Quote :

"I want something a bit more hardcore I think, what that could possibly be, I'm not really sure."

Get a Lambo, but not the new ones. Get a Diablo, or if you really want real hardcore, get a Countach.

Oh, and Viper as well, again, one of the older ones. Or an old Ferrari. Or a an old Corvette.

3/25/2009 11:03:15 AM

Ahmet, you just need to suck it up and get into bikes. I hear thats pretty hardcore at VIR.

3/25/2009 11:06:50 AM

Ha.....that E90 M3 no longer exists.

3/25/2009 5:28:59 PM

what happened to the m3?

3/25/2009 6:32:38 PM

Heard the owner let a friend borrow it for the weekend. Well the friend decided to let another friend borrow it.....and drunk driving ensued. So did the rearrangement of some large steel mailboxes and power poles.

3/25/2009 8:32:31 PM

At least he will be given the second chance to buy a C6.

3/25/2009 8:38:40 PM

^thats not ahmet's M3. Unless someone else wanted a C6.

but either way I find it hard that Mpowered Automotive will want to drive around a C6 to advertise Mpowered.

[Edited on March 25, 2009 at 10:03 PM. Reason : ,]

3/25/2009 10:02:35 PM

I'm going to label all posts with a sarcasm tag from now on.

3/25/2009 10:26:52 PM

WTF, the drunken friends were playing carmageddon with the e90? Any pics of the aftermath?

3/25/2009 11:36:53 PM

That's not my e90, just a friend's. And yeah, it seems to have had a bad day recently. Anyway, I'm generally not interested in new cars, and I also can't say that I have any interest in a C6, I don't know where that comment is coming from. I might look at a C6 Z06 in another year or two, but not at the moment.

As to the old Lamborghini thing, they're not really performers. I have a tough time stepping backwards in performance. I think this may be the case with a non Z C5 as well. The #s say it will be close, but looking at the times they actually run on track, the 911 seems faster. I was pretty fast on crap street tires, and am satisfied with the performance of the car for the most part. Driving a GT3 back to back with it, the extra 100ish hp is nice coming out of a couple of turns, but the "feel" is what I'm after. I think I might go ahead and complete the GT3 suspension swap, get some bigger wheels with slicks and give it another go before making up my mind. It just bothers me that it takes cubic dollars to make this thing go.

3/26/2009 10:50:45 AM

how much money have you sank into this car so far? and how much will you have to spend to make it to your liking?

3/26/2009 10:53:04 AM

I would have perhaps just a few grand left to go, buying most parts used. I try not to buy anything I can't re-sell later, but things are just that much more for this thing. The seats for example are listed for $5900+. Just the safety stuff is several grand with the mentioned seats and the factory roll bar, harnesses, etc.


However it's not the buy in that's such a problem. It's the consumables/parts ($1200 chain tensioners, $2000 set of tires), etc. and the fact that this thing makes me want to get factory pieces. I could've thrown in a perfectly decent Sparco seat for $1k for example, but I wanted FIA approved factory seats/rails with rail mounted harnesses (so they move with the seat), and so on. This is in part because I think it's so cool that Porsche sells this stuff through the dealer, and also because it all bolts neatly in place, w/out having to hack anything. They're wired in from the factory for internal and external kill switches, how cool is that!

3/26/2009 11:07:01 AM

^when are you going to give me a ride around town, ahmet!

3/26/2009 11:35:50 AM

Is there some reason that tires would be cheaper on a different car (i.e., odd wheel size on the 911 or something?) I don't think you can count consumables if they're going to be the same no matter what car you're running.

I was reading this month's GRM last night...From what I can tell it sounds like you need a spec Miata.

3/26/2009 11:51:06 AM

maybe its not the car thats boring you, its what you're doing with it. you should race. there's nothing stopping you. Take a weekend NASA course, get your license, buy an already built car. for the cost of those seats you're most of the way to a full SpecE30 race car. You could be racing some real talent like Mike Skeen in two months. All this money for HPDEs and HPDE cars is pretty silly.

I don't have any money now, but when i do, i'm on a one way mission to get into club racing asap. i don't care what i'm driving, i want to get out there and race. A spec series would be ideal to "limit" costs and put the focus squarely on me as a driver so that i could learn how to drive and race. I've heard about a billion times, if you want to learn to drive fast, race.

