Finale: Boy, do I feel bad (and a question)

[(H)]

I usually take my baby out for a drive once in a while in the evening, part to hone my driving skills on empty parking lots (see my new footer below ;-) part to just enjoy the ride on a warm summer night with open windows and time to breath and think.

Now happens that on an entirely empty four lane interstate, I pass the literal only car at about 75mph. It's a white Porsche 968 with turbo sign on the back. But I didn't have time to really identify as it is my understanding that that's a rather very rare vehicle. I didn't think of anything as I had already left him behind me by almost a quarter mile when I see him approaching fast from behind. I thought, well, if he wants to play that's fine, although a tad unfair with a car from the mid 80s. So as he pulls up next to me and we give each other a thumbs up, he hits it, I downshift hard, thinking that this would be a quick and rather embarrassing (for him) gig. Man, that thing pulled hard. I outran him in the end but with a lot more effort than expected. I don't think I did anything wrong, so anybody knows about a special on this type?

We continued cruising along for a short while and as we hit an area were other cars were present on the road, we completely toned it down to regular speeds. As I wanted to great him good bye just before more exit, I briefly stepped on it again and he did a last follow up. That's when an unmarked trooper pulled up behind him and pulled him over. I feel so bad as he randomly chose him over me. I almost thought about stopping as well and defending him vis-à-vis the officer which I ended up not doing (in hindsight I don't think that would have been a good idea ;-). I really feel bad.

No finally here is my question. As you can tell, I do like to drive my car "creatively" at times. Other than the need for new tires and heightened oil and gasoline use, does drifting and hard acceleration and breaking do damage to the F10 M5? I do drive carefully until the engine and transmission have proper temperatures and add some cool down driving at the end. But on the chassis and suspension etc, it does feel rough when cornering etc.

Any insight welcome.

#H

[ShainoF10M5]

I found this on wiki:

In 1993, Porsche Motorsports at Weissach briefly produced a turbocharged 968 Turbo S, a fairly odd naming choice for Porsche which usually reserves the added "S" moniker for models that have been tuned for more power over a "lesser" counterpart, such as with the 911 Turbo. The 968 Turbo S shared the same body and interior as the Club Sport and visually can be identified by the NACA bonnet hood scoops, adjustable rear wing and deeper front spoiler. Powered by a large 8 valve SOHC cylinder head (944 Turbo S) with 3.0 Liter 944S2 style engine block. Tests conducted in 1993 produced a 0 to 60 miles-per-hour time of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of approximately 180 miles-per-hour, performance comparable to the much newer Type 996 911. It generated 305 bhp at 5600 rpm with a maximum torque of 368 ft-lb at 3000rpm. Only 16 were produced in total and only for sale in mainland Europe.

[WuTang]

Needless to say, this was your lucky break lol.

[wisesoul]

Did you hear unusually loud spooling noises? I'll bet you his 968 was not stock! Lots of classic Porsche's are rarely standard fare. Don't feel bad, the 968 is immensely lighter so I'm sure one that has had its turbos tickled with would definitely put up a fight against the F10! Shame that your fun was ended prematurely, and rather unfortunately for the P-car haha

[MattUK]

M5 is partly designed to do that, and it does it well like most M cars.

As for the other driver, don't feel too bad, his choice, each driver responsible for their own actions, you got lucky.. In the UK if they spotted it they may try dual stop or pay you a visit based on any video evidence later.. Or as in one famous late great have his own helicopter follow him home followed up by a car visit..

[968 turboS]

Hi (H), its very kind of you and you are good man. I was the unfortunate owner of the white 968 turbo S. I was issued 3 tickets, 2 of them complete BS because it looks like he was just trying to fulfill his quota.

Ticket #1 - Speeding, 70mph in a 65mph zone. He clearly did not have us on the radar and was going with gut, or else he would not have kept the speed so low.

Ticket #2 - Failure to yield. BS. I asked him who was I suppoed to yield to? there was no one behind. I was passing vehicles in the middle lane, how else am I supposed to pass? He tells me I should never get in the left lane! That lane is for passing only. Isn't this what I was doing?

Ticket #3 - Racing. How can I be racing when the speeding ticket shows 70mph in 65mph. This is the heavy one and carries 5 points.

I am devastated. I have a clean record and all these tickets are worth combined 9 points. Have not had a good luck streak lately and was just out for a fun drive to feel good about things. I appreciate your feelings towards the incident. I will contact you directly as well. Would love to talk cars as you sound like a fun guy.

The car is very special even though its a replica. I put it together over the last 12 yrs using all factory parts (everything is NLA now and were only available thru Porsche Motorsports in Germany). Its a 3.0 liter, 2 valve turbo running 15.5 psi. The car is very fast and weighs approx 3300 lbs. It was recently featured in Panorama magazine.

Regards,
Raj

[(H)]

Wow, Raj, I am so happy that you found me. And now that I know the result of this event, I feel a little less bad and just really sad. I agree on the no radar as my detector stayed completely silent. I am sorry that I can't do anything about the incident but as a sign of me feeling your pain, you will get a bottle of nice champagne from me (on this board, people know that I am a Champagne nut so you'll get the good stuff from a very exclusive vineyard in France).

