Early Spring Track Days
In between early Spring snow squalls, GeorgeCo found some time to go to the track with the local Audi club. They needed someone to instruct on the skid pad, and GeorgeCo always needs more track time. Win-win.
With temperatures in the 40s and the GeorgeCo Porsche still wearing all-season Conti tires, we weren’t out to set any lap records. This was all about shaking the cobwebs and making sure the car is running well. The track temperature was very similar to the last day at the track last November. The work to clean our the radiators resulted in lower operating temperatures by about 10 degrees. Oil pressure was consistent, and the car is handling well, even if the suspension is a bit tired.
I’m still working on the ideal camera placement. I like having the camera between the front seats like in the MINI, but in the Porsche, that’s not an option. I tried it mounted to the windshield but that’s too far forward and between the rear seats, but the lens is too wide.
On the skid pad, I attached the camera to a cone and tried putting it on the passenger window. The telematics system doesn’t know what to do with the loss of traction. The revs and the gear indicator go nuts in the video.
FIAT 500 Rental Car Review
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When I got to the airport in New Orleans this week, I was quite surprised to learn that my “mid-sized rental car” was in fact a FIAT 500. Since my car last week was a completely uninspiring Nissan Altima with “Pure Drive” (whatever that means), I thought I’d give it a try, especially since I hadn’t driven a FIAT since 1985. Here’s my (totally unbiased) review of the rental-car version of the FIAT 500: It stinks. |
This car has 1.4 liter multi-air inline 4 cylinder engine. Multi-air is FIAT’s variable intake valve technology used to improve the fuel economy of the 101 hp engine. (The car should be called the “Mila Quattrocento” instead of the “Cinquecento”, no?) Unlike the original 500 cc engines, this one has enough grunt to get you up to and beyond legal speed limits. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that once you’re there, the tall, slab-sided shape makes the short wheel-base car very susceptible to cross-winds. Visibility is surprisingly bad for a car this small. The seating position is more mini-van than MINI cooper. And the split outside mirror is just confusing.
The front sloping wind shield moves the very thick A-pillar forward and blocks much of the view from someone pulling into your lane from the front. The thick B-pillar blocks most of the view over your left shoulder.
The interior fit and finish is good; the materials feel solid and not cheap; and the interior lay-out is very clean. The tachometer within the speedometer is confusing. The information screen in the center of the binnacle is all your really need even if the controls are not very intuitive. Leg room was good and the interior comfortable.
The rear seats seem to offer about as much room as the MINI, but the space to get in and out seems tighter.
Luggage room is about the same as the MINI.
Under the hood is a master class in packaging, though it’s not a friendly place for the do-it-yourselfer. Surprisingly, the FIAT 500 got an overall rating of “good” from the Institute for Highway Safety. There must be some serious crumple-zone engineering going on there. One thing to note: don’t sit too close to the steering wheel. The crash test dummy registered a significant injury to the head and neck as the head went through the airbag to contact the steering wheel.
The one thing that did remind me of the FIAT of old was the strap on the rear deck. It has a sort of “you want a strap, here’s your damn strap…” quality to it that reminds me of 1970’s Italian craftsmanship. Another odd feature was the size of the brake rotors and calipers. They appear to be the same size front and rear. That either means that the rears are seriously over-sized, or that the fronts are seriously under-sized. Let’s hope it’s the former and that FIAT figured it was easier to stock one part than two.
FIATs of the 1970’s were notorious for coming pre-rusted from the factory. Quality of workmanship was spotty, panel fit atrocious, and reliability non-existant. The exteriour design of the cars (or at least those that carried over from the 1960s), however, was glorious. This car is just the opposite: Build quality is excellent, materials used and fit is equal to or above it’s price segment, and the car has the speed and safety features demanded of a modern car. The design, however, is insipid. There is not a good angle at which to view this car. It seems as if it were designed by a committee whose members were not allowed to talk to each other. FIAT has some wonderfully designed contemporary cars. This isn’t one of them. For those enthusiasts counting on a long-term return of FIAT to the US, this one was a swing and a miss. Your experience may vary.
