Had a terrific day back at NYST. We had enough S2Ks this time to run our own session and that was a blast.
NYST 5-25-2024
I was definitely having confidence issues. My tires weren't really gripping well and the balance felt off. Also the clunk coming from the back of the car when getting on and off track has become more pronounced and I'm really wondering if something is broken or loose back there. I don't notice anything on track so I think it's all in my head but that's part of the problem, hard to push when you're not sure if everything is 100%. We've got some work to do on the car when I get back and before we go to NJMP next month but I'm certain we can make this car as solid as it once was and faster.
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My wife also got my an AIM SmartyCam 3 for my birthday and used it for the first time. Having it automatically start and stop recording as well as do data overlay in real time is super nice. I need to fix the exposure settings and the data it's recording since it's not showing the actual lap times in real time but instead just showing the lap time after the lap is finished.
In January I changed the O-Ring and washer on the Oil Pressure Relieve Valve (OPRV) to fix a leak coming from it hoping that the valve itself or internal o-ring hadn't gone bad but it started to leak again so I decided to bite the bullet this time and just replace the whole unit altogether. Given how brittle the outer O-ring was, I suspect the inner one was just as bad and likely not holding the pressure as badly.
Original OPRV (top) vs New Rennbay OPRV (bottom)
Rennbay makes a complete replacement that includes all new O-rings and washers at half the cost of the Porsche unit so I went with that ($225 vs $500). I've gone with Porsche or OEM sourced components or better up to now so why go with Rennbay here. Cost is one thing but from what I've seen so far the Rennbay kit is solid and replacing this bolt is a 5 minute affair so even if I had to change this again in the future I'd still be way ahead. After replacing the OPRV I took the car for a 50 mile drive and it was still dry so I think we're in good shape. I also noticed the dash oil pressure was looking more correct (a little over 4 at cruising). The old one would sometimes go to 5 and I think it may have been over pressurizing.
Well you know this was going to happen. Finally took Stewie out for its first autocross. I wasn't really sure what to expect other than I was sure to have a blast again but also knowing I was going to be rusty since it's been 9 whole months since I last autocrossed.
NNJR SCCA Autocross 5-11-2024 Photo by: Perry Aidelbaum
I had on 225/50R16 RE71RS all around and Koni shocks with ground control springs so I felt that it was the very least not going to suck. My first run was a terrible mess, less so because of the car but from me being rusty. I lost count of how many cones I must've smacked but it wasn't pretty. This car isn't exactly something that accelerates very quickly so it was almost like autocrossing in slow motion. I had a bit of time to think before each corner which felt a bit weird. I started with even pressures all around at 30psi cold but after feeling the car was a hair pushy I changed it to 29 front and 30 rear. That helped the balance quite a bit but allowing the front to work better.
The balance of the car was actually really neutral. I had no problems getting the car turning and the rear was so easy to manage. The diff was working perfectly and at the limit, it was a dream to control. Even when the rear wanted to kick out, I had plenty of time to correct and I didn't even have to lift. That said, the turn in speed wasn't there. I had to adjust my timing to turn in way earlier than I normally would but if I did, I could get on the throttle much sooner and the car just did it's thing. Honestly, other than the acceleration, I'd argue this car outhandles both my 911 and Cayman. It's just so well balanced.
After a few runs, I noticed some powersteering fluid coming out of the reservoir. I was carefully monitoring it and wiping it off before it got onto the ground between each run. When I got home I checked the fill level and it was definitely overfilled. I took some fluid out and now it's where it should be based on the dip stick so that problem should be gone next time. I also noticed the same around the brake fluid reservoir. That too was a hair over max so I took some fluid out so it'll be sorted next time.
I definitely enjoyed autocrossing this car. Sure it's not really going to be as fast as the other cars in its class (it is classed as STR as it stands right now) but I'm curious to see how I can improve this with more events under my belt. Each run I was already picking up more time so with only 6 runs and being a rusty driver, I left a ton of time on the table that I'm sure I could easy get back. I've got some alignment tweaks coming up that I think will make a big difference at the next outing. Overall the car worked really well and I really understand why these were so popular as track cars. Porsche really did a great job on the driving dynamics of these cars and it's a shame they are so under appreciated.
Was too lazy to run a mic inside the car so excuse the wind noise
The Racebred Components splitter is a pretty nice piece but when lined up with an S2000 that has a CR lip there's a bit of a gap in between the splitter and the bottom of the bumper. This is less than ideal from a aerodynamics perspective so I picked up the newly released Racebred Components Air Dam which consists of an aluminum strip you shape and bolt onto the splitter to block the hole.
The first step was to lower the splitter by about 3/8" since I had originally mounted it as flush as I could on the bumper and that doesn't leave enough room for the nuts securing the air dam to clear. I then added some painter's tape so I could trace the shape of the bumper.
I could then line up the air dam to mark and drill the holes to secure it. On the back side I used a countersunk drill to widen the hole to allow the supplied bolts to fit flush.
I could then put it all together and secure the splitter on the car and apply the rubber strip to clean up the edges.
While I was at it I also changed the oil from 10W-30 to 10W-40. I noticed last year that on very hot track days the oil would thin out a bit too lower the oil pressure.
