I was able to update the design of the shifter with the desired changes using Rhino 5 CAD. This shows the model deign as a solid object. The honeycomb interior structure is added by the slicing program after this.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1532479937.jpg


My first attempt at printing Version 2 (in white) had a bit of a problem! Reprinting a second time seems to be working fine.
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Speaking of the honeycomb interior structure, here is what Version 1 looks like in cross section...

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I don't know if I'll ever be a great race driver, but it won't be from a lack of effort outside the car.

Over the past 18 months;

• I've lost 35 lbs of fat.
  
• Went from not being able to run around the block to running 5 miles every other day (8:30/mile pace).
  
• Weightlifting every other day.
  
• Eating 1000x more healthy.
  
• Vitamins and protein supplements.

Today's workout was a several sessions in the sport karts in 90-95F heat (my GPS running watch titled the event incorrectly as running).

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Well, you are “running” a kart? So, good to go! Any word on how your last engine died?

Not yet. Been really busy with work. And karting. And 3-D printing. And... well, you get the idea. Its still waiting to for disassembly.

Maybe I'll grab a wrench and have a go at it this weekend. If I don't care about having to put it back together, then it should be a snap. :)

Not that hard to take apart -- its a couple hour job if its sitting on a stand.

nothing hidden that I can remember.

Mike

Rally shifter Version 4. The radius on the top edge is perfect for comfort in the palm of my hand. The mounting depth looks and feels right. Created a center slot instead of a circular hole for better mounting. The walls and internal honeycomb are thicker so it has a nice weight and feels super strong.

I'll drive it like this for a bit and if all is well, then I'll add an insert for a set screw to hold it firmly in place and call it done. Set screws are easily sourced from McMaster-Carr.

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Tom I have a nice new set of main bearings for a 2.5L in the Porsche boxes # 99610113162 I'll sell for $130.

Thanks for the offer but I don't believe that I have the needed skill to rebuild an M96. A man has to know his limitations. :)

Got my SCCA racing license today...

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Shweeet!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

Spec Boxster is supposed to be quite competitive in SCCA T3. Main competition appears to be Spec E46. I think you can use Hoosier 255 tires.

Congrats and well done!

Practice day at Willow Springs!

Perfect weather. Perfect track conditions. Quickly reminded me why I love doing this. :D

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Great picture, looks like a fun weekend!

Like the gold wheels!! Is the karting helping you? If so how..?...don't mean to put you on the spot or anything.

Yes, I believe so.

The goal of karting, losing weight, and physical training was to get faster in the car.

Yes, I have vastly improved in a kart. I have spent hours and hours in the kart and gotten professional instruction with the goal of working on skills in the kart that will transfer to the car.

I have gained better skills in vision, handling/balance, and can reliably drive a kart at the limit in every corner. I have also done a series of 1 hr kart races to improve the ability to remain highly focused for a long period of time.

Running, weight lifting, and hiking has put me in excellent physical shape and I have a ton more physical strength and stamina. I've been doing heat conditioning where I run 3 miles in 95F heat. For a couple of months, I was running 5 miles every other day (8.5 min miles).

On Friday at practice in the car, I was working on transferring those things from the kart to the car. Not everything in a kart is transferrable or applicable to a car but a lot of things are and I need to burn those things into muscle memory so they happen unconsciously under stress.

When I kicked all of this off back in December, I knew that it would be a long term effort and planned to use all of 2018 as a "training" year with the hope that I'd see measurable improvements in my car racing performance in 2019 - so I still have a long way to go, but I am hoping to see some early improvements between now and the end of the year.

Tom,

Great insites. Just had to ask.....people assume it's a given. Karting control movements and techniques are shall we say are manic compared to sports cars.....for me anyway. I gave a bit of a go for the first time last season when I was able.....the learning curve is steep but being up against 10 year veterans with body weights of a teenager meant the highest I placed in a race was fourth....I will try and pick it up once again; had a major family crisis this year.

The pressure, stress, and intense racing are definitely there to work on you. I have not had any coaching save an F2 driver that I chatted with once. He was in my race.... wanted the series win on the resume it seems. Yes this race was definately out of my league.

How are your ribs?

Back, ribs, arms - sore! :D

Yeah, everything in a kart feels magnified - very small inputs yield large responses. This has taught me to be smoother with my inputs and improve my sensitivity to the minute changes in balance that result.

For example, now I can feel as soon as the tires are starting to slide a bit and instinctively dial out just a tad less steering angle to gain back full grip (rather than let it build into a full slide). This means that I avoid big slides because I catch them as soon as they start and this helps to keep up my speed and momentum because I don't have to let off the throttle or scrub a bunch of speed to deal with the tires sliding. Smooth is fast and smoother is faster.

Another thing that I've worked hard on is racing behind another car. I used to focus a lot on the car ahead which basically meant that i was driving reactively based on what the car ahead was doing. Now I am able to look ahead and around the car ahead (while still keeping track of the car directly ahead) which allows me to proactively drive my line and hit my marks cleanly. In the kart, this let's me go faster and creates better passing opportunities.

I hope that these and several other skills that I have worked on in the kart, will ultimately transfer to the car.

Time will tell...

Yep really want to learn how to relax when I approach this again......


Yeah crashes hurt the old cage....very uncomfortable.

Tom,

How effective is the rear bumper cutout / vent that is commonly found on BSR cars?

Have you ever come across pre and post vent temperature data (intake, coolant oil, engine compartment)?

Its allowed so everyone does it but I've never seen any actual data on it (but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist). Same for the front inner fender liner vents.

Maybe someone else will jump in who has some data to share...

