Ever the optimist(!), I'm booked onto a few PCGB track days this year so I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread where any fellow Cayman owners who are also taking advantage of the club days can discuss arrangements, meeting up etc. Although I've driven on several tracks and done a variety of driving experiences/courses I'm a total novice when it comes to track days in my own car. For anyone else thinking of taking the plunge, here are a couple of tips I've picked up during my recent research.
You'll need a helmet, and rather than hire one for £10 or so once the restrictions are removed again, you may want to pick up a cheap one of your own instead. This was my preferred option and there are several reasonably priced ones out there e.g.
https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/motorsport/racewear-helmets/helmets-accessories/helmets/shop-by/sortby/price_uk/
I recently picked up a couple of full face OMP Circuit Evos at £78.25 each for myself and Mrs Twinfan which are very nice quality and far better than I was expecting for the money. Being an ex-motorcyclist I remember older cheap helmets being terrible but these are great!
If you're thinking of picking up spare sets of genuine Porsche wheels from the Tequipment catalogue remember the 10% PCGB parts discount at your friendly OPC... []
If you are going for a second set of wheels, then you'll need a set of TPMS sensors. For OEM items at my OPC I was quoted £850 for supply and coding(!), but doing some research I discovered that HUF seem to make them for Porsche and they supply aftermarket versions that do not need programming. These are labelled "IntelliSens RDE" and you can see which part number you need by using the search here:
http://www.products.intellisens.com/
For different colour options you'll need the product catalogue from here:
https://www.intellisens.com/downloads/
The silver version for 718s is "RDE047V21" but I needed the black version which is part number "RDE047V26", and they were only £40 from Autodoc:
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/huf/14501114
For 987.2 and 981 cars, it seems the part number of the silver version is "RDE048V21" and they're around £65 at Autodoc. For the 987.1 it seems to be "RDE001V21" and they're around £90. For other colours you'll need to check the parts catalogue.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I haven't fitted my spare wheels to my car yet, so I don't know if the TPMS sensors will work correctly. I guess I'll find out in a couple of months when the weather picks up and I swap the wheels over, but I did see a post on Rennlist where someone had tried them on their 987 or 981 and they were fine. Watch this space!
EDIT: the HUF sensors above work perfectly on my car - no coding required and they're working perfectly after a simple TPMS reset. Blummin' awesome []
Tow loops for your car could come in handy if you end up in the gravel. OMP make those fitted to the 981 and 718 Cayman Clubsport race cars and they're not too dear if you want to pick up a set. The same items fit all 981 and 718 series cars. I picked a pair up from FVD Brombacher in Germany last year although shipping could take a while at the moment due to border delays:
https://www.fvd.net/de-en/9817226958A/towing-eye-981-gt4-clubsport-front.html
https://www.fvd.net/de-en/9817225518A/towing-eye-981-gt4-clubsport-rear.html
For anyone wanting to save time or a few pounds, Ralph is currently selling a used pair here on the forum:
https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1080057
Maybe a 987 owner can advise on a good option for the first series Caymans?
If anyone knows how the garage system works on PCGB days could you post in this thread? Is it just a case of turning up super early and grabbing a spare spot?
EDIT: Paul Grainger from the Motorsport team at PCGB has confirmed to me via email that garages, where available on PCGB track days, are available on a first-come first-served basis.
I'm booked on for the following track days in my Racing Yellow 718 GT4 which has received a full fast-road geo setup. It's also been modified with a LWFW and will be having an updated Ninemeister exhaust fitted soon once it's back again from the fabricators:
You'll need a helmet, and rather than hire one for £10 or so once the restrictions are removed again, you may want to pick up a cheap one of your own instead. This was my preferred option and there are several reasonably priced ones out there e.g.
https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/motorsport/racewear-helmets/helmets-accessories/helmets/shop-by/sortby/price_uk/
I recently picked up a couple of full face OMP Circuit Evos at £78.25 each for myself and Mrs Twinfan which are very nice quality and far better than I was expecting for the money. Being an ex-motorcyclist I remember older cheap helmets being terrible but these are great!
If you're thinking of picking up spare sets of genuine Porsche wheels from the Tequipment catalogue remember the 10% PCGB parts discount at your friendly OPC... []
If you are going for a second set of wheels, then you'll need a set of TPMS sensors. For OEM items at my OPC I was quoted £850 for supply and coding(!), but doing some research I discovered that HUF seem to make them for Porsche and they supply aftermarket versions that do not need programming. These are labelled "IntelliSens RDE" and you can see which part number you need by using the search here:
http://www.products.intellisens.com/
For different colour options you'll need the product catalogue from here:
https://www.intellisens.com/downloads/
The silver version for 718s is "RDE047V21" but I needed the black version which is part number "RDE047V26", and they were only £40 from Autodoc:
https://www.autodoc.co.uk/huf/14501114
For 987.2 and 981 cars, it seems the part number of the silver version is "RDE048V21" and they're around £65 at Autodoc. For the 987.1 it seems to be "RDE001V21" and they're around £90. For other colours you'll need to check the parts catalogue.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I haven't fitted my spare wheels to my car yet, so I don't know if the TPMS sensors will work correctly. I guess I'll find out in a couple of months when the weather picks up and I swap the wheels over, but I did see a post on Rennlist where someone had tried them on their 987 or 981 and they were fine. Watch this space!
EDIT: the HUF sensors above work perfectly on my car - no coding required and they're working perfectly after a simple TPMS reset. Blummin' awesome []
Tow loops for your car could come in handy if you end up in the gravel. OMP make those fitted to the 981 and 718 Cayman Clubsport race cars and they're not too dear if you want to pick up a set. The same items fit all 981 and 718 series cars. I picked a pair up from FVD Brombacher in Germany last year although shipping could take a while at the moment due to border delays:
https://www.fvd.net/de-en/9817226958A/towing-eye-981-gt4-clubsport-front.html
https://www.fvd.net/de-en/9817225518A/towing-eye-981-gt4-clubsport-rear.html
For anyone wanting to save time or a few pounds, Ralph is currently selling a used pair here on the forum:
https://www.porscheclubgb.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1080057
Maybe a 987 owner can advise on a good option for the first series Caymans?
If anyone knows how the garage system works on PCGB days could you post in this thread? Is it just a case of turning up super early and grabbing a spare spot?
EDIT: Paul Grainger from the Motorsport team at PCGB has confirmed to me via email that garages, where available on PCGB track days, are available on a first-come first-served basis.
I'm booked on for the following track days in my Racing Yellow 718 GT4 which has received a full fast-road geo setup. It's also been modified with a LWFW and will be having an updated Ninemeister exhaust fitted soon once it's back again from the fabricators:
- Donington Park (National Circuit, no Melbourne Loop) on Tuesday 17 August
- Oulton Park (International Circuit) on Friday 29 October