"Bulletproofing" 360 for rally

I recently did my first rally a few weeks back, but in one of my Porsche's that I trust a bit more. It was ~3k miles and some hard hard miles on some great roads, but also 2/3rds of the miles on freeway, to and from.

As soon as I got back I thought, "what would it take for me to feel confident in taking the 360 next year?". So, wondering what this group would do to preventatively set up for a rally like that?

I am religious about fluids with annual changes for all, including coolant and brake fluid, but being an F1 car, and still being a bit of a moron on that system, wondering if people would proactively change things like the accumulator. I'm guessing if there isn't a problem now (Dom/Flash32 walked me through the cycles and he said it was "very healthy") then maybe not, but worth getting thoughts.

Beyond basic car issues like brakes, tires, fluids etc, what are things you would do to "bulletproof" an F1 360 for a rally as described above?

 

I thought about doing this with my 355 a few weeks ago but also went with a different car mainly because I didn't have enough time myself to prep the car.

If I was to have taken it for the rally I would have done the following:
Send Fuel Injectors for cleaning (5 years)
Replaced Fuel Filter (5 years)
Replaced F1 accumulator (if > 5 years old)
Checked F1 fluid level
Checked F1 relay or replaced with Scud Ing Swiss Relay
Inspected drive belt, last replacement < 5 years ago
Checked battery health (if not a lithium) and conditioned w/ tender
Checked spark plugs for gap and color
Checked tires for nails
Installed windshield protection film (car didn't have it but now does)
Checked headlights / brake lights
Make sure all other fluids are < 1 year old
Purchased extra coolant, oil, brake / clutch fluid for the trip
Brought along a tire inflator, OBDII reader, and battery tender / charger

Reality is, not much you can do by the side of the road so prevention is the best solution on this one. Also helps if you have a support car along for the trip.

 

Good list, thank you.

I debated windshield protection film but wondered if it eventually streaked from wipers or not. How have you found it? And you have it for rock chip prevention, correct?

 

It sounds like you take care of the car ..fluids , maintenance,tires , brakes etc ..so no reason to not feel confident .
One thing I will say ..do a thorough check of charging system, F1 system, brake system and check for any unusual smells /noises before rally
Try not to do any work on the car at least a month or so before ..I find that some new problems show up right after doing some other thing on car that inadvertently disturbed something else

Do all your checks and fix anything that may need fixing but give yourself a few weeks of normal driving to flush out anything that may been "broken" while you were fixing something else
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I added checking the F1 relay or replacing to the list as well.

windshield film has been great, does its job and so far hasn’t streaked from the wipers. Important to install new wiper blades if you do this so the rubber is soft and undamaged.

 

amen to this point of not finishing the work today and leaving for the rally tmrw. One of the reasons I didn’t take my car.

 

I like to carry a small jack and a tire plug kit. Never the fix a flat stuff they give you with the car. Zip ties for quick fixes and a roll of paper towels.

 

Good call, this was part of my "kit" for the Porsche

 

My son just did a 300+ mile each-way trip in his Lotus Elise. I made sure he had a kit of miscellaneous Allen keys, metric wrenches, basic screw drivers, Torx wrench multi-tool, and a compressor with Fix-A-Flat green slime (not the foam in a can that is usually included with a newer Porsche). Most of which came from Harbor Freight, including the "roll" where the tools are stored. While I agree a tire plug kit is nice, if the Fix-A-Flat green slime can get you to a professional repair, then I'd rather do that, where they put the patch on the inside of the wheel and not just a plug through the tread. Since this was also his 1st big trip in the Elise, I also threw my Launch X431 and a small battery jump pack just in case, since his car usually sits on the Ctek at home.

 

I’ve done track days on plugged tires. Unless you’re in a drag race, I don’t think you have much to worry about. A plug is basically a permanent fix as far as I’m concerned, especially if it’s the weekend or evening.