Blackboxster

German Performance!

2013-04-16T00:13:00.002-05:00

Track time Vids

2012-07-20T06:59:00.001-05:00

I started tracking this boxster in 2006. By 2008 I was having a lot of fun with a membership at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson Texas. I have a few videos from there that I've posted on YouTube along with videos from Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. I'm going to post links to those vids here as well. These were all made with an early version of the GoPro Hero wide angle camera so things look farther away than they are. The older Hero's had issues with audio as you can hear but were still a great way to preserve video from the track with a really simple setup. You can find other videos by searching for webnuts4u2 at YouTube.

PCA Race At High Plains Raceway

2011-07-04T20:58:00.001-05:00

I'll be making my way back to the track for the first time in quite a while. My destination will be the High Plains Raceway in Colorado for the PCA Rocky Mountain Region Club Race and Advanced DE August 12th - 14th. The NVR-E-NUF group will be going with a full contingent. We'll have a Texas corral setup flying the Lone Star so drop by and say "Howdy" if you happen to attend.

Belaire Car Show

2011-07-04T19:51:00.001-05:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Loss of a Great Friend

2010-11-26T12:22:00.002-06:00

Blackboxster.com and the NVR-E-NUF team lost a great friend in the passing Azam Zadie a couple of weeks ago. Azam was a long time Porsche driver par excellence and was one of the most generous people that I ever had the chance to know and call a friend. An upcoming memorial at Motorsports Ranch in Cresson, TX is being planned for early December where all of the friends and drivers that knew and loved Azam will be in attendance. In the mean time, here is a link to Azam's YouTube page where you can see many videos of him in action behind the wheel. He will be sorely missed by friends and family.

GTrcer @ YouTube

H.R. 3590

2010-03-23T16:27:00.001-05:00

New Democratic Party Theme Song, straight from the Whitehouse -- sung by all in attendance at the signing of the new health care reform bill this morning . . . notice the lyrics are essentually the same as H.R. 3590.

Nunsense Coupla Sisters Judy Percer and Shelly Aubrey

2010-02-17T10:16:00.001-06:00

Here's a clip of Judy in her latest play, Nunsense. For those of you that don't know her, she's on the left. Funny..

NEW E*TRADE Baby Outtakes

2010-02-07T18:25:00.001-06:00

Ok, if you don't get a kick out of this, I got no idea what's wrong with you. Laughin still.

March 2009 DE @ Eagles Canyon with NVR-E-NUF

2009-12-29T01:58:00.001-06:00

Note: This post should have appeared earlier this year. For some reason I neglected to post it. The video has been posted on YouTube for several months but I felt it should be here as well. Let me know if you enjoy it. I had fun making it.

NVR-E-NUF cranked it up this last weekend at Eagles Canyon for the March DE with the PCA Maverick Region. Although it was a little overcast for most of the two days at the track, that did little if anything to dampen the spirits of those in attendance. NVR-E-NUF established it's normal spot on the lower paddock at ECR but we found that we spent most of our down time at Bill's new garage. It's a 'double wide' and has more than enough room to house cars and goodies. Bill's brother Rick was in charge of the grill and was likely responsible for causing everyone to gain at least a couple of pounds with the great burgers, brats and breakfast burritos that he was making.

My last trip to ECR at the races last May was marred with a track that was found to be chunking up and splitting at various places. The folks at ECR have spent quite a bit of time and money over the last several months to make great improvements in the quality of the driving surface. Everyone in the group mentioned that they though the track was in good shape now.

This was the first time on ECR for Larry M. He certainly didn't show it. Glenn S. was screaming on his new R-100 Hoosiers (sticky sticky sticky) and was turning 2:00 minutes flat. A couple of the GT2 guys got down to 1:57 so I'm told by a little birdie. That my friend's is fast. Bill, Azam and Mike R. were also really fast, which was no surprise. Mike W. in his Vette was plagued by a few technical issues and having to jump from his car to go drive with a student since he was instructing.

We also had some new friends, Thomas, Bob and Michael that added to the fun.
Lisa was in great form as well but had to leave a day early to deal with work. We missed you Lisa. I can't forget Doug Smith. He recently picked up a GT3 RS from Steve Hill. What a beautiful car. I'm sure that once he really gets comfortable with it he will be very very hard to catch. Check out the pics over on Facebook.

