Lime Rock Park trip report

Sun Sep 23 17:34:04 PDT 2012

What you will also feel is much better balance and nearly scalpel like handling in the boxster.
As for power, the "S" closes the gap a lot.  I have a base 2.7. Its not fast. But that's a challenge on the track. 
Chasing down GT3s in the turns is a great rush.

Nice comment about the boxster's back seat. Nearly as useful as the 911s.

Yet the 911s rear trunk is not nearly a useful as the boxster's - at least for a bag  of golf clubs.

For the money difference, i don't think there's much comparison.  Unless the back seat allow you to convince her that you can take the kids in your new ride.

Grant

On Sep 23, 2012, at 8:04 PM, Cody Forbes wrote:

> A Boxster feels about the same inside as a 996 to me. The rear seats of a
> 996 are only a touch more useful than the rear seats of a Boxster - they'll
> hold grocery bags and not much else. The big thing you'll notice between the
> two is the Boxster has a lack of power, but really all of those engines have
> such a smooth power curve that none of the non-turbo cars feel as quick as
> they actually are. With all wet sump Porsche engines you need to be very
> aware of potential oiling system problems. It's wise to leave room in the
> budget for any or all of the various fixes documented here:
> http://www.lnengineering.com/accusump.html
> 
> -Cody
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lee Levitt [mailto:lee at wheelman.com] 
> Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 9:29 PM
> To: Cody Forbes
> Cc: Grant Lenahan; Quattro List
> Subject: Re: Lime Rock Park trip report
> 
> What a blast...this was my 5th and 6th day on the track (after 10 years of
> autocrossing on an intermittent basis).
> 
> My son is taking my A4 tomorrow, so I need to start looking for a new car.
> (I have a '99 A6 as an alternate DD and winter car).
> 
> As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago on the list, I'm thinking about a
> 2002 911 (996). I should also probably think about a 2001-2003 Boxster S.
> 
> The 911 is a better daily driver for me, while the Boxster is probably a
> better autocross/track car. For the next couple of years I'm probably
> looking at 2-3 track days a year, plus a couple of autocross events. I'd
> probably have to put a rollcage on the Boxster.
> 
> 3 years out, my daughter will be out of college and I can devote a bit more
> time (money) to playing. Maybe a couple more DE or more autocross events,
> maybe at some point a dedicated track/autoX car (but still street legal).
> 
> I recently drove my first 996 and loved it; haven't driven a Boxster yet.
> Moving from an A4, a Boxster may feel very small.
> 
> 996 should run about $20K, Boxster in the $10-12K ballpark.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Lee
> 
> On 9/22/2012 7:32 PM, Cody Forbes wrote:
>> I'm participating more and more in Audi club DE's, been sponsoring a few
> recently even. Potomac region has one at VIR in November I'll be at and
> Georgia region is doing their first stand alone HPDE at the new Atlanta
> Motorsports Park in a few weeks. If you attend I'm easy to track down... I'm
> the guy in the A5 that is passing all of the Corvettes and Porsches* ;-).
> Potomac runs a good show and has their stuff together, Georgia is an
> awesomely nice group of guys whom have much potential.
>> 
>> -Cody Forbes
>> * - except for the GT2 run by Potomac's chief instructor. GT3s on
> R-compounds depend on the driver quality but easily leave on the straights.
>> 
>> 
>> On Sep 21, 2012, at 7:52 PM, Grant Lenahan<glenahan at vfemail.net>  wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> Glad you enjoyed your HPDE with PCA. I run with my local chapter, NNJR.
> We encourage and welcome non-Porsches at both DE and AutoX, and, i think run
> among the most professional and safe events out there.  Size helps - and
> NNJR recognizes that all our non-P car friends help make it a viable and
> sustainable program!
>>> 
>>> I love LRP too.  In my (slow, old, base) boxster, i'm relatively quick
> through the twisty bits --- esses, Big Bend, West Bend.  I'm overlay
