First Track Day - Me and the Car - Thompson Speedway

***2nd Track Day Update Post 34*** I had my first track day and like many others, had an awesome experience. So much to learn, operating the car in a whole new envelope than on the street - Just an awesome experience and I am hooked. I put the car together with a lot of parts that would be suitable for the track, mainly cause I like tinkering and they also make the car more capable and enjoyable on the street...well, most do and some... I like to tinker. Ohlins coilovers, corner balanced and alignment by a race shop, a bunch of weight removal, car weighed 3K before I took another 25-30LBS out and good Pilot Sport 4S are probably the important bits with regards to track performance. Car also has bucket seats, OMP steering wheel and a 6 point harness. LN deep sump and SOFA and muffler deletes are only motor changes, muffler deletes for weight and sound and the LN stuff for reliability. Ran XP9 oil. I will need to really improve as a driver to get the most out of the performance mods, right now I just know they feel like a great foundation for me to build my skills on. The interior stuff - It provided a distraction free driving environment, I was comfortable, did not move around and did not think at any point about anything in the car other than gauges. It was 85 degrees and the car stayed cool, like a tick hotter than on the street and was rock solid. Oil pressure never dipped and the car felt rev happy and eager, just a blast. For the experienced, would love feedback, but limit to the 2 things you think I should focus on. I want to go back out for my next one in a couple weeks with just a short list of things to focus on before expanding. The experience is still so new, keeping a plan was tough for me with the excitement, adrenaline and nerves all turned up to 11. Video below of my best 2 laps, 1:34's and some pictures from the track photographer. I have wanted to do this for so long, feels so good to have the first one behind me where everyone/thing came out in one piece and the car treated me so well. If you want to see more vids on the car, throw me a sub to my youtube channel. Been trying to post relatively frequently and its all 996 content. You Tube

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Good for you! I'm glad you enjoyed the track day. I have no suggestions just glad to see you didn't go out there and beat the crap out of the car yet still had a good time! Drive on!

”I had my first track day and like many others, had an awesome experience. So much to learn, operating the car in a whole new envelope than on the street - Just an awesome experience and I am hooked“. <—This! Nice post and great pics, headed over to YT now for a view.

My advice (and I am by no means an expert), this is what I do (these are ideal): *Get a good track map (I use Motorsportsmaps dot com) *Watch your video, write down the current reference points (apex, braking, on throttle, trees, track changes, etc., anything you can) *Get some way to take data (I use track addict pro on phone), write down Entry/exit speeds at key points of the track then.... *Ideal 1: get an instructor to drive your car , compare all of the above items and look for improvement areas *Ideal 2: Find you tube videos of similar cars on the same track (faster than you, but not race cars), hopefully with data, compare and take notes then... *When you go back to that track, focus on 2 to 3 of the faster turns and progressively work up to those targets Rinse and repeat 🤙

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Nice Dude, thanks for the input...

ZBOMB, We spoke briefly at Thompson last week, so glad to have another 996 owner running at Track Nights. Great on track video, I am sure your learning curve will improve quickly. I wont be at Thompson this month, my next event will be at New Hampshire Speedway August 6. I know its a long drive for you but hope you can make it there, if not probably be at the next Thompson event. Regarding lap times, I use Harry’s Lap Timer which you can upload on you phone. It works pretty well. Look forward to seeing you and your 996 again.

Nice! I'll be out at Thompson on Monday... with the Corrado not the 911. I love that track. Five hairpins followed by a dragstrip. It looks easy. It's harder than it looks. If you see someone at Thompson (or Palmer or Lime Rock) with either a red Corrado or a blue 996 Turbo say hi. I might even be there on July 30th, August 15th, August 17th, September 1st, September 29th....

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It was great meeting you, look forward to the next occasion ! Not sure about the trip to NH but will definitely be at Thompson and maybe Palmer. If you would be willing to share any of your data, I would love to take a look before the next event and see how far off I am, I question some of my gear selection among other things and would be interested in comparing with someone with experience. Feel free to shoot me a PM I will be there the 30th and then at least 2 of the next 4 SCCA Tracknights. Will keep an eye out - you do the same !

Did u have to play follow the leader since u were a novice? I got my first track day in march but have been hesitant to spend the money without in car instruction. If it was follow the leader did u find the education aspect was worth it?

