Hi there,

It has been a while since posting a new thread, but lurking is always fun. :-)

I have a 2011 Cayman Interseries (Apple Livery) and am looking for advice/suggestions from this group. For the past 3 years very little has been done to the car outside of normal track maintenance (oil/brake/fluids/tires). I change the oil every other track event (unless a 3 day, then right after). Brake fluid follows a similar pattern.

I am now looking to replace all of my racing belts, check the LSD since they have been known to crap out (Guards), check the shocks, plus normal track wear/tear checks. Historically my LSD fluid has run "Hot", but I have the rear cooler and it does not seem to follow any rhyme or reason when it decides to run hot.

The question I have is "what else"? It is winter, the car is in the shop, and I enjoy the fact that the car runs without drama.

Cheers and thanks
Nick

 

I'd call Geoff Abel at Bodymotion in NJ, Spencer *** or Chris Musante, as all have experience with those cars.

 

Some suggestions (depending on your total mileage)

- replace wheel bearings
- rebuild front calipers
- replace rear calipers
- replace axles

 

Hi Nick
All 3 of those shops know a ton about our cars.
Based on your proximity, Spencer (who built my car) or Musante should be consulted.
I realize you weren't asking for a shop recommendation but you might want a hyper-experienced Cayman shop someday and starting that relationship now might make sense.
Spencer and his guys impressed the heck out of me.
Looking forward to a lot more track time with you this coming year.

 

I'm wondering how 4 seasons of racing on a wear item is considered that it crapped out if it needs to be serviced. An LSD has clutches that are constantly subjected to friction any time you are not going straight. Do brake pads and rotors or clutches and flywheels last 4 seasons?

 

Thanks everyone. Great suggestions especially the wheel bearings. :-)

GTgears - not sure what you are asking. My pads and rotors have been replaced during this period of time as I consider it a wear item. The LSD does concern me as I have heard that they tend to wear quickly, so probably worth looking at.

 

If you have dates of replacement, I would also suggest to start using www.racecartracking.com. It will let you see how many miles you actually have on parts to make better decisions on maintenance.

You won't go wrong talking to the guys mentioned here. They all do a lot of Cayman work and know what needs to be done.

 

I'm questioning the idea that 4 years is a short lifespan. The LSD is a wear item just like the other things mentioned. 4 seasons of racing is a pretty long time. The pros in IMSA get a season to 1.5 seasons out of theirs before rebuilding them. You're doing all right if you are just now needing to service it.

 

GTGears - four years is a long time and I have no complaints. It has been a solid component in my car.

If you took offense at the term "crap out", please don't. It was certainly not aimed at the specific manufacturer of this unit. Stuff has a limited lifetime, including people. Eventually we all follow in a similar fashion.

 

GTgears (Guard Transmission) is the specific manufacturer of your unit.

 

Sorry, crap out is just a derogatory term. But we're cool.

I just take great pride in what we do. There were over 60 Interseries cars built with our LSD. Based on my sales records of the last 5 years we have had to rebuild fewer than 10 of them. So unless the people who are having them crap out are replacing them with OS Giken or Wavetracs I'm not really sure where the wear out quickly rumour is coming from. We've manufactured and sold over 500 Cayman LSDs and have rebuilt fewer than 25!!!

 

Not a maintenance item but one additional item that is an excellent upgrade for Interseries cars are the re-installation of crash bars. AFAIK - these cars had them removed to save weight. In case of a mishap on the track you would significantly reduce the amount of damage by re-installing them. Especially your radiators will thank you.

 

They also make the car drive a LOT better... Much more confidence on entry, and exit!

 

I almost forgot to address a technical concern you raised. The rear mounted gearbox coolers aren't terribly efficient. You might want to look at one of the front mounted ones if you like an air version. Or some shops run a heat exchanger through the coolant like is used on the Cup cars and gt3s.

Thanks Peter.

 

Regarding the front mounted cooler - thanks. You are the second person that mentioned that as an option, so that is now something I am going to look into.

Regarding "Crap-out" as being derogatory - it actually has many different definitions including "quit due to exhaustion", which is an appropriate description in this case.

Cheers
Nick