PasPar2

great thread... following

Burkey

DE'D a 911 turbo for a couple of years, love the car but could not imagine a bill for a engine re-build or a off course excursion. bought a 944 cup replica now having fun staying ahead of 911's

ninjabones

New owner (Brian) did quite well last weekend at NJMP. Learned the car and track quickly... obviously a very good driver. He ended up winning every race in GT4S that weekend (caveat is that yonker had an engine issue and could not run). Nonetheless, he was turning very respectable times and with a bit more time in the car, I think he would have been knocking at the door of Yonker's 1:24 track record. I predict that he will be in the championship race next season and will likely be crushing lap records all over the Midwest (he lives in Kansas).

NaroEscape

Our 914 was the first Porsche we ever owned. We bought it from Nadine's father and it had been a part of her life since the late '70's. Our mechanic of the time (Bob K at Stable Energies/EPC) convinced us that the best 'use' of a 914 is to take it to the track. We did. then came the 'upgrades':
-2.4 liter 4 cyl engine
-bigger brakes/911 suspension (going faster, gotta stop)
-roll cage, seats/harnesses (gotta be safe)
All was good until I rolled it at Limerock.

so...Bob showed us a 914 that he recently put the AIR body kit on and we fell in love...so 18 months later we had a bad-*** looking 914 with a 200 hp 4 cyl engine...
-Couple years later we went to full coil-over suspension all around.
-Couple years later, we went to a 2.2/6 cyl stripped it all out, lightened it, etc.

Somewhere along the line, it got nicknamed Papa Smurf...but that's another story..

In 2006 I decided I wanted to start racing and this is the car we had. I was so comfortable with the car (and we had SOOOOO much money in it) that it was a no brainer that I use Papa Smurf. We were NEVER selling it and we couldn't afford another car (we also had our Targa Newfoundland car Huey in the garage). I ran in GT5R and the car (and surprisingly the driver) were very competitive. Developed the car over the years, with little upgrades here and there. But not many people ran GT5R.

So in 2011, after issues with the engine and the need for a complete rebuild, we decided to buy a 3.4 that was available and move to GT3R. Unfortunately, we don't have the exponential money needed to be competitive in 3R. Then, the engine died earlier this year (spun bearing, broken rod, etc) so we rebuilt it all as a 3.2 so I could drop down to GT4R...which is (hopefully) where I'll stay for a while.

I've thought about getting a SPBOX car as I'm very comfortable with the mid engine set up, but I absolutely LOVE driving Papa Smurf. Yes, by now we probably have enough money in this car to have easily bought a Cup Car, but this car will stay in our family forever, so why not make it as good as can be and just enjoy it??

KaiB

Good stuff!

If he's in KS, I wonder if it's not a Brian I've met (I'm actually with the KC PCA as these are my guys). Look forward to racing him.

mclaudio

For background, I've raced an early 911, an 80s 911, a Formula Ford, and a Formula Mazda. I've also had a chance to track a 90s Reynard/Mercedes Champcar.

I now race a 944 Rothmans for a combination of reasons that add to the total fun:

1. Driving feel/experience - Though a production-based chassis, its well-balanced, safe (compared to open wheel cars), and forgiving handling with good feedback still makes it very fun to race
2. Racing community - Decent number of 944 racers and fellow Porsche race enthusiasts is key
3. Event eligibility - Several sanctioning bodies and tracks to race, but big one was eligibility to Rennsport Reunion
4. ROI/TCO - The car's provenance as a Rothmans/factory Cup car provides value retention to car. At the same time, the cost of running it has been relatively reasonable. Fun per $$ is high
5. Dual use - Though it doesn't get driven on streets very often at all, being able to drive it for maintenance runs (simplicity of no trailer required) and for backroad runs expands fun opportunities.

FullThrottle64

How would you compare the 944 to the Mazda? Driving, ease of setup/maintenance, etc.? (I race FE at the moment....)

mclaudio

FM is just more proper racing than 944. FM responds to chassis setup changes much more. Wings and slicks equates higher lateral grip, driving at lower slip angles, trusting aero grip. Lighter weight = more fun to drive. However, FM was more expensive; speed is certainly proportional with cost in this case.

