Oh hai! (Now a proper introduction)

[Kammo]

Well hi again all! So after a little bit of casual looking around I'd decided on a Boxster 2.7, mainly because I didn't have the budget for a nice 3.2. But as fate would have it one of the guys I do track days with who's also a mechanic was selling his 1997 2.5. I thought I'd go have a look at it, mainly because it had BBS LMs which are one of my all-time favourite wheels (I have a thing for wheels, by the way) and he ended up offering me a deal I couldn't refuse. It's super neat, especially for a car that's relatively old, but I guess these things are built to last...

 

 

Someone stole one of the centre caps, which is annoying, as they cost heaps to replace.

 

 

The interior has some nice features. The original owner specified the colour-match centre console option and sports gear-shift and the mate I bought it off fitted a 996 GT3 steering wheel.

 

 

He also tells me he spent a ton of money on the facelifted clear lights; indicators, headlights and tail-lights. I've named her Bridgette and will be using her mostly on weekends and also set her up for the occasional hill-climb event that I do.

 

Not many plans for little Bridgette, I'm told that the IMS issue is almost non-existent for the 97 (?) and this car has had a couple of track days under her belt with the previous owner and still runs nice. I think she also has the factory sports springs but I'd like to look at a proper set of coilovers at some stage...are the KWs and Bilstein PSS pretty much the only way to go? 

 

Betty is my 350Z and pretty much my forever-car. I've had her for about six or seven years and she has been slowly converted into a track-day car. 

 

 

I learnt most of my mechanical skills with Betty, she was the first car I ever serviced myself and have since installed a bunch of suspension (KW Clubsports, sway bars, camber arms), a supercharger with all the ancillary gear (oil cooler, bigger radiator, injectors, fuel pump and Haltech) and various interior and exterior bits and pieces. I do the basic AFR tuning myself as there's an AF-meter installed but all timing and WOT tuning is done professionally. Currently putting down around 250rwkw on 8 PSI.

 

 

Unfortunately Betty is just too impractical to drive on the road all the time, so I take her out once every couple of weeks when the weather is nice, just to keep the battery alive and rotating components lubricated.

 

 

So far I've managed 1:49s at Phillip island, 1:37s at Winton and 1:25s at Sandown (on Hankook Z221s). I think there's a bit more in there once I get the set-up right.

 

Roxy is my practical daily drive for when I need a four-door sedan-thing, she's an RX-8 with some Rays wheels, coilovers and a very quiet exhaust. Great for hauling around wheels and other various bits and pieces.

 

 

 

Finally, I have a mildly warmed over CBR-600RR. I am terrible at riding bikes but hope to get better...I took her out to Phillip Island and did a 2:2X. I guess you have to start somewhere right? 

 

Well that's pretty much me...I've more-or-less run out of space in my garage for any more cars and maybe one day I should probably consolidate everything into just one car, but for now they all kinda serve a separate purpose. 

 

[edgy]

Nicely done on the boxster, looks very tidy and I love the bbs too!

Amazing looking garage you have there... You got some nice toys in it too! looks like you Also have a few nice sets of rays/volk for Betty!

K

!

[SteamWolf]

Welcome! Good to see another modifier here

[Kerry]

Welcome aboard!

 

Nice collection, however we might have to have a chat with you about starting another track project though, and get you into the fold with a stinky 911!

 

 

Kerry

[murf]

Congrats on the purchase.

Sweet rides indeed - A little newschool for me but damn!

You've got good taste in wheels.

[t4orce]

It's amazing how a few little cosmetic updates on an early Boxster makes the car look fresh out of the showroom (don't compare interior with modern cars). Congratulations on the purchase.

[Harvs11]

Welcome Kammo.  BBS looks perfect on the Boxster.   1st gen 2.5 engine was supposedly under powered.  It depends what you compare it to.  You should find the drive becomes all about balance, not straight line grunt.  Enjoy.

[Uncle]

Yep those BBS look great!

[Digital Mouth]

Nice looking Boxster there.

Welcome to the real deal.

[SteveF]

Welcome Kammo. Nice little collection you have there.

[Kammo]

Maybe time to provide the "once-in-four-year" update, though I honestly can't believe it's been that long. The garage stayed more-or-less same-same until about the end of 2014. The venerable 350Z was pretty much done and either needed to be moved on or overhauled. Counting back over the course of its lifetime I figured she must have done well over 1000 laps at various circuits and it was starting to show. Meanwhile I'd figured out that I had doubled up on insurance on my bike but let insurance on the RX-8 lapse, there was just too much paperwork in managing so many...things. I decided it was time to clear the deck and have a re-think.

With all the cars sold by early 2015 I was a bit stuck as I hadn't really financially planned to make any serious changes. So I needed a car that was (relatively) cheap, one that I could drive daily as well as take to the track. It needed a modicum of practicality but also needed to eventually be as quick, or quicker than the Zed on the track; the best I could get out of the it at Winton was a 1:37. I like using Winton as a benchmark because I'm most familiar with that track, it's also a good measure of a car because you need handling and power to go fast there and Motor Magazine do PCOTY there so it's always fun to compare your times with their times (there's heaps of data online).