Will do. If you get a chance to run Palmer you really should. It's more challenging, and to me a lot more fun. I've been there twice this year and I'll be there a few more days. I use an app called TrackAddict, which I prefer to Harry's. And it's free. I got a 10Hz bluetooth GPS and a bluetooth OBD2 reader (those were not free). The 10Hz GPS is essentially a requirement to get good resolution.

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Can I ask which GPS? I am 👀 ing for a good one...

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The SCCA track night is pretty loose. Novice takes paced laps, along with most of the other classes for a session then goes in for a briefing on passing zones and flags. The next session and all follow on are pass with point by. No instructors and no follow the leader. It was awesome ! I would like to run another couple and then get an instructor in the car with a more structured event. Briefings after each session for novice drivers. Its very affordable at $170 non member $160 member - I would highly suggest for the seat time. Noted, I'm in Douglas, you ever go out on street drives with either the corrode or 911 ?

I'm in Marlborough. I have 4 Corrados and use them in rotation as my daily driver, with the 911 for weekends. So I do take them all out regularly. For the 10Hz GPS I bought a Qstarz 818XT which works well. It was recommended by the Track Addict developers.

Nice -- looks like you were gaining pretty handsomely on the folks in front of you!

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Nice, I grew up in Sudbury and know the area well. Stephen Anthony�s breakfast best you�ll find...

Subscribed to your YT channel. Nice video. Did I miss the particulars on your car? Year, model, etc.?

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THANKS ! I’ll try to put out some cool stuff that entertains. Let me know if there’s anything on the car you would like more detail on. 03 Carrera - maybe 2970 LBS Muffler Delete LN SPOFA LN 2QT Deep Sump LN skid plate LN Magnetic Drain Plug Driven XP 9 or DT40 Oil RSS Roll Bar - Rear seat delete Recaro SPG Driver - Sparco EVO2 Pass BK fixed Driver Mount and sub bar BK factory Slider brackets Pass CAE shifter OMP steering wheel NRG quick release and hub Rennline Batt Mount and Odyssey PC680 battery Schroth Harness Ohlins road and track coil overs tarett drop links michelin pilot sport 4S Stock LW wheels powdercoated and run out corrected Corner Balance/alignment Castrol SRF brake fluid I think that pretty much covers it. Hawk HP + pads will likely go in before next track day, third session when I started to figure out how hard you can lean on the brakes I did experience some fade.

So it’s a C2?

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It is.

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very cool and affordable. How much track time did u get? last event i did with scda was $350 for 4-20min sessions at njmp but i did get an instructor

1 20 Min pace (warm up/ get to know track) session 3 20 min track sessions

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Great line-up, you have clearly done your home work, couple of questions... 1). Alignment...how much camber Fr/Rr? 2). Tire tread depth, Fr/Rr, Inboard/Outboard beginning of day and end of day? 3). Hot tire pressure, what is your target and are you blending after each session to get there?

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Camber 1.5F 2.5R Tires were pretty much new to start the day, maybe 100 street miles. Have not measured post. Thinking I may bring an infrared thermometer next time to measure temps across tire to check alignment, I know it's not a tire pyrometer but it's what I got. I aimed to keep it at what I run on the street, 35F and 40R. I bled air throughout to keep it there. Once cooled pressures were 5 lbs less on all 4. Knowing that I will start them about 5 lbs less and monitor. Would be open to suggestions, I bring my compressor so I could afford to play around. For my first time out, I just did not want to over complicate anything as they event came at me quickly and I knew at a minimum I wanted to check lug torque, oil level, tire pressure and once I got through that stuff, rest for 10 min or so and get ready to go back out.

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Very good info and a great approach to get started...My 2 cents: 1). Rr camber is ok, Fr maybe bump up to -2 ish. But you are at a good point if your overall tire wear is ok. 2). I would check tread depth for your reference. This is where the $ meets the road. Monitoring this and you can dial in your camber. 3). I would try for <35 hot all around. For example, Michelin Sport Cup 2s are strongly recommended to stay below 31 hot. It is a trial and error. You can dial this in too. By the end of the day, I am at an equivalent of 24 cold.

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Cool, really good info, will the additional camber in the front help with some of that 911 push or is that just something that comes with the territory ? The rear had all the grip it needed and only ever spun the tires cresting the hump coming onto the straight.

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Precisely... More front camber= more front grip and turn in proper tire pressure = less tendency to lose traction Glad you spun, that feeling is the key to knowing the limit and how changes affect the balance.

