Need Advice on Setting Up 996 for Track

[ltcjmramos]

I recently purchased a '99 C2 (996). I came out of a highly modified '93 RX-7 making 337 hp at the rear wheels. Due to a personal situation, during the past 3 years I have run no track or autox events. Prior to that I had autoxed from '87 until '93 with an '84 RX-7, then in '93 and '94 with the stock '93 RX-7. After that I ran 3-4 weekend track events (schools, high-perf driving) per year, primarily with N.A.S.A., beginning in '98

I had intended to concentrate on autoxing this year to get a feel for the 996; however, have decided to jump into it with as many track events/schools as I can schedule.

I have a coupe, and would like to start preparing it. Perhaps you can advise me, or tell me where I might opinions/recommendations on:

1. Roll or harness bars. Tequipment, DAS and/or Brey Krause?

2. Wheels. MY '02 Carrera 5-spoke Lightweights, Sport Classic IIs, TechArt Daytonas. (I won't go into the gory details, but I have all three in 18" with tires, and one set of the Lightweights without tires.) Which to use for track and which to use for street? (Anyone looking to buy the others, email me.)

3. Tires. On the above I have Pirelli P Zeros. I intend to keep one set for track use and one set for street use. On the track set, I'd like a recommendation of a proper tire.

There is an event at Buttonwillow in July. I assume it's going to be HOT!! With the RX-7 that was death, it did not like heat. How will the 996 react? Any special preparation for the heat?

Thanks for any info/guidance.

[earlyapex]

Congratulations!

1. For DE and other high performance driving schools, you don't need a roll cage. A roll bar adds a bit of safety so if you don't need the back seats I would go the rout of a good roll bar. DAS has a very good reputation and I would chose they're products over the Tequipment roll bar. I've seen a nice roll bar by TC Design in Milpitas. They have an excellent reputation and they can get you a custom roll bar with installation for the same price as the DAS roll bar without installation.

2. Use the lightest wheel/tire package for autocrosses. Use the nicest looking for daily use. The stock Rosso's are predictable on the track, but wear out quickly. Their ride also quickly deteriorates with track use and milage. I've got 6,500 miles on my Ross's and I have approximately 1/8" before I hit the wear indicators. I would stay away from R-compounds until you get very comfortable with the 996. I'd perform a search on several Porsch BBS's to get a feel for what people are running. I think I will try the BFG KD's (nice balance of performance and milage) after my Rosso's have given up their last tread.

3. Buttonwillow is a fun and challenging track. Your Porsche should do well without any special preparation. Do the normal track inspection.

4. You may want to research the BK oil starvation kit. There is a nice discussion of this kit and the 3.4L engine on Rennlist.. Apparently, a few 3.4L engined cars have experienced oil starvation on the track during sustained high g-loading with racing slicks. I don't think you'll get close to that during DE's, but I don't know how far you're going to take it.

5. I'll be at Laguna Seca this weekend with the Monterey and Santa Cruz PCA Chapters. You should come by.