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Thanks @shogun32 .
My current version is now about 10% more area than the name brand. And better rim clearance too.
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VictorH
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First long road trip with real street tires. Now 880 miles into what will be a bit over 2,000 mile round trip. Running Michelin PS4S in stock sizes and I have to say, they are excellent. Probably not the "best" street tire but really good on the freeway. No tramlining, pretty good in light rain and overall track really nice and straight. Cup2 are a huge compromise in comparison.
I'm sure you guys with automatics are getting better freeway MPG but with manual trans running 2200-2400 rpm in 6th gear I'm getting real 21 -22.0 MPG, measured by gas pump-to-pump. The trip computer reads 2 MPG high. I can live with that.
The other thing, though I'm on stiffer springs, the car is such a good freeway cruiser. Comfortable, quiet, smooth enough, but can be a bit rough on multiple expansion joints or bad asphalt.
Will be meeting up with DerKlink to run Ozarks International Raceway tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. Will post up some pictures of that soon after.
Road, gas station, rest area and various stops. Great trip car.
I'm sure you guys with automatics are getting better freeway MPG but with manual trans running 2200-2400 rpm in 6th gear I'm getting real 21 -22.0 MPG, measured by gas pump-to-pump. The trip computer reads 2 MPG high. I can live with that.
The other thing, though I'm on stiffer springs, the car is such a good freeway cruiser. Comfortable, quiet, smooth enough, but can be a bit rough on multiple expansion joints or bad asphalt.
Will be meeting up with DerKlink to run Ozarks International Raceway tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. Will post up some pictures of that soon after.
Road, gas station, rest area and various stops. Great trip car.
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VictorH
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Great day at Ozarks track. Met up with DerKlink (Marc) with his '21 Mach 1. Weather was mostly good except for a late afternoon shower.
For those who have never been the Ozarks track is really nice, super scenic, great layout and very technical. If you don't like blind corners this track is NOT for you. However once you learn the lay-out it has a great rhythm and flow. Some really fast sections, a few slow corners and lots of elevation change (big time). Full street set up alignment wise seems to be just fine there. Not really that hard on brakes and not too hard on tires either (but of course very driver dependent).
For those who have never been the Ozarks track is really nice, super scenic, great layout and very technical. If you don't like blind corners this track is NOT for you. However once you learn the lay-out it has a great rhythm and flow. Some really fast sections, a few slow corners and lots of elevation change (big time). Full street set up alignment wise seems to be just fine there. Not really that hard on brakes and not too hard on tires either (but of course very driver dependent).
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VictorH
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Thoughts on the S550 platform for track use. More and more convinced that the S550 is one of the more forgiving and easy to drive platforms for track use. The Ozarks track has some really tricky spots, particularly turn 1 which is a left-hand, down-hill (looks like 7-8% grade) and off-camber. More than a few times entered , turn 1, just a bit too hot and had a longer than desirable 4-wheel drift going mid-corner to "exit" however, car kept it's alignment with direction of travel, didn't really need any "fixes" just patience and a few small steering corrections.
Other part of the track the car is undulating across elevation changes at angles sometimes with bumps, but the car kept its composure and never got really out of shape. The suspension is really working to keep everything planted and stable.
I'm still really impressed how good the rear-end traction is. You have to really have to do something silly to get the rear-end loose, not saying it can't be done but it takes some work doing things you probably shouldn't be doing. Despite that, the car will really nicely trail-brake into the sharp corners and rotate around.
Spoke to a guy and rode a session with him, who had track pack GT500. Man those cars gain speed at an incredible rate. Anyway, he's had two other Porsche GT3s and currently has a '19 GT3 RS as well as a GT4 RS. Obviously, super high-performance track cars, but he told me that most fun car of the group on track was the GT500. Not because of power but because the chassis is so good and the margin of control is so much better at the limit than the Porsche GT cars. This is one person's opinion but it's believable.