> cautious, with good reason, in the downhill and i'm just plain power limited
> int he straights.  But its a far more complex and rewarding course than its
> 1.52 mile length or  relatively few turns indicate.  and yes, its historic.
> Very.
>>> 
>>> The problem with LRP is that its expensive, hard to get dates at, and so
> close to NYC and the tri-state metro area that everyone wants to go.
>>> 
>>> Join us at some remote but wonderful tracks like VIR (early Nov.) or 
>>> Mid -Ohio (May)
>>> 
>>> Grant
>>> 
>>> On Sep 21, 2012, at 6:48 PM, Lee Levitt wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> I attended a two day High Performance Driver Education event put on by
> the North Country Region of the Porsche Club at Lime Rock this week. Tuesday
> evening a friend and I caravanned out to western Mass, had dinner at an
> excellent Japanese restaurant in Great Barrington and then headed south to
> Lakeville, CT, where Lime Rock Park is located. Tuesday evening we had some
> pretty heavy weather...fortunately, we got most of the driving done before
> it started.
>>>> 
>>>> Wednesday morning started out damp but with no further precipitation. We
> arrived at the track at 7, unloaded our cars and went through tech
> inspection. At 8:15 the club held the mandatory driver's meeting, focusing
> on safety and the programmatic aspects of the day. At 10:30 I got my first
> of four runs in for the day. Each run is about 25 minutes or so, or
> approximately 10-15 laps, depending on speed, traffic, etc. A full out race
> car will lap the 1.5 mile course in just under a minute...my best time was
> just under 1 minute 14 seconds (although this is *not* timed event or a
> race.).
>>>> 
>>>> Day One was great...we got reacquainted with the course and I picked up
> some tips from my instructors. Stay in fourth gear for the uphill, into the
> turn at the top of the hill. Seemed to be faster and cleaner. Is Big Ben a
> single or double apex turn? Don't know...let's try both!
>>>> 
>>>> Day Two started out beautiful. Fog in the low lying areas, with the
> hills poking through. Just gorgeous. New instructor had some things for me
> to try...different lines through Big Ben, shifting into third for the uphill
> (definitely faster!). Then he asks "do you want to solo?"
>>>> 
>>>> Yikes. Leave the comfort of a knowledgeable instructor and venture out
> solo among the GT3s, Cayman Rs, 911 Twin Turbos and a couple of hot
> Mustangs? No!!!
>>>> 
>>>> I mean Yes!!!
>>>> 
>>>> Last two runs of the day were solo. Without a ride-along instructor, I
> found that I was able to focus 100% on the task at hand...no voice in my
> helmet over the intercom, no noticing the instructor bracing for a turn...
>>>> 
>>>> So I found myself driving full out on a historic race track. Paul
> Newman's home track. The track where Sir Stirling Moss held court only a
> couple of weeks ago! What an unbelievable experience. And my last run was
> the last of the two days...and half the cars had left...so it seemed like I
> had the track to myself. Unbelievable!
>>>> 
>>>> Then it was time to load up the car and head home. This was the last 
>>>> hurrah for me with this car...on Sunday, it's moving over to my son 
>>>> and I will start looking for a new fun car in earnest. It has done 
>>>> well...more than a few people were surprised at how well a little 
>>>> 1.8 turbo Audi avant did over the two days...almost keeping up with 
>>>> the big Porsches and other high performance iron! While I did wear 
>>>> my arm out giving point bys on the straight, I did keep up pretty 
>>>> well in the twisties and perhaps embarrassed more than one Porsche 
>>>> owner who could not keep up with the little Audi. :)
>>>> 
>>>> Good times, good friends, good food, great memories!
>>>> 
>>>> If you have an opportunity to join a local club for a HP DE, go for it!
>>>> 
>>>> Oh, and by the way, the club owes me a trophy -- I placed first in 
>>>> the under 2 liter station wagon category! :)
>>>> 
>>>> Best,
>>>> 
>>>> Lee
>>>> 
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>>>> 
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