Porsche 944 sp1 owners guide

PCA DE with Nordstern at Brainerd, June 21st

It was a funny weekend for me. I almost lost the car on Saturday. The car was very loud over the bumps in the pit out but it sounded like it did every other time. This turned out to be a big problem. Riding over the curbs in T3 the car felt very wierd. and wouldn't turn right after it. I got a pointed flag at me and I pitted. The right front wheel was showing a ridiculous amount of camber. After I got back to the stall (slowly) we jacked it up and the nut on the right shock securing it (tightens the shock against the camber plate on top) was missing. The whole shock was inside the wheel well on that side. The left hand shock nut was still there but loose.

The banging was the shocks bouncing up and down because the nuts were loose. The problem looks like the original nuts are lock nuts BUT with the locking washer AND the camber playes there isn't enough thread for the lock threads to grab so it's loose.

A trip to Ace Hardware found a replacement nut, an M14 with fine thread but they didn't have a locking one so I got blue loctite also. We removed the locking washer on the surviving shock and then blue loctited both nuts and impacted them down. If you didn't know already, if you need bolts/nuts etc then don't bother going anywhere other than Ace.

My brother (mechanic) says with a metal monoball that all the vibration goes through the nut and it wouldn't have enough thread to lock with a locking washer and camber plates. He says you need to check those all the time as it's easy to vibrate the nut loose with a metal monoball.

The adjuster knob was bent over at like 45 degrees from being in the well and the threads on the inside of the shock were flattened from rubbing up and down against the camber plate with the nut loose but the shock seems to work fine. Least now I know what a loose front shock sounds like, I didn't before. I think they have been loose for a while now.

Lap times wise, I didn't do anything special. I mostly rode around on my own and ended up with a 2:07 flat on the logger. Not much of an improvement (2 seconds) but I found it hard to get two fast laps together with traffic. The theoretical improved for me from a 2:07.9 to a 2:05.4 (holds up to the couldnt get two fast laps) and I can see myself carrying more speed in T2 and through most of the turns. I spun the car in T10 trying to trail brake and almost did it in T3. It's easy to use a little too much pedal and then around it went. It stopped pretty fast with both feet in and then I screwed up when I turned the car around (i.e. pointed in the right direction). Trouble now is I can't see the corner worker at T10 to tell me when to go.

T10 has new pavement on the inside which means you can take it in 4th now (for the brave) so it's going to improve lap times. A lot of us were still using the old line though. I started taking T7 in 4th instead of 3rd and it does help carry more speed through T8/T9 but you need to be fast to avoid bogging the engine down.

Hotel wise, the Rodeway Inn on highway 210 and 371 is ok I'd say. More motel than hotel, no internet. It's not somewhere I'd book with the family but for 80 bucks a night, it's fine for what it is. The rooms were clean and I'd stay there again.

The transmission was acting up also. Sometimes, I can't get it in to first but it shifts between all the other gears just fine. If I'm not moving then it will go in to 1st just fine. But, on the track it's not an issue. I'll drain the tranny to look for pieces of metal regardless.

My hawk blue pads look like they will last forever wear wise. I may try a set of Hawk Blacks on the front next time though. It's hard to trail brake with the blues and the black may be easier to modulate.

Happy enough with the weekend. Could be a lot worse...

SCCA regional license approved

I just checked the SCCA site and my status has changed to regional license so thats cool. So Bondurant gets you a regional license. I'm waiting now for it to show up in the mail and then I'll apply for the PCA license.

Bondurant Gran Prix Racing school 4 day review

So,

It's done, I completed the 4 days on Friday and it was pretty good. I learned a lot and hopefully am a little smoother and faster now. The total cost was 4200 for the 3 day school which I extended to 4 days at 4800 USD. I paid 300 dollars for insurance (still a 6k deductible!). Hotel was the Wild Horse Pass Sheraton at a Bondurant rate of 130 a night and this is a nice hotel. Looks like Disney designed it. I flew there on Sun Country for 340 bucks return.

Day 1:

Day 1 was class room, braking drills, lane change drills and heel and toe drills. No track time but drills. This was annoying me at the time because it looked like no track time till after lunch on day 2 and that didn't strike me as a lot of track time. The drills were basically illustrating steering the car with brake and throttle inputs, spin recovery in the special Caddy and getting used to the car. They also have an oval with an increasing radius turn and a constant radius turn for practising heel and toe and trail braking. Bondurant is huge into trail braking and when you see the instructors do the oval then it's pretty impressive.

