997 GT3 Club sport package or Not...
Discussion
Hello I am very close finalising the Spec for a GT3 and am having trouble deciding on whether or not to go for the Club sport package.
Do the Carbon seats allow reclining? (I assume they don't but don't know)
Conversly what are the adaptive sport seats like?
Other than the rollcage what else do you get with the clubsport package that you cannot get without it?
Can you fit a 4 point harness to the sport seats - or is there no achour point without the roll cage? (I currently have a noble and am able to use either seat belts or the harnesses).
Thanks in advance.....
PS What is the cobalt blue actually like - the one in evo looks quite pale in some pictures - is it anything like Lotus Azure blue???
Do the Carbon seats allow reclining? (I assume they don't but don't know)
Conversly what are the adaptive sport seats like?
Other than the rollcage what else do you get with the clubsport package that you cannot get without it?
Can you fit a 4 point harness to the sport seats - or is there no achour point without the roll cage? (I currently have a noble and am able to use either seat belts or the harnesses).
Thanks in advance.....
PS What is the cobalt blue actually like - the one in evo looks quite pale in some pictures - is it anything like Lotus Azure blue???
Edited by gizard on Tuesday 16th January 16:37
NOT for me.
Personally, whilst I love the look of the carbon seats, I find the standard seats perfectly adequate. You can't recline the Buckets. I don't think you can fit a harness onto the standard seats either.
The roll cage would also annoy me.
If my GT3 was just for track, I might have gone for these options.
Personally, whilst I love the look of the carbon seats, I find the standard seats perfectly adequate. You can't recline the Buckets. I don't think you can fit a harness onto the standard seats either.
The roll cage would also annoy me.
If my GT3 was just for track, I might have gone for these options.
speedyellow said:
Depends if you want to do muh track work or not. If you are going to track it you'll want the cage, seats and harnesses.
Agreed...
BTW - if you go for a techequip cage on a comfort car, it doesn't get in the way that much because the gaps are bigger. You can easily get weekend size bags through the gap for week long trips to Spa
As for the buckets - personally I would always go for them because I feel it adds to the GT3 experience but you cannot recline them and they are not for everyone. You also don't need to be a particularly fat ba
rd to make them uncomfortable so try them out for size first. Steve
Personally I think much depends on how much track use you will put in, lets face it on track the roll cage & buckets are very desirable options, as is the harness & fire extinguisher even if you have to fit these yourself!
I want mine for fast road work, in the main so I have purchased a G-lock to go with the standard sports seats, why because buckets can't be flipped forward for rear access, they can't be adjusted for height without a big fiddle, you loose the thorax seat airbags! With the clubsport you also loose the door storage boxes & the cage adds the 20kg that the seats save! On the Gt3 one of the big benefits of the adaptive seats (e.g. full memory function)isn't available, so I can't really see the point of spending the extra!
So my two pennies worth says if you have big track use get club sport, if not don't!
I want mine for fast road work, in the main so I have purchased a G-lock to go with the standard sports seats, why because buckets can't be flipped forward for rear access, they can't be adjusted for height without a big fiddle, you loose the thorax seat airbags! With the clubsport you also loose the door storage boxes & the cage adds the 20kg that the seats save! On the Gt3 one of the big benefits of the adaptive seats (e.g. full memory function)isn't available, so I can't really see the point of spending the extra!
So my two pennies worth says if you have big track use get club sport, if not don't!
Edited by Grant3 on Tuesday 16th January 17:13
[quote=MerrittBTW - if you go for a techequip cage on a comfort car, it doesn't get in the way that much because the gaps are bigger. You can easily get weekend size bags through the gap for week long trips to Spa
[/quote]
Hmm what is a 'Techequip' cage? and could you reto fit a harness to this
The other question would be - would it be easy to remove the drivers seat for a track day and put in a thrid party bucket seat or would the bolt pattern on the floor pan be different?
In all honesty much as I loved tracking the Noble I only managed to do a max of about 5 a year.
