My Boxster S at Cadwell Park this week

[phazed]

If anyone is interested.

Box standard apart from Track tires and brake pads

 

[Ninesomething]

If some of those TVRs would get some speed up and hold a tight line you might have had a race on your hands. I love Cadwell btw - never done it in a car but been round on a few bikes. Looks like they've changed the gooseneck since I was last there - it doesn't look as tight as the time I went straight on. The guy behind me said it looked spectacular. No film sadly.

[TV8]

Good peddling Peter. Was Qbee there?

[Gdaybruce]

Very impressive! I did a TVR day at Cadwell a few years ago but I certainly wasn’t going as quick as you 👏👏

[phazed]

12 hours ago, TV8 said:

Good peddling Peter. Was Qbee there?

Thank you Graham.

Yes he was. As was Mattew Poxan and Mat Smith. Was a great day, Cadwell is my favourite track, shame it is 210 miles away…

[phazed]

8 hours ago, Gdaybruce said:

Very impressive! I did a TVR day at Cadwell a few years ago but I certainly wasn’t going as quick as you 👏👏

I have done Cadwell half a dozen times before in my TVR’s. Even though they were track focused and very quick, (4.6 and a 5.5 Chimaeras) the baby Porsche was quicker around the track, I’m sure.

The beauty of the Boxster is that it is so stable and well balanced. brilliant brakes, suspension, weighted steering and peddles that make “heel and toeing” easy.

Going to treat it to a baffled extended sump at Christmas.  I love it!

[Ninesomething]

You obviously know your way round Cadwell. I had a session with an instructor and you were pretty much hitting every marker he showed me.

[phazed]

I’ve done it twice this year which helps.

change of topic as someone who might be looking at this thread might know.

I can get my hands on a very cheap 3.2 Boxster tiptronic with a low mileage engine but tatty body.

Very vague thoughts on using it as a track day car. I would much prefer a manual but was quite impressed at how quick it was on the road.

If this was used on the track, driven quite hard, would it die quickly?

Mileage is 50K.

  

[map]

34 minutes ago, phazed said:

I’ve done it twice this year which helps.

change of topic as someone who might be looking at this thread might know.

I can get my hands on a very cheap 3.2 Boxster tiptronic with a low mileage engine but tatty body.

Very vague thoughts on using it as a track day car. I would much prefer a manual but was quite impressed at how quick it was on the road.

If this was used on the track, driven quite hard, would it die quickly?

Mileage is 50K.

  

@Araf…….

[Araf]

The Tiptronic box doesn't give any problems, as far as I know.  It actually helps the engine (and driver) by not allowing changes which would over-rev the engine.  It also won't let you change if there's too much lateral load on the car, which may upset the balance if another gear is selected.  Finally, as standard they have a form of traction control which I never found intrusive (unlike the old BMW system).
The gearbox has additional cooling from a centre radiator down low though I'd look to check temps to start with, but only with stick on gauges.

Fill yer boots.  

[deanmr2]

You can also fit Merc paddle shifts to the steering wheel and use these for gear changes so much better than the standard tiptronic buttons. You can also drop down two gears automatically with two blips of the paddles. I would say that fitting the paddle shifts was definitely the best mod I agave done to my Boxster 

[phazed]

Merc paddles Sounds like a very good thing.

Is there a how to do this?

[deanmr2]

I sent my steering wheel to a company called Edition9 in Bolton and dealt with a guy called Darren. They fitted the Mercedes AMG paddles to my wheel and arranged the wiring so that it was plug and play for when you refit the steering wheel. I think it took about a week for them to do the conversion and as I said before it’s the best mod I have done on my Boxster. I drive my car in manual mode the majority of time so that I can decide when to swap the cogs plus you always have two hands on the wheel when pushing on.

[Terryg]

I know @Nobbie did his and I thought he had a "how to" on here but I cannot see it. You could message him.

[phazed]

I have made the guy an offer for his car and he is thinking about it.

If it doesn’t happen, I will buy a baffled extended sump for my S.

[Mattman42]

Great videos - such a narrow track.

Amazing how much faster you can be, even on just a 2nd visit. Had a similar experience at Palmer Sport with their single seaters when i was lucky enough to go twice in the space of a few weeks - the confidence was there the 2nd time.

[Nobbie]

On 9/27/2022 at 3:04 PM, phazed said:

Merc paddles Sounds like a very good thing.

Is there a how to do this?

This is how I did (page 6) it on a 986 four years ago and has been faultless, even managed to get the position just right. Not sure if the RS60 uses Canbus for the switches, if so, I have no idea how that would work.

