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Feb 7th 2011
Great news from Pneus Touchette for people who own GT3s with Center-Loc wheels or the conventional 5 bolt x 130 mm rims.
Nicolas informs me that they have an exclusive deal with ATS Germany for lightweight 18 inch forged aluminum wheels. These are German TUV approved (a very good thing) For track and even for street use, 18 inch wheels are a better choice than 19 inch ones. On the street the ride is superior, tires are more plentiful and a lot cheaper too. For track, the choice of 19 inch tires is restricted compared to 18 inch versions and the price of the 19 inch tires is upsetting to say the least.
The price is very attractive. I paid twice as much for my Speelines last year. It's worth giving Pneus Touchette a call!
Specs :
Front/Av. 18x9
46mm offset
Dark Gray /Gris foncé
5x130 or/ou CL
Rear/Arr. 18x11
Offset 55mm et 34mm pour wide body et régulier
Dark Gray/ Gris foncé
5x130 or/ou CL
Note 315/30/18 is the correct fit on an 11 inch rim.
315/30r18 est optimal sur une roue de 11 pouces en arrière….
Special pricing for PCA Club Members! Delivery in April.
..bob
December 10 2010
This is a story too good not to share! Thanks to Marie Petermann of UCR
Four guys have been going to the same car show for many years. Two
days before the group is to leave, Ron's wife puts her foot down and
tells him he isn't going.
Ron's friends are very upset that he can't go, but what can they do.
Two days later the three get to the car show only to find Ron sitting
there with his car all detailed.
"Dang man, how long you been here, and how did you talk your wife
into letting you go?"
"Well, I've been here since yesterday. Yesterday evening, I was
sitting in my chair and my wife came up behind me and put her hands
over my eyes and said, 'Guess who?'" I pulled her hands off, and she
was wearing a brand new nightie. She took my hand and pulled me to
our bedroom. The room had candles and rose petals all over. On the bed
she had handcuffs, and ropes! She told me to tie and cuff her to the
bed, and I did. And then she said, "Do whatever you want.".
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Here I am.December 9 2010
Who knew he was a poet?
Paul Jensen has talents beyond driving. I got this by email and it MUST be shared. Enjoy, and thanks Paul!
'Twas 2 weeks before Christmas at Sterling Steak house
Not a Porsche was stirring, it was quiet as a mouse;
The Sparcos were hung by the chimney with care,
In hope that Speedmerchants soon would be there;
The P-cars were nestled all snug in their beds
While visions of Tremblant danced in their heads;
And Dwayne in his helmet and I in my cap,
Argued that each other's cars were just crap,
When out on the street there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from the bar to see what was the matter.
Away to the parking lot we flew like a flash,
Two cops eating doughnuts thought we'd all lost our stash.
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow,
was almost as enticing as a St Catherine St. Ho,
When what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But a grey GT3, which at high speed came near,
With a lively old driver, doing an admirable job,
I knew in a moment it must be dear Bob!
More rapid than a Ferrari his Porsche it came,
And when he saw all his friends he called them by name,
"Now Michael! Now Andy!, Now Charles and Stephane!
On, Derek! On Dwayne! On Manny, and Michel!
To the end of Pit Lane, to the top of the wall!
Now drive away! Drive away! Drive away all!
Merry Christmas all!
December 6th
Extended Warranty now available
Porsche brings all of us a Christmas gift. As of now you can purchase an extended factory warranty on your existng car. This is a new thing. Previously available only if you purchased a used car from a dealer.
To be elegible, your car must be inspected by a dealer and approved for the warranty. Expect to pay about $3,500 - it may vary from model to model - for two years extension and I think up to 100,000 KM. Great news as far as I'm concerned.
..bob
November 26 2010
It is now confirmed. Porsche will bring in a "Special Edition" GT3 RS. The car will be shown first in Europe and should show up here around April or May.
..Bob
November 17 2010
The Cayman R is now official and will be introduced today at the LA Auto show. Porsche has a microsite with some details.