Coincidence: We will be meeting for a meet and drive tomorrow early evening at 5.30 pm at Joe Canal's on Rt. 1 in Mercer Mall. I think it would be great if you could come. We will leave for the cruise at 6pm. I hope to see you there, I will bring the bottle of Champagne. And I am excited to learn more about your car.

Best
#H

[Hoopumpers]

Wow, very cool coincidence to find each other on the board! Raj, sorry about the trooper incident. That just blows. Haven't heard of the "racing" offense before. They don't dish that out in California often. I sure as hell wish they would cite the left lane only violation here, as every motorist in California believes they own the left lane and need an eviction notice to vacate the premises.

[(H)]

That's a great point @Hoopumpers. I firmly believe that the staying on the left lane and ignoring the law to use that lane only to pass causes more dangerous situations that most speeding. It ultimately causes many drivers to pass on the right which is obviously also illegal but probably THE most dangerous thing to do on a busy highway. The general motorist in the U.S. just simply doesn't pay attention to what is happening around them and certainly rarely uses any of the rear view mirrors.
Goes hand in hand that frequent changing of lanes is considered dangerous/aggressive. Reality is: The law requires you to do so.

Example in Germany: Exact same laws (left lane for passing only) but much differently enforced. You literally never see anybody passing on the right. Staying on the left lane is enforced, you get pulled over by police and fined. Motorists change lanes all the time. That makes them watch the road and other drivers much more diligently.

[968 turboS]

Originally Posted by (H)

Wow, Raj, I am so happy that you found me. And now that I know the result of this event, I feel a little less bad and just really sad. I agree on the no radar as my detector stayed completely silent. I am sorry that I can't do anything about the incident but as a sign of me feeling your pain, you will get a bottle of nice champagne from me (on this board, people know that I am a Champagne nut so you'll get the good stuff from a very exclusive vineyard in France).

Coincidence: We will be meeting for a meet and drive tomorrow early evening at 5.30 pm at Joe Canal's on Rt. 1 in Mercer Mall. I think it would be great if you could come. We will leave for the cruise at 6pm. I hope to see you there, I will bring the bottle of Champagne. And I am excited to learn more about your car.

Best
#H

H, you are an awesome guy. Thank you for wanting to share rides. It's always great to make like-minded friends in the area. I might be able to make it tomorrow. I was so disgusted from the incident, I put the car up on the lift not wanting to drive it anytime soon.

Very tempting.. Thank you for the champagne gesture. I might swing by just to chit chat. We will see. Hopefully I will be in a better state of mind by tomorrow.

Regards,
Raj

[RPiM5]

This is what I love about the community. (H), you sir are a class act. Are you going to MPact in the 12th? I'd like to shake your hand.

[ShainoF10M5]

Originally Posted by 968 turboS

Hi (H), its very kind of you and you are good man. I was the unfortunate owner of the white 968 turbo S. I was issued 3 tickets, 2 of them complete BS because it looks like he was just trying to fulfill his quota.

Ticket #1 - Speeding, 70mph in a 65mph zone. He clearly did not have us on the radar and was going with gut, or else he would not have kept the speed so low.

Ticket #2 - Failure to yield. BS. I asked him who was I suppoed to yield to? there was no one behind. I was passing vehicles in the middle lane, how else am I supposed to pass? He tells me I should never get in the left lane! That lane is for passing only. Isn't this what I was doing?

Ticket #3 - Racing. How can I be racing when the speeding ticket shows 70mph in 65mph. This is the heavy one and carries 5 points.

I am devastated. I have a clean record and all these tickets are worth combined 9 points. Have not had a good luck streak lately and was just out for a fun drive to feel good about things. I appreciate your feelings towards the incident. I will contact you directly as well. Would love to talk cars as you sound like a fun guy.

The car is very special even though its a replica. I put it together over the last 12 yrs using all factory parts (everything is NLA now and were only available thru Porsche Motorsports in Germany). Its a 3.0 liter, 2 valve turbo running 15.5 psi. The car is very fast and weighs approx 3300 lbs. It was recently featured in Panorama magazine.

Regards,
Raj

Raj you really must have an attorney handle this. It will cost a few hundred $ but you will almost certainly have the charges reduced. Unless you have a terrible driving record, I would be surprised if any points were assessed. Please let us know how you make out if you are willing to share.

[968 turboS]

Originally Posted by ShainoF10M5

Raj you really must have an attorney handle this. It will cost a few hundred $ but you will almost certainly have the charges reduced. Unless you have a terrible driving record, I would be surprised if any points were assessed. Please let us know how you make out if you are willing to share.

I agree 100% Shaino. I have reached out to a highly recommended law firm. They charge a flat fee of $500, which under the current situation seems reasonable. As they say, if you play, you gotta be willing to pay. I do have a completely clean driving record, which should help.
My wife is an attorney, but she does corporate law, so it's best for me to get an expert in the field.
I agree with everyone's sentiment here. (H) has been a class act and it would be my pleasure to shake his hand. For that matter, all you guys have made me feel very welcome. I really appreciate the gesture.
For tomorrow, the weather forecast seems pretty bad. I usually don't drive my turbo in foul weather. Is the meet still on tomorrow?
This meeting will be a classic.