Ended up with the somewhat side-ways choice of a TT-RS, partly because I thought it'd be fun to try chop all my mate's with a hairdresser's car. With minimal mechanical fettling (but many hours spent setting up the suspension) this car turned out to be an absolute hammer, good for a 1:34 at Winton and faster than the Zed. Fitted with KW V3s the car was also really comfortable on the road and had all the mod-cons; sat-nav, bluetooth, etc. This was my daily for the better part of a year and ran without issue. But the TT doesn't really cater to my work, where I sometimes have to transport large(ish) objects, or my extra-curricular activities, where I have to carry sporting equipment, snowboards, mountain bikes, etc.

I picked up a company car September 2015, an ex-demo S3. The S3 has been great, I can fit 3 x 55-inch monitors in the back, snowboards, mountain bikes, people, just like a real car! Stage 1 tune gives it a claimed 0-100 time of about 4 seconds, which is way more than I need for a road-car, but you never know when you're going to need a back-up track car. I haven't personally tracked it at Winton but my girlfriend did a 2 minute lap, haha!

Threw the TT at World Time Attack last year, which was just a bit of fun. I'd never driven at SMSP before so decided that I might as well have a crack at a cool event. The goals were to not finish last and maybe see if I could go under 1:50. Drove up from Melbourne in the TT on the prescribed AD08Rs, did a 1:49.XX and then drove home the next morning, mission accomplished. 

Was now at a bit of a cross-roads with the TT. While it was super-fast it wasn't the most fun car in the sense that all my track cars have been RWD and I found the pretty basic haldex AWD in the TT wasn't exactly the final say in adjustability on the track. I guess the car felt really one-dimensional, even after all the Haldex and suspension modifications. Pretty sure this is down to the iron-block inline-5 sitting way ahead of the front strut towers and the best I could do was neutral-out with a bit of lift-off oversteer-in when pressed, though not in a quick way as it was quite snappy so I could never get the car properly pointed with that technique. 

I'd actually been hatching a bit of a plan / final solution though and a few months ago bit the bullet on a 997.1 GT3. Bought it in Adelaide, drove it to Winton and did a 1:40, boo. Struggling a bit with the rear-engine layout and the car didn't really like being trail-braked into any corner and would sometimes kick the rear out even without trail-braking. The tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport) didn't feel the best and quickly became heat-soaked, the inertia from the rear end felt a bit weird and the car wasn't going into 2nd gear.

Went home, tweaked the sway bars, bought some Hankook RS3s, got an alignment and then headed out to Haunted Hills where the car felt much better. Still wasn't going into 2nd gear under load so I purchased a transmission mount-insert and new semi-solid engine mounts. By this time the previous owner had sent his spare set of 18-inch wheels shod on Advan A050s.

So it was back to Winton again and the car did a 1:35 on the RS3s and a 1:33 on the A050s, which are now dead (maybe good for a day an anti clockwise track like Sandown or PI). Car now goes into second gear and the engine mounts have made a big difference in creating a more predictable moment of inertia at the rear, i.e. doesn't randomly kick out. Still a couple of seconds off the pace I think but having the motor in the back of the car requires a little bit of a rethink, which I am enjoying and definitely not bored; the car is really involving and stringing a good lap together really feels like an accomplishment. Currently really enjoying how you can go in under brakes and set the attitude of the rear end before getting back on the throttle, and how the whole process is so benign that when you get it wrong you wash off time but the car doesn't spin out or kill you, and how great it feels when you get it right...I think this one is definitely a keeper!

Well I guess that's it, will post an update sometime in the next four years...thanks for reading!

[Mike737]

Still a couple of seconds off the pace I think but having the motor in the back of the car requires a little bit of a rethink, which I am enjoying and definitely not bored; the car is really involving and stringing a good lap together really feels like an accomplishment. Currently really enjoying how you can go in under brakes and set the attitude of the rear end before getting back on the throttle, and how the whole process is so benign that when you get it wrong you wash off time but the car doesn't spin out or kill you, and how great it feels when you get it right...I think this one is definitely a keeper!

Well I guess that's it, will post an update sometime in the next four years...thanks for reading!

Who would have thought that having an engine out the back delivers ultimate fun

[grantmr]

So brave. @skidmarks, it's that corner again.

[Kammo]

Yeah it was super slippery coming out of that corner that day...normally you can just get the hammer down and it's plain sailing all the way to turn 3...this was a few weeks before "that" race though.

[edgy]

 

I'd actually been hatching a bit of a plan / final solution though and a few months ago bit the bullet on a 997.1 GT3. Bought it in Adelaide, drove it to Winton and did a 1:40, boo. Struggling a bit with the rear-engine layout and the car didn't really like being trail-braked into any corner and would sometimes kick the rear out even without trail-braking. The tyres (Michelin Pilot Sport) didn't feel the best and quickly became heat-soaked, the inertia from the rear end felt a bit weird and the car wasn't going into 2nd gear.