[/quote]
Hmm what is a 'Techequip' cage? and could you reto fit a harness to this
The other question would be - would it be easy to remove the drivers seat for a track day and put in a thrid party bucket seat or would the bolt pattern on the floor pan be different?
In all honesty much as I loved tracking the Noble I only managed to do a max of about 5 a year.
If you order the Bucket seats without the club sport package you get the seats finished in leather and Alcantara, instead of the seat being in full flame retardent material, personnally i thought the latter looked better.
I didn't go for the clubsport package - only for the convience for having more rear space.
The bucket seats are more comfortable than the previous gt3 - Priced at £3k its worth sitting in them before you buy - that's what i did to base my decission on.
Mines already deliverd at my OPC and your welcome to view it.
I didn't go for the clubsport package - only for the convience for having more rear space.
The bucket seats are more comfortable than the previous gt3 - Priced at £3k its worth sitting in them before you buy - that's what i did to base my decission on.
Mines already deliverd at my OPC and your welcome to view it.
For £3k, why not go to someone like motordrive and get a full custom bucket seat made for you and covered in the finish of your choice, along with any embroidery you want? The seat is then guaranteed to be a perfect fit. Seems to be a lot of money to spend just to get a 'Porsche club sport spec seat'. You could even get carbon shelled Recaro SPGs for that sort of price.
If the rear cage is just a 4 point bolt in job, I doubt it offers much real protection?
If the rear cage is just a 4 point bolt in job, I doubt it offers much real protection?
You have to have the roll cage if you want harnesses with the clubsport seats as the harness fastens to it. You get a fire extinguisher too with CS.
I went for the bucket seats but not clubsport. I may track it a couple of times a year and the seats are £3k but hey its a GT3 so its GOT TO HAVE BUCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I went for the bucket seats but not clubsport. I may track it a couple of times a year and the seats are £3k but hey its a GT3 so its GOT TO HAVE BUCKETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A GT3 without bucket seats and scaffolding in the back ?! What nonsense - goodness we'll all be driving Aston Martins next Drove a non Clubsport car yesterday and without the cage there was a noticable difference in it's behaviour - it seemed slightly less immediate or 'softer' in it's responses - relatively speaking, of course - it still made the Turbo I also drove seem vague in comparison. I went for CS spec. because I wanted the full 'GT3 experience' but it's all down to personal prefs. really. We should all be very, very happy bunnies.
Drove a non Clubsport car yesterday and without the cage there was a noticable difference in it's behaviour - it seemed slightly less immediate or 'softer' in it's responses - relatively speaking, of course - it still made the Turbo I also drove seem vague in comparison. I went for CS spec. because I wanted the full 'GT3 experience' but it's all down to personal prefs. really. We should all be very, very happy bunnies.Guy,
I'd go for the cage+seats+harnesses if you intend to track the car at all. When you push one of these cars on trackday rubber you are going to slide straight out of a lazyboy recliner comfort seat and frankly you are going fast enough to want proper protection imho. Also as mentioned above, even just the rear cage makes the car stiffer. The 997 cage seems to have less obstructive cross bracing than the 996 which to me suggests it will be easier to squeeze bags into which is a definite bonus. As long as you aren't a strange shape the buckets are very comfortable - leagues better than the noble non m400 seats. Do they have to be carbon on the 997? I suspect carbon may be less comfy as it flexes less.
When I had the noble I didn't want to do too many trackdays either, I find it hard to keep away now I've got a GT3. I know its frowned upon to mention this, but I didn't find my noble that robust for track usage and this put me off using it.
As Pugsey said, this car is meant to be a little bit lairy, so to load it up with comfort options is missing the point. It also gives ammo to those who suggest the 997 is GT3 lite for the softies who couldn't hack the 996!
re the blue - yeah its quite a vivid blue. Looks nice imho.