3/26/2009 12:23:33 PM

Going fast takes money. Most spec cars don't lap that fast. I was comfortably lapping several seconds faster than spec e30 pace with a street e36 M3 last year. The 911 is only that much faster. I like braking from 150mph for example, that's not going to happen with any racing car that doesn't cost $40+k/year to operate that I'm aware of. With a street car, I also don't need a tow vehicle, a crew nor do I pay entree fees. Also, quite a few events I run do full open passing, and the drivers are not conservative. After speaking to several people who've done both, I'm under the impression that it's not too far off.

All that said, I'm not going to try to fool myself. Actual racing is racing, and open lapping is just that. I feel you and have been seriously considering spec e30. If I had a house w/a garage, or at least a few local buddies that were doing this, I'd be more tempted to.

3/26/2009 1:41:20 PM

what about forest? did he move away? I think hunter also raced hondas too?

3/26/2009 2:47:56 PM

^^I'm down with some spec E30

3/26/2009 3:15:31 PM

i guess i don't see the point in making going fast your goal in a HPDE. its an environment full of variables and no controls. its a useless metric.

time trials are the next step and provide some much needed metrics in car classing, timing, etc.

but wheel to wheel in a spec car. its driver against driver flying around a track. if you win, you're the fastest driver. plus its freaking awesome. every time i watch a spece30 or any race video i get giddy like a school girl.

all my friends are doing the next LeMons event using the car i helped build last year, but i had to bail when i moved to Australia. They can't shut up about it. Two guys are HPDE instructors and they said even doing something as simple as LeMons has ruined HPDEs and TTs for them. I'd join them for the April 9th event, but now i'm broke. gah.

some day i'll get to the point where i'll be ready for club racing financially, but first i need... a job, a place to live, get married, finish grad school, etc. gah.

3/26/2009 5:04:00 PM

I have been doing time trials (infact, I have another one coming up in a week), and I do see the appeal of going wheel to wheel racing. However, that doesn't mean I want to stop doing open lapping days and the like.

It's like biking, I started racing mountain bikes/single track last year, that doesn't make a group ride, or just pushing myself without being timed any less enjoyable.

I've shared a car with pros during open lapping sessions that were enjoying themselves a lot as well. Some say racing takes the purity out of the sport, some say "driving to win" takes the fun out of it, etc. So I do agree with you, but it's not quite as black and white for me.

3/26/2009 5:36:17 PM

Quote :

"the car wasn't as much of a challenge to drive as I would've thought from driving it on the street."

I have a 1.6 sentra I'd be willing to trade for the 911. Now THAT would be a challenge to drive fast around a track.



[Edited on March 26, 2009 at 8:06 PM. Reason : quote]

3/26/2009 8:03:20 PM

Indeed it would, you joke around but particularly when starting out... just get your ass out there, what it's in doesn't matter so much. Slower cars typically teach better, especially on momentum tracks like Roebling.

Anyway, just spent more time w/the 911 on the street, and I'm in love w/it. It just needs some race rubber for the track, and I feel retarded because I don't want to drive anything else, and yet I want more.

4/1/2009 11:55:36 PM

3 sets of tires, 8k miles, 1 track event. I quit...

4/2/2009 9:56:32 PM

bullshit asshole, no one likes the tuna here.

4/2/2009 10:48:38 PM

^^ YOU QUIT? Damn, that's something I'd expect to hear from a FERRARI OWNER.

[Edited on April 2, 2009 at 11:52 PM. Reason : lolz]

4/2/2009 11:52:19 PM

nice car, whats the retail on one of those?

4/2/2009 11:53:25 PM

Quote :

"3 sets of tires, 8k miles, 1 track event. I quit..."

$14k.

Why are tires so much of a problem on this car? Do they have to be $2,000? Could you benefit from a $900 set that lasts 3 times as long but obviously doesn't give you the same grip?

4/3/2009 12:45:26 AM

I buy cheap tires as is... I'm trying to buy a second set of wheels to keep race rubber on. Wheels/tires (used wheels) would come close to $4k for something decent.

I don't really "quit", but it's getting out of hand. I have been toying w/the idea of a GT3 or a poor man's GT2 a'la a 911 twin turbo +some upgrades -the fwd stuff...

4/3/2009 3:17:34 AM

at least its faster than a z06

4/3/2009 8:13:14 AM

The GT3/TT can be faster than a well driven vette, but in reality, I lap faster than most vettes as is.

These are all just excuses, part of me still wants to own a z06, I'm not going to deny it.

4/3/2009 11:06:11 AM

... is a joke in yo town

4/3/2009 8:23:26 PM

Is your year prone to any rear main seal issues?

