GT3 what spec??
Discussion
Hi All
I will have sold my 997 turbo by the end of the week fingers crossed! I'm looking for a 997.1 GT3. What spec and options should I have? I'm going to be doing about 6000 miles a year 6 or 7 track days and using it as a second car, I was thinking of going for a clubsport, should I try and find a car with ceramics? Are there any must haves or things to avoid? Your thoughs would be appreciated!
I will have sold my 997 turbo by the end of the week fingers crossed! I'm looking for a 997.1 GT3. What spec and options should I have? I'm going to be doing about 6000 miles a year 6 or 7 track days and using it as a second car, I was thinking of going for a clubsport, should I try and find a car with ceramics? Are there any must haves or things to avoid? Your thoughs would be appreciated!
Ignoring Mr Demon there may be some useful opinion to be garnered.
Typically Club Sport models with buckets are easier to resell. You might want Nav in there as well - it may not get you more money when you move it on, but could be a clincher when that moment comes.
In terms of the time when you own it - if you plan on 6-7 track days per year then you really will want buckets. Also you may want to find a car with two harnesses as standard if you take passengers for a jolly!
Ceramics are slightly more controversial - earlier incarnations (996) had issues on track - anecdotally as UK tracks are shorter and twistier than Spa or Ring and so the disks did not cool down between corners. As I say this is anecdotal.
What I would observe is that later cars 997.2 do tend to be specced with steels as track cars rather than ceramics. Is there any science behind that - I am not sure - but that is the way the crowd has moved. With steels you will probably need a new set of disks every 12-18 months with that many track days.
Typically Club Sport models with buckets are easier to resell. You might want Nav in there as well - it may not get you more money when you move it on, but could be a clincher when that moment comes.
In terms of the time when you own it - if you plan on 6-7 track days per year then you really will want buckets. Also you may want to find a car with two harnesses as standard if you take passengers for a jolly!
Ceramics are slightly more controversial - earlier incarnations (996) had issues on track - anecdotally as UK tracks are shorter and twistier than Spa or Ring and so the disks did not cool down between corners. As I say this is anecdotal.
What I would observe is that later cars 997.2 do tend to be specced with steels as track cars rather than ceramics. Is there any science behind that - I am not sure - but that is the way the crowd has moved. With steels you will probably need a new set of disks every 12-18 months with that many track days.
Old Trout said:
Ignoring Mr Demon there may be some useful opinion to be garnered.
Typically Club Sport models with buckets are easier to resell. .
how dare you say a car with buckets is easier to sell. :-pTypically Club Sport models with buckets are easier to resell. .
Far to many people on here have cars without buckets and will fight to the death to say it's a better choice.
Trev450 said:
As above but to provide some guidance, my personal choice if going for a non RS would be a Clubsport to give you the benefit of the seats, cage, etc, for trackdays, but without PCCB's due to their high replacement cost.
+1At least I'd not pay a premium for a Clubsport with PCCBs over one without them. Once the ceramics need replacement you can still go down the steel route be it stock or aftermarket (Alcon...).
I'd go for CS or RS in your case (6/7 trackdays) well worth having harness and good deep bucket seats - mind you on a daily basis not always the easiest to get in and out (i think we are fine, but lady passagers tend to whine a little).
PCCB - same thing i wouldn't worry about it too much: i.e. i wouldnt pay a premium for them...yet if the car comes with it, for the the better then.
I have PCCB on my RS and at 28kmiles I can confirm that they perform as they should, squeak free and fade free - I cannot take them in default.
Cost wise, i change the pads all around when they reach 60% usage more or less...again to be on the safe side, because indeed Ceramics are expensive if something happens (2-2.5k a corner from memory from OPC).
In any case, enjoy! they are great cars and can be used daily and left outside all year long as well (mine is!).
note: WHITE ones are the fastest
PCCB - same thing i wouldn't worry about it too much: i.e. i wouldnt pay a premium for them...yet if the car comes with it, for the the better then.
I have PCCB on my RS and at 28kmiles I can confirm that they perform as they should, squeak free and fade free - I cannot take them in default.
