LeMarquis

Are there any PCNZ or PC Australia events in Sept / Oct. I will be in Australia and NZ.and I'm not sure I can go 2 months without some sort of Porsche event...

cbnz

Yes, there are bent sprints at the new Taupo track September 9. You need to have a helmet, fire extinguisher and cotton overalls. Get hold of Gary Raiti from PCNZ and he will be able to tell you whether there are places left. I will be there, my first time doing this sort of thing, so a little apprehensive, no insurance.....

cbnz

BTW, how did you add your avatar?

LeMarquis

Just go to User CP at the top left menu and it will offer you a place to upload your avatar. Ill be in NZ Oct. I can't wait!! Does PCNZ have a website?

cbnz

Yes, but it's not always up to date. http://www.porsche.org.nz

Tania W

Hi Guys,
I've just returned to these forums (joined years ago but for some reason have neglected them!)
Good to see plenty of Kiwis around. I'm out in East Auckland, and a PCNZ member. Did the driver training day last weekend and had some fun and a nasty scare....high speed 360 going into the esses, finished up off the track just short of the tyre wall in a cloud of P-Zero smoke! Didn't know you could actually get your foot flat to the floor on the brake pedal Damp track and too much adrenaline will get you every time!
It was the first time I'd lost control on the track in the P-car and I wish I could somehow replay it to see how it all eventuated. Instructor said I was a bit fast at the entry, and waaay to fast on the turn-in, but as soon as the back started to go I wasn't going to try and be a hero. Both feet full-in (clutch and brake) and wait for the thump. Fortunately the thump never came, but I was a bit more cautious for the rest of the day.
Targa prepped 964 kissed the Armco (front and rear) coming over the hill, and plenty of other guys had off-track excursions, but that was the only damage. Can't recommend track based training days highly enough. Stay within your comfort zone and you'll be fine. Go beyond and you are risking damage, but learning heaps.
Cheers all
T

GeorgeNZ

Yes, it was a big day and dry to wet usually sees someone getting bitten by Pukekohe. My partner was out there too - in the blue 968. Will we see you at the sprints in Taupo?

Tania W

Afraid not.....working that weekend. Should be a goodie though
Cheers
T

Tania W

Hi all,
So what's the goss from Taupo. I hear a 996C4S damaged and a Cayman written off. Was anyone there who can confirm or give details?
Hope the drivers were both ok (I feel for their wallet pain though)
T

GeorgeNZ

Yup - just a couple more data points confirming that pasm and abs don't work on top of water and the laws of physics are immutable - it was very wet in the afternoon after a dry morning.

C4S driver just really pissed off at himself; Cayman driver only suffered a blood nose, airbag/ open faced helmet. He aquaplaned and didn't manage to catch it going into the sweeper on the old track and went into the tyre barrier hard, and was spat back out onto the track.

Front and rear pretty trashed but the main structure was virtually intact - doors opened and closed - a testament to Pcar strength and integrity.

There we a number of other minor offs and spins - Taupo still has a lot of standing water when it rains.

Apart from those couple of incidents, I think everyone had a great weekend either tracking or art touring

Tania W

Thanks for the details. Glad everyone was ok. I heard the Cayman crash was fast....like 200kph, so it is indeed testimony to the strength of the car.
Agree entirely re the PASM, ABS and electronic trickery - only works when the tyres are in direct contact with tthe road (or track!). what did Scotty say on Star Trek "ye canna change the laws of physics Captain!"?
Is the standing water a fault with the track? One would hope it was suitably cambered/drained. Can't see the A1GP officials being happy with a flood-prone track. Work needed, or just one of those things?
Cheers
T

GeorgeNZ

It was designed to be flat as it needs to be for the drag strip but standing water is a problem at most tracks - Puke is not flash in the wet - it has rivers running across the track in several places when it rains

cbnz

I would be surprised if the Cayman was going any faster than 100k when he hit the tyres. It was very surprising, I had just passed the 996, he had slowed considerably, I can't really understand how and why he spun off. Lots of people spoke of aquaplaning, I didn't aquaplane once that I could feel anyway, maybe it is the combo of 4wd + relatively heavy standard car, or just dumb luck and the warning that if the car got bent, I would not be allowed home!

GeorgeNZ

Aquaplaning can occur at relatively low speeds (9x sqr root of tyre pressure is vaguely familiar) and if you don't/ can't catch any rotation, you are there for the ride. I have aquaplaned several times at that point (in a Formula Challenge) but each time managed to catch it (damn lucky).

The the thing that takes a while to sink in is that you can still go bloody fast in the wet - in a straight line, I would think that a Cayman would struggle to accelerate at anyhwere near 1/2G but in the dry would easily pull 1G laterally through a corner - that number will reduce dramatically in the wet, which means you have to be going slower. However, braking takes longer and if you are going a bit quick and end up in the abs and mix it with standing water and a bit of yaw............

MrMeow

Kiwi here. Just joined the forums and im getting a porsche as soon as my budgets allow. Only 17 though so my budget extends all the way to a 924/s. Hoping to get it by xmas though. (i cant wait) i currently drive the most boring Jap-diesel you could possibly find so its gonna be a huge step up.