I have been doing DE/ open track for the last 3 years with an '86 Porsche 944 turbo that has been set up for track events. EX: roll bar, full coilovers, gutted ect. To give you an idea I run 1.04 /1.05 at Limerock, not blistering but plenty fast.
I decided about six months ago to pick up the EVO for a dual use, everyday driver/track car. This weekend was my first time at the track with the EVO. I did the bare min in preparation with the car: allignmnent, brake pads and brake fluid.
All in all I felt the Evo was an excellent choice for track use. I run in the intermediate run group which draws an array of cars from e46/e36 m3s, Bosters, 911's of all types, sti's and a slew of vette's(remember Pocono is a NASCAR track those vettes love long straight aways) I was very impressed with the EVo's performance, the 4 wheel drive allows you to drive the car anywhere on the track due to the huge amounts of grip. Turn in and steering feel is great although power steering maybe a little over bolstered. Brakes were very good and strong all day w/o fade. At the end of the second day I did develope a decient brake shudder that was still there this morning on the way to work, although not as bad. Pocono runs part of the track on the tri oval and part in the infield. The transision from the Oval to the infield has you braking from 135 mph to a second gear hair pin, so this was a real test. I went with the Ferodo ds25's and ATE super Blue fluid.
I was also very happy with the stock issue tires. I was running 35 front and 30 psi rear cold that got me to 43 f 37r hot. Grip was excellent all day, but the car has signigicant understeer and was hard to rotate. The tires also scream/squeel like crazy, this should help any track newbies. After 2 days I had put quite a hurting on the front tires. The car only has 2700 miles and 2 track days and they are starting to get to the wear indicators. The outside shoulders are fairly rounded off. BTW I went w/ 1.6 camber in the frount, tring to find a happy medium between street and track. Any more camber and It will be a pain in the **** on the street.
All in all I was very impressed with the car and so were the other cars in my run group. I was consistantly faster than some very well prepaired and drivin cars. The only thing I would like to do in the near term is get a set of harnesses and maybe a rear sway bar. Anything that can be done to losen up the rear would help lap times and the level of FUN.

 

Running 35psi FR, 40psi R and adding a rear strut bar should help you rotate the car much more effectively. Just the course I'd take, I've tried those pressures sans the rear strut tower bar and it felt a little easier to bring the back end around.

 

Yep. Stop using the 2500 pads on the track. Switch over to the 3000s for TRACK ONLY use. I've been using a 33F/35R (cold) tire pressures with a stock alignment. I noticed any more pressure that that (when it started getting above 42F hot) it started getting a little slick out there.

So what times did you run with the Evo?

 

How did the evo times compare with that of the 944 turbo?

 

You really got no fade from the 2500s? That's pretty impressive!

 

Upgrade to the Cusco or a similar adjustable rear sway bar I did and it made a big difference in the the understeer department. Made the car more neutral in corners and helped with front tire wear. Glad to see Evo owners giving other sports cars a run for their money.

 

ehh imo the cusco sucks because its barely larger than the stock and is just adjustable. hotchkis or that one other 25mm one is what i would prefer.

 

Mayhem/ I still drive the car often on the street, I was afraid the 3000's would be loud, chew up the rotor and not bite when cold, I'll try your tire pressures and up grade the rear bar. What's consensus on size of the rear bar??
MODVP 944 is a better all around more balanced car, 50/50 weight, lower center of gravity. Evo's 4 wheel drive and 50 more HP make it a toss up. I did not have timing equip in the EVO, but e46 m3's give the 944t all it can handle, the evo was faster than MOST of the e46's in my run group. Keep in mind, driver is the biggest variable.

 

OK, you are allowed to own more than one set of brake pads. That's why I mentioned "TRACK ONLY" They do suck when cold and I highly recommend not using them on the street (the 3000s that is). Chances are that they will chew up some rotors with time. But you'll like them on the track. Oddly, I've had hardly any squeel with the 3000s before they are nice & hot. They only squeeled while on the track after a few good laps and up to temp.