Prepping an old car
Discussion
Hello chaps,
I'm doing the Croft track day (Mazda on Track) in a couple of weeks. I'm going along to help Mission Motorsport get their wounded service guys & girls out for a bit of experience.
Anyway, I'm taking along my 30 year old Porsche 944. The car is prepped for road rallying, not track work, so I'm just making some mental notes about the best way to keep the car serviceable for the day.
I've done a fair few track days before but 1) not in my own car (!), 2) in much more modern cars, 3) me doing all the driving. In this instance I want to be able to let the Mission Motorsport attendees get a few laps in themselves - I'm not precious about the car but I will need to drive it the 70 miles home afterwards!
It has been said that the 9am-5pm day will start as 3 x 20 mins and then change to open pit by late morning.
Anyway, the car itself is being raced next week on the HERO Throckmorton Challenge (test rally at RAF Pershore) with a Mission Motorsport navigator (can't wait!) and before that it will have had:
New OEM Porsche pads
All 4 calipers rebuilt and serviced
Racing brake fluid
All brake lines changed to cunifer pipes
The rest of the car is relatively stock (shocks, springs etc.) and the disks are OEM vented.
So, how best to keep the little car running well all day long? After having had a read through this part of PH it seems some good advice is to zero trip and every 10 miles come in and cool down brakes, open bonnet to aid cooling.
Anything else I should keep in mind?
Cheers,
Ben
I'm doing the Croft track day (Mazda on Track) in a couple of weeks. I'm going along to help Mission Motorsport get their wounded service guys & girls out for a bit of experience.
Anyway, I'm taking along my 30 year old Porsche 944. The car is prepped for road rallying, not track work, so I'm just making some mental notes about the best way to keep the car serviceable for the day.
I've done a fair few track days before but 1) not in my own car (!), 2) in much more modern cars, 3) me doing all the driving. In this instance I want to be able to let the Mission Motorsport attendees get a few laps in themselves - I'm not precious about the car but I will need to drive it the 70 miles home afterwards!
It has been said that the 9am-5pm day will start as 3 x 20 mins and then change to open pit by late morning.
Anyway, the car itself is being raced next week on the HERO Throckmorton Challenge (test rally at RAF Pershore) with a Mission Motorsport navigator (can't wait!) and before that it will have had:
New OEM Porsche pads
All 4 calipers rebuilt and serviced
Racing brake fluid
All brake lines changed to cunifer pipes
The rest of the car is relatively stock (shocks, springs etc.) and the disks are OEM vented.
So, how best to keep the little car running well all day long? After having had a read through this part of PH it seems some good advice is to zero trip and every 10 miles come in and cool down brakes, open bonnet to aid cooling.
Anything else I should keep in mind?
Cheers,
Ben
Tyres are another problem. What are they, how much tread do they have, have you considered pressures?
They need to have enough tread to get you home and if they get more than half worn, their grip in standing water will fall off dramatically.
ETA: avoid using the handbrake and holding the car stationary on the foot break.
ETA: don't forget to check and maintain all fluid levels, not just engine oil and coolant but PAS fluid, gearbox oil, diff oil etc. And when you have the brake fluid changed, get the clutch done too.
They need to have enough tread to get you home and if they get more than half worn, their grip in standing water will fall off dramatically.
ETA: avoid using the handbrake and holding the car stationary on the foot break.
ETA: don't forget to check and maintain all fluid levels, not just engine oil and coolant but PAS fluid, gearbox oil, diff oil etc. And when you have the brake fluid changed, get the clutch done too.
Edited by HustleRussell on Wednesday 3rd October 09:59
Hmm, yes, good point. It is currently running some average Firestone 15''. 205 front, 215 rear. They've got a good 5/6mm tread on although I have been meaning to change them to something better. Perhaps there is enough life in them to do the day, get them home and then make the change.
I don't have a spare set of rims for this car so taking up 4 spares isn't going to be possible.
I don't have a spare set of rims for this car so taking up 4 spares isn't going to be possible.
HustleRussell said:
ETA: don't forget to check and maintain all fluid levels, not just engine oil and coolant but PAS fluid, gearbox oil, diff oil etc. And when you have the brake fluid changed, get the clutch done too.
One of the reasons I bought the car was that we got panned in the tests on the HERO Scottish Malts by two dudes in a Porsche 911SC. The 944 has just had a LOT of love pre Throckmorton:Edited by HustleRussell on Wednesday 3rd October 09:59
Full oil and coolant flush and change
Brake flush and high temp racing fluid put in
No PAS so no fluid there
Transmission flush and new fluid (that is happening right now actually!)
Clutch fluid already good, being monitored
Noted on taking spare fluids of all kinds though, will do, thanks
Bear in mind that your tyres, at 5-6mm, are already well past their best in terms of water dispertion. This will only matter if you get standing water though.
I expect you'll struggle to make them illegal by the end of the day so long as you set the pressures accordingly. You probably don't want the pressures getting much above 32psi hot.
I expect you'll struggle to make them illegal by the end of the day so long as you set the pressures accordingly. You probably don't want the pressures getting much above 32psi hot.
I should make it clear that I have no tintop experience at all, I like the tyres on my Caterham at approx 23 psi hot so we're talking about a different animal here!
If I were you I'd take the manufacturer's 'fully laden' recommended pressure and treat it as a guideline maximum. That'll probably be about 32 psi. The rest depends on conditions, length of stints (10 minutes?), driving style etc etc- so we can't approximate a 'cold' pressure.
So, what you do is set your pressures at your normal road pressures (maybe a little lower) and immediately after the session, with the tyres hot, you trim your pressures back down to the same all 'round, say 30psi. Do this after each session and remember that if it then starts raining, they'll need to go up again (and for the drive home).
If I were you I'd take the manufacturer's 'fully laden' recommended pressure and treat it as a guideline maximum. That'll probably be about 32 psi. The rest depends on conditions, length of stints (10 minutes?), driving style etc etc- so we can't approximate a 'cold' pressure.
So, what you do is set your pressures at your normal road pressures (maybe a little lower) and immediately after the session, with the tyres hot, you trim your pressures back down to the same all 'round, say 30psi. Do this after each session and remember that if it then starts raining, they'll need to go up again (and for the drive home).
Ok, will make a note of that, thanks!
Porsche suggested 29 front and 36 rear but I find that the back breaks away a little too readily at 36psi. I think I'll gas them to 29/32 and go from there. I'll have a little portable compressor there too so making adjustments should be relatively simple.
Another question: does the track/organiser ever have things available like a compressor etc on site? Not expecting one but, as said above, I've only ever done this in other peoples maintained cars before...
Porsche suggested 29 front and 36 rear but I find that the back breaks away a little too readily at 36psi. I think I'll gas them to 29/32 and go from there. I'll have a little portable compressor there too so making adjustments should be relatively simple.
Another question: does the track/organiser ever have things available like a compressor etc on site? Not expecting one but, as said above, I've only ever done this in other peoples maintained cars before...
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