and the other's car pretty much totalled in the Esses. The Esses person was OK and I believe the other one had some broken bones but was otherwise lucid.

penguinking

now THAT is hard to believe. usually i try my various tricks to bypass the sound meter (lifting on the back straight, one higher gear on the front straight, not downshifting for turn 1)...luckily none of my runs were during quiet time on sunday. my student got black flagged and he was running just a modified exhaust. i think the sound meters were extra sensitive

which group were you in? i saw a few 997's that looked amazing! big props to you for bringing such a nice car out to the track

didn't know about the friday incident but as for the weekend goes, everyone was very well behaved. i couldn't have asked for more.

A.Wayne

Sounds travels @1140ft/sec , if you got caught , you were'nt travelling fast enough.......

RedlineMan

Hey;

Lot's of problems with how the sound is measured. There is a huge variation in methods. Stock cars getting nailed is just foolish.

Having said that, I myself am glad to see noise becoming an issue, as long as there is some restraint. There are a few cars that are just too damn loud, and to no purpose whatsoever. If it is a factory race car or something like that, I feel a bit different than if it is some clown with a straight pipe on a 944NA. I mean... he is probably LOSING HP with an open pipe, and busting everyone's eardrums in the process.

Even if you do gain a little HP, at a DE... WHAT'S THE POINT? Loud cars only FEEL faster. Most of the time they are not.

penguinking

exactly! thats why i took the mufflers off of my car its not an open pipe so there are plenty of cars louder than mine. but i only DE and i love the sound so who cares if i'm losing HP?

sjanes

says the guy with the side exhaust

DavidNR

Same thing happened to me. They said no Cup cars so I thought I was OK. NOT...
Has to be a marginal thing and they err on the conservative side for the sake of being able to still use the track on Sunday morning.

RedlineMan

Hey;

As long as a car passes sound, that's fine. Mine even passes those whiney Candadian standards. I wouldn't mind seeing a DB limit EVERYWHERE. DE cars do not need to make a racket. There's just no point. Loud enough to hear over the wind noise is all that's necessary. Race cars don't either, really, but that is more understandable, and tollerable.

IF people were smart, they would take it upon themselves to be repsonsible and limit their sound exposure as much as possible. Whether you like it or not, the Sound Police are coming to your favorite track, if they are not there already (LCMT, Calabogie, LRP, R/Atlanta, and a lot more I imagine). Might as well get out in front of the pack and be proactive about it. Many times the only chance you have is to show good faith in working with people to find a solution.

Sometimes that doesn't even work.

ECS

Penguinking, I was in the A group. Good bunch of drivers. Fast and no incidents. There was a yellow 996 GT3 in the group who supposedly had beaten out 18,000 other drivers to earn a spot on a German race team. He was running slicks, or close to it, and was brutally fast. I have done more than 50 track days mostly in N. Cal. had a 996 GT3 and now needed a family car (997S). My wife loved that argument. Not quite the GT3 but it is one of the most versatile track and street cars around. Totally stock (except GT3 control arms for more camber up front & GT3 front air ducts for better brake cooling) and it handles most tracks quite well.

penguinking

like i said, couldn't have asked for a better weekend. overall this weekend's group was highly experienced, and that made for a very fast and very courteous group. you may have noticed my car as it is a mostly stock silver 996, with the exception of the "pep boys" muffler bypass that got comments from many as "ghetto fabulous"

i was running in the session of one of the incidents where an S4 crashed in the esses. luckily the guy was ok, looked like his pride was hurt more than anything else, as during the cool down lap i saw him standing against the wall hanging his head down i heard that he got bullied by a race prepped E30 or some sort and was pressured into giving the passing signal at the top of the esses. unfortunately he lost control of the car and tried to save it, thus resulting in the incident. i didn't see it happen but this is the story i was told from someone who was driving behind and saw it happen.

schvetkaaks

This concerns me - picked up my new track car today (Boxster), and it has straight pipes, therefore it is louder than a rocket at takeoff...might have to get some kind of muffler system in there...

WalkerInTN

They must not have been checking during the last NASA event at Road Atlanta. I had NO problems with my GT3 (sport button on) & did run during "quiet time" on Sunday.

924RACR

Where is/are the sound meter(s) at RA? I'm due to go there in Nov for the ARRC... shouldn't have problems, my local sound limit is 75Db, but it'd be nice to know...

sjanes

75db! How far away do they measure from? My wife's Volvo would be louder than 75db at WOT.

Mike Simard

I've evaded the black flag in a 500hp Cobra with side pipes during quiet time at RA while mundane looking cars were brought in. It had Supertrapp discs and I kept the revs low but still, c'mon!