The new Cayman is essentially a hard top version of the Boxster Spyder. Power is up by ten HP, weight reduction using the same sport buckets as the GT3 RS, aluminum door panels and no radio or AC. The latter can be added back as no cost options I believe. No idea of pricing in Canada yet but I expect the premium to be similar to that of the Boxster Spyder over the regular Boxster.
GT3 RS "special"
I now have confirmation that there will be a limited production version of the GT3 RS. Rumors abound about 500 HP. I doubt the power figure myself but I think we can expect some carbon fiber panels from the GT2 RS to find their way onto the RS special or whatever it will be called.
Based on how PAG does things, I expect them to add all sorts of bling carbon fiber options on the inside as they make a last attempt to clean out their parts bins before introducing the 991. Expect cars to show up in the spring of 2011 and a price of 50-60K over the current GT3RS. Hey, having an exclusive model is never cheap! I am thinking that there will be a modent HP boost as well, but 500 HP is suspect.
Bob
November 10 2010
Now that the track season is over, I can devote more time to writing. Between a lot of track days and acting as Registrar, things were a little busy all summer.
Track season was a success again this year and I'm pleased to say that we ended the season with a small surplus in spite of having reduced event fees. There was at least on person who was convinced that we'd lose a lot of money this season - the amount of $55,000 was mentioned. He was wrong.
Center Lock Wheels
God bless Porsche - they have decided to fit those $#@!ing centerlocks to almost all new cars going forward. They are presently standard equipment on the GT3 and RS. I hate them! In fact everyone who has them, hates them. Firstly yoou need an ungodly expensive giant torque wrench to operate the centerlock. Don't count on on CAA or a typical garage to have one if you're stuck on the road with a flat either.
Secondly after what I have to assume were problems, Porsche issued an emergency bulletin to dealers which increased the torque spec by 100 newton meters. This means roughly 500 foot lbs. Even with a giant torque wrench this is hard work. But it gets better, when you tighten the damn things the wheels must be off the ground and a helper pressing the brake pedal. Convenient don't you think? Everytime a wheel is removed we are supposed to lube the interior of the centerlock with some stuff only available from the dealer - it costs around $30 bucks for a tube similar to the toothpaste you have at home.
Before putting your wheels back on, make sure to tighten the screws that hold the rotor on. There are five of them. They come loose and if not snugged back into position they stick oout enough to damage the inside of your wheels when yoou torque them. Lovely.
In sum, I much prefer the old five studs or bolts which were a heck of a lot faster and easier to handle. I am told that PAG will be proving centerlocks on the new 991 version of the 911 which will show up here next year. A bad idea in my book.
A Warning From Le Circuit
I received an email from Vince - he advises people who are solicited to attend track events to check with Le Circuit before paying for them. I gather that people are trying to promote track days and collent money in advance without having a contract with the track. A few months ago, one of our Directors got a call from someone who was asking about a Charity track day on Oct 16th at Le Circuit. Apparently he and a dozen or more people had paid in advance and had not received confirmation nor any details. Obviously this was not a Rennsport event and in fact might have been a scam. Unless you are dealing with a well established club like Rennsport, BWM, Audi, NER PCA, it would be wise to check with the track to make sure there really is an event booked.
Bob
Folks,
Since we haven't had an Auspuff in a long time - we need an Editor and someone to help with translation - please!!
Here are some of the columns which you would have seen in our Club magazine. Some of this stuff is stale now - some isn't.
Best,
Bob
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Rennsport Rendezvous June 2010
2010 Off to a big start:
Ground School at Circuit ICAR was a record breaker. We had 75 odd drivers and about 30 more who came to watch. My compliments to our Instructor team who managed to run all the exercises on time. Comments after the event were very favorable and judging by the registration for our big track events, we managed to give people a taste of what high performance driving is all about.
What maybe a first for many years, the weather was perfect. There’s a story there. Our original plan was to hold the event on April 17th. There was a conflict so we moved it to the 24th of April. If you remember back that far, the 17th was cold and wet – typical ground school weather while the 24th was sunny and warm. I think we’ll switch dates again next year!
