2003 Porsche 911 Turb-OOOOH

In reply to TED_fiestaHP :

The boots were on all the bleeders.  The fluid was so old it had garbage in it and had blocked two of the bleeders.  Luckily I was able to get the Motive to blow it out.

I'm going to have to flush the coolant next, I'm sure that stuff is older than the brake fluid I just replaced.  Not looking foward to that job, apparently getting the system burped of all the air is a real PITA.

I can definitively say that Porsche 911 ownership is unique as the reality exceeds the fantasy.

In reply to Ovid_and_Flem :

Haha!  For sure!  Especially since I've had this car up on a pedestal in my mind for over 30 years...

Ok, boxes of parts showed up yesterday!  Brake pads were the priority item, so up onto the bridge jacks it went again.

Pad swap was pretty easy, not as easy as the older Porsche multi piston calipers that had the "iron cross" pad retainer but still pretty easy.  No pics tho, my wife gave me the "How long you gonna be out here?" so I was trying to get done ASAP.

Wheels off, rear spacers off as I don't need them with the factory turbo twists.  Pull the small retaining clip, then while depressing the pad retaining spring, use a screwdriver to push the bolt out.  Pull off the pad retaining clip, carefully remove the brake pad warning sensors and zip tie them out of the way.  The PFC pads don't have a spot for them.

Spread the pads, remove the old and pop in the new.  Assembly is the opposite, as they say.

Turbo twists with Toyo R888's go on, then I have to drive the car out to the middle of nowhere so I can bed the pads in.  One of the drawbacks of living in suburbia, too much density around me to do that.

Brakes feel phenomenal!

Today is the "Largest Gathering" of Porsches, as long as the lift guy can get my lift cables balanced quickly, I'll go. 

Tomorrow I'll install my new air filter, "frunk" struts and bumper plugs.  Then at some point I should do spark plugs, coil packs and a coolant flush.

In reply to docwyte :

Suburbia fluburbia...do brake bedding in the 'hood.  On a cul-de-sac  if possible. If gendarmes give chase, so?  Because Porsche.  There is no substitute.

I live on a cul de sac.  Not sure I could get up to the necessary speed in time tho!  Neighbor came over with his 3 sons as I was working on the car.  Pretty fun to show the little boys the car.

In reply to docwyte :

At a Cars and Coffee about 8 or so years ago an older gentleman came up to my car with his grandson. About 8 years old. Grandfather told me that his kid dreamed about red Porsche 911 S. I told the kid go ahead you can sit in it. He got in and was in and was beaming. When he got out I reached in my pocket and pulled out the keys, handed them to his grandpa and said why don't you take him for a ride down the road. Made that kids day I think. Probably Grandpa also from the looks on their faces when they came back.

That's an awesome thing to do!

In reply to docwyte :

Well, in my defense, at the time it was just an old ratty used Porsche. Now that is a collectible and pricey? Probably would do the same damn thing if I had to do it over. At the end of the day it's just a car and the excitement of a young kid is far more valuable.

Besides Grandpa was driving a pretty nice little Triumph tr250.

My broken record comment - if you want to head-off the bi-metallic corrosion that occurs between the stainless steel door striker plates and the normal steel of the body it's wise to grab a couple of (standard VW) gaskets, buzz the strikers off, install gaskets and re-mount the strikers.

In reply to Dammit :

Got a part #?

In reply to Dammit :

Cool, thanks!  They come two to a pack, or individual?

So a little maintenance today getting ready for my track day tomorrow.

First up, replacing the frunk struts.  I can tell they're getting a little weak.  Easy on and off.

Next up the tail lights have a nasty habit of breaking around their mounts.  I checked mine and sure enough, 3 out of four mounting holes were cracked.  You can buy a plastic bracket called a "light saver" that just bolts right on top, keeps your lights from falling out, which seems like a good idea.

Next up was to replace the air filter.  You have to remove the entire airbox for this but luckily it's really easy.  One 13mm bolt up front, un plug the MAF, loosen the hose clamp on the MAF and remove the airbox.  Then 9 screws hold the airbox together, out with the old, in with the new.

Wasn't super dirty but fairly dirty and I cleaned out a bunch of leaves from the airbox itself.

