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MaxA's ''Mr White'' long termer

[I posted this rant in one of Phil's threads, sorry about the re-post, anyway, this version is slightly updated.]

I keep two cars in the hope that one is on the road. And my wife has her own car, which I might drive from time to time (especially if I need to travel under the radar, so to say).

This summer was a bit awkward, as it turned out, as I needed to take both my cars to the garage (a late annual inspection and full service for one, and an air con service for the C4S).

And then I needed to take my wife's car to the garage for a warranty claim fix of the air con - turned out to be a failed compressor - and an early service since it was there anyway.

Then, having picked up my old father's Land Rover Discovery for a family trip with all the hordes and the dog, that needed new headlights (which required another trip to another garage).

And then, on our return, it emerged that my brother's car (which we were taking on a road trip/trackday in Sweden) was in dire need of a full service, fresh oil, some fresh brake fluid and new discs all round. So it would stop.

So, sorted, I thought. At the moment, all 5 of these cars are on the road, but it turns out that the fun is not over: I have an intermittent CEL (for a MAF sensor error) on the 997, and the R53 needs new top mounts and fresh tyres (erm, track days...) in time for the next track day. (At least one of the other blokes has sourced some of the liquid assets for the afterparty.)

My brother's R56 has had some new rear wheel bearings (ah, um, track day) but still seems to have an issue with a sticking rear caliper (in my view). And it just had 4 new granny tyres as the semi's gave up at the track: it was 35c and a bit too hot and they overheated, so he was off hunting down tyres while the rest of us noshed over lunchtime.

But it's not over. Come the autumn, the 997 will needs it's annual service with new spark plugs and ignition coils this time round. And potentially a new MAF sensor, if the cleaning doesn't work.

After that, it'll be the end of October and all these cars need to switch to winters .... which reminds me, I still need to order the QuickLift.

And come spring, my wife's car will need new summer tyres. The stock Bridgestone S001s are coming to the end of their life. 'Too many torques' as Clarkson might wibble.

It's endless.

:sad:
 
That thread raises an interesting question Max , given that Finland and some of the other scandie countries seem so dam expensive for everything , do you buy your parts in Finland or is it cheaper to find them in places like the UK and ship them to you. :?:
 
Phil 997 said:
That thread raises an interesting question Max , given that Finland and some of the other scandie countries seem so dam expensive for everything , do you buy your parts in Finland or is it cheaper to find them in places like the UK and ship them to you. :?:

Good question: sometimes, for basic stuff, and liquids (which can be hard to ship), it's quickest and easiest to get parts from the dealer, but independents can also source stuff quite quickly. It seems that they don't keep much stock and many parts come direct from Germany (this applies to the MINI, VW and Porsche).

There is quite a motorsport and rally scene so it's fairly straightforward to find stuff like seats, harnesses, helmets, and so on, and one can get things like dampers rebuilt locally.

Over the years I have sourced parts from the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, even Belgium and Slovakia (it's easy within the EU, but shipping costs can be bad). From the UK, I usually have stuff sent to London, and then I carry it home on the plane - I've carried (or checked in!) springs, brake discs, anti roll bars, strut braces, steering wheels, brake pads, all sorts. You do get funny looks at security from time to time. Not sure if a 9kg brake disc counts as an offensive weapon? I've also had tyres and rims and a full exhaust couriered over from the UK, but that's a faff.

It's a lot less easier to order and import from the US and Australia, but occasionally possible, if I can be arsed to sort and pay the tax. I have even had my own boss carry an aluminium skid plate (more than 1x1m) home from our office in Houston... that cost me a decent bottle of wine in exchange for a fair bit of whinging. (As it turns out, I'm on business in the US later this year, so I'll have to think of something to order. Maybe the IPD intake plenum?)

The bigger issue is that the dealers are pretty woeful (six week wait for a service???) and there aren't too many independents: it's actually OK for Porsche, Subaru and BMW, but MINI is an issue. But I've managed with good basic spanner shops (for things like brake fluid swaps) and my friends: the fact is, out here, most Finnish enthusiasts work on their own cars. One of my buddies modified and remapped his car for ethanol. Himself. It now makes 260odd hp from a 1.6 with supercharger. I add moral support, stand in the oil spills, and make the coffee.

