Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/375982
September / October 2014 36 rod bearings (preventative maintenance). I also ordered and installed EBC yellow brake pads, mounted my 17 inch track wheels and tires, and replaced the brake fluid with a fresh batch of ATE DOT 4 fluid. I ordered various factory Porsche parts to fix some niggling issues and make the car look suitable amongst its fellow Porsche brethren. A final trip back to RennsportKC to top off the a/c and perform a HPDE inspection and we were good to go. Packing was another challenge. Over the years I developed routine for packing the car for a HPDE. I know exactly what to take and how to fit everything under the rear hatch. Unfortunately, I needed everything for the HPDE plus space for two weeks' worth of luggage for my wife, Hiromi, and me. This dilemma was solved by a negotiating phone call to my brother who was dealing with the same problem. I stood behind the car with two carry-on bags, a zippered garment bag and all my track gear. Speaker phone on we both packed and unpacked until each car was able to carry the necessary luggage plus enough tools and track gear to see us through. By sharing track gear, (e.g. Terry brought the trolley jack, and I brought the jack stands), we were able to reduce the number of items each of us had to bring. With much anticipation June 12th, the day to start our journey, finally arrived. The first day was an easy jaunt to Omaha where we would meet up with Terry and begin our trip to CA the following morning. The plan for Day 2 was a 748 mile drive to Rock Springs, WY. A 944 Turbo has a large 18 gallon gas tank and is just meant for running down the autobahn (I mean interstate). We discovered early on I could go further on a tank of gas than my brother, whose Cayman had a smaller tank and made less mpg. This became a factor when we stopped for lunch in North Platte, NE and discovered 89 octane was the highest performance gas available. Filling with this wimpy gas did not seem like a good idea as we headed into the high altitude of the Rocky Mountains. As a result Terry had to drive in economy mode as we searched for a gas station further west with 91 octane. Luckily my Garmin GPS came in handy identifying gas stations further ahead. Hiromi manned the cell phone calling them to see what octane they C ontinuing west we happily discovered the speed limit increased to 80 mph. We made quick work of the 80 mile drive to the Bonneville Salt Flats.