I suspect that by the time you read this we’ll have had our May event. Is it a sign of the improved economy? I’m not sure but registrations are higher than ever for all our events. Sadly we have way more novices than we can accept – we are limited to 25 in the Green run group. For novices, the May event sold out in a matter of weeks, and June is full already!
Speaking of registration, please remember that drivers in all groups except Green and Red are expected to visit Clubregistration.net and pay at least one month before the event. Green drivers should wait to be advised that there is room while Red (instructors) need to pay 5 weeks before the event.
Since quite a few have asked, we have two events in July. The first is Thursday – Friday- Saturday at Calabogie. This is a joint event with NER (North East Region PCA). Use Clubregistration to sign up but look for PCA – NER to find the event.
The second is a two day event on July 17-18 at Le Circuit and registration is in the usual place on Clubreg.
Oil Changes on New Cars:
Twice now my car was overfilled with oil when I had the oil changed. It seems that dealers and some independents are not aware that the new DFI engines in the 911 and Boxster/Cayman take only 8 liters of oil instead of ten. Excess oil is a bad thing and can damage your engine. You’ll get a warning, in the display you’ll see a “Check Engine Oil” message. When you check the oil level it will show full beyond the top bar. If this happens to you do not drive hard and get the excess oil drained out as soon as possible.
Our first Tech Session:
Was held at Pneus Touchette and the subject was (guess) tires! Nic Touchette introduced us to his Motorsport Team – the folks that manage our wheels and tires both in town and at the track. Great folks! We also got a tour of the huge facility – over 80,000 tires in stock at that location alone and, they have two more! When not instructing at Rennsport events, Nic has kept busy expanding the family business – they have multiple retail outlets as well deals with OEMs like BMW and Porsche. When your dealer stores your tires for the winter, where do you think they end up? Yup, at Touchette. They also stock OEM tires for various brands which are unavailable at conventional retail tire outlets. So when your BMW needs a new tire, guess who they call? That helps explain why Touchette has 80 trucks on the road
After the tour we were treated to a wonderful buffet dinner – mit vino! Thereafter Yves Day from Pirellii gave us a great presentation on tires, how they are made and what makes Pirelli Special. He was assisted by noted racer Jean Francois Veilleux – motorsport consultant to Pirelli who explained the features and benefits of the new Pirelli Tropheo R compound track tire. I was a big fan of the Pirelli Corsa track tire which has been replaced by the Tropheo which looks to be outstanding. They should be here by the time you read this but only in 19 inch Porsche sizes at first.
Yves showed us cross sections of tires which had been taken apart to show all the different layers. Fascinating! I learned stuff I never knew. For instance trailers which do not have shock absorbers on the axle(s) must use bias ply tires. Tires which begin with a P in the designation are Passenger Car tires. There are also LT – light truck and ST – service trailer. The latter are design to be able to turn sharply with minimum drag.
Have you ever wondered why Pirelli uses the “P0” designation for their high performance tires? I figured it was just a designation that marketing had come up with. I was wrong.
Radial tires have layers which lie at 90 degrees to the direction of travel. As a tire rotates at high speed the tire tends to grow larger in diameter. While this is a good thing on a dragster it is undesirable on a Porsche. To counter this, Pirelli wrap the tire with nylon cord in the direction of travel. Why nylon? When a tire rolls at high speed it not only wants to grow larger but it gets hotter – the heat makes the air in the tire expand which makes the tire want to grow more. Nylon tends to shrink when it gets hot. By wrapping the tire with nylon cord, the tire is better constrained to its correct size and as it gets hotter the nylon tends to shrink to keep the original shape even better. Pirelli invented this technique and patented it.
Now back to the question, why P- Zero? Since the cord is wrapped in the direction of travel, the cord is at Zero degrees to the rotation, unlike the radial belts which are at 90 degrees. Cool n’est-ce-pas?
Again many thanks To Nicolas Touchette and his team for a great evening!
New Board Member:
Please welcome Andy Evangelides who takes over the Social Chair from Marc Babin. Andy is well known for organizing the Crescent Street F1 event – a hit with many of our members. Apparently it won’t happen this year, much to Andy’s displeasure, the Merchant’s Association were persuaded by another marque – Ford I think, to showcase their cars. Damn!