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The tire spinning was pretty subdued, I had left the traction control on - once I was committing after the last turn to keep the throttle matted just as I reached the top of the hill I saw the traction control light flash a couple times. Other than that, felt like I would really have to work to get it to lose traction in the rear. The front on the other hand... in the slow stuff, well, you can hear it in the video. Lot of tire complaining. Only 38% of the 2970 LBS over those front tires. I gotta say though, it made for a VERY confidence inspiring drive for a beginner. While corvettes and even some Miatas were swapping ends, my car never told me it was even thinking of imitating them.

Thank you for sharing. Your driving was pretty darn good for being on track first time. I missed signing up for Thompson before it was sold out. I have been wanting to do a TNIA for a couple years. Your down shifting looked really. It's good to know there are some 996s participating in TNIA. Maybe later in the season I can get to one. Pocono is closet for me, they don't do WGI, that I am aware of, that's only 50 miles away. David

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Thanks David ! Maybe you can get in for the SEP 1, I am signed up for that and on the waiting list for AUG 17. Next one is JUL 30, Already so excited. I really wish I had remembered to turn the cam on for the 3rd session, I felt at the time like it was a long way better than the previous (the one in the video). I finally started really leaning on the brakes and as I was pulling off the track at the end of the session the brakes were a little spongy, I wore those spongy brakes like a medal for the day.

I can't wait to see you out there in two weeks. It's obviously different driving my VW to your 996, I will say that upshifting in the short straight before the last corner and keeping it wide open till the 500' brake mark works for me. Of course the ultimate speed of my VW is a lot less than a 996, it goes OK up to about 110-115 then aerodynamic drag really takes hold. Once I finally got the hang of it I burned up a set of brake pads in two, 20 minute sessions (in my VW). I upgraded pads to Hawk HP+ and have not had a further brake problem and I am very hard on the brakes. That's really my only hangup bringing my 6TT to the track, consumables cost. I got 4 Nitto NT01 tires for the VW for $399, that buys ONE front tire for the Porsche. Oh, and if I wreck the VW it's a $6k car, the Porsche is more like a $60k car. Still, I'd like to track the 6TT at least once. The tight schedule at TNIA is sometimes a bit of a hassle, seems there's hardly time to check the car over & chug some gatorade before you're back out there. You can fit the 997 GT3 front brake ducts to your front control arms to get better front brake cooling (at least they fit the Turbo, I assume they fit the C2?) They cost less than 5 bucks each and are a great improvement. FCP Euro has them in stock in CT. Where else will you find an OEM improvement for less than $10? GT3 ducts: L - 997 341 483 92 R - 997 341 484 92 I don't think the GT3 rear ducts will work unless you have a Turbo undertray with the NACA ducts. The rear ducts are expensive, too, about $150 each. I have been advised to use Motul RBF600 brake fluid as a minimum, with RBF660 even better. I use ATE200 in the VW and have never had issues there, even with pad & rotor temps over 800F.

Yes the GT3 front brake ducts fit on 996, have them on mine. Never had any brake fad with Hawk HP plus pads and Ate 200 brake fluid.

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Watching the video, I agree on the last corner, I should shift into 3rdto get a better jump on the straight. It's funny, on the track it is really noticeable how the motor really needs to be up in the rev range to feel happy. 3-4K feels a little like it's lugging and I think that why I was in 2nd so much of the track. I think in the last session I was able to start braking a tad beyond the 6 marker, it still had more in it for sure. I was just amazed how hard you can get on them. I am going to get the ducts on order, that and the HP + with the SRF fluid that's in it should allow me some more headroom. I'll be driving from Douglas, I'll PM you my cell phone and you can give me a shout when you're on the way in a couple weeks or if you ever want to go for a rip on some pretty fun roads in my neck of the woods. ETA... Just bought the GT3 ducts - Thanks for the tip guys !

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I have the GT3 brake ducts on my 996 Carrera Aero and run Motul 600. Stock pads get replaced often, but no squeal for street use. I don't have the driving experience to drive any where near the limits of my car, so the setup works good for me. After a great weekend at my last HPDE, my instructor took me out in the instructor run group in my car, I was right seat. Wow, a 996 with a really good suspension can really get around a big track like WGI with a good driver.

