996GT3gen2 or 997GT3gen1 for road use

[ssute]

I am thinking of selling my 25000 mile 996GT3 and buying a 997GT3 as I only use the car on the road and don't tend to take the car to the track. Has anyone else made this move and any advice would be helpful. Anything particular to be wary of in the 997. Thanks for your help

[PorscheGT4]

All the same things as the 996 I made a list of things which wear out on the other 996 thread.

Thing with the 996 is a lot of things have been done, I find looking at 997's none of the things which wear have been done.
So buyer beware the car is 8 years old now so it's hard to find mint ones.

A 50k mile 8 year old car will need a lot spending if no big history file.

Have fun looking 1/2 the time the hunt is better than the owner ship :-)

[hondansx]

http://www.evo.co.uk/porsche/911/13309/porsche-911...

[GoatRider]

Sorry if this rambles on: I went from a 996.2 Comfort to a 997.1 Comfort for a year and then went back to a 996.2. The cars were all around the 20k mark. I do UK roads, the odd Euro road trips and no track. I really notice the extra width of the 7 especially on our B roads and found the 6 able to squirrel through gaps with oncoming traffic at speed where the 7 needed to wash off loads of speed, sometimes in a panic, to feel safe and/or not scuff up the nearside. The lower spoiler on the 7 proved to be a real nuisance, too much scraping over speed ramps for my taste (this doesn't bother some) and despite choosing Euro hotels 'with parking' I often had to leave it parked in the street whereas my mates could park their cars safely. The low nose caused at least one reversing-through-a-French-village moment, forcing a tractor/trailer to back up whereas my mates Turbo was able to go forward over a sharp dip. On another occasion with a new front splitter less than an hour old I destroyed the wretched thing going to a venue which turned out to have speed ramps. Needless to say my pride and joy showed up looking rubbish. Driving the 6 is much more lively and fidgety on poor B roads which actually goes against it and on some local roads will tramline you into the hedge if you are not careful. The 7 was much worse in heavy rain, the rears very prone to aquaplaning at surprisingly low speeds, not good if you have to cope with those Euro storms which go on for hundreds of miles. I much preferred the 7 for looks, inside and out, although I can't bring myself to prefer alcantara over leather. The looks thing still bothers me but in the end the 6 won me over. It's less complicated and even more analogue with no driver aids, no trick dampers (I spent a while trying to dial out suspension noises and other issues with the switchable dampers). This last point means for me the 6 is the last and most 'pure' of the GT3's in terms of simplicity and is special for that alone. Both cars are fast enough, not enough difference for me to worry about any way. Suggest you borrow one if you can to help you make your mind up. Good luck.

Edited by GoatRider on Wednesday 18th March 17:11

Edited by GoatRider on Wednesday 18th March 17:14

[ssute]

Thanks Goatrider. I found your real world comments very helpful. Reading the magazine articles the 997 sounded a better fast road car. However I didn't take in consideration front splitter and the dampers etc. The 996 is a much simpler car in many ways. I will get a test drive to get a direct comparison.

[LaSource]

I am surprised if the 997 splitter is much worse than the 996 one....I would have thought they are both tricky for ramped access?

[hondansx]

Is that the standard or Cup splitter on the red car though, it looks a bit chunky?! Maybe just the photo...

It's not exactly a cheap mod (c£3k), but KW do an aftermarket front lift kit that works with the OEM suspension. The kit was designed with the 997 GT3 in mind.