Very impressive ---

I would like to know what those shims are made out of -- I need to diversify my portfolio.

Mike

They are made from unobtanium

You and me both! Someone is making a financial killing.

For those following along at home, here is what we're talking about. These are the prices for each shim - remember you need one for each side. I think that my car has 3 shims per side to get the -3.6 deg neg camber.

Thanks, I never though of this and will discuss with the shop.

The plan is to set the car back at the same alignment spec's that it had before the accident. The net handling as a result of combining the old alignment specs with the changes from the repair plus the mix of new parts and old parts might not be exactly the same (in terms of handling characteristics), but it should be close enough to race it for a weekend and then adjust as necessary for the next race.

There doesn't appear to be any damage to the chassis so the car didn't need any pulling (per se) but the front suspension subframe is being replaced. This should provide a completely straight and sold foundation to ensure a good and repeatable alignment.

At least, those are our assumptions! We'll see how it all works out soon enough.

Just remember:

All Constants are Variables

Good job Tom, its coming together nicely

I dropped by the shop today and the Boxster was ..... gone!

This was a good thing since that meant that it was driven (!!!) down the street to the body shop to have the fender, bumper cover, and rear quarter damage repaired.

The downside was that as work on the suspension was completed a few more parts were ultimately found to need replacement like the right front hub/upright which looked ok to the naked eye but was misaligned once all of the suspension components were installed and a rough alignment done.

Also, we decided to go ahead and replace the right rear wheel bearing since the right rear wheel took a hit hard enough to crack the rear suspension subframe meaning that the wheel bearing took a huge thrust force which it was not designed to take. So we might as well replace it now.

Still looks like the car should be ready next week - worst case is that everything gets done except final paint of the front bumper cover which can be done after the race weekend.

I also expect some teething problems after replacing this many parts, so I don't expect to be in the front of the field next weekend. The goal for next weekend is to get back on the track and complete all of the sessions. There will likely be a few things that might still need adjustment or tweaking to get the car back to full competitive form.

List of major parts replaced:

• Right front fender
• Right front fender inner liner
• Right front headlight assembly
• Front bumper cover
• Left and right front side marker lights
• Left and right radiators
• Left and right radiator air ducts
• Left and right radiator mounting brackets
• Upper radiator hose
• PSS9 coil over shock absorber
• Front upper shock mount
• Front wheel carrier/hub
• 996 GT-3 adjustable lower control arm
• 996 GT-3 adjustable lower control arm shims
• Adjustable drop link (long style)
• Front track arm
• Right inner & outer tie rods
• Front suspension subframe (cross member)
• Fuel filler tube
• Right rear suspension/transmission subframe
• Rear wheel bearing
• Right rear taillight assembly
• Right front wheel (8.5x17)
• Right rear wheel (8.5x17)
• Four tires (Toyo RR 255/40/17)

The tires and those shims probably cost you the most :-)

But the grin you'll have when you grid up next week will have been worth it.

I would have been down 6 months!

Mike

Still driving it up?

Absolutely yes!

Here is video of the start of Race #1 from two weeks ago. I started 6th and moved up to 3rd on first lap.

Later in the race, Kovac/#318 and I swapped 3rd a couple of times but then he held onto it and I finished 4th. Overall, it was a good race for me.

You'll see that I now have the rear view camera displayed as picture-in-picture so you can see the action behind as well.

Be sure to manually click for 1080p high def to get the best experience (the video really looks great).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RFoigy0tx-0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I love these videos with commentary, great job!

gotta keep that, we both passed Hainer

I know. I thought his car broke. :)

Yeah, the old sugar in the gas tank works every time, hey Branimir?

Great to hear you're up and ready for this weekend, Tom. Looking forward to joining you chase Anders.

Tom & I are looking forward to you and Anders starting in the back

Ready for racing this weekend!

Everything is complete except the final paint and replacement of a few stickers (which will be done next week). Also, I'll install the matching front headlight and a pair of clear side marker lights.

The car feels great - front suspension and steering is actually tighter than before. I guess that should be expected after replacing that many components.

Big thanks to Brad Keegan and Tyson Schmidt of Pro Motorsports in Burbank, CA for the high quality and FAST repair!

Driving up to Buttonwillow in the morning for practice tomorrow. Racing Sat and Sun.

Chump car LOL

Best of luck to you Tom
I'm heading out to Chuckwalla in the morning for the weekend
Have fun at Buttonwillow

Awesome - have fun!