Spec Boxster Build

[Topless]

Nice finish Tom and those times are screamin' when considering the ambient temps. Bravo!

[TeamOxford]

Congrats on the podium finish, Tom. Only one more step to go!

I know what you mean about being spent after racing in the heat. How much weight did you lose during the race?

Just wonderin'...........

TO

[rastta]

Congrats on the podium finish!

[thstone]

Originally Posted by TeamOxford

I know what you mean about being spent after racing in the heat. How much weight did you lose during the race?

Just wonderin'...........TO

I didn't weigh myself but I woke up Sunday morning with a screaming headache and was probably still somewhat dehydrated despite drinking water and Gatorade all day and evening on Saturday. I finally felt back to normal around noon on Sunday. Glad that I took the day off because it was even hotter on Sunday.

[jb92563]

Congrats on reaching the Podium.
Your consistent, persistent and hard work is paying off.

Now that your in the spotlight you need the fancier driving suit for the trophy girls to cling to for picture time.
What else are you going to have to ask how to do when climbing the Podium?


Do the 260 & 235 tires fit on the stock 17" rims or are they a different size rim?

[thstone]

Originally Posted by jb92563

Congrats on reaching the Podium.
Your consistent, persistent and hard work is paying off.

Now that your in the spotlight you need the fancier driving suit for the trophy girls to cling to for picture time.
What else are you going to have to ask how to do when climbing the Podium?


Do the 260 & 235 tires fit on the stock 17" rims or are they a different size rim?

Thanks and yes, it has been a lot of work to get here! Funny, you mention a new driving suit because I was looking at those just last week - not so much to please the podium girls but it seems that the new suits are supposed to be quite a bit cooler than the suit that I have now.

Spec Boxster requires 235/40/17 front and 255/40/17 rear tires on stock 17x7J front and 17x8.5J rear stock Boxster wheels. The tires fit just fine.

[thstone]

This morning I went to a local coffee meet with a bunch of fellow Porsche enthusiasts. This meet is put together and attended by mostly air cooled car owners with the early long hood 911 being the most popular.

One of the coolest cars at the meet is owned by a friend whose car happens to be the very first R Gruppe car (below). This car was featured in a story written by fellow 986Forum member Little "t" on Petrolicious (This Is the Car that Inspired the Porsche R-Gruppe).

If you're not familiar with the R Gruppe, it was founded about 15 years ago to celebrate early 911 cars built for what Porsche referred to as 'The Sports Purpose". It is popularized by owners hot rodding their early 911's using the Porsche Sport Manual as their bible - a catalog of factory early 911 rally and racing parts.

The R-Gruppe is invitation only and is highly polarizing within the greater Porsche community. Automobile Magazine said this:

"To the august Porsche Club of America, R Gruppe is populated by a bunch of yahoos with no respect for tradition. To the hard-core racers who dominate the Porsche Owners Club, R Gruppe is full of poseurs who'd rather look fast than go fast. To early 911 aficionados who haven't been invited to join the club, R Gruppe is a gated community reserved for arrogant snobs. To high-dollar collectors, R Gruppe provides a prescription for replicars and fakey-doos that cost more to build than they're worth on the open market."




As a card carrying POC/PCA hard-core racer, what do I show up in? Yep, you guessed it!

And by and large, they loved it. Porsche fanatics are Porsche fanatics regardless of the car.

Even a water-cooled hair dressers Boxster.

[jb92563]

Thats cool, but a bunch of folks celebrating the racing rally history of Porsche is fantastic.

I can't think of anything more Porsche like and traditional than to go rally or race one with what ever parts you can fit.

I think that the others are just jealous that its by invitation and they weren't invited.

Some folks buy a Porsche as a status symbol, but others buy them cause they are fun to rally and race.

Thats interesting trivia. Never heard of R-Gruppe or the Porsche Sport Manual.
I'll have to google and find out more.

Thanks

[thstone]

Here are a couple of pic's from my 2nd Place finish in the POC race at Willow Springs two weeks ago...

[thstone]

Its "brakes" time again before the PCA race at Willow Springs on the 27th/28th! I replace the brakes about twice a year with the schedule that I'm running.

I knew that the pads were about ready for replacement so I ordered all of the parts beforehand. It was also time for the yearly brake fluid flush and bleed.



This is one of the front pads - definitely ready for replacement! You can see where its worn through the hole for the brake wear sensor (which I do not use because they melt).



This picture shows the difference in thickness between the worn pad and the new one! This is the result of 12 track days. Another thing to note is that the old pad (greyish yellow green) started out the same bright yellow as the new pad! These pads literally get baked enough to change the pad paint color after being out on the racetrack!



Here is my set up for flushing the fluid and bleeding the brakes - the long lug posts make a handy holder for the catch can. The long lug posts are used on most race cars to make tire/wheel changes easier (no more holding the wheel on those 3 small hub tabs while you try to line up the lug holes). For the brake fluid, I use the Motive power bleeder and it works great.