I raced FM with folks who tended to be more serious with their racing as a career. I'm no longer in this stage, as racing is about hobby and comaraderie building for me.

BostonDMD

I started DEing with a 2006 Cayman S, but I quickly realized that I really wanted to learn how to drive the car and not the car (PSM, PASM) drive me around the track......

I bought a 1987 911 and now really enjoy being in total control of the car while racing......

It comes down to what your goal is......define it and then achieve it......

Good luck.....

DarrellT

Started with what I had - a 914. Autocross and Time Trialing. Racing came next and an upgrade to a 944 Turbo to keep the 911's humble. Now I race a 6Cup and have a great time. I have started my Boys out in Spec 944's because they can work on them and we have parts. Budget is important and mechanical ability. Don't race what you can't afford to do without. The 944 Spec cars teach great driving technique as you don't have the "go fast" pedal to compensate for poor driving. If you can drive a Spec 944 fast, you can drive fast in just about anything. Even if you can afford faster, start in Spec 944 or Spec Miata (Pinata), then move up after you can drive well!

924RACR

I too started with what I had, the old 924. Even cheaper than a 944 to run, sort of. Not that there's enough difference to justify the difficulty these days of running the 924 (parts availability can be a slight PITA, and other than the engine it costs the same to build but is a touch slower).

Moved up to a Sports Racer (DSR, soon to be P2) because I wanted the challenge of learning how to deal with a bunch of new technology:
real slicks
aero/downforce (including full ground effects) -> 2-3+g lateral
sequential gearbox
12000+ rpm
open cockpit
TIG'ing and making carbon fiber
real race suspension and adjustability

I also chose a sports racer vs. a formula car for a bit more protection (side impacts and touching wheels)...

Unfortunately, I'm spending a lot of time learning to build this motor instead of drive the car, but that happens everytime, unless you can afford to just shell out big bucks to someone else to build 'em for ya... Went through the same curve on the 924, but eventually got it figured out.

Mikelly

Good reading guys, keep it coming...

Some of you know me from the 996TT I tracked, the GT3 I owned, the Specmiata I owned and tracked, the Datsun V8 Zcar I track, or the other various platforms I've owned and tracked over the years. A looong time ago (back in the late 80s and early 90s) I had an SCCA comp license. two decades have erroded anything I learned from that period in my life.

Goal for me at 47 (and a young grandfather) is to go out and have fun with a group of guys I know and enjoy racing with. Budget is not cupcar, but not specmiata either. I'm really looking hard at a couple of different platforms, including 944Cup and boxterspec, along with some of the 911 classes, both newer and older... Still reading and enjoying all of your posts.

Frank 993 C4S

I started out in the Skip Barber racing series many moons ago and just couldn't deal with the attitude by some of the 14/16 year old kids. After a long stint I started DE in a 964 RSA because I felt that was reliable enough for track and street driving. A lot of local Rennlisters pushed me to join PCA CLub Racing (you know who you are and I am still planning to send you my tire bills!) but the RSA was just too nice to take racing so I needed a purpose built car.

I settled on a Cayman S because I felt that the mid engine car would provide for an interesting modern platform. I built an '06 Cayman S which fit into into PCA Stock "H" but my wife decided that it looked better with a wing so we added wing and front splitter which moved me into "I". I have since added some more mods to make it more competitive in "I" because with the wing straight line speed clearly suffered in comparison to "H" cars without it. It's been an expensive slippery slope ever since...

Rassel

Racing for a team, Porsche is quite good. Especially for a private team.

Cost is not too bad compared to other brands in the same league
Racing knowledge is spread out
Parts, support and documentation accessible
Plenty of series available
Media, audience and sponsors are familiar with the mark

I have an old team mate who raced the early Z4 in the GT3 series. They had so many car issues to sort out, that they had to resolve together with BMW in the beginning. Issues we've never had to think about.

jdistefa

The windshield banner tells me you've got a good wrench too