I went to the track last week, in my newly aquired 996 3.4. I've only had the car for 6 weeks but was dying to take it to the track.

I had an m3 before that I took to a few track days, but never really pushed it that hard, so no need for oil baffles. I just changed out the all the cooling components, and spark plugs and took it to the track. ~$350 and 4 hours in the garage.

I took the 996 to an autocross and learned the car, and then to the track I was able to drive it much harder than I ever tried to drive the m3.

I've read on here that I need to upgrade some of the following items.

Motorsport air/oil separator
A dry sump, or external oil pump (I don't even know what this means, or is)
Possibly an x51 oil pan, although I have read that this doesn't even matter unless you have the whole x51 kit. And nobody seems to know where to buy the entire kit.

And I can't even fathom to begin spending 10-15k/event or $2k for a DE. Should I get out now, sell my car and come back when I win the lotto?

Am I missing something here?

Trackday $150-300
Gas 3.30/gal x 16 gallons for the day $55, drive home 90 miles $30
Food $20
I figure I can get 12 DE out of brakes and rotors $600/12 = $50
Tires I run the cheapest street tires on 18's and get 6-8k miles out of them $800/12 = $67.77
Bleed brakes when I get home $10

$427.77 for a trackday, is that unheard of? Should I be changing out parts after every event, like spark plugs, oil, coolant?

 

Until you progress, and decide that track/racing is really for you, I would not do anything except keep the brake fluid fresh, brake pads above 50% , oil changed every other event and the tires in good condition. The rest of the stuff on your list can be added as needed.

After that, if I owned a 996, I would install a baffled oil pan to prevent oil starvation. Then safety equipment.

Good luck and have fun.

 

The Motorsports A/O seperator doesn't fit on a 3.4 so don't waste your efforts there. You'll know when it goes bad as it will billow out white smoke. OEM replacement is a $ 110. part and a bitch to replace....
Many folks recommend an Accusump which assures a steady oil pressure to the motor.
X51 oil pan is a must. It's an easy replacement for the OEM pan. The "whole X51 kit" is a power upgrade that was never available in the US and can be duplicated for less monies. I doubt they even make them anymore.
Put some decent brake fluid in your car and bleed twice a year at most....

 

Whoa!!!!!!

Hold on there Pilgrim... errr... Penguin. WTF indeed! You don't need to spend all of that. Too much internet buzz fogging your brain. Keep up on the normal maintenance for your car. You don't need more than tires, brakes, and a good check list for nut/bolt inspection at this point. Spend your money on the most important component; YOU. Learn to drive and keep your ears open over the next year(s). In that time you will not only learn how to drive, but learn what you need to know about doing it better and keeping the car healthy. It doesn't need anything.... yet. That will come if you decide you like this.

 

I see your problem... you are keeping waaaay too much info on costs! That will NEVER work...

On the serious side, put some better brake fluid in it, like Motul 600 and run it.

 

The 2nd rule of Fiight Club: we never discuss/disclose/track how much it costs.









Professional Racing and Driving Coach

 

On street tires the X-51 pan isn't necessary. It's cheap insurance though.

Like others have stated, good brake fluid and drive it for now. You'll eventually get to where you want better stuff, but don't necessarily NEED it and that's when it becomes a slippery slope. With r-comps you'll need race pads, with race pads you'll need upgraded cooling, with all of that you'll start going through rotors much more quickly, Then you'll want better suspension, and finally you'll want more power to go along with more grip. Until you get a 5-10 DE's under your belt, leave it and enjoy it for how capable it is in stock form then evalaute where you want to go with it.

I miss my old 3.4 996. Suprisingly capable and a great car.

p.s. If you really believe the interweb hype you'd have never bought a 3.4 car to begin with because they all blow motors

 

Like everybody else said -- do nothing other than maintain it and keep the brake fluid fresh. Once you have 20 - 30 days under your belt, have progressed to solo status and are beggining to think you need R compound tires then we should all talk again. I did my learning in a bog stock 99 996 and I loved that car.

