GT3 – TPC Racing

Shaping up a new-to-me 07 GT3

Admin — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 14:09:10 +0000

I bought this 07 GT3 from a Chevy dealer in Albany, NY back in March. This car was pretty rough around the edges(its all can afford on a grease monkey’s salary ). The dealer left the key ON in the ignition and drained the battery dead in the showroom. The previous owner spent good money on mods but just didn’t turned out too well. The good news is the handling was so bad, even at legal highway speed, I doubt that any one would track this car for more than a few laps. Here’s the journey to shaping her up!

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The very next day after driving the car home I had to put it on the dyno because it felt pretty flat. It does have an aftermarket cone air filter, which is not my preference. Sure enough power is a little down. And looks like its never had spark plugs and fuel filter change so let’s do it!

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I really wish this car came with the factory airbox because it cost about $800!! Need to figure something out with the airbox… and it needs a MAF sensor because it was coated with the cone filter oil.

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If I am to spend 800 bucks on an airbox, it ain’t going to be the stock one! The pictures are worth a thousand words.

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The Airbox Saga, Part 2

All that work was worth it. Check out the dyno! All dyno runs made will lid closed.

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As I said before, the previous owner spend good money on mods but the results were less than ideal. Just look at this set up… Not one corner was right. I was actually amazing that the steering wheel was even remotely straight! Got some sorting out to do. I only work on my car after shop hours and weekends in case you were wondering.

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As I swap out the suspension parts, I Cleaned, I Cleaned, and I Cleaned. It take not time to change parts but it take hours and hours to clean. I used up 2 cases of gum cutter and a gallon of simple green.

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There’s more than one way to setup a car. It is my preference to setup the front geometry so that I don’t have to run a stiffer rear sway bar for push, which this car had. Not only did I got rid for the GT2 rear bar for the stock .1GT3 rear bar, I also added a stiffer front bar for more rear grip. I don’t have money to change shocks & springs now so the best I can do is put on .2 front springs that are laying around.

I want to take the opportunity to give Michael Levitas, owner of TPC Racing a big shout out. Thank You Very Much, Mike, for letting me use the shop after hours and for taking me along to the races to sponge up the setup knowledge from the pro drivers.

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The previous owner bought genuine Porsche RS rear wheels. Which looks neat…BUT NOT TRACKABLE ON A NARROW BODY!!! Had to buy a new set of wheel.

Bump tested and corner balanced. Finally, ready for the track.

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TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson / Merkle Team Ready for Watkins Glen

Admin — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 15:36:03 +0000

(June 25, 2013) Jessup, MD – The TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson / Merkle team has been hard at work, preparing all three of the Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup cars of Michael Levitas, David Williams and Marc Bunting who will pilot the teams Platinum entry for rounds five and six at Watkins Glen. Marc last drove with the TPC Racing team in 2004 where he won the Rolex Series drivers championship and has also had recent success driving in ALMS.

“We are thrilled to have Marc Bunting driving with our TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson / Merkle team again,” stated TPC Racing team owner and driver Michael Levitas. “It brings back some great memories of the success we had as teammates when we ran in the Rolex Series. Marc is a fantastic driver. He is a champion, a good friend, race winner and is the perfect driver to have in our Platinum Class entry. Marc is a great addition to our Porsche of Towson team and it will be fun to be back on the same team again.”

Marc Bunting is eager to be reunited with the TPC Racing team and take to the wheel of the #35 Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup in the Platinum Class.

“I am excited to be reunited with TPC Racing and Watkins Glen,” stated Marc Bunting. “It will be great to be back with the team and also to drive the new Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup in the Platinum Class. I won my first championship in 2004 with TPC Racing and they are a first class performance/race prep shop located in my hometown of Baltimore, MD. It’s great to be back with the home team. I know from experience that with the engineering behind TPC Racing and the driver coaching from Randy Pobst, the team will provide me with the car that I will need to fight for the win. Watkins Glen is one of the tracks where I first started road racing in the MARRS series in the 90’s and it is a track I have not raced at since 2007, so I am excited to return to The Glen which has always been my favorite track on the East Coast.”

Michael Levitas is thrilled to be back in the seat of his #36 Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup car to go back to one of his favorite tracks on the east coast.

“I am very excited to get back in the seat of my Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup,” stated TPC Racing team owner and driver Michael Levitas. “Watkins Glen has always been one of my favorite tracks on the East Coast that I have had a lot of success at. It comes down to having the best chassis at a track like The Glen, and our TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson team has done a lot with reviewing data and finding the right setup. I believe we will be strong there and I look to continue with our winning ways.”