The cars were 08 C6 vettes with < 100 miles on the clock. Very fast (430bhp) but almost completely stock except for corbeau seats, a 4pt harness, performance friction high temp pads and good year eagle tires. The stock pedal position meant I couldn't heel and toe at all well in them. The throttle pedal is in a different zip code than the brake and is 'high' when you're on the brake. I had a lot of trouble down shifting as a result. Most people were managing just fine so I think this was just me as far as pedals go but I'd use sneakers rather than racing shoes no matter what.

Day 2:

Skid car day and this was fun. Driving in an oval pattern, and a figure of 8 as the instructor using the outboard wheels to induce varying degrees of oversteer and understeer. The importance of vision and smooth pedal inputs were pretty clear here and it was fun all around.

We went to the oval in the morning but I almost wrecked the car in a tire wall basically because I over focused on downshifting and given my difficulties and having the instructor in the car with me, I brain farted and was lucky to escape with just a dusting. I switched to my clogs (Keens, I kid you not) in the afternoon and shifting was much easier than in my racing shoes.

We went to the track in the afternoon on the medium circuit with the carosel and the lake loop and now it becomes a lot more fun. The racing suits that are provided are kart suits which were uncomfortable in the heat. I used my Sparco XL suit on the following days and it's a TON better and for the money, I guess it should be.

The afternoon sessions are where the drills before started to make sense. I needed to smooth the pedal inputs and trail brake more. I was focusing on my turn in point rather than looking through to the apex. This meant I was overslowing the car and then was unable to trail the brakes most of the way around to the apex. I improved at this steadily but I'm no where near as good as the instructors who drive the vette like a momentum car in to the turns. Pretty cool

Day 3:

They did some skid car again and then ran the same circuit as the day before. They opened the full track in the afternoon which is pretty manic. Couple of elevation changes and you can almost get to 4th gear. The vette is a pretty powerful car and you can definitely start to feel the whole car under your right foot exiting corners. I got better at vision, lighter braking into turns for higher entry speeds and extending trail braking times. I got better opening up the steering at apex and then using the throttle to push the car out to track out etc. This became a lot of fun after a while. We got around 5 hours of track time this day. I was doing a lot better towards the end and was hanging with a PCA instructor doing laps so it was fun seeing where he was catching me and where I was pulling away and it evened out of course as the laps piled on.

Day 4.

Switched to a Formula Ford 1600 (1200lbs, 110bhp) and then just did laps again for the whole day. Maybe 6 hours of track time on day 4. Cars were very fast through the corners and you can use all the gears on the full track but I didn't try to grab 4th and just worked on better trail braking, carrying more speed in to the turns and going faster out of turns with gas. The instructor again was wicked fast, sometimes a gear higher than even the fast guys in the class. We did two race starts and a restart in the afternoon to do all the SCCA stuff.

Class wise, I was in the middle part of it I think. There were 3 guys from Bridgestone (tire test drivers) who were very fast. Then there was an older guy who could hang with them. Then there was myself and 2 or 3 others and we were about the same. The class was 12 people altogether.

Results

My grade as the end was a 3.5/5.0. Darl Jr and kart guys have the highest rating ever which was 4.5/5.0 so I'll take a 3.5. The course qualifies me for an SCCA regional license which I'm about to send the paperwork to Topeka for so I could be able to race NASA, PCA and SCCA now.

Is it worth it? I think so. I was frustrated on day 1 but once we started hitting the track then it became a lot more fun and I found myself remembering the drills on track as I tried more stuff to go faster/smoother. So in hindsight, the drills were frustrating but they were valuable.

What didn't I like?

I didn't like the 4 pt harnesses in the vettes. I don't feel safe in them. The Formula cars also were 4pt and I found myself having to push myself up periodically because you slide down. 6pt belts would be appreciated. Windows are down but there are no window nets. There isn't a lot of runoff on some places on the track. You need to be careful. I'd prefer more runoff just so you can try stuff out and not destroy a car.

The car

The vettes are a very fast car. 430bhp and the thing just pulls like a son of a gun out of turns. An eye opener for a 60k car. The car has full stability management enabled. This works well. I'm a fan of these on the track, keeps people of out trouble. If it's coming on then mostly it's the driver screwing up. Most people that turn these systems off end up in the wall. I think with a high enough skill level it becomes an issue but the instructors can throw these cars around the track with no issues so when a student can drive at the same level with it on then look to turn it off. The advanced racing school allows it to be changed by the student to competition mode and finally all off.

What did I learn?

