Just got back from a DE in Limerock, CT...

[z12358]

...and it was an absolutely unbelievable experience -- even though it poured rain all morning and rained pretty much all day with just a few breaks. This was my first DE and I am absolutely hooked. And it's not just the driving part -- the camaraderie, the people, the willingness to help, was great to experience, too. Tomorrow I'm going for another round. Just wanted to share my excitement with everyone. Few thoughts:

1. Boxsters are track animals. And most people there acknowledge it.
2. My Box S pretty much ate everything in front of it (Green group) including Carrerra S, 4S, older turbos, you name it.
3. PSM is worth ten times its weight in gold. Saved my butt couple of times today while accelerating a bit too fast out of the apex.
4. Two GT3's slid out of the track and got mashed up pretty good. Looked like pretty new ones too.
5. A DE event relaxes you about the car and lets you see its limits. Now I feel much safer and drive much smoother even on public roads. I also have much more appreciation for the car and reinforced how right was my decision to choose it. I absolutely LOVE this car!

I highly recommend a DE event to anyone who hasn't been to one.
Oh, if anyone on this forum is also in LImerock today and tomorrow, drop me a PM.

Hopefully tomorrow there will be less (or no) rain.

[MikenOH]

A downpour had flooded parts of the course and trying to accelerate out of a left hander, the rear end started to step out to the right. As I started to counter steer, the PSM came on with a bump and I was going straight again. It put an end to a potential spin very quickly. I can't say enough good things about PSM. BTW, I brought it in on the next lap

Is it true the 996 GT3's don't have PSM?

[z12358]

Mike, I don't know about the PSM on the 996 GT3.
Just got back from my second day at the track. A blast and a gorgeous day. And the Black and Red groups had a chance to really stretch their legs on their slicks. Holy cr*p those guys are so fast!

People are having discussions here in other threads about how Porsches are so overpiced relative to the competition but after today I am more convinced than ever that they are not. To see all these P-cars of all ages just ripping the track all day without getting tired one bit... After all that breaking I thought my brakes were supposed to give up (fade) after my second run, but they kept on going and going. If that was any other car they would have definitely given up. The engine sounded better and better as the day went by. I just love these cars. And they love to be pushed.

I also had many conversations with people at the event. Many decided to go with a Porsche exactly beacuse of how organized PCA is with events like this -- like no other organization. It's a thrill to participate and share this enthusiasm. People waving at each other, with big grins on their faces, just saying hello for no other reason than being parts of something so exciting.

As I was driving back from the event. 5pm sun on a crisp clear day in CT, top down, colors, windy roads, cooling off the car, the brakes -- I felt so relaxed and elated. A P-car comes from the other direction, and I blink with my lights just as I said hi to so many people at the event, and the guy just passes by. Didn't upset me one bit -- as I was still floating in good chemicals in my brain from the DE -- but it made me think... If this guy was at this event today he would have definitely blinked back.

So there it goes...

z12358, sounds like you had a great time and learned a lot too. Great job!

How many mile did you have on your car before this first DE event? What helmet did you purchase?

Thanks.

[ohioboxster]

Any pictures?

[z12358]

"How many mile did you have on your car before this first DE event? What helmet did you purchase?"

3000 miles before. 3200 after. I used a loaner helmet from the club. Tried a few in the store at the track and probably will go with a basic G-force for around $200. I had a problem with all of them when trying to put my sunglases with the helmet on. The loaner was the easiest in that regard but still awkward. Don't these helmet designers expect people to wear sunglasses while driving? Weird.

I am still not sure if it makes sense to use my new car for these events or I should buy another (older) car just for the track. I spoke with a few people who had bought new Boxsters and 911's 4-5 years ago and started doing DE with them then. Now they have 5 year old cars with mods for the track and they're quite happy with them. I also saw quite a lot of cars on the track (relatively new) that were much more valuable than mine. Mine was probably in the median of the whole universe yesterday.

On one hand an older car would probably be more economical and less financially risky (in terms of damaging it) but on the other hand a new car would have more safety features (e.g. PSM) and would be safer to me in general in terms of things failing while on the track. Moreover, a new car is under waranty so anything that breaks would be fixed under it. Still mulling this one over. No matter how you turn it, it seems that this is one very expensive hobby -- if you really start getting involved. This season is finishing anyway so I will have until next year to make a decision. I don't know where I would fit one more Porsche as I don't even have my own garage for the one I own (renting a garage for it).

Looks like I'm hooked though.

[z12358]

"Any pictures?"

I took some with my own camera but they probably s*ck. There was a professional photographer taking action photos at various spots on the track and he had quite a few of me in my car so I bought them from him. I should receive the photo CD by next week. He has photo galleries at
http://www.tracktimephotos.com
which you can search by event, club, date, venue, etc. This weekend's event is not on the website yet but when he updates it (in a day or so), my car is number 333 in the Green group. Browse other PCA events to get a picture (pun intended ).

Z.

[z12358]

http://www.tracktimephotos.com/gallery.jsp

...has just added photos from Sep 15 & 16 DE at Lime Rock Park, CT. Can be viewed by runs (Green, Yellow, White, Black, Red). I was car # 333 in the Green run.

Enjoy!