Tom,
I liked your new Shifter handle. I saw these. Expensive but really nice. Weighted too.
Www.raceseng.com

Thanks for the link - those are some very nice shifters!

I am still working on mine. I added a set screw and need to add a boss for the set screw to mount in (for this prototype, I just hand-drilled a hole and used two part epoxy on the screw mount to keep it from pulling out). I got the set screw and mount from McMaster-Carr (where else? :)) I'm also finalizing the dimensions for the slot so it fits the shift handle firmly.

I have driven it twice on-track while practicing in prep for the next race. I like how it feels and the (high) position is almost perfect. The only drawback is that the shift stoke length is longer than I'd like due to the increased length (even with the 997 shifter).

In a effort to get the right balance of high position and stoke length, I ordered one of Ben's short shifters. I plan to install it this weekend.

I made a shift handle in white and it almost instantly got dirty and looked grey so I think that the final version will probably be in black. Or maybe red to match the harnesses.


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I've been wanting to do this for awhile and finally got around to it this morning - comparison of my heart rate during different activities.

- Driving at the race track (practice)
- Running (4 miles at 9:30/mi pace)
- Karting (practice)
- Hiking (7 mi with 800 ft elevation in 2 hrs)

*Sorry that the scales aren't consistent - Garmin auto scales the data.

In terms of heart rate, running is the most strenuous, followed by hiking, karting, and race car practice.

I'll get data during a car race next weekend when I'll be at AutoClub Speedway in Fontana, CA. It will be interesting to see how much my heart rate increases in a race as compared to practice.

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Seems the Race Track is calming for your heart

you should add sex to that list. garmin's auto-scaling would make 2 minutes look like 20 ... !

I'd never last 2 mins... :D

Please let us know how this works out. I am trying to work out what would be the right balance myself. Right now I am running a short shifter and feel that more resolution would be better with a six speed.. ie put a regular 997 in there but if raise the knob towards the steering wheel will I be then regretting it.

It will very interesting to see how the resolution of the short shifter works in racing conditions......although you have 5 speed rather than a finicky 6

I decided not to install the Ben short shifter this week since I'll be racing at AutoClub Speedway this weekend and didn't want to install a new part without time to test it. Installing a new part and going to the track is a sure recipe for problems. :o

But I did print out a few more "final" version shift levers and installed the set screw boss. I think that I'll go with the yellow shifter for this weekend since it matches the yellow wheels.

With 18 Boxster's in the field, the racing should be highly competitive. I'll post up race results on Monday.

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I think when you do install the Ben shifter you will.like it, for me it seems to return to center more easily and felt really good on track.

Nice.....Tom!

Maybe for a small fee you print me something????

I need the same thing but with a Porsche knob on top; shift boot to slide over the bottom.

I think the tang will be too small a section to survive in plastic though.

Sure, I'd be glad to help (and no fee needed). PM me a pic or hand drawing of what you're thinking.

Based on the pic in post #1105, it looks like you're running the factory bushings in your shifter. I would highly recommend the Function First Shift Right Soln that upgrades the bushings to solid aluminum, which eliminates 90% of the slop. And it's not an expensive upgrade. I've had it on my CSS for 2 yrs and I'm much more confident of my 5-4 downshifts now.

Here's their website:
FUNCTION-FIRST > Products

Here's an article on P-9 when they first came out with the Soln, along with some installation hints:
https://www.planet-9.com/987-cayman-and-boxster-chat/116466-cup-car-shifter-teardown-shift-right-solution-upgrade.html
BE SURE TO WEAR EYE PROTECTION WHEN REMOVING THE OLD BUSHING TABS. Those suckers fly off with some velocity.

Would be interested in a black shift knob also.

It was a dark and and stormy night ... sorry, wrong update.

It was actually a hot (100F), clear, sunny day to be racing!

For the record;
Race 1: Qualified 13th of 18, finished 10th
Race 2: Started 10th, was running 6th-ish (?), mechanical issue, DNF

About 85% of the way into Race 2, I go thru a quick right/left sequence (Turn 12-13) and see the ol' James Bond white smoke screen out the back and the engine burbles for a moment, so I come off the throttle and exit the track. The engine seems to be running fine and I drove it home with no additional symptoms. I am assuming AOS and will do a vacuum test later today to try and confirm.

I also had my rear bumper cover come off during qualifying. It was my best attempt to slow the qualifying lap of Branimir (who was directly behind me). Sorry dude. I'm not sure what happened, it just flew off. All of the mounting holes were ripped through so there was no way to remount it so I just raced without it. The safety crew recovered it but it was heavily damaged (torn in four places) so I'll have to get a replacement.

Despite these issues, there were a lot of things that went right:

• My driving was pretty decent and definitely improved in some areas
• Since becoming much more fit, the high heat didn't affect me at all like it used to
• Mental focus was consistently strong though both of the races without any late race fade
• Car handling has greatly improved
• New shift lever worked great and I really liked the positioning

There was a ton of great close racing and despite the mechanical issues, I had an incredibly good time. :D

I have a lot of photos, video, and even some heart rate data to share.

Pre-race photo...
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I went with a red shifter to match the harnesses...
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Does this make my butt look ... smaller?
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Nice work man....unfortunately it really is dark and stormy here!

The red shifter handle looks great....perhaps it will also enhance control situational awareness in the cockpit:D

I have a black bumper cover for you but Toronto to LA shipping would be a killer

Thanks and yes, shipping is outrageous for these kinds of items. I found a nice one locally on eBay and the (random) seller had even heard of my car...

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Here is a rough sketch. I will need t get some length dimensions for you. It will eventually have to be made in metal but would serve well for prototyping...


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