Many of us will be going to TWS in a couple of weeks to run there. Before that happens I need to replace the right rear wheel bearing in my car.

An update on tires: I'm still using the same set of BF Goodrich R1's that I bought prior to going to Barber. I stopped counting sessions when I got past 40. The tires still have great rubber on them and are very consistent. I got less than optimal performance from them since it was a little cool for R1s to really perform at their best, but with their lifetime, that's something I can live with.

Ray Stevens - We The People - RayStevens.com

2009-12-23T12:19:00.001-06:00

And now for a brief political statement....

New Boxster Spyder

2009-12-22T11:04:00.000-06:00

The more that I see and hear this car the better I like it. I have yet to experience one in the wild but feel that one might be coming to a dealer near me before too long. They just keep making these Boxsters better and better. Now if I can just snag that home on 17 Mile Drive!

Hallett Race in the Rain - Boxster Spec InCar Sprint 2

2009-12-21T23:37:00.001-06:00

Here's a great video of my friend Glenn Smith in his first race at Hallett up in Oklahoma in the rain. Fun stuff. He's a great driver.

Porsche Boxsterm, Spec Boxster vs 993 at Motorsport Ranch on the 3.1

2009-12-21T23:34:00.001-06:00

This video from earlier in the year shows me ahead of Glenn and hanging with him. He's gotten some more experience in that car and the lighter weight and setup leave me behind today. Checkout his posts on youtube at jonasd99.

Porsche 993 -vs- Boxster at Motorsport Ranch

2009-12-21T23:31:00.001-06:00

Here's a great video my friend Mike @ manurfast took from his 993. He has the traqmate system with the data logging and video that is really fun. He's chasing me as I go through and off on Big Bend at MSR. A little off road is fun. Check out Mike's "air time."

Chasing Mark in his GT3 at MSR

2009-12-21T11:33:00.001-06:00

The NVR-E-NUF gang got together for one last track day before the new year. Great friends, food and driving. I'm playing with the gopro Hero Wide stuck to the nose of my car. Mark, a friend of NVR-E-NUF drives his GT3 while I give chase.

Oshkosk 2009

2009-12-17T11:14:00.001-06:00

A friend sent a link to me of the 2009 Oshkosk flyin. I've never been but after watching this video, I'm itching to go.

Extended Warranty

2009-09-08T21:28:00.003-05:00

Well, the Black Boxster just ended it's factory warranty period. During that 48 months, the amount of warranty work was surprising low, but the events were rather significant, such as the 3-4 synchro going out. This was fixed once by a new tranny and a second time by a rebuild. I had a couple of power steering connectors melt which prompted my installation of the lower speed pulley. A clutch pedal squeak that was repaired and then returned to only disappear again. All in all, these little cars are pretty bullet proof. I can't imagine an American made car performing this well under the same conditions.

I purchased an extended warranty to cover the next 48 months from L&L Autolink. If you need a warranty on a Porsche, Vette or other performance car, call Mike at L&L. He can fix you up! I feel better knowing I'm covered.

Back in College Station and Back to Posting

2009-08-22T15:42:00.003-05:00

I've been remiss in posting for several months. I've got some pics and movies that I captured from the NVR-E-NUF trip to Barber again this June but I've not been on the track since. This has been a slow track year for me in general. Just like a lot of people, job and recession take its toll. Hopefully I'll be doing some more postings as the driving season picks back up. Texas, as if you didn't guess, is really hot in the summer and puts a damper on the desire to drive at times.

I am back in College Station this weekend, home of Texas World Speedway. The track is quiet this weekend from all I can tell with the next open weekend coming up September 11. It's move-in weekend at Texas A&M and there are people everywhere. The town goes a little dormant in the summer and comes alive again in the fall.

I'm here with the wife and daughter to attend a niece's wedding but thought it was a good reason to post a blog and think about the track. Here's a link to the website..

A little trip in the rain

2009-04-28T01:23:00.001-05:00

First experiments with the GoPro compact Hero Wide. This is from Sunday morning at MSR for the April PCA DE. I'm running on year old slicks, still cold, and now it's raining. As I go around Tombstone, Mike R. gets sideways in front of me and I lose my grip, sending me off in the weeks.

