When you first start drivers education, your stock brake pads are OK, however, you'll find shortly that combined street and drivers ed events leads to a significantly shortened pad life.

In previous Cross Thread articles, we've talked about brakes and upgrades you can make to enhance your braking capabilities at the track. These involve basics such as fresh, high temperature brake fluid and recently bled brakes, removing the front backing plates, piping air into the brake rotor, recent rubber or stainless mesh-covered brake hoses, and the choice of brake pads.  In this two part article, we'll cover why you might want to upgrade your brakes and discuss what's involved.

In many homes, March madness is associated with college basketball. In others it can also be associated with warming (garage) temperatures and the first drivers education events of the year. If you're planning on attending DE events, early March is a good time to get some basic maintenance taken care of.

If you've participated in any CVR driver's education event this year, then you already have a fire extinguisher, which is now required in all run groups. If you'll be adding a hand-held fire extinguisher to your Porsche, you want the extinguisher mounting bracket (which holds the extinguisher) to mount to something firm that won't let go at an inopportune time.  Brey-Krause has a line of stainless brackets ($70-$110) that mounts the extinguisher either in front or behind the seat. If you have a rollbar, there are adaptors to mount the extinguisher to it. Also, some mount the extinguisher bracket to the floor tunnel. If you do that, be sure the bracket mounts against the metal flooring, not carpet.  Consider using Loctite blue on the screws/bolts.  The extinguisher itself should be minimum 2 1/2 lbs size, preferably with a metal (vs plastic) head, and have a two strap bracket. In addition, you might want to consider getting a halogen extinguisher as opposed to a garden variety $9.99 special. The benefit of Halogen is that it doesn't leave a chemical residue in the knooks and crannies of your aluminum engine after the fire's put out.  Expect to pay around $125 for a halogen extinguisher and bracket.

Written by Bill Gregory for the "Challenge", monthly publication of the Connecticut Valley Region, Porsche Club of America.

911's through 1989 have had a variety of auxilliary coolers, in addition to the engine-mounted cooler. The first auxilliary cooler was on the 1969 911S, and there were basically 3 variants after 1974: the loop cooler, the brass-tube cooler, and the radiator-type cooler. In most cases, for street driving these coolers work just fine. However, the demands placed on the engine while on the track can overtax the stock oil cooling capabilities.

Shortly after introducing CIS fuel injection in 1974/1975, Porsche changed how hot air was sent into the passenger cabin for heat and defrosting.  Starting with the first 911 in 1965, the original air system consisted of a duct on either side of the fan housing routing air through the engine tin to the heat exchangers. The new mid-70's system consisted of a fan mounted high on the left upper side of the engine bay, with 3 hoses, one for an air intake from the fan housing, and two hoses from the blower through the engine tin to each heat exchanger. Backdating the air system to the older style is easy to do, and Porsche sells the parts you'll need, or you can visit your favorite used parts dealer.