2nd track day for me and the car is in the books. Good: Felt so much more comfortable and was able to be more aggressive and think a little more = FUN. Car felt strong, gauges all good, another hot day and temps rock solid (at least on the sub par stock gauge), oil pressure stable. Brakes felt good, a little spongy toward the end of the session but nothing to take away any confidence in them, I can work them a lot harder and need to man up in a couple places - watching the footage back I'm shaking my head at myself that I could have gone in deeper on a number of occasions. Ran a best time of 1:26 and feel like I'm starting to just scratch the surface of the current capabilities of the car. Bad: Traffic was a challenge for me, I guess the positive is I got a lot of practice passing, but no full clean laps. My fellow drivers were for the most part pretty good about pointing me by so other than not being able to get a clean gauge of time, did not dull the fun. Unfortunately, when I came in for the last session theprf, who I drove to the track with and gave me some great tips let me know he saw a nice cloud come out the exhaust at startup before the session, I called my Dad who was watching from a spectator spot and he saw some puffs out the tailpipe during some shifts, so, I shut it down for the night thinking the AOS is done, or on the way out. Before I left I looked the car over and just as I saw after my first event, a small amount of oil on my skid plate, almost exactly the same as I saw after the last day. The bummer here is that after the last event I tested the AOS and it came back at -4.2 at idle and there were no leaks or smoke when testing the car on the street so I thought I was just overfilled with oil (I was) and overwhelmed it, so, I made sure I started the night last night with the oil about 1/4 full on both dip stick and electronic gauge cold and same problem - so I'm going to swap the AOS out with a UAOS, hopefully before my next track day on 9/1 and hope that does the trick. Other than that, I love this car so much more than when I got it and feel like I have the foundation of mods to make some smallish tweeks over the winter to make it even more capable. I know people will say catch up as a driver, and they're right - but - I like to tinker and now that I really get to exercise the car, it gives me a much better idea where I want to further invest in the car to realize more potential, instead of just throwing money at the **** I think is cool, which, don't get me wrong - is fine - I've literally done it my whole car modding life and had a blast. So here's my 2nd and last session of the night - the fast lap starts as I pass the BMW right before the straight and if you like passing - watch the whole thing, I do a ****load of it. And... If you like the vid, give my channel a subscribe - like - comment, I'm enjoying making these videos and if you guys want to see something specific or have a topic you want covered, let me know. You Tube

Are you not using a hans device? If so id strongly reconsider that. Would love to see a video of your gauges for a session to see how the pressure reacts.

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Correct, no Hans yet. I'll be taking a trip to HMS motorsport to get their opinion - so, I'll likely be situated for next session. Lowest oil pressure was in the oval turn - 2.5 bar. Temps never moved past the half way mark. Next season goal is to be able to log all that data as well as lambda in both banks.

It was a nice time out with Jason. He's already quite an accomplished driver at this track . Lap times of 86 seconds are really good, especially with a lot of traffic. Best I can manage is 91 seconds in my 1980's econobox with a top speed of 115... it's making me want another 911 to dedicate to track duty. I'll be there 9/1 as well.

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Ditto Aaron, I tried to keep some of the tips you gave me in mind and happily pass along some of the credit for improvement to you for sharing them with me. The car is good, I don't really know enough to know, but I think really good - I think a good driver, like you, would get a lot more out of it - I'm really excited to just try to improve a little each time in both skill and confidence.

About to download some photos of the event and as I was cruising through I saw this one, picked the LF off the ground on this hard left hander... The photographer also got a nice one of a poof of smoke on another left hander...

Just had an opportunity to review data from the loaner Aim Solo 2 I got from Matt @ Trailbrake.com. The data analysis you have available with one of those units is something I will need to spend a lot more time with to fully explain in detail. In short - even with sessions filled with traffic, being able to have sector timing/speed/force and review of the track map vs the various telemetry data points means a lot can be taken away. The part I'm most proud of, a theoretical fastest lap of 1:21.2 vs actual fastest of 1:26.7... If I can have a traffic free lap and put only what I know now - which is pretty much nothing to the ground I can get to 1:21. I have a lot left on the table with more commitment in braking zones being the lowest low hanging fruit. Can't wait to get back out - hopefully the car and its likely AOS issue will be sorted in the next couple weeks and I'll be ready to go for the next track night on SEP 1. Will be doing some other stuff to the car while I'm in there - new air filter, fresh XP9 and filter, new serpentine belt, may throw a set of Hawk HP + on, not sure - stock pads and rotors should get me through another event with plenty to spare so may hold off and do the brakes and rotors after the next one. Put in a non-expired Shroth harness - literally went through every color buying 2nd hand til I was able to score a good deal on the color I want and they have a couple years on them to boot ! Some more pictures from the last day

That data is a really nice tool. How is it presented? I haven't used anything other than low-end phone apps. TrackAddict is the one I use and gives a heat map to show where you're slow. There are a lot of other overlays available too: braking/acceleration, turns/G-force, shifts, and the like. It looks like this - sorry about the big picture. This was at NHMS last week - I saw Jnelso there too. We're hoping you have your car ready for 9/1!

