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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.
Low Cost Video Telemetry Solution
GeorgeCo was at the track again mid-November for the NCC BMW CCA Fall HPDE at Summit Point Motorsports Park. GeorgeCo drove the MINI on Friday/Sunday and the Porsche Saturday in between. This was GeorgeCo’s first drive of the Porsche at the track. The car is larger and heaver than the MINI, but really accelerates well out of the corners, even on the not-so-grippy full-tread summer tires that came on the car. We still have some issues to sort out, but the car is progressing nicely. More on that later. First the MINI.
We’ve been working on a (relatively) low-cost video telemetry system and have finally worked most of the bugs out of our set-up. The video above uses an iPhone 4, Optrix-HD iPhone Mount, Harry’s LapTimer software, External GPS sensor, and a PLX-Devices data-interface. The iPhone is used for video capture and accelerometer function. It captures OBD-II data from the PLX-Devices Kiwi WiFi and combines it with 1 meter accurate GPS data from the external GPS device via Bluetooth. Ho, ho-ho, ho…. The iPhone does the post-processing and overlays all of the data on the video. In this video, I’m tracking down my friend John who is in the red E30 which is prepared very similarly to the old GeorgeCo E30. I like this video because you can see the driver’s hands, whether he’s looking ahead into the corners, and the telemetry shows revs as well as how much of the lap is spent on full throttle (less so in traffic.) I need to work on getting a brake sensor.
The second video was filmed in the Porsche 996 Carrera using a ReplayXD camera mounted on the sunvisor. This is an example of how you can combine video from external sources. The initial video was exported to an iMac and then uploaded to the iPhone via iTunes. It was then imported to LaptimerPro for overlay with Laptimer data. We didn’t have the OBD-II data connection working on this day, so the only data sources were the accelerometer and external GPS. The key to this process is to find the key video frame at the end of the timed lap so LaptimerPro can match the data-stream correctly. In this video, the Porsche is on Summer Street Tires which have no grip on the cooling track.
This third video shows the value of video as a learning aid. I followed my friend (and newly minted instructor) Dave for a few laps. He eventually went off in turn 1 when his tires gave out, got a nice mud bath, then almost went into a tank-slapper when he came back on. Fortunately he got his act together and we had some distance between us. The final shows what it must have felt like from his point of view…
Porsche Custom Tune Baseline
Finally finished base-lining the Porsche today. We lost a month of preparation due to the accident repairs, but finally finished all of the tasks necessary to establish a baseline and get the car out onto the track next week. We even managed to fix the broken vanity mirror on the passenger side visor. The last step in the process was completed this week when we took the car down to Behe Performance to get it on the Dyno. Since we are starting to run out of time before the next trackday, we had them finish the remaining maintenance tasks and put the car on the Dyno to see what we have to work with. They inspected the suspension (nice to get a second opinion after any repairs), flushed the brakes, changed the transmission oil, and aligned the car as well.
The initial results were a bit disappointing. The initial runs on the Dyno showed only 221 hp at the wheels and 207 ft lbs of torque; peak torque band was pretty narrow. After Behe worked his magic, however, horsepower is up to 236.9 and torque up to 217 ft lbs. More importantly, the peak torque band is wider, with more than 205 ft lbs from 4400 to 5600 RPMs as opposed to only 4700-5300 before the tune. The 2000 Carrera had 300 bhp when it left the factory. If you figure a 15% drivetrain loss, that amounted to about 255 hp at the wheels. Considering that this is a twelve year-old car with 68,000 miles that means it’s down about 8% from new. That’s probably not too bad, especially considering the nature of dyno testing where weather conditions and fuel quality can impact results.
Repairs Complete
While we wait out the Frankenstorm, here’s a picture of the Porsche fresh from the shop. (Click the photo above for the complete set.) All repairs have been completed; no suspension or sub-frame damage found. The car looks terrific and we can’t wait for the roads to clear up and take it out for a drive. We’ve been gathering parts this past month: new headlights, clear side-markers, and a new intake were installed yesterday. New serpentine belt, coil-packs, plugs, and rotors will have to wait until next weekend.