Vision is huge. Look where you want to go. Looking further ahead lets you go faster, smoother. Trail braking is a very fast way to enter a corner and keep the car balanced even in a car that understeers like the vette. Opening up the wheel lets you use the gas to position the car out to track out. Using the pedals to 'steer' the car became more natural as the school progressed. Vision is actually the biggest deal. I'm looking further ahead and hitting apexs, entering corners faster becomes a lot easier once you look out to the next point. I need to be smoother releasing the clutch downshifting and smoother getting on the gas at apex. But, it's not 944 spec car, right? Of course it isn't but it is a front engined rear transaxle car so it's similar to a 944, more similar than a 911. The school has a heavy emphasis on momentum driving so I'm happy what I learned can be applied in the 944.

I think I'll head back in the fall for the 4 day post grad course so it must have been alright

Porsche 944 sp1 at Brainerd with BIR Performance School

Just got back for the cars first outing at Brainerd. BIR Performance School had an open track day and it was awesome. The car just 'worked'. I set the tire pressures to 30psi cold in the morning and forgot about them the rest of the day. I was running 2:07 to 2:10s on open laps. The car is very fast through the infield and technical sections. I managed 1.3G lateral through turn 4 which is pretty impressive. A friend was there also with another 944 spec and he managed a 2:04.7. Both cars were continually logging and the cause of the problem was quickly identified. Turn 10 is the last turn at the track before the main straight which is almost 1.5 miles long with two turns on it, the first is flat out (120mph) and the second is around 110mph. Clearly, screwing up that corner before such a long high speed run can product bad lap times and that was it.

Rob was killing me out of 10 and carrying maybe 5mph more than me and 5mph over a mile and a half adds up to around 2.7 seconds. The data was interesting comparing both of us. Rob is more aggessive on braking. Hitting the brakes as soon as he's off the throttle and then getting back on the gas very quickly when he stops braking. I was more gingerly so I was slower to hit the brakes and slower on the gas, waiting for the apex sometimes before giving it all the gas. This helped him a lot I think on T10 and T8 but everywhere else, sometimes I was faster then he was, we're talking tenths of seconds here on the infield. T10 dominated though. Of the 2.7 seconds, I lost about 1 second from T1 through T2 basically because I had a very low line through T1 and was scrubbing a lot of speed. I should have gone higher up the banking and swooped down to the apex instead of following the inside of the track which is what I was doing.

The car performed perfectly. Brakes, tires, engine temps, everything. Car was turn key in operation. It burned almost no oil during the 6 sessions, some of which were double stints. I got around 3 hours of track time altogether so that was cool. I was pretty tired after it, it takes a lot of concentration, it's like driving in snow for a long time, it wears you down. Driving through T1 and T2 flat out takes some concentration to avoid any 'issues' and T9 under the bridge is similar. I was pretty soppy headed this morning when I woke up but it's nothing to what Bondurant will be like in two weeks. I'm in Japan next week, flying back on Saturday. Then on Monday I'm flying to Phoenix to do the 4 day Bondurant racing school which is 4-5 hours of track time in Corvette C6s for 4 days which should be a test of will but I'm looking forward to it. Brainerd was a good warmup, I know what I was doing wrong so I can work on them and talk with the instructors about it at Bondurant and hopefully, I'll be faster and smoother afterwards with my competition license in hand.

Car almost passed SCCA tech

My belts were expired (2 years is the maximum age), I need steel bars for the bottom of my net rather than aluminium and I need a real battery cut off on the main positive line rather than a relay/switch system which is what the car has right now.

More Porsche 944 weight information

The front rubber bumper protectors weigh 0.8kgs each. I just took both off the front of my car to save 1.6kg or 3.5lbs ish. My car is front heavy so I'm staring at what I can pull out of the front.

Car back after cage work

2800 dollars later, the car is back with NASCAR door bars, the driver seat attached to a steel frame rather than the floor, a starter button, no steering lock, new window nets on each side. The car now weighs 2529 without me in it with 5/8 tank of 91 gas in it. My tank is 21 gallons so thats 82 lbs (6.25lbs/gallon) so the car weighs 2447lbs no gas. I'm weighing 185lbs right now which puts the car empty with me at 2632lbs. Finish the race with 2 gallons means 2650lbs ish. I'm hoping to lose 30lbs between now and June so that drops me down to 2620 with 2 gallons which is fine. The minimum weight is 2600 with the driver.

The weight balance with me in it right now is:

LEFT 1390 (51.2%) RIGHT 1324 (48.8%)

FRONT 1344 (49.5) REAR 1370 (50.5)

LL/RR 1288 (47.5%)

The total weight is 2714lbs with I think 5/8s gas.