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There are many different methods for reviewing the data that you transfer via wifi from the Aim Solo 2 to a PC running Aims Race Studio software, I got the gist from watching this guys videos, If you're interested in learning more, they are a good watch for the capabilities and can really show you better than I can explain. I may try the TrackAddict for the next day. Skip said my UAOS was going out early next week so hopefully, no disasters and I'll be squared away for the 1st. You Tube

You mentioned you had a poof of smoke - aos being overwhelmed? This happened to me on the track and seems to happen to many. My aos seemed fine according to a manometer after, but I replaced it anyway as I had another track day coming up. FWIW it was fine after replacement, but they were two very different tracks. Does the uaos solve this? I've been seriously contemplating the mantis racing deep sump now with more track in the future to avoid additional oil pressure issues. The motorsports aos is attractive too but seems like overkill for a 80% street car. Seems like M96 motors need quite a few updates before being suitable for extended track use .

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If you go the TrackAddict route - or actually any phone based app - you really need a 10Hz Bluetooth GPS receiver. I'm using the QSTAR 818XT and it's fantastic. The GPS in my phone wasn't anything like fast or accurate enough to get usable data.

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Yeah, the track photographer was nice enough to get a good picture of a cloud. Hoping my situation ends up mirroring yours as my AOS tests fine as well, hopefully the replacement will resolve the issue. As with you, no issues on the street. I do run the LN 2QT deep sump and Driven XP9 oil and can say oil pressure seems stable with no major dips. I went with the UAOS over the Motorsport part specifically for the in-line catch can. Especially after seeing how much oil actually made its way into the intake manifold, would not take too long of not paying attention or not having a buddy tell you they noticed an issues for a PIA to turn into something catastrophic. I�m not adverse to spending what I have to for peace of mind the motor will be in the best position to survive track work, obsessively frequent oil changes, all consumables changes well before required etc... So I had no problem with spending the cash for the Motorsport version, but the catch can can save a motor - and that�s how I made the choice. Noted Aaron, if I go that route I will add the external GPS suggested. Thanks for the tip.

Well - UAOS is in, 10.5 QTS fresh XP9, OEM air filter, serp belt, nut and bolt on 4 corners, washed and a 30 mile spirited test drive today... Go for launch on Tuesday at Thompson. I downloaded track addict, although I did not get the receiver in time - so hopefully it will work well enough to just give me lap times. I'll have video from the day and maybe a short commentary up on my youtube channel later in the week. Big thanks to Porschetech ( Skip ) for getting me the UAOS parts and providing support during the install and of course theprf ( Aaron ) for the heads up to the issue during the last track outing. Excited to get back out there !

Sweet! I have a spare Garmin 10Hz GPS I can loan you. It should be a nice day, not as hot as last time.

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Thats very generous Aaron, thank you ! The cooler weather will definitely be nice for driver and machine. Changes: UAOS Replaced my out of date Schroth belts with an in date setup... Got to get the passenger setup situated. Also put in a custom shift **** for the CAE

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I use track addict Pro and it is great, will give you lap times and much more info. You will need the GPS to pinpoint speeds at clear locations. Enjoy!

If you need a garmin 10hz gps I'm not using. I will sell it at a good price.

Todays track day went awesome, car performed great (with 1 little stumble) weather was perfect and got to hang out with theprf and Jnelso. The oil leak I had both previous events is resolved and the bottom of the car is as dry as it was before the event, that's a big relief. No smoke from the exhaust was noted so I have to say the UAOS did the trick there - Thank you Skip ! I used the Trackaddict lap timer and really liked it - borrowed an external GPS from theprf and seems like that setup works well. If I could remove all the traffic, I would like the times it was showing me a lot more. Best of the day were a couple of 1:26's and neither were a clean lap. I plan to move up out of the novice for my next event and hopefully that will help - I did not get passed in any session but made it a point to check my mirrors prior to each passing zone. If I'm being honest, I'm a little bummed I was not able to better my previous time... Only issue came about half way through the last session when 3rd gear got real spongy - not something you are expecting with the CAE shifter. Brought the car in for a look over and all linkage in the car was good - realized it was not only 3rd but 1st, 5th and reverse and it became clear I likely had a linkage issue at the trans. Got home and could not wait to diagnose - Yup...linkage had worked its way out of its bracket. Happy it waited to the very end to decide to happen. Now I will look into how I can lessen the likelihood of reoccurrence. So, I'll have video up in the next couple days. Thanks to all who have participated in the thread and helped me out in other areas - I really appreciate it. Cranky linkage below

