[garylimey]

[quote name='RS Barn' post='64831' date='Dec 29 2008, 08:21 PM']What do you think my shop is all about???

A giant chunk out of everything.

That bug is really big.

Pete[/quote]



Hopefully there's no cure for it <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> , although my wife is trying to find one <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/mad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Anchorman]

Pete, hoping you're still watching - there's a box in front of your Barn door. Is it safe overnight?

Jim



(I know I posted this a bit earlier, but the simultaneous post by Gary created a third page, and I didn't want Pete to miss this.)

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[benspeeder]

Yep - the racing program is a big chunk of change. My wife never complains - but she has gotten wise to enough to say things like, "whay? - you got 4 new wheels and Hoosier R6's for $500? Sure....and that Fendi bag was $20."



Gary - let me know when you plan the first spring event. I'm sure were racing all the same tracks. I do about 12 races a season plus 2-3 test days. Last year was the first season I didn't chase a championship because I planned out the transition back to IT racing from GT1. I was going up against GT1 teams that were spending $10K a weekend on tube framed Trans Am Corvettes. These guys were always amazed that I usually had only 1 or two friends there to crew while these teams were staffed.





Between Gary and the dude who ran a 2:07 at the Glen - are you guys running race pistons and cams or more of an IT setup where the motor is stock except intake, exhaust, ECU? Those times are damn good and much better than track record for any IT class.



BTW - which class does a 968 run in PCA in SCCA IT trim?

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[Jason Judd]

I replace my rod bearings every season, too.



That's one of the reasons I got the 2-piece cross-over pipe and 3-piece cross member...saves a bunch of time/labor!



Jason

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[Eric_K]

[quote name='benspeeder' post='64916' date='Jan 1 2009, 09:14 AM']BTW - which class does a 968 run in PCA in SCCA IT trim?[/quote]



GT4, I think. As far as I know you still need most of the interior to run PCA stock classes. The rules are here, if you really want to know: http://www.pca.org/clubrace/docs/forms.htm

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[benspeeder]

[quote name='Eric_K' post='65134' date='Jan 5 2009, 02:17 PM']GT4, I think. As far as I know you still need most of the interior to run PCA stock classes. The rules are here, if you really want to know: http://www.pca.org/clubrace/docs/forms.htm[/quote]



Thanks Eric - appreciate the link

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[benspeeder]

OK - an update on the black 968 M030 race car project.

First a huge thanks go out to Pete at RSBarn and to Pablo. Pete spent a ton of time advising and providing guidance on what to do with my car to set it up, avoid problems and run reliably. I meet a lot of industry leaders and Pete is a standout in his field - knowledgeable, expert, personable and did I mention expert???

What a great array of 968 cars also - his 968 turbo track car was awesome.

Thanks goes out to Pablo who was the source of many great parts I purchased - sir, I felt like a vulture buying up your spares but rest assured they will go on a top flight car and I play to win - so look for podium finishes. (I also have two sets of A arms and plan on rotating them every few races and will use the larger pins made of the strongest steel I can legally install.)

So aquired for the project was a complete rear suspension setup with 30 mm hollow torsion bars and a great set of Bilsteins. Included was the entire torsion housing assembly with the racers edge hardware - this should be a complete remove and replace for a top flight rear suspension setup.

Complete RS Barn race exhaust and chip, Momo steering wheel with quick release, lightweight battery and box. Also bought new delrin front swaybar bushings and castor blocks.

This car should be a great handling car.

I have the local P shop quoting on replacing the rod bearings, cage install and suspension install - should get a car that is a 8/10ths build just for starters.

I am doing my part to help the economy :-)

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[bob blackwell]

Good job Ben! Sounds to me that you are getting off to a great start. Keep us informed of your progress. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[benspeeder]

I switched shops and dropped off the car with Pete at RSBarn today - going to have the full build done by Pete and Max - these guys will build an awesome car. Spent a lot of time discussing the ball joint/control arm safety issue.

I am going to do a bit of rules lawyering with SCCA to request they approve aftermarket arms for safety improvement without competition advantage. This will be a bit of a challenge.

Eric - what kind of program do you have at EKR racing to address the ball joint/arm failures?


The goal is to have the car ready for the ITR PRO IT Race by Driving Impressions May 2-3. Need to have a couple tests in the bank before that.

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[Eric_K]

I run charley arms. I've only had a problem when running longer ball joint pins. If you are using longer pins, I would closely monitor them and change them regularly.

Aftermarket arms, strengthened pins, longer pins, etc aren't IT legal are they? To change that it seems you would have to fight the same fight 944 guys have been unsuccessfully fighting for years.

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[Eric_K]

You should also be able to legally run a "near" coilover rear suspension in ITR. Something the 944 guys can't in IT. If you look at your 968 M030 rear shocks they have coil springs on them. The trick is to run very thin torsion bars and run heavy rates on the rear coils, using Bilsteins or similar. The torsion bars can be machined down to 10mm or so. They effectively have a very low spring rate. This way you maintain the same spring types but have just changed the rates, which is legal. Once you are essentially running coilovers you can easily change spring rates, ride height, corner balance, etc without messing with torsion bars ever again.

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[benspeeder]

Thanks for the info Eric.

I will be using Bilsteins in the rear and 30mm hollow torsion bars. That way I can add in a M030 style spring later after I've been running ITR for a bit and get the lay of the land. In the NE I think most of my fellow competitors would be all over me just for running a helper spring, not knowing that the M030 setup did have a spring. Other 944 IT competitors only run the torision bar upgrade. I've already had folks email me asking if the torsion bars upgrade was legal, which it is. The 968 is creating some fear out there :-). My torsion bar assembly has been converted for coil overs - RSBarn will be changing that back to torsion but will keep the parts so another day I can go full coil over if I want.

I've sent in a request to the Improved Touring Advisory Committee regarding the safety issues with the arms and pins. Aftermarket arms are definitely not legal for now but a better pin might be run if we call it a "fastener" - that's getting very interpretive. I am stirring the pot to see if I can get some discussion generated with the competition board and advisory boards. The last rules lawyering I did was getting the LS1 motor added to GT1 - that was pretty challenging but successful.

The way I believe we can resolve this safety issue is to approach Porsche NA and request that they begin having their dealers sell something like a Fabcar or Racer's Edge arm as replacements for the stock control arms. I haven't begun this journey but if successful SCCA will then allow the use of the aftermarket arms in Improved Touring. I have started by reaching out to the regional PCA reps for guidance on this.

I believe this known component failure is somewhat unique because the situation is so well documented and the failures are catestrophic with no warnings, leading to really bad impacts. This is different than hubs or brakes going bad which generally are noticeable before failure. That arugment did not hold up yesterday with some of my friends who are the leading rules reviewers for SCCA. (ITAC)

Here's another perspective from the rules experts - the arms did not fail until they were adjusted beyond factory spec. Is there any history of arm/pin failure on cars with stock adjustment? That may be neede for Porsche NA to make a suggestion to their dealers... Why that would matter in racing I don't get because we adjust beyond factory spec on all kinds of things.

I have little optimism on changing this rule for Improved Touring but it is worth the effort - I want to make my very best effort for improved safety.

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[Gregg]

Nope
Nope Nope

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[PorscheDude]

???

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[flash]

rules change every year - things get more relaxed each year - this is due to attrition - the class i used to race in, which was very strict, does not even exist anymore, and is now merged into other classes, and now allow things that were not even considered before

so, maybe not this year, but not long

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