4/3/2009 9:55:42 PM

My particular car has an 06 reman'd motor in it so that's not directly relevant. Anyway, any car with more than 3 RMS replacements (at most) had the entire engine replaced, so I don't think you have to worry about RMS in a 996 at this point. What can be worrisome is possible catastrophic failures. If you're curious, I would get into it, but otherwise I won't bore you. Anyway, I recently read a TUV study that found the M96 motors amongst THE most reliable (in 2nd and 5th place) out of all the cars they had data on that were sold in Germany. I think that the perceived possibility of failure is over blown, hence the relative affordability of the 996.

In other news, I have lots of play in my toe links in the rear. Looking to upgrade these parts to solid/race parts when I get back from VIR, along with the rest of the suspension to GT3 stuff when I get back. Personally knowing someone that wrecked a 996 at VIR due to a failed toe link, I'm a bit apprehensive for tomorrow!11 Wish me luck.

4/3/2009 11:31:41 PM

needs nozzzzz

4/4/2009 6:00:39 PM

Yeah, so the car's more or less un drivable this weekend. This is killing me. I tried rent-a-race car, and their insurance ran out, so they won't let me rent a car either. :'(

4/4/2009 7:14:10 PM

rent a what?

4/4/2009 7:21:15 PM

Rent a race car(.net). It's a service that -'s supposed to- let you rent a race car at VIR when you arrive, so you can just drive, without having to worry about bringing a car here, etc. It's supposed to work well, supposed to...

4/4/2009 7:43:09 PM

can you rent an f1 car?

4/4/2009 7:58:25 PM

there is 3 in this one

4/4/2009 8:48:11 PM

that is a legit question, i want to rent an f1

4/4/2009 8:49:38 PM

not a toe link failure, but this would scare me shitless...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7-SDVkmga4

Quote :

"What can be worrisome is possible catastrophic failures. If you're curious, I would get into it,"

I'm curious... do you mind explaining?

4/4/2009 8:59:08 PM

about the birds and the bees?

4/4/2009 9:15:46 PM

asdf

4/4/2009 9:58:48 PM

So a rear toe link failure would be just like the video you posted. I'm not being held back so much with the possibility of catastrophic failure at this point as much as I am with the fact that the car is literally un drivable. It pulls fairly hard under acceleration to the left, which is also the same under braking, however it pulls to the right under maintenance throttle or coasting. Particularly in the infield of VIR North, where you go from right to left handers back to back with varying throttle and brake application, this makes the car impossible to point somewhere precisely.

Re: Catastrophic failure on the M96;

There are several modes that they can fail.
1: Intermediate shaft failure; This is essentially when the shaft that carries the timing chains fails, resulting in mistimed valves ->contact with pistons = bad.
2: D chunking of the top of the cylinders. A crack develops into a chunk breaking off the top of the cylinder. Object in combustion chamber = bad. This can show as oil/coolant intermixing previous to failure.

The RMS issue is just that, a leaky rear main seal. Just a single seal, I don't see why it gets so much fame.

I've done a fair amount of research on this, and I'm lead to believe that the reliability issue is blown out of proportion. According to internal documents, as of the beginning of 2000, warranty claims were amongst the lowest Porsche had seen on the 996. JD Power rated Porsche THE most reliable company for several years when the 996 was out. I've read a recent TUV study showing similar results. Anyway, that is my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions... Do you have any specific questions?

4/4/2009 10:57:37 PM

it just an expensive audi and not any more reliable

4/5/2009 9:14:58 AM

So the last track event was a total failure, I was out for 3 laps, came back in. Thought it needed toe links -->replaced with 997 parts (as on current model GT3/2, twin turbo, etc.) "While in there" I also did front shocks and shock mounts, bump stops, etc. and a bunch of things. Found out that it was missing the rear inside eccentrics from the toe arms, ridiculous, I literally can't believe it's needing all this stuff, unreal. Will order more parts tomorrow.

In other news, got rid of the GT3 seats, instead I think I'm going to toss this thing in:


Not as pimp, but better bolsters and tighter support, and not quite as ridiculous but more ricer looking.

4/12/2009 10:17:05 PM

^ gotta get them in red. at least 10-15 hp to the front wheels.

4/12/2009 11:28:00 PM

lime green ftw

4/15/2009 1:33:39 AM

Selling already?

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/1131721794.html

4/20/2009 5:19:34 PM

wups.

Its amazing how many Porsche owners i know who've ended up hating and selling the car. I'm not saying this is what happened to Ahmet, i don't know. But i know three people who have sold their Porsches vowing never again to touch one with a ten foot pole.

4/20/2009 5:23:41 PM