A zip tie is a common and universal fix for thst cable mount. Not sure but numeric cables may work with that shifter and help the feel of the shifts too. Numrric cables have a threaded base and a jam nut that hold it in place

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Glad to hear you are progressing, and yes out of novice is the way to go. Warnings about the intermediate groups, they sometimes think they are faster than they are. Stay patient! Can you remind me about your brake set-up? Pads, rotors, fluid, etc.?

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Thank you for the advice, I think at this point I�m fast enough that it�s making it tough for a lot of the slower cars as I�m closing so fast on them and it�s making it really tough for me with so much inconsistency all over the track. For brakes only variations from stock are GT3 ducts and Castrol SRF fluid. I will be putting some Hawk brake pads on before next track event as the stock are down to about 1/3 left and maybe a stock replacement set of rotors depending how they measure out.

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Good job on the ducts and SRF. Track pads also a good idea, for rotors if you are changing anyway, I would recommend slotted (or non drilled). For the past 3 years, the drilled have been fine for me, but as my skill and track time increased, this year, they did not hold up and I have switched to Sebro.

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You're welcome for the GPS, glad to help. That loose shifter cable is exactly what I expected it would be. Criss-cross a couple zip ties on the bracket and it will be fixed for good. Thanks for explaining what you've modified inside your car as well. The Int. groups aren't so much about faster cars, although a lot of people seem to think that. It's more about situationally aware drivers who ought to be paying attention to flags, giving point bys, showing a bit of courtesy, and generally having a good idea of what to expect. The result should be most of the cars circulating at about the same speeds and fewer trains of cars. That doesn't seem to be as universal as it should be. The first Int session last night was a complete Charlie Fox, easily the worst session I've ever driven, my best lap time was on the checkered flag lap. The second was much smoother. The third was going well until halfway when my Corrado ate a wheel bearing. You certainly should be in the Int groups now. When someone's motivated three track days in Novice is plenty to get the feel of how things work. I might suggest that if you try a different track with TNIA you might want to swap back to Novice for one event or at least run the paced laps to get an overview of the track. Perhaps we'll see each other next time; I'm already signed up for 9/29 at Thompson with TNIA. And I got the license plates for my new 996 this morning.

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Interesting, thanks for the advice. Thanks Aaron, totally get bumping down for a new track. Tried to sign up for 29 or 30 last night and both sold out for inter and novice so I�m wait listed, bummer. I might try to do one of the Thompson non TNIA events the instructor was mentioning happen fairly frequently.

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Thanks for the shout-out Jason !!! And for the documentation of your AOS issue. This is the reason I Invented the UAOS, your example is a good one to showcase some of the advantages of the design in a good way, not in a catastrophic way when you don't "dodge the bullet". If I understand your example correctly, your car has a "New Genuine Porsche AOS" that was installed just before you bought the car as a "big PM engine out operation" ? If you could send me that AOS, I would like to do some bench test and an autopsy on it for some failure data.. The UAOS is very helpful on higher mileage cars that are experiencing more blow-by than usual. As the cylinders loose seal the AOS flow (blow-by) increases and it is more likely to have excess oil. The UAOS design with In-Series Accumulator will allow many more useful miles to be gotten from the M96 before it's necessary to rebuild.. The pictures are a great example of the BEFORE Intervention..Thanks for sharing them !! Looking forward to watching your Track Video !!..

Thanks Skip. Very happy with the performance of the product in the conditions, hats off. I may pop the drain on the accumulator and see what we caught. I’ll see if I still have the AOS I pulled out, if so, I’ll send it your way - just promise when you’re done you make its final death, slow, slow and painful for me. And yes, a couple days before I was scheduled to fly down and collect the car, the PO called me and said he had a small puddle in his garage, he took it to Orbit racing who replaced the AOS, put in a direct feed IMS and did scores of other work. The PO and I split the cost TOT little over 7K once everything was said and done and I picked the car up the day after he got it back and drove it home to Massachusetts at a non leisurely pace. That was March of 2019. Was reviewing some of my data and saw I hit 125.8 at the end of the straight on one lap which is a PB and then remembered I had 1 session I messed up on the timer app and did not record laps. So I’ll go back and review the video footage and see what the times were for that session. Also, looking at some of the data more closely, I can see at least a couple instances where GPS got a little wonky, so the video will help confirm the times. I’ll get the good stuff cued up and a video posted likely tomorrow. Wonder what other 996s are seeing for top speed there, some benchmark speeds and times would be nice.