David Williams is also looking forward to being back in his #37 Porsche of Towson / Merkle machine.

“When I was last out at Watkins Glen, I had a blast,” stated David Williams. “Watkins Glen is a very fast track and I look forward to being back in the seat of my TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson GT3 Cup. The Glen is a fast track but the car setup has to be spot on in order to go fast, and I know that the TPC Racing team will give me a car to run up at the front of the field with.”

After winning the first four races of the season, Michael Levitas is the championship leader in the Gold Class as well as the Gold Masters Class. David Williams is right behind Levitas in the point’s standings, making for a battle of the teammates. This also puts the TPC Racing / Porsche of Towson / Merkle team on top, leading the team championship. The team hopes to continue with this success at Watkins Glen for rounds five and six June 28-30.

About TPC Racing:

TPC Racing is the Mid-Atlantic’s premier maintenance, service, tuning and modification center dedicated solely to Porsche sports cars. This long time focus on only one make, Porsche, has enabled us to become experts in Porsche service, tuning and racing.

TPC Racing has its roots in the IMSA Supercar Series of the late 1980’s and early 1990s, where team owner and driver Michael Levitas managed the turbocharger programs that gave the fire-breathing Nissan 300ZX, Mazda RX7 Twin Turbo, Lotus Turbo Esprit and Consulier GTPs their prodigious power.

By combining a lifetime of automotive enthusiasm, business experience and technical skill with advanced aeronautical training and certifications, Levitas has managed to extend the engineering of some for the most advanced and well-regarded machines in existence – Porsche race cars.

About Porsche of Towson:

Porsche of Towson is Baltimore’s only exclusive Porsche center. That means that our Porsche staff is 100% dedicated to the Porsche brand and nothing else. They will be able to assist you with all of your Porsche needs. On behalf of the entire Priority 1 Automotive Group family of dealerships, welcome to Porsche of Towson. We look forward to meeting all of your Porsche needs.

Porsche of Towson is a part of the Priority 1 Automotive Group which is a family owned and operated group of dealerships. As a family dealership, the family’s reputation in the community is of the utmost importance. Therefore, there is a tremendous focus on providing exceptional customer service. With a brand new state-of-the-art Porsche dealership (completed in 2010), the most elite and experienced group of client advisors for sales and service, and a highly trained team of service and support personnel, your sales and service experience is assured of being second to none. Our clients appreciate the way we do business. We know you will too!

About Merkle:

Merkle is the nation’s largest and fastest-growing customer relationship marketing (CRM) agency. For more than 20 years, Fortune 1000 companies and leading nonprofit organizations have partnered with Merkle to maximize the value of their customer portfolios. Employing data-driven strategies, Merkle combines a complete range of marketing, technical, analytical and creative disciplines to offer complete integrated customer marketing solutions. With a strategically led, consultative approach, we work closely with clients to design, execute and continuously evaluate CRM programs throughout the buying cycle, across channels and media.

About CrunchDaddy Popcorn:

CrunchDaddy Popcorn makes “Popcorn Unusual!™”, an array of sweet and savory inventions that take the sophisticated snacker beyond the common recipes for caramel, kettle and cheese popcorn. All CrunchDaddy Popcorn flavors are available on-line through their website, www.crunchdaddy.com

TPC Racing Takes Podium Finishes at Sebring for the IMSA GT3 Challenge

TPC Racing — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 16:11:50 +0000

TPC Racing Takes Podium Finishes at Sebring for the IMSA GT3 Challenge

PRESS RELEASE:
Jessup, MD (March 21, 2011)

After a 5 year hiatus, TPC Racing returned to the grid and grabbed 2, 3rd Place finishes at the IMSA GT3 Challenge(Gold Class). TPC Racing owner and driver Michael Levitas says, “Racing is in our blood and working with IMSA this year is a great return for us. We have 5 years of time to make up for!”

TPC Racing’s #36 Porsche of Silver Spring, JRZ USA 2008 Porsche GT3 Cup Car ran very strong during the first race. “We knew in qualifying that the car was good but we knew that we had to be careful to get the tires to last the full race.” “We were putting a half second on the leader per lap, the car was running great! However, when trying to overtake the first place runner I overestimated the aero grip and flat spotted the front right tire rather than colliding with the leader. After that I drove conservatively to finish” said Levitas. “We’re glad to take 3rd, this is a very competitive field great drivers and great teams.”