 

[Boxer boy]

I had a similar experience in a 94 968CS ……about 96 , just went through everything @Cadwell .

inc a few Ferrari and blokes turning up with cars on trailers with slicks .

 

Mind drove home on canvas and got a £1100 tyre bill back in 96 …eek ! 
 

The boxster ( 2.9 ) reminds me of my 3.2 Carrara to drive in terms of driver involvement, but the safety and predictability of the 968CS in terms of handling.+ the hood down cruising if you want it .

As “ car guy” cars boxsters are very underrated .

[iborguk]

2 minutes ago, Boxer boy said:

As “ car guy” cars boxsters are very underrated .

Agree, nothing touches them bang for buck, imho. YMMV.

[moospeed]

17 hours ago, Mattman42 said:

Great videos - such a narrow track.

Amazing how much faster you can be, even on just a 2nd visit. Had a similar experience at Palmer Sport with their single seaters when i was lucky enough to go twice in the space of a few weeks - the confidence was there the 2nd time.

First time I was there was in an Elise, and in the driver's briefing I was looking out the window wondering where the track went.  Little did I realise that the bit directly in front of me looking like a wide foot path was the track 😄

I didn't have the best day there.  I've got an inner ear condition which means I can't go round and round without it affecting me badly.  Roller coasters no problem, little kiddies roundabouts and I'm no good.

Anyways, after about 15-20 laps I was feeling decidedly ill with motion sickness so obviously got straight off the track and literally laid down on the ground next to my car whilst my world re-aligned.  Someone got me a tea which actually helped a lot.  After I was feeling OK I went for a bit of a hack around the local roads and was feeling very good again.

Went out again in the afternoon for a few sessions and was totally fine but being mindful of the earlier feeling I wasn't really going for it.  Strange thing is I've done hundreds of laps of Brands which has similar profile and never had an issue.  Even managed (just) 10 laps in a full downforce Radical.

[phazed]

Firstly, Cadwell is extremely narrow. Doesn’t worry me even when the track is crowded as I quite enjoy the challenge.

Secondly, as of last year at the ripe old age of 66, I started suffering from motion sickness while track day, driving which after about 50 Track Days, just seemed like a joke!
 

A friend, who was at Cadwell Park last year, gave me a Quells travel sickness tablet, which completely negated the travel sickness. I now keep a packet in the glove compartment of whatever car I am tracking and have used them on a number of occasions.

Why, I don’t know.

As for my Boxster S on track, even compared to my 5.5 TVR, which I did a hell of a lot of Track Days with, (very entertaining). I really do love it on track.

[Stewart Welsh]

I love Cadwell, it’s the jewel in the North East’s circuits. My everlasting memory of Cadwell is.
Warning, move on to the next post, old man rant.

Coming down through Park straight on my FZR1000, in the early nineties, going pretty fast thinking I’m hot, I flew past a teenager on a CB 500 with drop bars. Only just got through Park, didn’t quite get Crescent on the racing line, but still very rapid, but. This teenager hadn’t slowed down a bit. Left me for dead. Felt like I had left the handbrake on. Motorbike, I know. Turned out to be a very young Jamie Toseland.

Taught me that horsepower can never beat talent.

 

[Gdaybruce]

I have a similar (although second hand) story dating from the 60s when a friend of my brother fancied his talents as a biker and entered an event at Cadwell. During practice he was going around Park with his bike canted over and feeling that no one could possibly be travelling any quicker. There was then a blast of noise and wind as Mike Hailwood came past him on the outside, fighting to keep his back wheel under him, and disappeared up the straight. My brother's friend came straight back to the pits and retired from racing on the spot!

 

The last time I was at Cadwell I was admiring this tribute in the scrutineering bay to a chap I've never heard of but who obviously made racing leathers:

[Ninesomething]

Jamie Whitham tells a story of how he followed Freddie Spencer out of the pits at Cadwell to try to crib his lines. He said 'he got to the first bend, deliberately lost the front to heat the tire, spun the rear on the exit to heat the rear and I never saw him again'. 

I never had much time for Whitham until I watched him race the Cadburys boost Yamaha at Cadwell in the pouring rain. He dropped the field and he had the bike completely sideways right the way through Chris and down to the gooseneck lap after lap. I was standing next to Steve Parrish and I said to him 'could you do that?'. He said 'probably not. Could you?'

Happy days.

[Stewart Welsh]

Alec and his wife Linda made me some leathers which my wife bought me for my fortieth birthday.

Nearly thirty years ago.

They were really tough and weigh an absolute ton.

Still have them, but they are a bit of a squeeze to get on.

Lovely couple.