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As a sacrificial offering to the Porsche Gods for you, I'll make sure the final death of the Genuine Porsche AOS is a slow and ritual consecration !!! Someone probably needs to let Orbit Racing know about the UAOS also... That track reminds of my favorite little track TGPR "little Talladega"..TGPR is really hard on the left front tire though..lol

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Congrats on the PB! Although not a 996, I routinely touch 115 in the Corrado - 7200 RPM in 4th (redline 6600) - and 45,000 RPM on the Vortech blower. The short tight tracks we have in the Northeast aren't really so great for high top speeds, though Lime Rock is faster. I haven't driven Watkins Glen but it looks fast. Some of the tracks further away like VIR look really fast. Your exit speed is very good and I think with some additional practice you can push it a bit higher. I would think you could shave a bit from your lap times, too. Thompson's straight is totally how you enter it, which is built off Turn 9 (the left hander off the oval). Nailing the 9-10-11 complex gets you on the straight at the uphill going at good speed. The trick to nailing 9-10 is to have the car going straight, with the wheels straight, for at least a moment on that short straight between T9 (the left hand) and T10. This settles the suspension for the sharp right T10 and the increasing radius T11. Coming out of T11, aiming between the huge single tree and the brown dead tree gets you onto the straight in just the right place. Not having traffic helps, too. I'm really stoked that you're having such a good time with this.

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Thanks dude... was just going through the video and the traffic was even worse than I thought, best lap came off a pass before the straight, I seemed to catch a ton of people in 9-10-11, lap killers for that, and the next lap not being able to get a clean run onto the straight as you point out. This event was by far the one with the poorest pass by and general situational awareness by the folks I was on track with... is what it is. I know I could have got at least into the 1:25's...maybe even a little better with a clean lap. I stopped counting at 35 passes for the event... Was not passed once or even chased. As far as top speed - there is still more in it, a clean run in and a little more courage...

Enjoy the video - YT cut in half, let me know if you’re interested in a part 2... You Tube

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I've always had a soft spot for Corrado's although I've never owned one. I bet this would be a hoot on track day. Really great to see how much fun you're having. Also, the lap times look pretty consistent w/o a watch -- a great sign of being comfy w/ the car and knowing the track... that's most of the battle so cheers on that. To be fair, your car ate the drivers of those cars, lol. In the hands of the right folks, I don't think you would have seen quite as many fingers ::

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You’re not wrong Thought any title disparaging corvettes and Miatas May help drive some traffic to my channel. And, in this case, it’s true... we don’t have to talk in public about the fact the drivers In those cars were more ham fisted than the one behind the wheel of the Porsche, by a little bit.

Signed up for what will likely be my last 2 track days of the season. 9/13 at Thompson and 10/25 at Palmer. Gave the brakes a good look over and did not think they would give me sufficient headroom to get through next weekends event so I just ordered Sebro slotted front and rear rotors and Hawk HP Plus pads for all 4 corners. They should get here in time for me to get installed on SAT. Will post up my thoughts on the new setup Vs. stock setup I've been running with. Here are a couple photos from last weeks event

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Great photos and progress! I just did my fist session on the Sebros, you will be pleased. So far very happy with the Pagid+Sebro combo!

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Yup, thanks for the suggestion, I don't know much about the tech reasons to go drilled vs. slotted, but my non educated self thinks the increased surface area and disc integrity of the slotted give me a better feeling for track use. Here's what my brakes are looking like now, have not driven the car since driving it home from the track. Front Rear

You are going to like the HP+. They have A LOT more braking torque than any stock pad. The never fade, I've laser thermometer-ed mine at 800*F and I've burned the paint off them and the calipers. Still no fade.

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Cool, they seem to get good reviews across the board. Pulled about 30 lbs out of the car today. Speakers, frunk stuff etc.... Should make the job of stopping the car...30 lbs easier. If I wasn't too lazy to remove the seats, I am about ready to gut the rear...Got to be good savings back there with all the carpet and seat belt spools. Little excited to get it back on scales, hopefully low 29XX's.

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I am sorry, you can�t talk about weight reduction and not show pictures, that is mean!

