Track Nanny

[Tom]

I am starting this thread as a place to support and discuss the Track Nanny that I've been making for the last few years. It is a small box used with modern PSE-equipped cars to close the exhaust flaps wherever you might need to be quiet. Many people use them on race tracks with sound limits, but they've also been used to quiet cars in gated communities, etc. I'm having a new batch made now, available in a few weeks.

Using the knob, it has 4 basic modes:

--programming mode allows you to choose wherever you want the car to be quiet

--stock mode makes the car act like the Track Nanny isn't even installed

--loud mode opens the PSE flaps 100% of the time (unlike the cabin button which has a mind of its own)

--star mode closes the PSE flaps near one hard-programmed location (e.g., by the sound booth at your track)

picture-of-track-nanny.jpg (925.3 KiB) Viewed 9468 times

[JetFuelOnly]

I've made this 3-video playlist to help everyone understand all that the Track Nanny does and how to install it in a GT4:

[Tom]

No, no additional valve controller is needed, and no wires are cut (!!). The installation is 100% reversible.

This PSE flaps are operated by a vacuum solenoid with a 2-wire electrical connector. The solenoid closes the flaps when 12 volts is applied to it, and opens the flaps when no power is applied to it (on most, but not all, Porsches). The Track Nanny uses factory-compatible connectors to intercept that on/off signal and take full control over the PSE flaps.

When the Track Nanny knob is set to 'stock' the factory signal passes straight through the Track Nanny, making the car operate exactly as it would if the Track Nanny were not installed (same is true if you remove power from the Track Nanny box with the engine harness still connected).

With the knob on 'loud' the Track Nanny cuts all power to the solenoid and so the car is always loud (same is true if you disconnect the engine harness from the Track Nanny box).

When the knob is set to any of the GPS locations, the PSE flaps are controlled based on GPS location so that it goes quiet where you want it to be quiet.

Starting with the GT2RS, Porsche changed the style of connectors they use under the hood, which are not nearly as common as the "Junior Power Timer" connectors used on the 9991/981/991-based cars. We were able to track down the right connectors for these cars, so if anyone wants to cut anything on your 718-based car, don't let them! The Track Nanny box is the same for all cars, but it's critical to get the right engine harness for your particular car.

[kitw]

I've bought 2 track nannies, one for my 2018 GT3 6sp and one for my 2018 GT3 PDK. I enjoyed being able to lock the car in loud mode with a bypass and have it shut up automatically at Laguna. Installation is not particularly fun, but definitely better than hacking into anything. It's certainly possible to do with agile hands by pretty much anyone and you're unlikely to break anything unless you're really hamfisted.

I bought the Cargraphics controller for my 718 Spyder and regret it - the track nanny is both more functional and simpler to use - I wanted the homelink capability but my Cargraphics tends to just forget the Homelink config. :/. Mistakes were made.

[Tom]

I've bought 2 track nannies, one for my 2018 GT3 6sp and one for my 2018 GT3 PDK. I enjoyed being able to lock the car in loud mode with a bypass and have it shut up automatically at Laguna. Installation is not particularly fun, but definitely better than hacking into anything. It's certainly possible to do with agile hands by pretty much anyone and you're unlikely to break anything unless you're really hamfisted.

I bought the Cargraphics controller for my 718 Spyder and regret it - the track nanny is both more functional and simpler to use - I wanted the homelink capability but my Cargraphics tends to just forget the Homelink config. :/. Mistakes were made.

Hi Kitw and welcome aboard here at Carpokes. Tell your friends, post links (where ok) and help spread the word. This will be the default place for Track Nanny support and user feedback from tracks, etc., and hopefully a lot more.

If you need the Track Nanny to work on the 718 Spyder, we recently got that all sorted out. The harness is completely different for the 718 (and GT2/992), but the Track Nanny box works on all models. So, if you wanted, we could always make up a harness you could install in the 718, and then use one of your existing Track Nanny boxes with it when driving the 718. Installing it on a 718 Spyder is a bit of a pain, since the connector is buried under some plumbing. If you want to avoid that, I worked with the guys at SP Motorsports in Hayward to get the first one installed in a 718 Spyder, and I suspect they can do it in their sleep now.

[mfschacht]

Sound Violations are serious business at Laguna Seca. It depends on the Club, but get 2 in a single day, you are done for the day possibly the weekend. That hurts as most Laguna Seca track days are from $300 to $400 a day. Worse if you have pre-paid for 2 days and you get the boot after day 1.

I had heard about Track Nanny...and being frustrated at Laguna Seca having to get off the gas and putt through Turn 5, meander past the Sound Shack, and then drop the hammer just before Turn 6. Of course the PDK would drop down at least a gear, sometimes two depending on how slow I was going. Sometimes the "tail" would wag, not the best scenario going into Turn 6.

I took the leap and ordered one from Tom, and did my pal in a 2015 GT3. I had it installed at a speciality race car shop, Veracity Racing Data (Don't let the data thing fool you, its a race prep shop, and an AiM dealer as well) in Paso Robles, CA....totally and thoroughly 100% transparent. I had it plugged in all the time...no battery drain to speak of...actually, I forgot that it had been installed.....Laguna Seca track days are few and far between.

As has been stated, there are no wires cut in the installation process. My guy did the install in 3 hours.

