Porsche 959 lawsuit - Canepa design

It's a safety issue. Bead lock wheels are much safer. As an aside I have a source who could likely manufacture these wheels with bead locks to OEM standards. It would cost about 15K for the molds/tooling and then about 2.5K per wheel.

My understand is EPA 21 years/DOT 25 years.

As an aside PS 2 are much better tires.

 

All good except the OEM tires are very dated. PS 2's are much more modern and IMO a better design. IMO manufacturing (Not modifying) these wheels to modern standards that could use modern tires would be safer.

I have sources that can do this and test them to all World Wide Standards. Hey the 959 is a Vintage Car and if driven calmly it's a non issue but if I were to seriously flog one I wouldn't do it on these wheels and tires. Other's might but I wouldn't.

If "None of Canepa's modifications have been tested to any standard" I certainly wouldn't drive on those under any circumstances.

 

That's what makes Horse Races. In it's day this hollow spoke/run flat/tire psi monitoring system was very advanced but IMO today it's not.

I personally like the Paris/Dakar cars and regret passing on one years ago.

What Wheel/Tires did those run on?

 

I agree with your bottom line and am not suggesting modifying a stock rim or fitting a different tire on a stock rim.

If I did own one I would investigate engineering, testing and manufacturing a new wheel system that could use modern tires.

As an aside I personally wouldn't use run flats as I don't like their handling characteristics verses other high performance tires. I realise the importance of tire psi warning systems.

 

Forgive Jim, but I don't get it. What exactly are you trying to achieve by modifying and changing tires on a 959? Is it that you want to go faster than the 197 mph that it has been running the last 23 years? Perfectly good drivers have done hundreds of thousands of miles in 959's during those years with the OEM tires. Is it because you feel you can't lap as quick as a modern equivalent that makes you want to up the stakes and modify the wheel to accept modern rubber? If so why don't you(or anyone for that matter) just run a modern car capable of putting the latest and greatest rubber on it. !? The 959 was engineered and tested to run with those tires and wheels during it's time and was quite successful at it too. If you or anyone feels "unsafe" with the OEM tires then maybe they should improve their driving cause lots of people were very capable and safe driving with the OEM combo during the last 23 years. No offence intended but that's my attitude to that. I feel the same about changing brakes on the F40 for street purposes. I will not change the brakes on my F40 and will drive within the limits of what the manufacturer intended. I just don't understand the concept of mucking around and trying to modernise everything. There are perfectly good modern cars for that.

 

I have no horse in this race not owning a 959, though I've had the opportunity to drive two, one in europe in the late 90's and a Canepa modded car last year. That said, I drove neither to their limits, as they exceeded my own, but philosophically, I share your point of view with respect to modifications associated with handling and performance. I'm perfectly fine with with modded ignition systems to improve reliability on older vehicles, but that's where I draw my arbitrary and personally biased line.

 

You sir are of course CORRECT! 2012 and forward and the market for 959 importation opens wide!!

 

Only that I personally don't feel safe running hard on 44 year old wheels on some of the roads I drive my cars on, The Historic Targa Florio, for example. Those roads are very rough, worse then they were on the day, so for cars that I drive there I use newly cast wheels with stronger alloys, bead locks and more modern tires.

 

You sure about this? Cars can be brought in under show and display but they have to conform to EPA rules in effect at the time of manufacture. This doesn't magically go away after 25 years. Rather, at the time the rules were established, EPA requirements had been in existence for less than 25 years, so cars older than that were exempt. It is no longer the case for cars that are 25 years old. There were EPA rules in effect in 1985. Cars of that vintage have to meet those standards, even if they are exempted from FMVSS.

 

1. Vehicles 21 Years Old Or Older
If the vehicle is at least 21 years old, there are no EPA compliance requirements upon importation. The age of the vehicle is determined by subtracting the calendar year of manufacture from the calendar year of importation. If the calendar year of manufacture is unavailable, the importer may substitute the model year or year of first registration. For instance, to qualify in 2001, the vehicle must have been manufactured in 1980 or earlier. The vehicle must be in its original unmodified configuration. Vehicles at least 21 years old with replacement engines are not eligible for thisexemption unless they contain equivalent or newer EPA certified engines.

No approval or Customs bond is required by EPA. The importer must also prove to Customs, as required, that the vehicle or engine was manufactured prior to EPA regulation. Documents such as a title, or letter from the original manufacturer may be used for this purpose.The importer must file with Customs, upon entry, an EPA Form 3520-1 and declare code "E" on that form.


Under 49 U.S.C. § 30112(a), a person may not permanently import into the United States a motor
vehicle manufactured after the date that an applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standard (FMVSS)
takes effect unless the vehicle complies with the standard and is so certified by its original
manufacturer. This prohibition applies to both new and used motor vehicles, but does not apply to
motor vehicles that are at least 25 years old (based on the date that the vehicle was manufactured).

 

I laughed so hard my sides hurt...thank you

 

Zack,

I am not sure about the Show and Display stuff...it has been SO LONG since my importation experience. Since no cars in TX that are 25 years or older have to meet EPA regs anymore I presumed that was the case on imported cars too... You are correct in that no matter the manufacture date of the car if you brought it in under S&D it DID still have to meet the EPA reqs but not the DOT stuff. SO STUPID! An oversight from our vaunted politicians. Bunch of MORONS all of them! Vote them all out of office they are to stupid to find their collective butts with both hands... ugh, sorry...rant off... LOL!

Could be that if you import a car today that is say 26 years old you STILL have to meet those as new EPA requirements of that day 26 years ago...I know my '92 928 GTS had to meet as new '92 car requirements from the EPA even though it was 8 years old and had over 100k miles on it at the time of import... Of course at the first TX registration it only had to meet the EPA reqs (or maybe they are not EPA at that point...maybe they are STATE requirements) of an 8 year old car...

Go figure. I have not read up on the import stuff in awhile and have slept since then anyway, so anything is possible. Should be easier to get 959's in a few years from now though I would hope anyway! We will see...I suspect someone will call and ask specifically about that pretty soon!

 

Thanks Pcar, but per Napolis' post (thanks, Jim), it seems after 25 years they do become exempt from EPA requirements.

I agree with you about politicians in general. What happened to common sense, efficiency, and competence?

 

(As a result, I am sure a few European 959's will enter the US in 2012 and 2013)
So is my previous statement potentially correct then?

 

I think it is correct as per quoted rules. (For cars imported after 25 years for the first time)

 

You owned 4? Really? How come, did you run a race team? Did you have a dealership outside the US? If so, that's not really owning the car in the we talk about it on here, even if it is technically true.

 

berryman, you mentioned a Bryan M earlier. Who is that? Not Bryan Milazzo the whackjob from Bow, NH, who claims that exotic cars are used for terrorism? The one whose own police force sued him to stop harassing them? The one who rails against judges, neighbors, teenagers, etc., etc. in a never-ending stream of letters to his local newspaper. The one who tried to inject himself into every 959 transaction and when that bid failed, took it upon himself to tie up the NHTSA with his ridiculous FOIA requests?

Are you him, by any chance? I am asking because of the similarity of names (berryman, BM, Bryan Milazzo) and because of the IP address of your posts coming out of Bow, NH. If so, game's up. Crawl back in your hole and go back to trying to catch speeders like a self-appointed Boss Hogg.

 

GOOGLE is your friend.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=Bryan+Milazzo+Bow+New+hampshire&btnG=Google+Search&meta=&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=