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I got you Brother. Check the what did you do thread. I just posted a pic in there. Interior looks the same, all under the surface stuff. The head unit will come out tomorrow and I have a carbon fiber sheet coming on Monday I�ll cut as a delete panel. Blew up an airbag today under controlled circumstances, always a good time.

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They look like they are hangng in there.

Glad I am changing the brakes - they look pretty smoked off the car. The shims and wear sensors are melted, one of the shim pucks is stuck in the drivers front caliper, When I went to pull the shim out it disintegrated and left one of the pucks behind... Rotors arrive tomorrow and pads/Caliper bolts on Thursday so I should be in good shape to test drive SAT and be ready for track Sunday. Everything is off now so will be pretty quick to get installed. I am not going to be running wear sensors or shims, I don't see any value in them forward going.

Shims may or may not be needed to reduce noise. Thats the only reason to run them. I have pagid yellows and they squeal to high hell so i doubt shims would do anything with race pads. Tie the sendor wires together so u dont get a light. looking foward to more track vids.

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Noise is what it is, After seeing the condition they came out in - no thank you. Big ups to the jump the wires together, I would have totally forgot to do that. Really pumped your enjoying the videos, I'm going to put one up in a couple days on the weight loss stuff and the new brakes. Next week will be another track video.

Yeah the HP+ are going to squeal like crazy. Music to my ears.

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Squeaky brakes tell the world, you mean business and you want everyone to know it long before they see you.

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Yeah.. it's like blowing the horn saying" either speed up or let me by and get out of my way !!" in an incognito kind of way.

Sebro rotors on and the wear sensor brain has been fooled - Pads, swap out the caliper bolts, pin and spring kit and top off the SRF and ready to rock.

Zbomb, Enjoying your posts and videos. Quick question. Do you have a limited slip differential on the car? If not, I would highly recommend you get one. Your stability, control, grip and ability to rotate the car thru turns will improve dramatically. if you do have an LSD, then that's good news and one less component to worry about upgrading. I have been tracking my 2002 996 for 16 of the 18 years that I have owned it, and the five most beneficial (non-engine) improvements that I have made to the car (besides seat time) for shaving off seconds per lap were as follows. 1. Upgraded suspension with Bilstein PSS9s using GT3 specs. They are still working well after all these years. 2. Upgraded brakes with Brembo GT big brake kit. 3. Limited slip differential. 4. Upgraded tires with either Pilot Sport Cups if you drive the car to the track or Hoosiers if you tow the car or have a way to bring the extra set of tires to the track. 5. Harness bar or roll cage with racing seats and harness straps. It's amazing how much faster you go when you are firmly planted in your seat. ​​​Hope that helps.

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Glad you're enjoying the content, thanks for joining. Appreciate the input on mods based on your long experience with the car. No LSD and it is high on the list on the list of things I will be looking at this off season. I will definitely be running a stickier set of tires than the PS4S than are on the car now next season, likely DOT approved. No BBK in the cards for a bit, I feel like I am still a ways away from getting the most out of the stock setup and want to push it as far as I can. We'll see how the shift from stock pads and rotors to a higher performing setup affects the confidence ( and bravery ) and go from there.

I will be waiting for a report on how the changes work out - and a report on how the new organization works out, too. I had my new 996 out at Lime Rock on Tuesday and I'd like to hit the other tracks this year with it.

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I will update you on both... how did the new car run ?

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Thanks, I've wanted to check out that track organization just never did. Lime Rock was good with a couple glitches to be expected on a 180k-mile car that you've only had for 3 weeks. I don't want to clutter your thread Jason, have a look here: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...l#post16893874

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Not bad for you maiden voyage with her.

Excellent thread Zbomb...great shots and video of your car on track. Quick question: can anyone solo during the SCCA Track Nights? How does the SCCA determine run groups for these events. Some of the footage I've seen of these events shows what appear to be very inexperienced drivers soloing on track together. I thought about doing one of these events but decided against it due to what appears to be too many inexperienced drivers on track by themselves and the dangers that presents.

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Yes, the drivers are solo, and self classified. By and large, my experience has been positive despite the facts above and I personally have not felt overly anxious about my fellow drivers while on track. The videos depict the Novice run groups so you can make your judgements. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos and thread, I'm going to keep both of them going and hope you stick along. Got the new brakes in and they feel quite more aggressive than the stockers. Changes from the previous track day - maybe close to 100Lbs taken out, brakes and giant cup wing and CF deck lid... excited.