Cost wise, i change the pads all around when they reach 60% usage more or less...again to be on the safe side, because indeed Ceramics are expensive if something happens (2-2.5k a corner from memory from OPC).
In any case, enjoy! they are great cars and can be used daily and left outside all year long as well (mine is!).
note: WHITE ones are the fastest
I personally went for a non-clubsport and stuck seatbelts in the back for my kids! Cage does make the rear more useable everyday and there are arguements that roll cage plus no crash helmet can be dangerous for non-track driving.
I chose steals where as a mate bough ceramics. His are still going strong plus no brake dust, I have replaced all pads and discs and have switched to Alcons as the standard steels crack too easilly with the heat generated. If buying again I think I would go for ceramics.
Seats - this is where a big variation comes in. I went for the sports seats as like you my car does track days but also plenty of road driving and I don't find the buckets that comfortable with no rake adjustment. I liked the adaptive sports seats as you can tighten them up for track days, but my car doesn't have them. There are quite a few different types of buckets so if you are thinking of going this route suggest you go and try a few.
Finally, I personally like the leather stitched dash, I think it makes the interior feel alot more classy, again mine doesn't have it. I have seen a few cars with the carbon interior trim which I think looks pretty good - if you like that sort of thing.
Most cars without Nav and sports chrono appear to be poverty spec - in general. I have the sports chrono in mine, but apart from entertaining the kids I have found it generally useless. Much better off using a gps data analyser like a vbox instead. Nav is good for finding European track days etc and is a pretty good system.
Finally, handling is very sensitive to set-up so ignore differences in cars you road test and get the geo set-up once you have bought the car.
I chose steals where as a mate bough ceramics. His are still going strong plus no brake dust, I have replaced all pads and discs and have switched to Alcons as the standard steels crack too easilly with the heat generated. If buying again I think I would go for ceramics.
Seats - this is where a big variation comes in. I went for the sports seats as like you my car does track days but also plenty of road driving and I don't find the buckets that comfortable with no rake adjustment. I liked the adaptive sports seats as you can tighten them up for track days, but my car doesn't have them. There are quite a few different types of buckets so if you are thinking of going this route suggest you go and try a few.
Finally, I personally like the leather stitched dash, I think it makes the interior feel alot more classy, again mine doesn't have it. I have seen a few cars with the carbon interior trim which I think looks pretty good - if you like that sort of thing.
Most cars without Nav and sports chrono appear to be poverty spec - in general. I have the sports chrono in mine, but apart from entertaining the kids I have found it generally useless. Much better off using a gps data analyser like a vbox instead. Nav is good for finding European track days etc and is a pretty good system.
Finally, handling is very sensitive to set-up so ignore differences in cars you road test and get the geo set-up once you have bought the car.
So far we have buy:
A RS
A club sport
A normal one
One with buckets
one with Sports seats.
Get Ceramics
Don't get Ceramics
Get a roll cage
Don't get one
woo hoo
in 3 pages time will will have a loads of specs :-) cannot wait.
I'll 2nd the leather dash, though it feels far to cheap inside and low rent with out it. shoot me :-p
Clubsports sold less so that should mean less wanted, but people here say more wanted.
I also think a Cage is pointless and if you crash on the road and hit your head on the cage you are dead.
A RS
A club sport
A normal one
One with buckets
one with Sports seats.
Get Ceramics
Don't get Ceramics
Get a roll cage
Don't get one
woo hoo
in 3 pages time will will have a loads of specs :-) cannot wait.
I'll 2nd the leather dash, though it feels far to cheap inside and low rent with out it. shoot me :-p
Clubsports sold less so that should mean less wanted, but people here say more wanted.
I also think a Cage is pointless and if you crash on the road and hit your head on the cage you are dead.