Porsche Pedal Upgrade DIY
With any luck, winter is slowly winding down here in the Mid-Atlantic. Time to catch up on progress with the GeorgeCo 911. We have been concentrating on easy, single-day projects that can be done in the semi-heated GeorgeCo garage. Today we update the pedals.
Sport Pedals serve two functions. From an aesthetic perspective, they just look better than the stock pedals and are more in line with what you would expect to find in a modern Porsche. Secondly, the wider gas pedal makes heal-toe driving easier. Installation is a breeze if you follow the enclosed instructions. Remove the existing rubber pads from the brake and clutch pedals. Position the dead-pedal over the existing one (don’t remove the existing one in a 996). Use tape and a pen to mark where you need to drill. Drill holes and install pedal. The gas pedal works the same way. You may want to use a block of wood behind the pedal to make drilling easier. Be sure to allow for the hinge at the bottom and any carpet mats you normally use. Position both the brake and clutch pedals before you start drilling. Use tape and a pen to mark your holes. Drill the clutch pedal first (it’s plastic), then drill the brake pedal. Tighten but do not over-tighten the supplied bolts.
Throttle Body Cleaning DIY
Continuing our theme of making up for delayed maintenance tasks, today we tackle cleaning the throttle body. A dirty throttle body may affect throttle response and decrease gas mileage. For all 996s built after the 2000 model year with “e-gas” (throttle by wire) this task should take 30 minutes or less. For earlier cars with an actual throttle cable, the process isn’t really that much more complicated, but the throttle cable does have to be disconnected.
- Disconnect intake hose and remove the airbox. (If you haven’t changed or cleaned your air filter in a while, this is a good opportunity to inspect the air filter as well.)
- Inspect the throttle body before removing it. Look especially along the leading edge of the butterfly valve for crud buildup and any evidence of scoring or foreign object damage. Remove the four bolts indicated by the red arrows and disconnect the electrical connector at the top.
- Inspect and clean the intake plenum. Look for foreign objects and excessive sludge. Clean as necessary.
- Put the throttle body on your workbench and inspect both sides for build-up and damage. Clean using carburetor cleaner. Carefully open the butterfly valve manually to get to all of the areas needing cleaning.
- Installation is the reverse of removal. Be sure to reconnect the electrical connector at the top. Clean throttle body looks almost brand new.
Porsche Caliper Paint DIY
One of the things that has always bothered me about my car was the condition of the brake calipers. A previous owner (or possibly the dealer) at some point tried to respray them, but didn’t do a very good job.
Three of the four blistered and pealed. The forth one was just faded. I finally had some time to do something about them this past week. I thought about changing the color to red, because everyone knows red is faster. Besides the fact that I would have to remove the calipers to change colors, I didn’t want to seem a poser: Red calipers came on turbo six-pot calipers for this generation 911. Also, I’m trying to stay stock as much as I can.
You’ll need ceramic caliper paint that can withstand braking temperatures; solvent; stencils to replace the PORSCHE script (eBay); some fine-grain sand-paper, and masking tape.
1. Safely put your car on jack stands and remove the wheels.
2. Remove brake pads and thoroughly clean the calipers.
3. Sand calipers and remove the PORSCHE script (paint or stickers).
4. Clean the calipers with paint prep solvent (I used brake caliper primer).
5. Mask off any areas you don’t want to paint including the rotor and hub.
6. Paint each caliper with several thin coats of caliper paint, waiting 10 minutes between coats, but completing all coats within 1 hour.
7. Let paint dry overnight and remove masking tape.
8. Reinstall brake pads.
9. Let paint harden 7 days.
10. Apply stencil mask.
11. Mask around stencil.
12. Apply several layers of paint to the stencil, waiting 10 minutes between coats, but completing all coats within 1 hour.
13. Wait an hour before removing stencil. Carefully remove centers of “P”, “O”, and “R” with a sharp knife and tweezers.
14. Reinstall wheels but wait 24 hours before driving.