I’m confident that Andy will come up with other fun things for us to do over this summer. Watch the monthly news letter and our website for more news as it breaks.
New 911 Speculation:
A new 911 is in the wings. Expect the Porsche 991 to go on sale in the fall of 2011. That’s not a typo is is the nine nine one. There have been a few spy photos released on the internet but the cars are heavily disguised. One of the things that intrigues me is the fact that Porsche has made the wheel-base longer. I’ve been wondering why. It’s only a few inches mind you, so making rear seats usable for adults is out of the question. Are they planning on increasing the engine size? How about making room for an extra cylinder on each side – a flat 8 would be so cool. I love the sound they make when the Porsche 910 race cars go by. Another possibility is that they’re making room for batteries – a hybrid! They are racing a hybrid cup car at the 24 hours of Nurburgring this summer.
With the draconian EPA regulations passed in the USA, Porsche is kinda screwed. The new Corporate Average Fuel Economy rules are impossibly high for Porsche cars. Worse they cannot average across the VW fleet in spite of being the same company. Porsche and VW did not join early enough to be permitted to average. The rules are obviously tilted in favor of American Manufacturers, especially GM or Government Motors as they are known. For example if a car has the right wheelbase and track, it is exempt from the new rules. If you guess that a Corvette happens to have the right measurements you would be correct.
Porsche is going to find some way around the 37 MPG (US) standard. There is talk of 4 cylinder turbos for the Boxster/Cayman and even a new entry level Porsche based on a VW design (shades of the 914!). I imagine a hybrid may be part of the solution giving high performance but low fuel consumption on the rather artificial EPA test cycle. Keep watching!
Ordering a Car?
Think about opting for Alcantara sun visors. Why you may ask?
Because those %$#@ hideous yellow and black Air-bag stickers can be easily peeled off the suede like material. With leather or the regular vinyl, good luck! Not only are the stickers so thin and so securely glued on to the vinyl they are sliced into tiny pieces so that if you manage to lift a section all you get off is a tiny sliver. They really want those ugly things to stay on.
Roll Bar For Track?
If you are a hard-core trackie, you may want to fit a roll bar and harnesses to your car. Believe it or not, dealers in North America are no longer allowed to sell the Porsche roll bar from Tequipment. Likewise the single piece “GT3” buckets have disappeared, replaced by lovely GT2 seats with carbon fiber backs. They even tilt forward – but at an eye watering price. If you’re in this predicament, I suggest you visit www. Carnewal.com
Over the years I have bought lots of stuff from Gert and you can still get all the Porsche goodies from him.
Staying or Dining Near LCMT?
At the end of last season, I had dinner at Coq de La Montagne. That’s the hotel on the main street just a few hundred yards from the track entrance on Seguin. I used to stay there in the old days before Intrawest. I had forgotten how good the food is and how friendly Nino and his wife are. With a beautiful deck overlooking the lake, it’s worth a visit. I intend to be there frequently during our events. He makes a great martini too!
..bob – see you at the track!
Rennsport Rendezvous Jan 2010
Happy New Year Everyone!
Wow – things seem to be moving fast, it seems not so long ago that I put away the car for the winter and here we are in January and I’m already looking forward to the next driving season.
Speaking of putting the car away, too late for this year but I’ve been following some discussions about ethanol blended fuel. In spite of the fact that Porsche is OK with 10 percent ethanol, it seems that if given a choice they would prefer straight gasoline. This is especially true for cars which are driven infrequently. The problem is water accumulation which is worse with ethanol blends than plain gasoline.
If left for a period of months, the water separates and leaves water in the bottom of you tank. Porsche suggests never letting your fuel level drop to the point where the low fuel warning light comes on to avoid ingestion of water.
Based on visiting oil company web sites, it appears that Shell is the only company which does not use ethanol in Canada. Our cars run fine on 91 octane, especially in cold weather. For cars calling for 93 octane like any of the GT2 and GT3s as well as Carrera S models we probably don’t have much choice during the summer especially at Driver Ed events. On the other hand, I will fill my tank with 91 octane Shell for winter storage. If you car does not call for 93 octane or better, the Shell V-Power might be the best choice.