I'm not a mechanic or an engineer, but I've been learning. I've done a lot of work myself but it tends to take 3x longer than the manual. And now that I can finally build a garage, I'll be able to do more work myself. :thumb:
 
On Sunday, I joined the last day of the 2018 Porsche Club Finland Festival at Alastaro Circuit: the track day. It's a bit of a wrench to get up at six and head inland for 2½ hours (including coffee and fuel stop) for a 9am start, but at least there's no traffic. Unfortunately, as I got closer and closer to Alastaro, the roads got wet and then wetter, and the dark clouds were menacing overhead. The rain held off until we got to the end of the first session, but it always adds a frisson of excitement to reach for the wipers...

Alastaro is a large, wide, and friendly circuit with lots of run off and some great new tarmac, which was nicely rubbered in by the GT3 Cup and BMW Extreme racing the day before. It has a short straight and a couple of nice sweepers as well as some technical sections. We had a huge turnout with around 35 L1 drivers (beginners and novices), and plenty of L2 ('experienced drivers', I'm in the L2 class), as well as L3 ('advanced') and L4 ('professional'), so there were the numbers of cars of the track had to be restricted. It was also the last event of the season, so everyone who could make it was there.

I haven't been to Alastaro for a few years (becauseDubai) and couldn't remember the track at all. I was all over the place in my first session. The instructor was helpful in pointing out the turning points; I (still) need to get on the throttle earlier out of the corners but it's great when you get it right and really slingshot out from the apex, leaming on the outside rear.

We stopped for an early lunch due to the rain, and then needed to wait around for the afternoon sessions. It was wet for my second session, and I really got some flow, but I spent all of my time overtaking other cars – seven in all (with their consent of course). The discipline is strict and people were pretty careful, good at watching mirrors. The only problem is that you have to go off line to go around.

It wasn't at all warm, maybe 15c by the middle of the day, so conditions were tough, cold track and cold tyres – by the time I came in, my tyres were only 20-23c. Brake discs around 150c. A little bit of front end wheel wobble: it seems pressure in the right front got higher than the left.

Some of the L3s and L4s on the other hand were very committed and drove far harder than I expected for what are basically road cars in the wet. There was only one spinner, funnily enough, and he stayed on the tarmac. I've been to track days with more carnage in the first 5 minutes than we had the whole day. Not one incident.

The third session was on a drying track, and it went well, but as the rain clouds were looming again, and I was cold, I called it a day mid afternoon and drove home. It took ages as there was a real deluge near Helsinki. Nearly 3 hours for the return ... with only one CD for company.

It's a shame the season is ending so soon, I can't wait for next season. I'll be back at a track on 15th September, but that's with another club.
 
Alastaro - PCF Festival 2018
 

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I quite like the stickers
 

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I wrote elsewhere on this forum that, as it's the end of the season, the track stickers for Alastaro and Pesà¤mà¤ki got transferred to my 'track box'.

It's a marvellous invention. Useful for your stuff, and for marking your space in the pits. Mine is one of IKEA's finest lidded plastic boxes. It is clear plastic, a perfect fit in the 'froot', and it keeps your gear from getting wet at the track. There's still some space on top for softbags, jackets, crisps and so on.

I'll add a picture.
 
Track Box/Track Bag

I don't know about you but I like to carry some basic safety gear around (more in the winter), and then supplement that with some extra stuff for track days and road trips. Usually a soft bag is sufficient, but the box is handy at the track.

- Spare bottles of oil and coolant
- Tow rope and towing eye
- OEM compressor and tyre gunk
- Hi-Viz waistcoats
- Warning triangle
- Fire extinguisher
- Work gloves
- Torch
- Heavy duty hand wipes
- Folding mini umbrella
- Old travel blanket
- Jumper cables
- Knife
- Corkscrew (handy on a road trip)

The track kit includes:
- Laser thermometer
- Tyre pressure gauge
- Torque wrench
- 19mm extended sockets
- Extending wheel wrench
- Handheld (battery powered) impact wrench by Milwaukee
- Wooden wheel chocks
- Rennline towing eye
- GoPro
- Black, white and silver duct tape
- Zip ties
- Helmet, gloves and driving shoes
- Motorsport caps for the paddock

In the winter, I also carry Fiskars snow shovels, my DEFA SmartCharge, a couple of long handled Fiskars snow brushes (and ice scrapers), an extra-long DEFA engine block heater cable, a woollen beanie and warm gloves. I don't bother with an emergency jack or a space saver – either I can fix the tyre with a kit or I'm calling my emergency number for a flatbed. The low profile 'rally jack' weighs 30kg and stays at home.
 
I'm back at the track with the MINI gang tomorrow: likely another wet day so I'm staying on the Bridgestones RE002s and leaving the Federal 595RSRs at home.

I'm also hoping to get the Sparco EVO II fitted while we're there, as one of my buddies has found a Sparco direct fit seat frame: we tried a test fit last Sunday on the mounts alone but I need the extra couple of cm of height to get it to fit properly (at least where I need to be, and so I can see something!). They are a bit of a ***** to get in and out of though. I look like an utter berk. But better seat means better seat time. So Happy Days.

The swap was motivated by the 997's sports seats which I find are excellent. Unless I win the jackpot, I'm not going looking for GT3 buckets; and anyway I still need to keep the car drivable in the week.
 
I know it's not a 997, but the Sparco Evo II fits nicely in the 53 (and it's only 7.2kg, although obviously the side mounts and sub frame (3mm steel) add a couple more kg):
 

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I'll post some pictures of the '72 as soon as I can wash it and can scout a nice location. It's a bit grubby at the moment.
 
I'll just keep talking to myself...

I was reminded by faceballs that I've had the 997 for 3 years now. I've just done 55,555km, and I picked it up from Al Nabooda with 25,022km. So more or less 10,000km a year. I have to say, these have been some very happy years, and I'm still getting used to the idea that I run a Porsche 911. I'm still not used to little boys pointing and elbowing each other in the ribs as I go by...

In terms of what's next, winter's coming, and the car is back at the indy for a full service tomorrow (including spark plugs...). I'll be swapping to the Nokian winters soon, as it was freezing this morning and I can now get a wriggle on, especially in damp corners.

And the car still needs a wash. Some might call it dirty, I reckon that it's just patina. Cars are meant to be driven. [/i]
 
The 997 is at the indy today.

They specialise in high end stuff and Porsches. There's a BMW i8 outside, someone just growled by in a Bentley Continental, and I'm sitting in a glass fronted waiting room.

Directly in front of me are a bunch of Ferrari's: a silver/black 612 Scaglietti with paddleshift, a red/tan 550 Maranello with the open gate manual, a yellow/black 360 Spyder, and a red/black 430 Italia. I've sort of wandered around them once to eyeball the prices. There is also a sticky tyred, fully liveried 430 race car (yum!) next to me. (Funnily enough, apart from the 430s, they all look a bit small wheeled and narrow tracked. There's massive wheel gap. Haven't times changed.)

But mostly, I am waiting for my 997 to get new spark plugs, and I've spend 95% of my time peering through the little window into the workshop to see what's going on (why does the mechanic need 3 more guys to peer at the undersides? How many times do they need to raise and lower the car? What colour was the old oil?).

I am therefore completely Porsche. I think I need my own garage.
 
MaxA said:
I'll post some pictures of the '72 as soon as I can wash it and can scout a nice location. It's a bit grubby at the moment.

The 9972 is still part of the great unwashed. Only worse. Another 300km on the motorway in sleet and snow doesn't help. Anyway, the car got a full service including spark plugs and no issues reported. No diagnosis on the wheel wobble either. I will be swapping onto winters, so we'll see if this is related to the car or the rims and tyres, or the car. The tyre hotel guys will wash, inspect, and rebalance the summer rims over the winter.

As I write this, the snow has started coming down. I may need to wait a little for a thaw, before picking my way over to the Vianor tyre hotel (it's about 30km away.)

We fitted our MINIs with winters yesterday morning (mine runs 195/55-16 Nokian Hakkapelitta 8 studded winters over 16x7 Team Dynamics ProRace 1.2s), so not to worry I can still get around.
 

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