This is the 1/4" model from Five Star. I also plan to use two layers of protective film.
Lexan weight is 15lbs. I'll weigh the glass windshield when its replaced.
It was shipped folded to save shipping costs. Be careful when you cut the tape holding it in the folded position - there is quite a bit of energy stored!
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
... would seem to be technically illegal. However, there are a lot of things not in the rules that are in a lot of SPB cars.
... However, I have seen so much cheating in SPB that I wouldn't be surprised at all if some cars already had this mod regardless of what the rules might say/imply or what the scruts might think or how they might rule on it.
.
I would love to hear some of the stories sometime, I bet they are classic.
Well, good news and not so good news coming out of the PCA race at Willow Springs last weekend.
The Good News: I qualified 2nd and finished 2nd in Saturday's race! I did a good job defending against 3rd place for several laps and then slowly pulled away and created a nice gap. I was very pleased with my performance and had high hopes for Sunday.
The Not So Good News: Qualified 3rd for Sunday's race and the driver in P1 decided to start at the back and race his way through the group so I started P2 (in BSR/SPB).
Got a good start and moved up to P1. Then got held up by slower traffic and moved back to P2. Then the P1 driver finally caught up to us and passed us both so I was in P3.
Then I didn't hold the car down tight on the inside line in Turn 8 (125mph) and it pushed up into the marbles and off I went into the desert!
The car was mostly ok but the power steering low pressure return line was pulled loose and broken (nearly ripped off of the bottom of the car is another way to say it) so I came home on the tow truck.
Race - Repair - Repeat.
HD and sound is the best way to watch - its pretty crazy when I go off track!
very entertaining videos Tom! i watched some of the others too, that looks like so much fun! glad to see you were ok after that big spin out, pretty scary stuff!
Look what came in the mail today! (ok, to be honest it was UPS Freight)
Its a used 2.5L Boxster engine with only 75K miles. Paid $2850 including shipping. This will be my spare engine so I can swap it in quickly when my existing engine fails. It's a fully complete engine with intake and all accessories (some of which I will have to remove to put it into racing configuration). If I was still running a street car, it would be a straight swap.
After having two professionally rebuilt Boxster engines fail dramatically and losing big money on the investment, I am committed to running only used factory (salvage) engines.
DIY swap would only cost the price of a set of new plugs and an oil change. Even if I paid to have the engines swapped at a shop, I'd be back on the road for a little over $4K.
My existing used engine was bought with 92K miles and now has an additional 40 hours of racing on it. Hard to know how long it might last (still has original IMS bearing) but I'm starting to get that feeling in my gut that its time might be running out. And while it doesn't have any problems that I am aware, I'd like to be ahead of the curve when that time comes.
You can imagine the look on my wife's face when I mentioned that I wanted to buy a spare engine. I explained that every time that my engine fails, I re-evaluate my racing goals and if I was to do that now, I'd be very tempted/motivated to move up to racing a GT-4 class air-cooled 911.
When I told her what that might cost, she was immediately on board with spending less than $3K for a spare engine.
Boo Hiss -- Go Air-cooled -- you can buy mine as a GT2 - then down grade the engine :-)
So I ordered a replacement power steering hose online from Byer Porsche in Ohio as they had a pretty good price.
They sent me an email order confirmation.
Then they sent me a ready to ship confirmation. Then they emailed saying that they actually don't have that part.
Huh?
Then why is it on your website?
Why did your system confirm the order?
Why did your system say that it was ready to ship?
Amazing how they offered a great price for a part they never had!
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that IF I was to think about where to go next in racing, I posted that I might consider moving to an air cooled 911 race car. To me, the air cooled cars are the epitome of Porsche amateur racing and they require a certain skill to race competently - something that I would love to learn to do well.
Then last week, I was contacted by someone who wanted to know if I want to buy the car pictured below. This is like someone asking if you want to marry Alessandra Ambrosio. Click though and see what I mean, but I'm sure that you get the point.
I went and inspected the car on Sunday and took it for a test drive. It was everything that it was supposed to be and maybe a little more. The price was within my budget. I'll admit, I was more than a little bit smitten with the car.
But this would mean having to sell the Spec Boxster.
To make a long story short - after a lot of back and forth in my mind along with consulting my good friend and last year's Spec Boxster Champion Alex Bermudez, I decided to take my own advice - don't upgrade the car until you can out drive it.
The cold, hard truth is that I am still not a better race driver than the Spec Boxster is a race car. I am still 1-1.5 seconds behind the best drivers in the class and I do not consistently place in the Top 3. To me, that says that I still have things to learn in Spec Boxster and they would only be harder to learn by moving to a car with more power and a completely different driving characteristic.
But if I was to buy the 911 anyway, I would look really, really, really good while learning those lessons!
So, the bottom line is that I'm staying with the Boxster.
But oh, oh, oh, the temptation.
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
Yesterday, I installed the replacement power steering high pressure hose (#9 from power steering pump to disconnect under car) and found that the front hose (#1 from steering rack to disconnect under car) was leaking where the hard line enters the disconnect fitting). Since #9 was split in half, I wasn't able to tell if #1 would leak or not until I replaced #9.
For reference, hoses #9 and #1 are the high pressure lines and #2, #5, #7 are the low pressure return lines.
The installation of #9 wasn't too hard but it took a bit of fiddling (aka patience!) to get the hose in the proper position since it has several awkward bends and it fits fairly tightly up against the engine and there isn't a ton of room to maneuver around when working through the front engine access panel. Again, this was made MUCH easier by the absence of the a/c compressor.
Looks like the #1 hose shouldn't be too hard to replace since the connection to the steering rack is visible with the left front tire removed. New #1 hoses were over $300 so I bought a nice looking used hose for $150 from eBay.
Since the car was already up on the lift, I went ahead and replaced the brake pads/rotors along with an oil/filter change. I've done these two tasks so many times now that I could pretty much do it with my eyes closed.
Power steering parts diagram
Location of leak in #1 front high pressure hose
#1 hose connection to the steering rack
Used replacement hose
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
Tom.... your race videos and closed captions are outstanding. First thing in the morning on a big screen with a cup of coffee.....great way to start the day.
I am tempted to set up a Go Fund Me Account so we can all pitch in and get you a high dollar video set up. Speed, RPSs, place on track G-force and so on. It's not for you, if for our viewing pleasure!
__________________
1995 Porsche C4 Cab
2016 BMW M2, 6 Speed LBB - ED 7/2016
1997 993 Cab - Sold; 1997 993 Turbo - Sold
2001 Boxster S - Original Owner - 30K Miles -SOLD
Tom.... your race videos and closed captions are outstanding. First thing in the morning on a big screen with a cup of coffee.....great way to start the day.
I am tempted to set up a Go Fund Me Account so we can all pitch in and get you a high dollar video set up. Speed, RPSs, place on track G-force and so on. It's not for you, if for our viewing pleasure!
He might have that data but keeping it a secret so his competitors don't steal his tricks....
He might have that data but keeping it a secret so his competitors don't steal his tricks....
I wish that I had tricks that were worth protecting!
With that being said, I do have all of the data but I have not yet mastered the software that let's me merge it with video and create the overlays. Maybe I'll try it once since it might be be as hard or time consuming as I imagine.
__________________
1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor
2004 Porsche Boxster S
2004 Porsche 996 Targa
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