The Shadow of BLack Beauty: BMW's Roundel?

[epbrown]

This month's Roundel has an article about the Open Track Challenge, and the first picture is of a silver M3 with a familiar black Porsche 911 with TRE Motorsports on its longhood right behind it. Just a couple of mentions of the 911 (literally - just 2), but interesting to see the ripples in the pond after all this time. Anyone else seen it yet?

Emanuel

[Jack Olsen]

Cool. Black Beauty is also apparently mentioned in OTC coverage in August's Grassroots Motorsports.

I've got to get out to a newsstand.

[makaio]

Yes it is Jack! I just found my copy in the mail pile this morning, when I got home from work. That was the first article I read.

[PeteBrown]

Confirmed. The rebuilding of Black Beauty is mentioned in GRM. I received mine on Monday.

[briano555]

Jack,
How do you deal with TRE?

[Jack Olsen]

Anybody have the Grassroots Motorsports and/or Roundel article and a scanner? I can't get either at any of the local newsstands right now.

How do you deal with TRE?

I'm not sure what you're asking, briano555. How do you mean?

[briano555]

His service
His ability to preform the work in a timely manner
His ability to actualy replace the parts that you paid for up front
His over all moral bakebone
My self and a bunch of friends have had nothing but problems with him

[Stanley]

I think that you and your friends are the only ones that have problems with him. I've heard nothing but good stuff about his work. If I lived the LA area the P-Car would definitely go to his shop to be worked on.

[ZAMIRZ]

brian, I myself had heard bad things about Dave and TRE. However, from personal experience with dealing with him he his a stand up guy and the transaction went smoothly, I would recommend him to anyone in L.A. needing work done to the their Porsche.

[Jack Olsen]

I've never had a problem with TRE, in two years of using them as my shop. TRE built my current car from the ground up (extremely quickly), and it has been reliable from the day it rolled out of the shop. It's also surprisingly fast (considering it has the same drivetrain as my previous car).

I voluntarily put their stickers on my 911.


(Happy to promote the Pelican BBS, too!)

But for every shop there are always going to be some instances of people not getting what they expect, I guess -- it's the nature of doing business. You're the first example I've come across of someone being unhappy with TRE.

[briano555]

On a positive note.........your car looks hot!!!!!!!! what times do you turn at willow with that beast?

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks.

Fresh out of the shop, with very little tuning, it was running 1:33's on BFGoodrich street tires. That's only a second off of the old version's best times on Victoracers.

It should be easily sub-1:30 with r-compound tires, and sub-1:28 if my driving skills ever catch up with it.

[82SC]

i'll come out and say no shop is capable of perfect service...

actually I've visited TRE many times to buy parts and my first use of their service did end in some loose ends and unfinished business...

BUT I think what distinguishes a crappy shop and a good shop that just had an oversight, is how they rectify it...

Dave was VERY quick to rectify the problem and has make up for it on subsequent visits...I have found him and his staff to be very reasonable...Dave was VERY open to hearing about the problems and very quick to take responsibility for his shop's oversight...even when I said that it was not a big deal, he said, "no it is a big deal and we are going to take care of it"

a top notch shop in my book...


BTW Jack I'd love to see Cort Wagner or another one of those pro drivers take BBII out and see what it can do in the hands of a pro...that might be a cool way to set a bar to aspire to...that would be so cool...car is looking good

MJ

[epbrown]

I'm at work now, but once home I'll try to get the Roundel pics up if no one else has by then.

Emanuel

[racea911]

Cort Wagner just drove my buddy Mitch Rossi's 911 at Willow. Mitch's car is the Martini liveried, 2.7L RS clone that has been the subject of the European Car magazine series of articles. Cort took the car out in the NOVICE group and did 4 laps in it. On every lap he caught a much slower car and was put a little bit off of his pace. On his 4th and final lap, he ran a low 1:28 and told Mitch that without traffic, it is probably a 1:26 car at Willow. Mitch's car is a POC V3 car. That is smoking fast for V3. Now all Mitch has to do is find the same 5 seconds that Cort found

The great thing about having a pro like Cort drive your car is that it forces you to stop all the BS about what your car needs to have done to it. Every time Mitch thinks of doing something else to his car now, he remembers that his car is already easily capable of 1:28's and that HE needs to catch up to his car skill wise.

[Jack Olsen]

I'm sure Cort could take 6 seconds off my best, too. He's a one-man 'unfair advantage.'

[pwd72s]

This reminds me of an old tale. A recently retired Jackie Stewart was asked to take a developing race car out for a few laps, then deliver an opinion. Jackie did so. Returned to the pits. telling the team manager what he thought was "off" with the car. Jackie's lap times? 4-5 seconds ahead off the young "hotshoe" the team had hired. The same "hotshoe" who had complained that the slow lap times were the car's fault. Stewart's time would have placed him in the top 5 on the grid...but he'd "retired", didn't think he had the edge anymore. Guys, the WORST baseball player in the bigs is still a damned good baseball player...because he's there. Food for thought, the next time you think your car needs to be improved...

[arrivederci]

Here's the GRM article...

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks, Josh!

The article should have pointed out that the rebuild of the car (including the bodywork and paint) took place over 12 insanely-paced weeks.

[cstreit]

Who could forget Jack? I was holding my breath the entire 12 weeks! Hard to believe what you and TRE accomplished in such a short time!

Congrats!