For my use and ability I think the S550, particularly the Mach 1, is the best overall package in terms of performance, utility and track worthiness. No regrets. Still have 1,200 or so street miles to go home (making a big round trip of things), and will use the cooled seats, enjoy the stereo and be amazed that the day before the car was traveling at triple digit speeds, generating good cornering forces (street tires after all) and providing huge fun on track.
Other part of the track the car is undulating across elevation changes at angles sometimes with bumps, but the car kept its composure and never got really out of shape. The suspension is really working to keep everything planted and stable.
I'm still really impressed how good the rear-end traction is. You have to really have to do something silly to get the rear-end loose, not saying it can't be done but it takes some work doing things you probably shouldn't be doing. Despite that, the car will really nicely trail-brake into the sharp corners and rotate around.
Spoke to a guy and rode a session with him, who had track pack GT500. Man those cars gain speed at an incredible rate. Anyway, he's had two other Porsche GT3s and currently has a '19 GT3 RS as well as a GT4 RS. Obviously, super high-performance track cars, but he told me that most fun car of the group on track was the GT500. Not because of power but because the chassis is so good and the margin of control is so much better at the limit than the Porsche GT cars. This is one person's opinion but it's believable.
For my use and ability I think the S550, particularly the Mach 1, is the best overall package in terms of performance, utility and track worthiness. No regrets. Still have 1,200 or so street miles to go home (making a big round trip of things), and will use the cooled seats, enjoy the stereo and be amazed that the day before the car was traveling at triple digit speeds, generating good cornering forces (street tires after all) and providing huge fun on track.
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VictorH
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Track Tip:
For those of you with standard heated and cooled seats, you probably know that they are not optimal for track use. I think the standard seats are one of the most comfortable seats around compared to many other cars I've owned. Just got back from 2,600 mile road trip and they were great, no sore back, temp is always right using either low vent or low heat, really a great overall set.
Okay, so the problem at the track is they are NOT very supportive at all and for many of us you will tend to use your left lateral knee for support, in corners against the door or whatever interior body panel on the left side, to keep your body positioned. Consequently at the end of a track weekend your left knee will either be bruised, red or just generally uncomfortable sometimes with an abrasion. The way to avoid this is to use a knee pad turned sideways on the left knee. See photos below. Absolute cure and solution for this problem. The better you tires, the higher the G-loads the more you need this. Works for me, it's inexpensive and makes your track outing much more comfortable.
For those of you with standard heated and cooled seats, you probably know that they are not optimal for track use. I think the standard seats are one of the most comfortable seats around compared to many other cars I've owned. Just got back from 2,600 mile road trip and they were great, no sore back, temp is always right using either low vent or low heat, really a great overall set.
Okay, so the problem at the track is they are NOT very supportive at all and for many of us you will tend to use your left lateral knee for support, in corners against the door or whatever interior body panel on the left side, to keep your body positioned. Consequently at the end of a track weekend your left knee will either be bruised, red or just generally uncomfortable sometimes with an abrasion. The way to avoid this is to use a knee pad turned sideways on the left knee. See photos below. Absolute cure and solution for this problem. The better you tires, the higher the G-loads the more you need this. Works for me, it's inexpensive and makes your track outing much more comfortable.
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VictorH
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I'm always looking for ways to incrementally improve my car to better fit me and my driving style. Had noted both on telemetry last Fall and sometimes on my own when driving on track when applying high brake pressure for 1.25g+ braking sometimes my foot would also, at the same time, hit the accelerator. If you depress the accelerator too much the car will cut power to the engine, but either way it's not ideal. Consequently, trimmed off a little bit of my widened throttle pedal and will see if that does the trick.
Will also be changing some items on my front-end to make it a bit quieter on the street and have a fuel system upgrade coming too.
Will also be changing some items on my front-end to make it a bit quieter on the street and have a fuel system upgrade coming too.
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VictorH
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Going to be a few days before I install this as I want to run down my fuel level, a lot. Still need to reassemble front end and waiting for coil-spring isolators to come from Energy suspensions. Then the fuel pump should go in. Hoping I will then be able to run track with fuel level below 1/2 and not have starvation issues on those left hand sweepers.
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