Edited by mrdemon on Monday 30th April 13:43
mrdemon said:
the usual unhelpful crap
what crawled up your arse to give you the itch?! honestly you're starting to come across as a complete twit these days.the guys asking for help on what he should be looking for so perhaps give him your opinions, at least he's not trying to talk down the values of them in the vain hope he'll be able to afford one
interesting to note the comments from owners on the carbon brakes, i always shuddered at the thought of the cost of them but it would be interesting to try them back to back with steels just to see if any difference could be felt
cragswinter said:
interesting to note the comments from owners on the carbon brakes, i always shuddered at the thought of the cost of them but it would be interesting to try them back to back with steels just to see if any difference could be felt
A good friend of mine bought a 996 GT3 RS at the same time I got my 997.1 GT3. He tried both steels and Ceramics back to back and reckoned the steering feel was much better with Ceramics which can be explained in engineering terms due to the reduced unsprung and rotating mass.I went for steels as I had heard about the ceramics being expensive. However, I have found the steels wear very quickly and I have spent a bucket load on new discs and pads alround anyway, where as my mates ceramics are still going strong!
If I was buying again I would choose ceramics.
I guess that's the kind of experience / feedback the thread author was interested in, and what this type of forum is all about. If anyone thinks the thread is a waste of time then p**s off and dont bother responding.
GrahamSaunders said:
If I was buying again I would choose ceramics.
interesting, & more what i was thinking as well re the steel/ceramics debate....though i was talking to the owner of one of the orange RS' that lives out at the ring & he echoes what 911thrasher was saying, they still do really eat through pads (especially the rear-i'm guessing due to the psm kicking in & braking rear wheels?) & with the cost of the rotors he was apt to change the pads early so's not to cause any damage.
i'd be interested to see the price difference between pads actually, though obviously you sort of have to offset the fact you (hopefully) won't be replacing the rotors!
Think it is just the 7.2 that went single skin, causing rear seatbelt problems?
Almost scared to mention seats, but the ASS'es are "very" adjustable and can be made to hold you quite tightly (read uncomfortable). The downsides are if you haven't got memory function, they take forever to get back to comfortable.
Almost scared to mention seats, but the ASS'es are "very" adjustable and can be made to hold you quite tightly (read uncomfortable). The downsides are if you haven't got memory function, they take forever to get back to comfortable.
Edited by nsm3 on Monday 30th April 15:18
"they still do really eat through pads (especially the rear-i'm guessing due to the psm kicking in & braking rear wheels?) "
Without meaning to start another debate as I think it has been covered elsewhere, the 997.1 GT3 has traction control which doesn't use the brakes and PASM which is the actice suspension management but doesn't have PSM which is stability management.
According to JZM the 997 has more rear brakes bias than the 996 and hence uses more of the rear brakes. They fitted GT2 read cooling ducts (which sit on the lower suspension arms) to mine along with some RS29s and this significantly improved the rear braking and reduced wear.
JZM just put new Alcon discs and RS29s on the front which cost best part of 2k, 450 odd of which is pads. Discs more expensive first time they are fitted as you also fit new hubs. According to JZM they should last 20 to 30 track days. Key for me is that they dont have the drilled holes, which on the previous standard discs caused cracking.
Without meaning to start another debate as I think it has been covered elsewhere, the 997.1 GT3 has traction control which doesn't use the brakes and PASM which is the actice suspension management but doesn't have PSM which is stability management.
According to JZM the 997 has more rear brakes bias than the 996 and hence uses more of the rear brakes. They fitted GT2 read cooling ducts (which sit on the lower suspension arms) to mine along with some RS29s and this significantly improved the rear braking and reduced wear.
JZM just put new Alcon discs and RS29s on the front which cost best part of 2k, 450 odd of which is pads. Discs more expensive first time they are fitted as you also fit new hubs. According to JZM they should last 20 to 30 track days. Key for me is that they dont have the drilled holes, which on the previous standard discs caused cracking.
& getting that amount of use from the discs would be fantasticcragswinter said:
though i was talking to the owner of one of the orange RS' that lives out at the ring & he echoes what 911thrasher was saying, they still do really eat through pads (especially the rear-i'm guessing due to the psm kicking in & braking rear wheels?)
Indeed - hence on track never use the PSM saves a lot of rear pads!Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff