Another Cayman

[AndrewCS]

Hi Ralph, They certainly are and will definitely not reach the dedicated earth post / point, the negative will reach the nearside turret top nuts should that suitable ? The leads easily access - bridge the GT4`s battery`s own posts but will only attach to the M6 clamp nuts i.e. not to the large clamps themselves When you had your emergency jump did they use the earth post then ? I have never used it on the GT4 but have done several times on other, older vehicles - direct to their battery posts Begs the question ... should I configure an extension earth lead and / or carry a large M8 bolt that can be screwed in to the spare threaded socket in the nearside turret top, where our c-tek earth connection is attached ... thanks for the tip [] All this assuming that the bonnet can be opened first

 

[ralphmusic]

Andrew,

Stonehenge Recovery used the official procedure below:

Given CCA of 800A I don't want to use the strut tower bolt used for the CTEK charger earth.

 

[AndrewCS]

As it happens my owners manual does not have the NEVER advice in your point no. 6 ... not that I should question it

The clamps of the jump starter only have metal contacts on one side of both jaws, making the contact patches rather small. I have only used it on vehicles up to 2700cc but it is rated for much higher, including diesel units. Given this I would be tempted to use it on other than the dedicated earth post / point or the turret point

EDIT - jump starter pack starting current is 300A, with a boost function of up to 600A

 

[Billybod]

I wanted to top up my battery (718 Spyder 2021) so being a "good boy", I read the instruction manual and spent ages looking for point B mentioned in item 6. Eventually, the penny dropped.... whilst the car is RHD and the manual is in English, the photographs/images showing point B are from a LHD car... Doh!!!

Regards

Bill

 

[ralphmusic]

I am going to try one of these (need to check hole diameter) on the NS top mount already used for CTEK earth. Hopefully the open end will allow a good earth fixing for the negative croc clip when using a portable booster with short cables.

 

[AndrewCS]

That hole is ~ 8mm and will take your your c-tek point securing bolt ... may need opening up a little

 

[ralphmusic]

Happily I had no breakdowns on my trip to Zandvoort and Bielefeld for Techno-Classica Essen so carrying jump leads and booster battery keeps the electrical gremlins away.

Zandvoort day started wet but dried out by 10:30. It a great circuit with fast corners, undulations and banked corners. Five hours from Devon to Kent, five hours driving there (Dutch 60mph limit can be soporific), it was worth doing once but I prefer to do Spa. Trackdays operators often combine Zolder and Zandvoort into one two day event and that would be better. On the Zolder day before "my" Zandvoort one, a high number of cars were excluded because of noise so beware of that. Zandvoort was 92dB drive by but no static testing and no cars were excluded for noise.

Some obligatory images.

Garages are large!

Big sky - great when weather is good but it can really rain...

Thruxton, a local track is next, again with OpenTrack and hopefully I will get there this time and not have the car fail in the outside lane of the A303

 

[ralphmusic]

After another 4 track days I thought I would remove the pick up (aka OPR) from the tyres, quite a lot came off. Front PFC pads now down to 7mm from 12mm after 8 track days so holding up well (or not braking/going fast enough) but have a new set ready to go on.

Brands GP event yesterday.

Plus an "arty" pic.

 

[OliR]

Hey Ralph,

How are your front brakes discs holding up? I also switched to PFC 331/332 pads and front discs, having kept the rears. Can't really fault them other than perhaps the noise, but I suppose that's to be expected, I'm maybe down to about 10mm after 2 trackdays (just returned from Spa with TDT). Just wondering how your front discs are looking in comparison to mine, be good to get an idea of how they wear.

Thanks.

 

[ralphmusic]

Spa, was that Lotus on Track? I'm not allowed on their days as near 80 Paul thinks I am too old unless I drive a Lotus.

PFC discs look fine, no lip nor pad deposits although my braking is not of the late variety these days.

 

[OliR]

Yes it was Lotus on Track, and that’s a real shame as it was a very well ran day with good driving standards. I suppose though it’s Pauls club so Pauls rules.

I thought the surface stress on the discs was actually worse than it is, but having had a proper look at them it doesn’t look like they’ve gotten too hot/done too badly. Keen to keep an eye on how long you get out of them, would be good to know what to expect.

 

[ralphmusic]

After Silverstone on Monday, I visited Center Gravity having experienced some issues on the Autobahn in Germany. Specifically the stretch between Bielefeld and Essen is in quite poor condition with gaps between the slabs making a bumpy ride even in a Discovery when we were travelling back and forth to Essen Techno Classica. On the way back home on this stretch the car did not feel comfortable above 200kph on that road surface. Speaking with Chris at CG he thought that the ride height might be too low (CG set-up for track at 950 miles) reducing the effective damper range. Given I had not had this effect on track at Zandvoort the week before we agreed that I'd take it to him when next above the snow line and he'd see whether replacing the 'reduced ride height' induced camber (now increased with some settling) with Motorsport TCAs might be a solution.