Lastly I wanted to wire in my Traqmate.  Posting on Rennlist I was told there's a unused harness behind the center console meant for a cell phone.  It's got switched power and ground, perfect for what I need.  So I found the harness, verified power to it and then tapped it for my Traqmate.  Tried to turn the Traqmate on, no power!  Checked at that harness again, no power!

Also noticed that my radio would only pulse "Porsche" on it, no sound.  WTF!  Started checking the fuses and they all seemed fine.  Posted to Rennlist and searched there, found more fuses to check.  Found one blown, replaced it and the radio now works again.  Whew!

Question is, do I replace the factory 7.5 amp fuse with a 10 amp fuse and reconnect my Traqmate?  I'd really like it installed so I can see my lap times but its not worth it if I'm going to fry my radio.  Thoughts?

Very cool. Congratulations. 

Take power from the fag lighter?

Figured out the Traqmate wiring.  Talked to Kevin at Ultimate Motorwerks and he recommended using the cigarette lighter circuit as its stand alone and a 20-30 amp circuit.

I remembered that I had some cigarette lighter adapter power cords from my multiple Battery Tenders kicking around that I could use.  Bonus is that they're already wired with an inline fuse, score!

So, plug in the adapter....

Wire it into the Traqmate...

Result!

Next up is to see if I have a suction cup windshield mount for my GoPro2.  If I do, I can also hook up the video feed for the Traqmate. 

Found the GoPro windshield mount!  So have that installed and I'm charging the GoPro right now.  Will have data and video for tomorrow.  Cleaned up the wiring a little bit and also loaded the frunk.  I removed the spare tire, that gave me a bunch more space.

Managed to fit my 5 gallon fuel jug, torque wrench, tupperware full of track stuff and helmet in there.  Also found a good spot to store my numbers.  Ready to go!

Doc if/when you get ready to let that one go I’d love a shot at it.  You’re the type of owner I like to buy from when it comes to Porsches.

Remember, fuses are there to protect wiring (and by extension the rest of the car) not the devices.  If a circuit uses a 7.5 amp fuse, it's because that's all the wire gauge will support.  Luckily, Kevin at Ultimate Motorwerks interceded.

docwyte said:

In reply to Dammit :

Cool, thanks!  They come two to a pack, or individual?

IIRC, one - at somewhere around the £0.47 per unit price point.

+£5,000 respray if the rot has started, in my case

If you've had that Motive Power Bleeder for years, you need to replace that hose on it right now. It will fail and it will be bad.

In reply to Woody :

Yeah, I probably should.  It's pretty old.

So, track day today was very successful!  Nothing broke, I kept the car on the pavement at all times and I had fun.

First off, this thing is a freaking missile on the track.  I was driving very conservatively and left the PSM (traction control) on every session as this is my first rear engine car and I really didn't want to leave the track surface.  Really hot today, close to 100F ambient. 

Knocked a 2:10 in my first session in the car without really trying.  Damn, once I figure this car out, a 2:05 is there for the taking!  I was hitting over 125mph on the back straight and that was at the "5" brake marker. 

Second session it was much hotter out and I started to lean on the car a little bit.  At that point the car and I were fighting one another some, PSM was stepping in and I wasn't happy.

Third session I grabbed a friend who owns a Porsche shop and has a lot of rear engine experience.  He helped me clean up a few lines and begin to make the mental transition from front engine to rear engine dynamics.  Basically, the car wants throttle, like all the time!  Brake, on the gas constant throttle, set the car, dial in more and more throttle as you go around the turn.  Then it'll stick the nose and pull through the turn.  I also dropped the front tire pressures 2 psi, which made a huge difference.

Last session was much the same, although I took it really easy since it was the last session.  Ran a 2:11, lots still on the table. 

Car is a seriously thirsty pig tho.  I filled up at the station about 18 miles from the track and I brought 5 gallons with me.  I blew thru all of that and ended my last session a bit early as the gauge was showing 1/8th left.  Clearly I need to bring 10 gallons of fuel with me to the track now.

Super happy tho, car ran great and I'm beginning to figure out the rear engine handling a bit.  Got all the stuff back into the car and put the street pads and wheels/tires on it.  Just need to wash the car and my track wheels tomorrow and it's all good.

I'll try and download my Traqmate data/video and post something up.