 

OK. I do not think x51 stuff will fit 3.4L - it goes into 3.6L M96 engine. same that I have in my 997 C2. but may be lower end of a 3.4L engine block is same as 3.6l block, I do not know but i doubt it. you do not need 'whole x51 kit' - it is not about power - you just need to provide uninterrupted oil supply to your motor and that is what this pan about.
as of who sells it - suncoast does.
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product//x51panAA.html

ideally you need that pan PLUS this:
http://www.suncoastparts.com/product...ory_Code=997sp

Give them a call and figure out what engine does it fit and what cuts to baffles it will require. Do not listen to 'riders' who ignore their cars unless you want to shell out for a new motor too soon.
Least of what you can do if you cannot use x51 oil pan with improved baffles - use 15w50 oil for summer while you run you car.

Plus or course listen to your engine very carefully when at auto-x or track - first sign of distress if you do have oil starvation or excessive foaming will be your valve lifters as they will run dry - it is a very distinctive knocking sound just like a spoon hits a frying pan and when you increase rpms it also gets faster, you can hear it perfectly at idle, if you have your car for a while you will hear this change of tone at idle immediately. when you rev up engine exhaust overwhelms this knocking, so on my car i could only hear it at idle rpms.

Now as of oil separator - take off big hose (which comes from airbox) from throttle body, it is simple and fast to do so you could check throttle body insides for excess signs of oil there. literally, before you have your run - take hose off, use paper towel to wipe if all off clean inside (behind the throttle latch naturally) , then after run look there again.
if you got your car used - take time to take off throttle body and clean it properly inside and out and remove all old black goo from it, same thing for MAF sensor.

So if it sips a lot of oil inside you will see it. if you do get a lot of oil there - well, search up of what people do. my m96 does not seem to spit a lot of oil into intake currently. I know folks who install FI solutions have to modify that part and install custom oil catchers cans there. it is sort of a PITA thing but doable.
never overfill you engine when you change oil, if you do overfill - no oil catcher will help much.

 

Werd...I live in denial. Never couunt, never try to justify. IMHO we are all just a little crazy....it is worth the ride..

 

Yeah, you really shouldn't add up all the costs. Nothing good will come of that. That said, you'll be spending closer to $600 per track day including hotel, tires/rotors/pads/fluids/oil/gas, etc.

 

First of all, experienced drivers NEVER EVER add up the costs. A DE costs ~$250-$300 for the weekend. Period. End of discussion. There are no other additional costs above and beyond registration. EVERYBODY knows that!

As a beginning driver on street tires, as previously stated, you really don't need to do much more than keep your pads, fluids, and tires up.

As you progress, I would consider going with the X51 oil pan. The X51 oil pan most certainly fits on the 3.4L engine. I know for sure, as I have one on my car. That's the only part of X51 you need to worry about. It is a direct, bolt-on, replacement.

DO NOT do the deep pan modification unless you also extend the oil pickup tube. It will do you no good, and might cause harm. I wouldn't bother with the mod at all.

No real reason to do any sort of AOS modification on a 3.4l imho.

Finally, find a mechanic in your area who understands tracking these cars, and discuss these issues with him. Hopefully you'll get much better information from him than from us "experts" on the interweb.

 

my mechanic says only worthy mod to wet sump is exactly this spacer kit as x51 pan helps much less than a simple increase of efficient depth of oil pickup.

kit comes with a spacer for oil pickup tube and its installation is mandatory.

 

DE is not a cheap thing to do. $400 to $600 per weekend is not big money once you factor in costs. In some sense it is the minimum. I race a 944 for about 600-700 per weekend. Actually less since I get discounted entry for work for the organization.

A 944 NA like mine is about as cheap as you can do track days (racing or DE). Consumables are minimal since the cars are light, low powered and use same long lasting tires.

That said you should just run DE's as they come. If you really get bitten by the bug move to a cheaper car (perferrebly as second track only car) and keep the 996 for nice street drives.

 

i don't like driving the 996 on the street, eek

going to buy the oil pan either tonight or tomorrow!