 

Went home, tweaked the sway bars, bought some Hankook RS3s, got an alignment and then headed out to Haunted Hills where the car felt much better. Still wasn't going into 2nd gear under load so I purchased a transmission mount-insert and new semi-solid engine mounts. By this time the previous owner had sent his spare set of 18-inch wheels shod on Advan A050s.

 

So it was back to Winton again and the car did a 1:35 on the RS3s and a 1:33 on the A050s, which are now dead (maybe good for a day an anti clockwise track like Sandown or PI). Car now goes into second gear and the engine mounts have made a big difference in creating a more predictable moment of inertia at the rear, i.e. doesn't randomly kick out. Still a couple of seconds off the pace I think but having the motor in the back of the car requires a little bit of a rethink, which I am enjoying and definitely not bored; the car is really involving and stringing a good lap together really feels like an accomplishment. Currently really enjoying how you can go in under brakes and set the attitude of the rear end before getting back on the throttle, and how the whole process is so benign that when you get it wrong you wash off time but the car doesn't spin out or kill you, and how great it feels when you get it right...I think this one is definitely a keeper!

Well I guess that's it, will post an update sometime in the next four years...thanks for reading!

Hell of an update, hopefully you hang around more though!  

I am tracking my 997.1 GT3 also, what I found helped with the behaviour you're describing is to rebuild the OEM LSD unit with the Guard transmission internals, and then added the GT2 RS ramps, I have it set to 40/60 bias, I was having issues with the rear getting very unsettled on straight line braking (particularly T1 at SMSP GP) the car feels planted and more compliant in transitions, I am able to brake later and trail brake into tighter turns in order to get the car to rotate, when you've apexed you can jump back on it hard and its planted, it goes where you point it. 

The main thing I can see with the Guard rebuild is the material they're made their friction plates from will allow the diff to have some preload in it, without damaging the friction plates, where as the OEM setup barely has preload, actual you will probably find your's (if stock) is open when not on the ramps . The OEM friction plates are just a sintered bronze plate, they won't take the preload that you'll get with the guard bellville washers. Also our ramps in the LSD suck, they don't have nearly enough angle in the ramp to achieve effective mechanical load to the plates. 

Consider your rear wing blade angle too for stability. 

Hope to run into you one day soon. 

Cheers  

[grantmr]

Yeah it was super slippery coming out of that corner that day...normally you can just get the hammer down and it's plain sailing all the way to turn 3...this was a few weeks before "that" race though.

It seems that every time I'm at Winton there's an incident on that corner... I've seen maybe 4-5 cars come to grief there and no where else on the track. It's right where all the spectators are too 

[Airhead]

It seems that every time I'm at Winton there's an incident on that corner... I've seen maybe 4-5 cars come to grief there and no where else on the track. It's right where all the spectators are too 

No wonder using lines like that. WAY too tight on exit.

[Kammo]

That line is the a result of the car sliding out just after the apex of turn 2, not the cause of the slide.

Hell of an update, hopefully you hang around more though!  

I am tracking my 997.1 GT3 also, what I found helped with the behaviour you're describing is to rebuild the OEM LSD unit with the Guard transmission internals, and then added the GT2 RS ramps, I have it set to 40/60 bias, I was having issues with the rear getting very unsettled on straight line braking (particularly T1 at SMSP GP) the car feels planted and more compliant in transitions, I am able to brake later and trail brake into tighter turns in order to get the car to rotate, when you've apexed you can jump back on it hard and its planted, it goes where you point it. 

The main thing I can see with the Guard rebuild is the material they're made their friction plates from will allow the diff to have some preload in it, without damaging the friction plates, where as the OEM setup barely has preload, actual you will probably find your's (if stock) is open when not on the ramps . The OEM friction plates are just a sintered bronze plate, they won't take the preload that you'll get with the guard bellville washers. Also our ramps in the LSD suck, they don't have nearly enough angle in the ramp to achieve effective mechanical load to the plates. 

Consider your rear wing blade angle too for stability. 

Hope to run into you one day soon. 

Cheers  

Thanks for the info, this is all quite helpful as the car feels fairly open-diffy so eventually this was going to be a modification...and yeah, I've fiddled with the rake on the rear wing already, haha.

Who would have thought that having an engine out the back delivers ultimate fun

This guy...one day we'll see your 911 at the track...haha

[edgy]

Thanks for the info, this is all quite helpful as the car feels fairly open-diffy so eventually this was going to be a modification...and yeah, I've fiddled with the rake on the rear wing already, haha.

no prob. 

We did one in @Robert930's 996 GT3 before last weekends SS, he noted it made a huge difference to the same effect as I described. 

I use to read about these LSD problems on Rennlist, dudes were waxing lyrical about the upgrade! I kind of found it hard to believe until I did it myself. 

I think I'm maxed out on the wing angle, so the next step is Cup uprights & wing or RS wing.... 

but in any case I am sure you agree, it's a very rewarding  car when you can string together a good lap! 

 

[Mike737]

This guy...one day we'll see your 911 at the track...haha

If only you had come along in Feb to the PFA track day at Sandown you would have seen it

[809]

This guy...