First DE at VIR: Almost a bust but Dell to the rescue!

I forget how to cross post so here is the text: Relative noob to DE here, but I had been dying to try VIR since watching a Grand Am race there last year. Bought a roll bar for my cab a year ago just so I could go to VIR but did not have the opportunity to do so until this weekend with Chin Motorsports. The warmup session (which is a great idea and I wish more DEs did this) went fine but during my first hot session, I noticed some heavy vibrations at high speeds. After the session was over, I happened to run into Dell and asked him about the vibration since he had run a 996 Cab prior to his GT3 days. He gave me some ideas, but most importantly suggested I remove the wheels to inspect and reinstall to make sure they were seated properly. Well, the very first wheel I remove (left rear) I find to my surprise the tire was corded with metal sticking out any everything. I checked the right rear next and while not as bad, it was completely worn as well. After several frantic calls to all area tire and Porsche dealers and a mad scramble around the paddock for replacements with no success, I had resigned myself to the fact that my weekend was over and I had just had a single session cost me $1000. Not so fast: cue Dell. Now keep in mind, prior to this weekend, other than a few exchanges in posts and PMs here on Rennlist, he didn't know me from Adam. When he learned of my predicament, he immediately offered me use of his spare set of GT3 street wheels which would fit my car perfectly. I reluctantly accepted but inside I was . After my next session, I came back to find that he had a tire incident of his own that ended his weekend. While most people probably would have packed it in and left in disgust, Dell, offered to stay through the next morning so I could run a couple of sessions, and then, worried about my driving home a couple of hundred miles to DC on a donut spare, told me I could keep his wheels if I could find a way to get my own wheels home. After much more scrambling with no success, I finally found a solution when the guy sitting next to me at the dinner banquet, Sunny, offered to take my wheels home with him to NJ and ship them to me. So due to the kindness of two strangers, I was able to complete the weekend and have an absolute blast at VIR. Now while VIR was incredible, what was really eye-opening was how great the community is and the individuals who go way beyond to help out a fellow enthusiast in need. Thanks Sunny (who recently started a business building race motors, BMWs for sure but maybe other makes too, PM me for his contact info). And an especially heartfelt thanks to Dell who was gracious enough to entrust me, a complete stranger, with his wheels so I could enjoy the weekend and get some safely . Beers are on me next time! James

Great story. Very gracious of these 2 guys, and yah I for one feel like we are all part of a "special" club.

That is a cool story and says buckets about fellow Rennlisters who came to your rescue. Glad it turned out for you.

Nice story..good to hear that there is still nice people out there... I had the same problem in my C2. my Left back tire was down to the cords... it ended up being my alingment.. I had -1.9 neg at that tire... I know of a good place at MD to work on our cars.. if you are interested send me a PM

Good save.... congrats to Dell and Sonny for their generosity and great spirit.

Way to go, Dell. It's my sense that this forum, and a few others like it, have a much-higher-than-average ratio of actual people to avatars, and that many of the actual people are basically decent, if not better.

How nice of Dell! Now...get rid of that dangerous cab and join the GT3 family

So Dell is not that mean afterall?

I'm pleased to hear the positive comments about Dell. After all, I sent him a check for parts and now I'm just hoping he's a real person that will ship, before kissing my money goodbye! All kidding aside, it's the people on this forum that keep me coming back to learn more about these fabulous cars. I hope to join Dell and others at a DE in the future, but in the meantime Rock On!

dell's almost as nice as me

Just wondering did you have your car tech checked fully? Surely this would have determined the problem before you came to the track. Chin requires the form but does not perform any check before their event. Perhaps PCA regions are more discerning before allowing one on the track as they Tech Check each and every day of an event.

I was gonna ask the same.. how did your car pass tech?

They didn't inspect the car but the I had the tech inspection done at a local shop and originally they had filled out a PCA form before I handed them the Chin form to fill out. The guy had mentioned wear on the inside of my tires to me verbally, but still passed tech. I don't know if the drive from DC to VIR and the warmup session plus one hot session was enough to get the metal to show, but I had the same thought as you. The tires look fine from the outside, and the fronts were fine as well. I don't know if the wear would have been noticeable without the car being on a lift.

