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Originally Posted by Bavarian Motorist
Can anyone tell me what PCA does before I join? It gives a vague description on PCA.org but I'd like to hear some personal experiences.
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What does PCA do? Well. As a second generation PCA member, I think they are great. For $42 (the membership fee) here is just a brief bit about waht PCA offers:
They are international car club devoted to the Porsche marque. They are all volunteers and Porsche fanatics. They began in about 1955 in the US. There are regions (clubs/chapters) all over the US. The Northeast US has thousands of memebrs. What do they do?
Well. They sponsor driving events.
1) Drivers Ed events - Grouped by skill level (and paired with an experienced instructor when needed) you are taught the aspects of High performance driving in a safe environment (ie racetrack).
For the Northeast regions, they go to tracks like Lime Rock Park in Ct, Pocono Raceway in PA, Watkins Glen in NY, New Hampsire Speedway in, NH, Mt Tremblant outside Montreal. Mosport outside of Toronto. Mid-Ohio in, Ohio, Summit Point in WVa, Virginia Internation Raceway in Southern Va.
2) Autocross: Grouped by car type/class, you compete against the clock (and others in your class) on a course, created in large parking lots (think Giants stadium or Nassau Colluseum) using colored pylons. The quicker you are the better. Some regions hand out trophys at the end of the day for class winners and Fastest time of day winners.
1 and 2 are fantastic places to learn car control techniques in a safe environment away from the ****************************s of the LIE or NJ Turnpike. In time, you will realize that the public roads can be a HORRIBLE place to "get your jollies".
3) Concours events - think car shows - get her all shined up and show her off (the car, not your girl
).
4) Rallys. Held on public roads, you are given a list of route instructions to follow. Sounds simple. Try one. They can be "relationship" testors with your "navigator" if you are not careful.
5) Charity. Most regions conduct at least one major charity event and donate the money to their causes.
6) National parade. A get together for the WHOLE club (not just your region). They run a whole slew of events. DE/AX/Concours/Rally/ Technical quizzes and presentations. Sometimes you can even meet a Porsche family member (I met Peter Porsche at such an event as a kid in 1978)
7) Club Racing. Want to race? Have a Porsche? this is the place for you.
8) Techinical presentations to learn more about the care and feeding of your Porsche model and learning of the other Porsche models. How to prepare a car for the winter.. for the track.. for a concours.. for a DE.. how to fix your car yourself.
9) The ability to learn about the local Porsche shops (dealer and independent) that are there to make your ownership experince more enjoyable.
Above all, it is about the people. The friendships. The comraderie all brought about by the love of the car.
In the end, your Boxster is yours to do as you wish. I just prefer when people ask how to make their car faster, I think, why not make the driver better first. Learn to maximize their own skills before "blaming the equipment".
Can you chip your car? sure. Supercharge it? Sure. (assuming its "yours" and not leased). If you really wanted more HP, maybe a 987 S was in order. With those cars not only do you get more HP, but bigger/better brakes and cooling ability.