Does it work? You betcha! My pal with the GT3, and me in my 2015 Cayman GTS, never saw a black flag all weekend, and there was no noticeable loss of power going by the Sound Shack at full throttle. If you want to drive Laguna Seca, or any track with a permanent Sound Shack, Track Nanny is the way to go.

[M3the01]

Likewise, when u get kicked off any insurance u paid is gone too... absolutely sucks. I have the trackNanny and really impressed. For those where it works it really is a no brainer.

[edwordsigh]

I've bought 2 track nannies, one for my 2018 GT3 6sp and one for my 2018 GT3 PDK. I enjoyed being able to lock the car in loud mode with a bypass and have it shut up automatically at Laguna. Installation is not particularly fun, but definitely better than hacking into anything. It's certainly possible to do with agile hands by pretty much anyone and you're unlikely to break anything unless you're really hamfisted.

I bought the Cargraphics controller for my 718 Spyder and regret it - the track nanny is both more functional and simpler to use - I wanted the homelink capability but my Cargraphics tends to just forget the Homelink config. :/. Mistakes were made.

Hi Kitw and welcome aboard here at Carpokes. Tell your friends, post links (where ok) and help spread the word. This will be the default place for Track Nanny support and user feedback from tracks, etc., and hopefully a lot more.

If you need the Track Nanny to work on the 718 Spyder, we recently got that all sorted out. The harness is completely different for the 718 (and GT2/992), but the Track Nanny box works on all models. So, if you wanted, we could always make up a harness you could install in the 718, and then use one of your existing Track Nanny boxes with it when driving the 718. Installing it on a 718 Spyder is a bit of a pain, since the connector is buried under some plumbing. If you want to avoid that, I worked with the guys at SP Motorsports in Hayward to get the first one installed in a 718 Spyder, and I suspect they can do it in their sleep now.

Tom, would you happen to have any pictures of the Track Nanny installed? Curious to see how folks have routed the wiring for the GPS and control unit. Currently have a Cargraphics for the 718 GT4 that I’m about to install but may want to hold off and evaluate the Track Nanny unit.

[Tom]

I've bought 2 track nannies, one for my 2018 GT3 6sp and one for my 2018 GT3 PDK. I enjoyed being able to lock the car in loud mode with a bypass and have it shut up automatically at Laguna. Installation is not particularly fun, but definitely better than hacking into anything. It's certainly possible to do with agile hands by pretty much anyone and you're unlikely to break anything unless you're really hamfisted.

I bought the Cargraphics controller for my 718 Spyder and regret it - the track nanny is both more functional and simpler to use - I wanted the homelink capability but my Cargraphics tends to just forget the Homelink config. :/. Mistakes were made.

Hi Kitw and welcome aboard here at Carpokes. Tell your friends, post links (where ok) and help spread the word. This will be the default place for Track Nanny support and user feedback from tracks, etc., and hopefully a lot more.

If you need the Track Nanny to work on the 718 Spyder, we recently got that all sorted out. The harness is completely different for the 718 (and GT2/992), but the Track Nanny box works on all models. So, if you wanted, we could always make up a harness you could install in the 718, and then use one of your existing Track Nanny boxes with it when driving the 718. Installing it on a 718 Spyder is a bit of a pain, since the connector is buried under some plumbing. If you want to avoid that, I worked with the guys at SP Motorsports in Hayward to get the first one installed in a 718 Spyder, and I suspect they can do it in their sleep now.

Tom, would you happen to have any pictures of the Track Nanny installed? Curious to see how folks have routed the wiring for the GPS and control unit. Currently have a Cargraphics for the 718 GT4 that I’m about to install but may want to hold off and evaluate the Track Nanny unit.

Let me see what I can dig up. @Crazy Eddie or @mfschacht or some of the folks in this thread may have pictures to share, though I'm not sure there is anyone here with the Track Nanny on a 718 GT4 yet. It's on a couple 718 Spyders and lots of 981 GT4's, but there's only one 718 GT4 I know of and it was installed by a race shop so I don't have pictures. The hardest part of installing on a 718 (y far) is getting to the exhaust flap solenoid, since it's pretty car down there with such a little 'hood' to open. But that part of the job is going to be the same with either system. As far as I know, the Cargraphics system has no GPS control (and the Track Nanny does not have a wireless remote). If either of those are a must-have, then the decision should be easy.

By the way, there's only one harness going from the engine to the cabin with the Track Nanny. The GPS receiver and all electronics are inside that one box. You can hook up the antenna if you need a stronger signal, but it's rarely necessary if the Track Nanny isn't totally buried under metal somewhere. I put them on the passenger seat when I test them for example, and never have an issue getting a good GPS fix.

[mfschacht]

I took no pictures as I had mine installed. My guy did it in 3 hours. The Track Nanny box sat in the little netted area on the transmission tunnel, passenger side. The power plug was plugged into the nearly 12 V outlet. The antenna cable was tucked in on the passenger side of the windshield. The control cable from the Track Nanny run under the door sill and tucked under the carpet on its way to the control unit in the engine. My guy drilled a small hole down low in the center of the firewall..to thread the cable into the engine compartment. I know he removed lots of panels in the install process...looked pretty simple. There once was an installation video....don't know where it can be found..that's what my guy used.