James, I think it's an omen, you need to get R-compound tires on the car! Hmmm, wait ... if you do that you'll be faster than me, so you better replace them with all season tires

In spite of what most people here think, Dell's alright in my book.

Sonny and Dell..great job Glad you session went well and that you didnt have an incident on the track. Maybe my first meet with Dell I could give some BS about my RMS going south and he can offer the GT3? In all seriousness, I give my own inspection prior to having the official tech inspection performed. This way I have no suprises..count your blessings.

Does not surprise me a bit after what few dealings I've had with Dell.....

I PM'ed Dell over the weekend to get his opinion on something and he got back to me very quickly... from my brief interactions with him and this story, he just seems like a class act! (and I like his posts as well!)

This is a learning process for sure. I have learned to be sure to use a tech who knows about DE and racing. Just using a normal mechanic may not be enough. I also check my own tires, pads, fluid levels, always bleed 4 oz of brake fluid from each caliper among other things before every event.

It was a local race shop that did the tech, not some joe schmoe.

Great stuff. Good on ya, Dell...!!!

Ha, I was going to wait a while for the r-comps but if you're getting the GT3 suspension...

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Yeah, you are a nice guy too By the way...where's Dell? He must be embarrassed

You rock Dell!!! I already knew you were a good guy. No surprise here.

Ok, ok, ok.......I guess I'll post. Honestly, I just saw this thread and am very flattered at the kind words said by all......even BC I would have seen this yesterday but I don't come and post on the 996 board really anymore. I didn't like the direction I felt the forum was taking and more importantly, I didn't like the person I was at times when I posted here. Nothing against my long term 996 brothers, but the "new" crop just ain't the same. I spend most of my time over on the GT3 forum and Racing/DE forum. I miss hanging here but I don't miss the "new" here. Anyway, back on topic. I met James for the first time this past weekend at VIR. Very nice guy and genuinely excited to be at the track When he was having problems, I offered to take a look and suggested a few things. As soon as we realized what happened I did what I hope most of us would do....help out another enthusiast. With that said though, I just handed a guy I just met hours earlier a pristine set of GT3 wheels with full tread PS2's.....was I nuts?!?!?!?!? The reason I felt as comfortable as I did doing that for him is that I just had a gut feeling he was a genuine guy and I had no worries. Regardless, had I been burned, I would have hunted his *** down and.......... The other reason I stayed after my weekend was shot after just my second run was that I wasn't going to leave and have TWO weekends ruined. It genuinely made me feel good and made the entire weekend WORTH IT FOR ME to see somebody else have as much fun as I do doing this addictive hobby that really can bite you in the *** sometimes. Well, this time, we bit back I am just glad I was able to make his weekend last more than one session and become a weekend that he will never forget.....both for the driving and more importantly the camaraderie. Glad to help and glad I made another great friend that was just hours before just another avatar on Rennlist. And no, Alex, you can't have the GT3 if your car suffers from RMS

Dell, what you did was a very nice gesture! BTW - we are getting some, but not all, of the "newbies" whipped into shape around here, so you should come back here "slumming" a little more often and see for yourself.

Dell, Would that be the GT3 wheels as in 9"/11" rims? And big fat sticky rubber? His car will seem like the family sedan now. Planting GT3 seeds, eh? :-).

Dell, kudos to you for treating a stranger like family. It's guys like you that make this sport so much fun. James thanks for sharing your experience. Prior to my Porsche, I did a few open track events with the local Shelby club. At one of my first open track events (ThunderHill), I destroyed my rotors to the point where I had no brakes. I had about a 100 mile drive home. One of the guys I just met, offered to let me drive his AC Cobra clone home and he was going to trailer mine. I declined his offer and limped home. I will never forget his generosity. I enjoy the people at the track as much as the cars.

Dell you did what most people would not these days and for that my hat is off to you!

Ha ha. Sorry if I embarrassed you Dell or ruined your "rep" by pointing out what a nice guy you are. However, I felt compelled to give everyone one of many examples of what a stand up guy you are. Definitely let me know the next time you are in the area.

Damn you James!!!! Now I have to actually live up to the person I am in real-life.

I love to hear stories like this. Way to go Dell.

way to go dell.......I always knew you were a nice guy! And knowledgeable too. So please keep on coming back or we have to hunt your a.. down on the other boards and that wouldn't be to good for the other people on the GT3 board LOL