Hey guys yesterday was an interesting day. I was not expecting Jake to call me to say the car could be picked up but I'm sure glad he did. I arrived at his place about 7:00 and it was 28 degrees out. We went over some cursory things and then it was time for the test drive. Jake drove first so he could go over how I should drive her and stuff like that. We were on a two lane typical mountain road with switchbacks, great curves, elevation changes so a good workout. First off the sound that this engine/header/muffler combo sends out is nothing short of amazing ! It literally sounds like a V12 Lambo or Ferrari........some low growl some high pitch whine with some raspy thrown in it is very hard to describe. But I can tell you I like it. It sounds like no other Porsche I have ever heard. OK so we reach a point in the road test where it's my turn. We swap seats and my heart is pounding and my hand a little shakey as I grab the shifter. The first thing I noticed as I launched for the first time is the INCREDIBLE throttle response I have never driven a car with crisp throttle response like this. It reminded me of my youth driving Yamaha twin cylinder 2 stroke street bikes.......instant throttle response. The next thing I notice is the torque/power she pulls like a freight train and revs freely. At no point did I ever floor the throttle but at 60-70 percent throttle she'd quickly rev to 7000 and gave no indication of letting up. I also soon realized that I was getting wheelspin in the first three gears, some of that attributed to cold tire temps, old Conti tires and the immense power of the engine. In one turn I hit the throttle a little too hard and she slowly stepped out but snapped right back in line with steering/throttle input. My nickname for her is " the beast "
. Now keep in mind very little tuning has gone into this, as a matter of fact we're running a borrowed ECU from a 3.4 so it is far from being optimized but the ECU is learning/adapting very quickly. At one point in time while I was driving I got on it a little bit in gears 1 - 4 and Jake and I both burst out laughing this thing is a hoot ! I need to find a stretch of road and do a video/audio clip of this bad girl howling you guys won't believe the exhaust note. Yet at idle she's a mild mannered sleeper..........perfect ! So to say that I am happy or blown away or 1000% satisfied is an understatement . I can only imagine how much better it will be once we tune her up. And oh yeah what will happen when we swap the cams ? I'm not sure how much more I can take
We ended up back at his facility and as we shook hands I said to Jake " so what do we do next year ? " . It seems like I'm doing some kind of deal every year with him. We started talking 3.8 intake manifold and a few more tricks up Jakes sleeve and I said OK that's enough for now. Let me enjoy " the beast " as she is and get to know her before we go to the next level. Besides I already have in waiting a H&R coil over setup waiting to be installed I want to lower her by an inch or so. I have the new wheels/tires to put on and I have some worn suspension arms that need to be replaced. Oh yeah I also need a new battery what's the best 950 -1000 CCA battery for the beast ? The 13:1 compression ratio is making my current battery wave the white flag
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