A Must read Book!
My son gave me a copy of “The Art Of Racing In the Rain”. It is arguably the best thing I have read in a long-long time. Don’t let the title fool you, it isn’t another “how to drive” book although there are lots of tips interspersed through the story.
It is the story of talented but not well-to-do Porsche racer. What makes it special is the fact that the story is written by his dog Enzo, an Airdale Lab mix. If you like dogs, you will love this book. If you like cars and dogs, it will go to the top of your all time best list. I could not put it down.
GT3 oddities
First there is some good news. Canadian dealers who have customers for the 2010 GT3 and RS are getting a larger than expected allocation. In addition, we are getting them before the US. One of the reasons I'’ve heard is that US dealers had quite a few 2009 GT3’s in stock and wanted to clear them before getting the 2010 models. For whatever reason, Rennsport is likely to be the region with the most 2010 RS and GT3s at the track.
Now for something really odd. I suppose many of you have cars with the “Homelink” system. That’s the series of buttons which can be programmed to open garage doors, gates etc. Very handy if only because they never fall off the visor in the esses.
Believe it or not, GT3 models including the RS will not have the Homelink option available. The same cars shipped to the USA will. So a 997 Carrera or Cayenne has Homelink available but not an RS? I have no idea why this is, but it is one of those “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” moments!
GT3 Cups!
DE will be a little more exciting than ever this year. Four of our members have purchased brand new 2009 Cup cars! They have formed a team – complete with a logo called the “Wild Hogs”. Congrats to Andre Belzille, Eric Lacouture, Denis Paradis and Robert Boies. With a similar number of new GT3 RS, our events will be something of a car show.
GT2 Rear brake Ducts:
The 997 GT3 and RS (2007-2008) have been accused of having excessive wear on the rear rotors and pads. The 996 GT cars had brakes which were heavily biased towards the front and front rotors were replaced nearly as often as pads. That problem was cured by adding the Cup car brake ducts to the front and using Pagid Yellow pads in front with Pagid Black (RS 14) in the rear. The more aggressive rear pads improved the brake balance and the net result was better braking with longer rotor life.
The situation on the 997 mark 1 (i.e. pre 2009) is that Porsche corrected the brake bias problem. On the other hand, drivers with a heavy right foot often invoked traction control which applied one or the other of the rear brakes. The combination of the bias and traction control intervention results in pads and rotors which wear prematurely. Some people complain that th rears wear out twice as fast as the fronts!
On the 997 GT2 the factory added rear brake cooling ducts. These have been shown to reduce temperatures by as much as 500 degrees F. Lower rotor temps are a good thing and there are rumors of excess brake heat causing cracks in the rear wheels themselves. My thanks to Ron Green of Campbell garage for this tip.
April 25 - Ground School ICAR
Perfect weather for once. There's a story there. If anyone remembers the lousy weather on April 17th - cold and rain, our Ground School was originally planned for the 17th. A date conflict with the Theory sessions had us move it to the 24th. Maybe we fooled the weather gods for once?
We had the biggest turn-out ever. There were 78 drivers! Bruce Gregory ran this event with a great team of Instructors and Instructor Trainees and in spite of the sell-out crowd,managed to run everything on schedule. Comments from the participants were very favorable and we all had a great time.
The ICAR clubhouse is outstanding, great decor and a huge bar - which was enjoyed by folks after the track closed. The one snag was the lack of ladies bathrooms. I guess ICAR targets men mostly. The ICAR track is an ideal teaching environment - it is after all a driving academy. A good mix of fast and slow corners and the reference markers added this year made it more pleasant than ever.
Lunch was provided by Les Reataurants Benny and enjoyed by everyone - delicioous hot chicken box lunches with a choice of leg or breast thank you. Thanks to perfect timing by Marc Antoine Benny they werre served hot to 127 people!
I'd like to thank our Instructors and ITs who worked so hard to make this event a success. Teaching in 6 consecutive sessions was hard work! Well done guys!
