Prior to taking the car to Willow Springs for a track day I arranged,
for some upgrades to compare with the bone stock configuation I'd run in the past.

The mods included the ecu, air box mod, H&R springs, lowering 1/2 inch and upgrading the pads to the Porterfield RS4's. These are pretty conservative but I thought some of the fun is to experiment and find what works.

I'm not a big believer in dyno numbers as no dyno can duplicate air flow so don't ask for dyno numbers, but I did run the before and after acceleration with the drift box which is a very accurate GPS data logger.

With Evosports level one ecu the 60-120 time dropped 1.1 second which is very impressive. On the track it resulted in 5 mph on the straight away speed. I believe some of this is due to the air box modification and elimation of the carbon filters. Overall a good mod.

Next with the H&R springs lowering the car 1/2 inch. I didn't align the car after due to time constrints but I'm sure that this will help when I do it next week. The ride is a bit firmer, but if your not going to track the car you can do without this. On the track the car stuck like glue on the high speed sweepers. Now for the downside. The increase in corner grip plays havoc with the ESP. Willow Springs turn 8 has more side loading then just about anywhere. Ferrari had to cancel a Challenge race several years ago as the spec tire for the series was failing in turn 8. I would throw ESP fault codes with the ESP on. The car then goes into limp mode. You have to shut it down and then restart. Not a good thing on a track. Next we ran with the ESP off (there is always some level of ESP on) That helped but eventually the fault codes catch up with you and need to be cleared. I called EVOsport to see if the ecu had any chance of causing the codes. I was impressed with there support and willingness to consider all possibilites and we reset some of the suspension settings. I'd like to think I was so fast in the corners that the sensors thought I was about to crash.
Next, with the increased cornering loads the front tire starts to roll over. Solution, this car needs more tire like a 285 front and a 305 rear on 10's and 11's.

Brake pads; I felt that the stock pads were too soft and we decided to go to a high perfomace pad from Porterfield. I asked if they could make a set with the abs sensors, the answer was NO! First session the pads went into green fade. They improved as they were bedded in but the stopping distances weren't that great. Given my experience I'd look for something else and avoid Porterfield.

We had temps in the high 90's (hey it the desert) but for the 15 people that turned out it was a blast. I had the pleasure of meeting the driving with Tony Adamowicz and I have to give him props for poiting out some track tips that really help me.

We had some worthy cars turn out, 997gt3, Andial twin turbo Gt2, Lotus's or is it Loti? Lota M3's a few M3 race cars. Moddes WRX's, and one CLK63 black. (mine)
I've always wondered how the Black would do against the GT3 head to head. Now I know.
"you were all over me in the corners and I had nothing for that Benz on the straights" by RoyGT3. BTW the GT3 was on R tires and had exhaust and?

Jimmy

 

Thanks for the write up.
Any vids to post?

 

I thought Off" meant "off" for all the skid/traction controls.
Glad for the update. Sounds like fun!!. AS

 

+1

 

same here, i was under the impression that at speeds above 50 the ESP would not kick in, if it was OFF?

 

I drove with it off at the track, and it felt off. While you can go fairly quickly with it on, the car is much better with full use of the throttle to adjust yaw. I didn't spin it, so I can't swear there is no intrusion, but it felt much different from my previous E55 that would not allow a serious drift angle.
I know people are afraid to drive the car with controls off, but this one is as gentle as it gets for rear steer. More like a go kart than an older 911. AS

 

My understanding is that when you turn it off in the Black it is off until you get on the brakes and then it comes in until you release the brakes again....

 

When you swith off the ESP, the electronic traction system is still enabled.
However the engine output is not limited which allows the drive wheels to spin.
The traction control will still apply the brakes to a spinning wheel and the ESP operates while you are braking.
Further, the ESP does not stabilze the vehicle.

This is information from the owners manual.

Obviously there is built in limits which I've exceeded. I'm checking with Evosport to confirm that any ecu changes don't affect the ESP to shut down the car to limp mode.
Jimmy

 

Jim, What page? I only ask because it comes as such a surprise. It really doesn't feel like it is applying brakes. AS

 

AS,
Page 81-84. I agree, it doesn't feel like the brakes are being applied.

Jimmy

 

I am happy to see someone else finally had an opportunity to go head-to-head with a GT3, seems that when I posted about spanking a couple of them on the track people thought I was full of crap. Your quote above pretty much backs up what my multiple experiences against GT3's and TT's and even a GT2 on the track, "the Benz is close if not faster in most corners and I just drive around them on the straights, granted my car is far from stock, but most of the P cars I went up against had ECU and exhaust work as well.

 

How are you guys using the trans?
Sport ot manual?
Individual downshifts or hold the left paddle to let the trans pick lowest?
If manual, upshift at what rpm? AS

 

Sport is my preference, however in some situations where I want to short shift a little (or a lot) it is terrible. That is the only glitch with this transmission in my opinion. The car is smart, it always wants to put you in the optimum gear, it is right 90% of the time, but the other 10% of the time when it's wrong, it's way wrong. If you try to overide and bump up a gear it seems it confusses the the computer and you get a split second of hesitation, like the car is second guessing you or something.

 

I run it in sport and use the paddles to downshift. By holding the paddle it finds the right gear which allows you to get on the power NOW, when coming out of the turns, which kills our friends driving turbo cars.

I have to agree with Jrcart on the upshift, the car knows the right gear at least 95%. I found that after driving the track and knowing when to upshift you can concentrate more on the line and your just faster.

Next event I'll try the manual at my home track and see how it compares to lap times. I was slower in Germany in the manual mode but it was a track I was just getting to know.
Jimmy

 

I find myself a little confused in "M" as the downshifts are slightly delayed, and I lose track of the gear I'm in just enereing the corner, when youa ren't looking at the display. In a regular 6 speed, that doesn't happen because your hand tells you where you are.
At Gingerman, "S" seemed to work well because you get sharp up-shifts right at redline, and there is enough cushioning so that the car wasn't upset if the shift occured mid-corner, or in tight sequence turns. Yhese were places you would never upshift a manual, as you would instantly spin when the clutch went in.
But, there was one linked slow corner where holding the left paddle left me in 3rd (which was one gear too high numerically for exit acceleration), but using the paddle one gear at a time resulted in 2nd, which was better. The map must have a critical speed that leaves a small amount of margin, but isn't quite perfect for some slower corners.
I didn't use "M" much, and wasn't good enough with the lap timer to really maximize the use of that either.
As I'm going to Autobahn Tuesday, any tips on the lap timer?

 

My first few laps on a track with my BS I had some difficulties with the downshifts as well, knowing what gear I was going to be in when the car finally got down and put itself into whatever gear it choose at optimum. I got used to it very quickly, and it was almost always correct so I never really paid much attention. As far as upshifts go, I can shift it manually or put it in sport and turn very comparable lap times. I come from a motorcycle racing backround, started off racing on 2-stroke MXers with no tachs, I learned to shift with my ears, I raced the same way when I crossed over to superbike racing, however my superbikes all had tachs, but I would seldom use the tach with the exception of a standing start at the begining of the race and once in a while I would take a glance while on a long straight. I have carried this style over into driving cars as well, once I get familiar with the feel and sound of the car I hardly ever look at the tach. Some people say this is a bad habbit, but I have not had any major problems with this driving style. I guess what I am saying is don't be so concerned with looking at the gear indicator on the dash, in time you should be able to know what gear you are in just by the speed you are traveling (by feel not by looking at speedo) and the audible revs the engine/exhaust is making. I prefer to keep my eyes on the track and the others cars around me rather than my gauge cluster.