My garage floor slopes down slightly towards the rear of the car so the numbers may be off slightly.

Never, ever buy a ChrMo cage

The car is at carraige customs getting nascar bars, a stronger seat mount and a better net mounting system for the windows. The killer cost on this car is the cage is chromoly. It's SO FRIGGING expensive to have work done on it, it's just silly. I reckon the first thing you should do on seeing a car with a chr mo cage is rip it out and replace with a DOM or mild steel cage. It's just not worth the hassle. Adding door bars may end up costing 1400 bucks

Gutting the doors of a Porsche 944

I just gutted my doors. This involved removing the black fascia on the door. Next, unbolt the electric motors. The motor and scissors should be loose in the door. The glass just pulls out. This weighs 3.8kg/8.36lbs per side. Once the glass is out the remove the motor by pulling the scissors through the upper hole in the door. This is the whole between the door lock and the door pull. The scissors can be pulled up through this and then the motor will follow. Don't forget to unplug the motor cable. I found this to be very difficult. The motor and scissors assembly weights 2.6kg/5.72lbs per side. The door liner weights 1.6kg/3.52lbs per side.

The total weight reduction so far is 8kg/17.6lbs per side or a total of 16kg/35.2lbs for the glass, liner and motor.

Belt tensioner tool

I talked with my brother who is a master mechanic in Ireland and he was saying the serpentine belts need to be a lot tighter than we had thought. Internet myth states that you can turn the belt through 90 degrees with your hand and it's tight enough which he says is bull shit. They need to be tighter than that. So, it's time to buy a tool. I bought this one:

http://www.otctools.com/products/detail.php?id=1762

from http://www.etoolcart.com. Hopefully, this buying experience will be a good one. I ordered it today and I'm waiting for a shipment notice. Once the tool arrives then we can start checking tension etc and see where we get.

Alternator belt blows apart again, aarrggghhhh

Happened again today at Road America, 3 track days after replacing it. Second session out, aarghhh, one day I'll get to drive this car. No wiring damage today fortunately. I think I've figured this out now so hopefully this is the last time.

The problem is that cars pre 85.5 use a 5 rib alternator belt, 85.5 and later use a 6 rib belt. My car has a crank with 5 ribs and an alternator with 6. The 5 rib belt skips on the alternator during cornering and blows apart shortly there after.

So, I need a 5 rib alternator pulley and then I reckon I'm going to be fine.

Learned more about serpentine belts today. There are two naming schemes, one that looks metric and another one. The metric one is like 5PK0700 and the other is 280K5. Both are the same thing.

Cars look to be working again

I just did a DE weekend at Brained and the car worked very well. We did 3 25 minute sessions on Saturday and an hour long one on sunday and everything worked. Fuel guage works and fans/cooling system worked fine.

The high speed fan issue turned out to be the red/white wire in the front wire harness was grounded somewhere. This wire connects to the radiator fan switch and the AC dry switch. It seems to be shorted behind the repairs I did up towards the fuse box. It's some kind of wire touching the chassis issue but we couldn't find it. In the end I bend over the spade on the fan relay to disable the high speed fans and this worked. The car now just has a working low speed fan but this is working well enough for now.

The high speed fan is still necessary though as it helps a lower pressure area behind the radiator and lets more air flow in as a result. Thats next.

Fans won't turn off

So,

Now that I figured I was over all this, but the fans never turn off now. Just turning the key without starting it turns on the fans. I checked the fan relay again and that aint it and I can't find any shorts so it looks like the fan switch is busted. I'm not sure how to test the fan switch but I ordered one today for 11 bucks so worst case, I have a spare. I'm compare it electrically with the current one to see if it's ok.

Replaced Porsche 944 fuel sender today

I replaced the fuel sender with the replacement one today and the whole job took around 20 minutes. I took photographs which can be seen here. The gauge works fine now and finally I can tell how much fuel I have in the tank. The replacement fuel sender cost 44 bucks for a used one. A new one seems to be around 170 bucks. I like this 944 as the parts are cheap and I can work on it myself which saves on labor. Next up today is an oil change with new filter too.

Fuel guage not working solved

Tim delivered the car with the fuel guage not working. He's tried to debug it but got no where. I figured it out this morning. It's the fuel tank sensor. It was pretty easy to figure out. There is a black square cube connector on top of the fuel tank and you unplug that. Two of the wires connect to a potentiometer in the tank which reads between 65 ohms and 3ohms. 3 is full. I did a quick check and the gas guage went to full when I put a 2.5ohm resistor across wires 1 and 3 in the connector. Now, I gotta replace the fuel tank parts.