Friday’s race was a different story. “We made some changes in the chassis trying to find speed but ultimately we went backwards” said Levitas. “While under caution I knew that we had an opportunity to get back up front. We didn’t have it in speed but we definitely made up for speed with experience and patience,” said Levitas after narrowly escaping an incident in turn 4 that ended the race under a caution and putting the #36 TPCRacing Porsche of Silver Spring car in third place.

The veteran Grand Am GT Driver and winner of the 24hrs of Daytona in 2006, Levitas, was proud of the teams opening and thankful for support from his sponsors TPC Racing, Porsche of Silver Spring, JRZUSA and family. “I was very happy to have my family with me during the week, My wife Wende and kids Harris and Erin have always been the backbone of my racing career”.

TPC Racing will be returning to the grid at the Miller Motorsports Park for the IMSA GT3 Challenge support race at the 2011 Utah Grand Prix.

IMSA GT3 Challenge by Yokohama

@ Sebring International Raceway

Race 1 – Opening Laps

IMSA GT3 Challenge by Yokohama

@ Sebring International Raceway

Race 2 – Close Call

David and Sayuri G. Dominate in PCA Autocross

TPC Racing — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 16:56:40 +0000

David and Sayuri G. Dominate in PCA Autocross

It has been a busy year for David and, wife, Sayuri G. After having their TPC Racing Cayman S Turbo featured on the automotive news website, Autoblog(Quick Spin: TPCRacing Cayman S Turbo picks up where Porsche left off), they share this very capable car to each dominate their respective classes in the PCA Golden Gate Region’s annual autocross series.

Sayuri, an autocross regular, is no slouch behind the wheel of her TPC Racing Cayman S Turbo.

Equipped with the TPC Racing Turbo Kit and the TPC Racing Stage 4 suspension system, their Cayman S Turbo ran flawlessly all season and consistantly outperforming the competition, often winning by 2+ seconds! The competition includes GT3s, TTs, and many other modified Porsches with experienced racers behind the wheels. David and Sayuri drove supremely well all season, each wining the regional championship for their class!

During the off season, David and Sayuri will be brainstorming on making their Cayman S Turbo even more stellar, so that next season, they will be ready for even faster competition.

Customer Review of the TPC Racing Cayman Stage 4(JRZ) Suspension Program

TPC Racing — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:20:58 +0000

Customer Review of the TPC Racing Cayman Stage 4(JRZ) Suspension Program

First off, thanks to Mike Levitas for helping me and SO many others on track this weekend. He’s incredibly generous with his time and knowledge. For two days he was jumping in and out of cars in every run group. GT3 Cup cars to Subaru wagons, Black drivers to Green drivers, didn’t matter to him, only that you wanted to learn. Congrats to Harr for his promotion! Awesome driving! We missed you Sunday.

My mistake was riding with Mike the 1st session of the 1st day. I hadn’t been to VIR before and should have gotten familar with the track before I asked him to ride with me. But it was still awesome.

JRZ’s……WOW! It’s hard to describe and I am not technical enough to explain the results, so here’s how it FELT.

One benefit of having Mike in the 1st session was having him setup a baseline for my JRZ’s. I immediately felt better control of the car. The rear end was putting down power without even a slightest hint of coming loose. I had some mild understeer so we made a couple of front rebound adjustments. The change, to my surprise, was easy to feel. It actually caused understeer in some corners that didn’t have it before; Mike predicted it before we made the change. So we changed it back but this time adjusted the compression. Understeer became very minimal but now the car was doing something I hadn’t really felt before, it was sliding (with just a slight lift), i.e. evenly sliding/rotating with little effort. It’s hard to explain but the car was super tight and planted but at the same time could be tossed around VERY controllably with throttle and brake modulation. This was huge for this track. The technical sections require you to roatate and point the car in order to keep your speed up.

This ability to slide the car was different for me. Previously I had to be somewhat aggressive to rotate the car. After just a couple of session with this setup I had awesome control with little effort. This lack of effort quickly built my confidence and reduced my fear when I pushed the edge of adhesion.

Thanks to some great instruction in Potomac PCA, rotation is something that I had been working on, so either I just figured it out or the JRZ’s made it A LOT easier. In any case, the car is extremely stable in & out of corners, stable at speed, stable over rumble, stable under braking and very controllable.

On the street? Not as bad as I thought they would be. I borrowed a trailer for the 5 1/2 hour drive to VIR, so I haven’t driven long distances with them on. But crusing around town they’re a bit harsh but not unbearable.

I had some buyer’s remorse going into this weekend thinking I wouldn’t be able to really appreciate these shocks at my experience level. Now I couldn’t be happier (of course it helps to have a pro driver on hand to setup your car). If you’re building a track car I would highly recommend these shocks.