Here is a pic of the old fluid (left) and the new fluid (right)! Wow, what a difference. I use ATE Type 200 Gold. It works great and is reasonably priced.
\


I think that I'll change the oil this weekend and then I'll be ready to race in two weeks!

[The Radium King]

hey - wondering what you spec guys use for a rear tow hook - a 996 rear or a 986 front? rennline doesn't list a rear 986 tow hook. thanks.

[trygve]

Originally Posted by The Radium King

hey - wondering what you spec guys use for a rear tow hook - a 996 rear or a 986 front? rennline doesn't list a rear 986 tow hook. thanks.

I like this one. It retracts and is not a hazard for smashing your shin accidentally. I am not sure where I purchased it but I think it was $95 at the time. It bolts into the frame rail so it requires removal of the interior bumper bar (which is de rigeur for weight loss anyway).
Retractable Tow Hook for Porsche 911 & Boxster By Patrick Motorsports Porsche & Mid Engine Performance Specialists


I still have some photos of installing it on my SPB here. You just cut a slot in the bumper for it. An exacto knife will cut through the bumper pretty easily.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bombaydigital/

[The Radium King]

cool - fronts are same length as backs. thanks.

[thstone]

As Trygve said ^^^^^

Here is a pic of the install on my car.

[thstone]

Sorry that I haven't updated this thread in awhile. There has been a LOT going on and I was waiting for everything to shake out.

** CAUTION ** TURN BACK NOW ** GRAPHIC ENGINE FAILURE PIC'S ** YOU WERE WARNED **

Unfortunately, my engine failed again during the first practice session at the PCA Willow Springs race. The engine suffered a catastrophic rod bearing failure. Since the complete rebuild in August, it only had 300-400 miles of street/freeway driving and 1.2 hrs of track time.

This was my 3rd engine failure in 5 months. To review; the first failure was in May - lifter failure. The engine was rebuilt but failed in June due to another lifter failure. Then the engine was then entirely rebuilt again in August using brand new lifters and lifter carriers to prevent a repeat of failure #2.

From my point of view while driving, it felt like the engine was low on power exiting Turn 3 and going up the hill into Turn 4. After coming down the hill and through Turns 5 and 6, the engine made a big bad noise, immediately shutdown, and spewed oil all over the track before the Turn 7 kink. The time between noticing low power and total engine failure was around 20 seconds.

This engine was a total loss (not rebuildable). And no, there isn't any warranty on engines used for racing. Ouch. That hurt. $eriously hurt.

As a result of the down time from engine failures #1 and #2, I had previously decided that I couldn't stand to be down for months due to an engine failure so I had already purchased a used engine (92K mile Tip) as a backup - I just didn't plan to need it quite this soon!

But being prepared for just this occurrence meant that the used engine could be swapped into the car in a couple of weeks rather than waiting 2+ months for a rebuild.

I specifically chose a high mileage Tip engine for two reasons; one, if the IMS made it this far, it is probably ok. Two, my theory is that Tip drivers may not rev the engine as much as a typical manual driver so the engine may have had a little easier life.

I plan to have the used engine dyno tested to see how the power compares to the original and rebuilt engines and will report back.

The replacement engine was also fairly cheap (around $4K including the labor to perform the swap) as compared to a full professional rebuild ($14K+).

With all of that being said, this update ends with the car running again and ready for more action.

Stay tuned for a special announcement coming in early December regarding 2015...



Intermix coming out the intake ports is never a good sign....



Lots of debris in the pan...



Missing a nice big piece of the cylinder and the case (directly above the missing cylinder)...



Broken camshaft, bent valves...



This is what was left of the rod and piston...



Crankshaft damage indicates a rod bearing failure...

[com3dorm3]

Whoa that hurts!!
I should have paid attention to the warning, but I had to see it...
Any insight on the possible cause of the rod bearing failure?
Sorry to hear about the kaput, but good that you have another engine lined up already.

[thstone]

Originally Posted by com3dorm3

Any insight on the possible cause of the rod bearing failure?

Unfortunately, with damage that severe it's impossible to know the cause.

I am finding that racing tests your level of commitment in many ways and some of them aren't on the track. No one said that racing would be easy and this is one more example of how racing is often seen as a microcosm of life.

Glad that this is behind me and really looking forward to 2015!

[stephen wilson]

I didn't see it mentioned, what oiling system mods do you have ?

[Topless]

Eeeeesh! That sucks the joy out of racing. Sorry Tom.

I do think "plan B" is wise though. When a motor grenades it stresses, wears, and deforms in unexpected ways and shiny bits get into everything, everywhere. A sound used motor with clean oil is not a 100% sure thing but probably a lot more certain than one that has been a metallic sausage grinder. I went through this in an earlier life with both a 350 Chevy and Ford 351 motors.

Best wishes for 2015 my friend!

[thstone]

Originally Posted by stephen wilson

I didn't see it mentioned, what oiling system mods do you have ?

The engine had an EBS sump baffle but otherwise is stock. No Accusump. But I am seriously looking at options.