NVR-E-NUF TWS March 09

2009-04-19T13:21:00.002-05:00

The NVR-E-NUF gang made a trip down to TWS for a DE with the Drivers Edge. It's always a lot of fun to make the trek but even better as a group and especially when the girls come along! For in car video checkout JonasD99 and ManURFast on YouTube.

Thanks to Linda and Amna for bringing the groceries and to Mike for the great BBQ skills as usual.

Glenn's Test Day

2009-04-18T11:42:00.001-05:00

My friend Glenn Smith is jumping on the Spec Boxster bandwagon to go racing. This is quickly becoming the most popular class in PCA racing. A couple of my other friends are waiting on their cars. This is a great platform for racing or just doing DE's. Glenn is a great driver as you can probably see from viewing his films on his jonasd99 channel at YouTube.

Wheels - Gone in Sixty Seconds...

2009-02-28T00:22:00.002-06:00

Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the FIIT shop today and found that my trailer was supported by a single block of wood on one side, rather than two of my trailer wheels. It seems that sometime late last night, thieves decided they had a better use for my wheels than I did. Now I would beg to differ since I've got an upcoming DE at Eagles Canyon next weekend and I'm going to be in San Diego almost all week starting tomorrow. They did have the courtesy to leave my trailer nicely balanced on the block of wood. As you can see, they left the lug nuts just sitting on the ground. In hindsight, I should have put a big fat chain on the wheels along with some locking lug nuts. Woulda, shoulda, coulda...

Upcoming DE

2009-02-24T16:17:00.003-06:00

I'll be headed north to Decatur, Texas and Eagles Canyon weekend after next to do my first event of the year. Although I've been on the track a few times at MSR already this year, ECR will be the first organized event and one which will likely host many new spec Boxsters in the area. I heard today that the count has gone up to 12 in our region (Maverick) for this season! I'll do my best to get some pics. I'm getting Spec Fever!

Daytona 500

2009-02-15T17:47:00.004-06:00

Yes, I used to be a NASCAR bigot. I didn't really like watching NASCAR, thought it was a little dumb and very boring. That was until I started driving on the track. Over the last couple of years I have gained a new level of respect for the guys that go around in the big oval at 180+ mph. How did I come to this? It was the result of two events. The first was an opportunity to drive regularly on a track that was on the circuit back in the 70's and one of the few true superovals like Daytona. This is Texas World Speedway in College Station. If you ever have the opportunity to drive here, either with your favorite club car group or with one of the driving education groups, don't miss this. One if not the most fun track I've driven. If you search YouTube, for "TWS", you can find plenty of videos that show cars running around this track. TWS gives you a taste of what a big oval could be like as you get to drive the front straight.

Here's an in car view from my buddy Glenn driving here in his Cayman S.

The second and solidifying event for me was getting the opportunity to drive my car at Texas Motor Speedway in Roanoke, Texas with The Drivers Edge, a popular performance driving instruction group. Rick Schwalenburg and his team of instructors have an annual event that happens in the summer. Now summer in Texas is hot, really hot, and not that pleasant to be in a hot car, helmet and racing suit. One of the great things about this event is that it starts at 6:00 pm and ends at 12:00 midnight. Yep, you get to drive this great track at night. TMS has an infield road course that is a nice combination of corners and short straights. Combine this with running around two thirds of the big oval at speed and a good part of that at night under the lights and you have a thrilling experience.

Here's an in cockpit video from my friend Mike running this last season.

In my car, I wasn't able to reach anywhere near the speeds of the NASCAR cup drivers but I gained a real appreciation for what it must be like. Figure in the greater speed (at least 50 mph more), the running literally inches apart and the technical setup required to make these cars perform at this level and you can begin to see how sophisticated this sport has become.

Just some thoughts I wanted to put down while watching the NASCAR race at Daytona this afternoon. I think I'll try and attend a race this year at TMS. It will be interesting to sit the in the stands and watch the big boys.

My First German Sportscar

2009-02-08T22:32:00.002-06:00

Actually, not my first, but certainly my most powerful experience with German engineering. I was on a trip to Munich several years back to capture audio samples of a Flack Panzer tank for a training system we were building for the Germans. This along with all of the biergartens made for an interesting trip!