Best,
..bob
April 18 Helmets for DE - Casques pour CCA
Contrary to the info in the Track Info Package, Rennsport will accept Snell 2000 helmets this season. This is the last year for the 2000 models.
Contrairement au infos dans nos ducuments, les casques Snell 2000 seront valables cette saison. L'an prochain if faudra les casques Snell 2005 ou (mieux) 2010.
Update - the track info package has been corrected by our Communications Director, Michel Beaudoin.
..bob
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.April 17 2010
Outstanding Tech Session at Pneus Touchette April 15th
About 2 dozen Rennsport members attended and thoroughly enjoyed a very informative session on tires and tire technology.
We got a tour of the immense facilities – over 85,000 tires in stock at the St Lawrence Blvd location alone and an update on their commercial expansion with new retail outlets and tie-ins to automobile manufacturers. Nic Touchette was our host and proudly explained that all this began with his father – selling tires out of his basement - if you can believe it!
It was nice meeting the Motorsport and Customer Service staff who take such good care of us on and off the track. I finally met the gals who organize our appointments and logistics of sending track wheels/tires to our events. They have always been very helpful and now we know they are very good looking as well!
Yves Day from Pirelli gave a technical presentation on Pirelli Tires. I learned a lot. He had tires cut away in sections so we could see the complex construction of the various layers, very cool. Did you know that you cannot use a radial tire on a trailer which doesn’t have shock absorbers? I didn’t either.
We found out where the famous P0 designation came from. Radial tires have belts which are laid 90 degrees to the direction of travel. The P0 has additional reinforcement consisting of strands of nylon wound around the circumference in the direction of travel, i.e., Zero Degrees hence P0. The nylon cords shrink when they get hot which helps prevent the tire from bulging (increased diameter) and resist centrifugal force. Very clever and a Pirelli patent.
I also learned more about tire designations, for example a P305/30/Z18Y. We all know about the numbers and perhaps even the Z which designates a tire capable of running at a sustained 240 KPH. The “Y” at the end is interesting though, it signals that the tire should never exceed 300 KPH. The amount of centrifugal force a tire has to resist at that speed is immense.
Jean Francois Veilleux (noted professional race-car driver and Pirelli consultant) gave us the low down on the new Tropheo R compound tire. I have been a fan of the Corsa R compound track tire for many years. The Tropheo is the latest incarnation and promises even better wet and dry grip. Outstanding ..except that it won’t be available for another month or so and then, only in 19 inch sizes at first.
Did I mention the delightful buffet dinner and wine served? Terriffic! I can’t cover everything we learned that night and suggest that the next time we do this you make a point of attending!
Many thanks to Nic Touchette and his staff for a great evening!
..bob
=========================
March 18th 2010
Clubregistration.net is going well. Lots of action for ICAR and DEs. A few people who signed up for Ground School at ICAR have paid only $10. If you are intending to drive, the event costs $60 and includes lunch. The "additional meal option" is for people who want to bring a guest. That way they don't have to stand around and watch you eat:D
Big news, Clubreg has a new feature, at the bottom of every page you can select language. The default is English but you can choose French, German etc. The translation is provided by Google so don't expect perfect grammar!!
February 25th, 2010
Let's try again - technical glitches wiped out the rest of my entry last time! Porsche Cars Canada is adjusting the prices of cars sold in Canada to reflect the stronger Canadian dollar. The price reduction applies only to cars being purchased, i.e. no deal if you are leasing the car. Don't ask me why, I don't know.
The added discount applies even to cars ordered by customers, so if for example, you ordered a new RS you can expect to pay about $6,000 less than the price you agreed to on the contract. Nice!
In other news, bringing a car in from the US will be more expensive. As in the past, you will need a Porsche dealer to legitimize a US car imported here. Last I heard, it cost about $1,250 plus any work needed such as day-time running lights, bilingual air bag stickers and so on. Apparently the cost will go up this year by a lot, I've heard whispers of something like $8,000! So, before buying in the US, check with a dealer to see what the real cost will be!
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