LA Porsche and BMW Repair

Hey Tony, Can you shed some light on a fuel trim fault on my 996. It is reoccurring and I am having a tough time finding the problem. Anytime you have a ME 5.2.2 (1997-1999 986-996), ME 7.2 (E-Gas 986-996) or 7.8 (Roughly 2002-on) 986 and 996 with running issues, check the fuel trim numbers: TRA-RKAT (Idle range which is around 1700 and below) FRA-FRAU-FRAO (cruise range which is around 1700 and above) fuel trim numbers. The Oxygen sensing AKA Lambda or on the later models they call it “fuel trim mean value” is “STFT” short term fuel trim. The TRA or RKAT and FRA or FRAU-FRAO are the “LTFT” long term fuel trim. For TRA and RKAT you want around them “0”. If it is below “0”, the car is running rich at idle and it is taking away fuel in the Idle range. If it is above “0” the car is running lean and it is adding fuel at the idle range. The FRA or FRAU-FRAO should be around “1”. If it is below, the car is running rich in the cruise ... read more

The Crew Chiefs Notes: The Daytona 24 hours By Tony Callas and Tom Prine The history of sports car racing at Daytona International Speedway started in 1962 with the Daytona Continental, a 3 hour sprint race and was first won by Dan Gurney in a Lotus 19. This race expanded to a 2,000 Kilometer event in 1964 and then two years later in 1966, Daytona hosted the second 24 hour race in the USA; there will be a little trivia at the end of the article. The 24 Hours of Daytona is the first race of the season. Preparation for the race must start months before the event, even if you’ve purchased a brand new racecar from Porsche Motorsport in Weissach, Germany. Hotel rooms must be booked 3 to 5 months in advance, it is always better to have all crew members of the team staying at the same place, both to keep track of everyone and the ease of shuttling members to and from the hotel and track. The number of crew members is dependent mainly on the ... read more

Corner Balancing: The Last Step in your Suspension Upgrade You fell in love with driving your Porsche when you purchased it, but over the years and miles the handling began to lose its crisp response as the wear and tear took its toll. Wanting to get that great handling and even more back, you made the decision and upgraded the suspension to competition or sport type coil-over struts/shocks that have adjustable spring height perches like those of the Bilstein PSS9 and PSS10 systems. To make your Porsche’s high performance/competition suspension truly effective in its braking and cornering, there is also another very important step in the process of optimizing your car’s handling; the distribution of the car’s weight on its four tires. This is because the tire that is supporting less weight, when compared to the other three, is likely to be the first tire to lose traction when encountering the constantly changing dynamic forces created through movement and speed ... read more

Servicing the Cayenne Automatic Transmission We were contacted recently by a PCA club member who asked if it would be possible for him to perform a service on the automatic transmission in his Cayenne. The answer is a qualified yes, it is possible; however, having the required tools and the procedural knowledge for performing this service is critical. After documenting this information, we thought that it might provide an interesting insight for club members as to what is involved in performing this important service for the Cayenne. This is also somewhat indicative of servicing the later model Tiptronic transmission equipped Porsche’s. We recommend you warm up the engine to operating temperature. Drive the vehicle and make sure that the transmission operates properly; shifting correctly in all gears and speeds. Let the car cool down overnight before starting the transmission service. Be prepared to dispose of the fluid and filter properly due to t ... read more

A 24 hour race. The 24 Hours of Le Mans or the U.S. equivalent, the 24 hours of Daytona, are both incredible endurance races where just finishing is a cause for celebration. An intense race like the Daytona 500 takes roughly 3-1/2 hours to complete, however this is a “Walk in the Park” when compared to running a car flat out for 24 hours. Consider that operating a street car under these same conditions would be the equivalent of a lifetime of wear and tear, every mechanical system in the car would be completely used up. Like the wear and tear on the racecar, the people involved are also pushed to the limits. The rules allow for a minimum of 3 drivers per car, some teams will have 4 to 5 drivers per car to complete the 24 hour race. The drivers all take turns at the wheel rotating in one hour driving stints and even double stinting on rare occasion for the driver’s that are in incredible physical condition. When they are not in the car, they are trying to slee ... read more