[NullCheck]

Can I also come please? I really want to meet you guys. Plus I'll be the only F80

[ShainoF10M5]

It sounds like you are in good hands sir!

[(H)]

Originally Posted by NullCheck

Can I also come please? I really want to meet you guys. Plus I'll be the only F80

Yes please!! Btw. the meet will go down rain or shine. We don't let ourselves be discouraged from a couple of drops of rain (makes the drifting less expensive ;-)

[(H)]

Originally Posted by 968 turboS

Hopefully I will be in a better state of mind by tomorrow.

Regards,
Raj

Awww, please Raj, don't let an incident like this spoil your joy in the rides. I absolutely know that it's easy for me and for all of us "observers" to say that. But I could see that hanging out and sharing some poop-stories might definitely help ease the pain. Along the line of "Hi, my name is H and I am an ///M addict".

Hope to see you later today.

[(H)]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

This is what I love about the community. (H), you sir are a class act. Are you going to MPact in the 12th? I'd like to shake your hand.

*Blush. Weekend are really tough for me because of family. Weekdays are no problem any day and time ;-) I would love to come but it's rather unlikely.

But then again, I am planning on putting something together for September (along the lines of last year's central NJ meet'n'cruise,

I know I could learn a lot from you, @RPiM5, interested in teaming up for putting together something?

#H
(if only I had more time to spend here and with my car ;-(

[soooma]

Originally Posted by 968 turboS

Hi (H), its very kind of you and you are good man. I was the unfortunate owner of the white 968 turbo S. I was issued 3 tickets, 2 of them complete BS because it looks like he was just trying to fulfill his quota.

Ticket #1 - Speeding, 70mph in a 65mph zone. He clearly did not have us on the radar and was going with gut, or else he would not have kept the speed so low.

Ticket #2 - Failure to yield. BS. I asked him who was I suppoed to yield to? there was no one behind. I was passing vehicles in the middle lane, how else am I supposed to pass? He tells me I should never get in the left lane! That lane is for passing only. Isn't this what I was doing?

Ticket #3 - Racing. How can I be racing when the speeding ticket shows 70mph in 65mph. This is the heavy one and carries 5 points.

I am devastated. I have a clean record and all these tickets are worth combined 9 points. Have not had a good luck streak lately and was just out for a fun drive to feel good about things. I appreciate your feelings towards the incident. I will contact you directly as well. Would love to talk cars as you sound like a fun guy.

The car is very special even though its a replica. I put it together over the last 12 yrs using all factory parts (everything is NLA now and were only available thru Porsche Motorsports in Germany). Its a 3.0 liter, 2 valve turbo running 15.5 psi. The car is very fast and weighs approx 3300 lbs. It was recently featured in Panorama magazine.

Regards,
Raj

Please (H) don't let such a police officer take away your happiness and peace and please cheer up! First of all 5 mph over speed is so freaking rare as a ticket and the other 2 prove the point that it is like a grudge against you having fun in such a beautiful ride!! Really don't know what to say but you need to know that people like him are not so many and it was bad luck and as I said before a police officer a few weeks ago at a stop light pulled down his windows to praise my car and gave me a couple of complements about its power! So compare this to the trooper that gave you 3 tickets !! Hope you get over this very soon and wish you all the best with your lawyer and who knows what he can do for you!! Lawyers have connections and know the loop holes that we don't! !

[968 turboS]

Originally Posted by soooma

Please (H) don't let such a police officer take away your happiness and peace and please cheer up! First of all 5 mph over speed is so freaking rare as a ticket and the other 2 prove the point that it is like a grudge against you having fun in such a beautiful ride!! Really don't know what to say but you need to know that people like him are not so many and it was bad luck and as I said before a police officer a few weeks ago at a stop light pulled down his windows to praise my car and gave me a couple of complements about its power! So compare this to the trooper that gave you 3 tickets !! Hope you get over this very soon and wish you all the best with your lawyer and who knows what he can do for you!! Lawyers have connections and know the loop holes that we don't! !

Yes sir, stay tuned on how this goes down. Whats amazing is how many lawyers sent me solicitation letters. These guys are all hooked up.

See you guys tonight.

[secretariat]

968 Turbo s, fight the speeding summons, if he didn't have you on radar and put you down for 5 miles above speed limit the judge will throw it out. He needs to prove you were speeding, how does he do that w/o radar. All subsequent summonses should be thrown out also.

[968 turboS]

Originally Posted by secretariat

968 Turbo s, fight the speeding summons, if he didn't have you on radar and put you down for 5 miles above speed limit the judge will throw it out. He needs to prove you were speeding, how does he do that w/o radar. All subsequent summonses should be thrown out also.

I sure wish everything you are saying is true. In most of these cases, it is usually plea bargained and never actually goes to trial. They are after $$.