So now on 8,700 miles the ride height was increased c10mm front and rear, Motorsport TCAs fitted which allowed the car to set up with a bit more rear camber.

The effect (albeit mostly Motorway on my drive home) was that the steering around straight ahead felt lighter, but weighted up OK on turning. Tyre pressures increased more evenly front to rear and the ride was a little smoother and more compliant.

Interestingly, the same ride height/cambers/tyres on my manual 718 GT4 did not seem to induce the same characteristics as this PDK version but memories can mislead. But are they the same dampers, still Bilsteins? Anyway another learning on balancing out the various aspects of set-up and I'll see how it feels on return to track at Castle Combe in a fortnight.

 

[snowy999]

Ralph, your car is such a great colour!

I've read a fir bit that the 718 GT4 suspension is comparatively less firm/responsive in non-sport mode. Could it be a bit of this on your high speed run?

The biggest difference I've found for the Manthey suspension set up on my 981 is high speed stability and a sharper turn/more responsive front end in. There is no doubt that this comes with less comfortable low speed comfort (I assume because the firmer springs at the front?).

I wonder if you've reached a point where trying firmer springs up front might be worth it?

This comment said by someone who still knows rather little about suspension set up....

Snowy

 

[Twinfan]

It's interesting what you say about the dampers, Richard, as at Silverstone yesterday I definitely felt that my car was rocking more under weight transfer than I've previously experienced. Silverstone is a fast circuit, obviously, and I'm also starting to press on a little bit with my driving now I have more track days under my belt. I only use the Sport setting on the stock PASM on both road and track and I can definitely see the advantage of the Manthey coilovers for track work and I'm very tempted. However, my car is my only car and it needs to be great on the road too so I'm a bit hesitant to cahnge it to suit the track more when it doesn't spend the majority of its life there.

Decisions decisions...

 

[ralphmusic]

Colourful even in the wet..

Richard,

I think it was just too low thus limiting damper range. I've been looking back at the set-up of my manual GT4, and the original set-up and yesterday's on the Blue one. Let me say it is interesting to compare the various measurement values. As I mentioned earlier today, it seems softer now but for track use it probably needs stiffer front springs and better dampers but others faster than I charge around circuits with standard parts so... These days I just enjoy the chance to drive these cars as intended and really do not enjoy driving on roads with all the restrictions.

Manthey suspension would be good being proven and from a resale POV but there are alternatives. Whether that is worth doing only time will tell and I need to consider how I will be using it/if keeping it next year. I have Avon Rise and Quarry in a couple of weeks time then Goodwood so I'll form a view when I've completed those events.

On the Autobahn the issue appeared at c20mph lower speed than I get to on track so I feel confident the road required more than the damper was able to respond to.

I have generally found going to Sport PASM either seems too hard on track or perversely not much different.

Ralph

 

[snowy999]

If you are ever down in London, come and have a try.

 

[ralphmusic]

Richard,

Thanks, are the roads that bad in London?

Seriously though, which hill climbs are you planning to run at the rest of this year? I appreciate passenger laps aren't a hill climb thing but it would certainly be good to chat.

Ralph

 

[snowy999]

Richard,

Thanks, are the roads that bad in London?

Seriously though, which hill climbs are you planning to run at the rest of this year? I appreciate passenger laps aren't a hill climb thing but it would certainly be good to chat.

Ralph

Ralph,

i am at Shelsley mid August; Loton Park end August; Prescott beginning of September and Loton again end Sep. Calendar is on the Midland Hill Climb Championship web page.

You are right passenger rides are a no no but always happy to talk. I have another colleague competitor with an MR pdk 718 GT4 too who may be even better to speak to. Last weekend there were two more standard pdk 718 gt4s too.

I am pleased to report the 981 GT4 was quickest - well on the particular day!

 

[ralphmusic]

Richard,

I'll try for Prescott - I'm not doing the Porsche Festival that weekend.

 

[ralphmusic]

Back on Silverstone, there is a rich mix of cars at their track days. Pictured below a TVR Tuscan V8 I shared my garage with (for £20 and all the tea I could drink), Ferrari 430 GT3 (2), Caterham Academy car, and a Honda Civic. Amongst others there were two Carerra Cup cars, two Porsche Club race series cars, FF Corse with their fleet, an ex-BTTC Vauxhall VXR, and several 992 GT3s with a number of cracked windscreens (lightweight glass)