Bull

+xx on being able to support your car's needs at the track, as in understanding what the car needs and being able to accomplish the adjustment or replacement. I have friend who has celebrated his 30th year of doing DEs, and last year he learned how to replace his brake pads for the first time! (I showed him). He had been either having pads replaced well before they needed it or cutting his events short when his pads were down to drive-home thickness. When he saw how easy it is to do on a 993, he was amazed. He also learned how to set a torque wrench!

Our region holds tech sessions at the various Porsche shops each month from October to April, covering most of the info being discussed here. We also have a Tech Inspectors Workshop in March, which is designed to get people involved and trained for our pre-event tech staff and track morning tech lines.

Read, attend tech sessions, have friends give you some hands-on coaching and watch your shop tech perform work on your car. Then you too can bring all the "stuff" to the track that many of us cram in our tow vehicles and trailers. I believe that the more spares and tools you bring to the track, along with the knowledge to use them, the less likely you will be to need to use them!

Geoffrey

Take Ronnie Savenor for instance, great driver. His tool kit contains an adjustable wrench and a rusty screwdriver. You go figure...He does however, have a wonderful personality that helps him get everyone else to fix his car at the track for him.

Veloce Raptor

10 pages or bust.

Professor Helmüt Tester

If you spend all day poking around in people's mouths with tools, what does that say about "mechanical impairment" ?

You're not "impaired", you just don't have experience yet.

I know some extraordinarily fast racers who are mechanical idiots.

Bull

The tools and mouths are handled by Dental Assistants/Techs. Dr. Pain just shows the before/after pictures and handles the billing.

BostonDMD

Gary, dentistry is easy.....once the patient is numb....

I will gladly take you up on your offer, (before you really move south).....

I will even bring my video camera to "immortalize" the procedures and review it later when it is time to try it on my car.....

After the holidays let's set up a mini-course so that by next season I will be more "mechanically savy".........

TR6

At the risk of repeating much of what has been written above...

Yes, learn the basics that will at least keep you running the whole weekend without going home early (brakes at the top of the list).

Find a friend that is good with a wrench and buy him some beer to come over (or go to his place) and get him to step you through changing brake pads, adjusting sways, etc.

If you don't have any friends (I'm sure that's not the case...), find an independent mechanic that you can pay an hourly rate to "teach" you to do these things with hands on excercises using your car as the lab.

Even when I have someone else do work on my car due to time constraints, etc, I always like the confidence/knowledge of being able to jack the car up, crawl under, and check everything myself before I go out on the track. I've found a bolt once or twice that needed a little more torque after someone else worked on it and am glad I found it before I went out....

Larry Herman

Not to worry Doc, the car doesn't scream...but maybe your wallet will.

BostonDMD

Well I guess that is another thing I have in common with Ron, his ex-race car and a limited tool kit......

Now I have to work on my personality.....

and driving skills..... a lot of work on the driving skills dept. before I can even be on the same track with Roketman.....

BostonDMD

Professor, you are right..... I am mechanically ignorant and still pretty slow, thus I was hoping learning the mechanics will make me quicker.....

Bull by the looks of "other forums" I don't have very many friends, besides Gary, that will show me how to.... and BTW I have the front desk lady handling the billing, therefore I have lots of time to hang out on RL.......

BostonDMD

Larry, my wallet has being screaming since I first I got involved with DE.....BUT my instructors screaming has been even louder.......Just kidding......

I have enjoyed every second of the whole DE experience.........

bruinbro

A lot of the responses have talked about doing the hands-on thing, while some have touched on the need to learn how things work. I would recommend trying to learn the physics and engineering about engines, suspensions and steering, tires, transmissions and other car bits and pieces. Not the hardcore stuff, but enough to understand the makeup and inner workings of stuff. An Encyclopedia Britannica is a good source of info, as are such books as mentioned earlier "How to Make Your Car Handle". I haven't looked, but I'll bet there are various Wiki's out there on the web that will give good info.

My take is that if you understand how something works, you can more properly evaluate how it is performing (or not). You will then gain an appreciation of how close to the limits you can push things. As a bonus, it will provide the foundation to enable you to wrench with confidence.

Bro

Bull

I actually meant the processing of the incoming receivables.

BostonDMD

OK, there is obviously a quorum regarding the importance for a driver to understand the dynamics and mechanics of the car......

Now....Does this mechanical knowledge give an edge to a racer/driver as opposed to a driver that somehow has figured out how to go fast, but that must rely on an onsite "support team" ?

bruinbro

Yes. Because you will understand what it takes to go faster.

Bro