I'd go for the cage+seats+harnesses if you intend to track the car at all. When you push one of these cars on trackday rubber you are going to slide straight out of a lazyboy recliner comfort seat and frankly you are going fast enough to want proper protection imho. Also as mentioned above, even just the rear cage makes the car stiffer. The 997 cage seems to have less obstructive cross bracing than the 996 which to me suggests it will be easier to squeeze bags into which is a definite bonus. As long as you aren't a strange shape the buckets are very comfortable - leagues better than the noble non m400 seats. Do they have to be carbon on the 997? I suspect carbon may be less comfy as it flexes less.
When I had the noble I didn't want to do too many trackdays either, I find it hard to keep away now I've got a GT3. I know its frowned upon to mention this, but I didn't find my noble that robust for track usage and this put me off using it.
As Pugsey said, this car is meant to be a little bit lairy, so to load it up with comfort options is missing the point. It also gives ammo to those who suggest the 997 is GT3 lite for the softies who couldn't hack the 996!
re the blue - yeah its quite a vivid blue. Looks nice imho.
Edited by DanH on Tuesday 16th January 22:40
I have a 996 GT3 with the standard sport seats, a CG lock and no cage.
Makes a great year round companion with plenty of usable and reachable rear space. I use it almost every day and do around 12000 miles a year.
It's never going to be the last word in stiffness or ultimate precision on track but I do do around 10 trackdays a year and still thoroughly enjoy every mile. I think it helps that I have kept the rubber standard and don't put quite so much stress on the chassis (and myself in the lazy boy seats) as perhaps cups/corsas would.
(ps If you have sport seats and intend to track the car a CG lock is an excellent addition.)
I've also changed the ceramics for JZ fitted floating brakes all round. Excellent upgrade.
People tell me that clubsport seats/cage would offer more. But for me I think the car is near enough perfect.
Sam
Makes a great year round companion with plenty of usable and reachable rear space. I use it almost every day and do around 12000 miles a year.
It's never going to be the last word in stiffness or ultimate precision on track but I do do around 10 trackdays a year and still thoroughly enjoy every mile. I think it helps that I have kept the rubber standard and don't put quite so much stress on the chassis (and myself in the lazy boy seats) as perhaps cups/corsas would.
(ps If you have sport seats and intend to track the car a CG lock is an excellent addition.)
I've also changed the ceramics for JZ fitted floating brakes all round. Excellent upgrade.
People tell me that clubsport seats/cage would offer more. But for me I think the car is near enough perfect.
Sam
Edited by s3am on Tuesday 16th January 22:56
s3am said:
I have a 996 GT3 with the standard sport seats, a CG lock and no cage.
Makes a great year round companion with plenty of usable and reachable rear space. I use it almost every day and do around 12000 miles a year.
It's never going to be the last word in stiffness or ultimate precision on track but I do do around 10 trackdays a year and still thoroughly enjoy every mile. I think it helps that I have kept the rubber standard and don't put quite so much stress on the chassis (and myself in the lazy boy seats) as perhaps cups/corsas would.
(ps If you have sport seats and intend to track the car a CG lock is an excellent addition.)
I've also changed the ceramics for JZ fitted floating brakes all round. Excellent upgrade.
People tell me that clubsport seats/cage would offer more. But for me I think the car is near enough perfect.
Sam
Makes a great year round companion with plenty of usable and reachable rear space. I use it almost every day and do around 12000 miles a year.
It's never going to be the last word in stiffness or ultimate precision on track but I do do around 10 trackdays a year and still thoroughly enjoy every mile. I think it helps that I have kept the rubber standard and don't put quite so much stress on the chassis (and myself in the lazy boy seats) as perhaps cups/corsas would.
(ps If you have sport seats and intend to track the car a CG lock is an excellent addition.)
I've also changed the ceramics for JZ fitted floating brakes all round. Excellent upgrade.
People tell me that clubsport seats/cage would offer more. But for me I think the car is near enough perfect.
Sam
Edited by s3am on Tuesday 16th January 22:56
You make a good point. Not sure I would want to use a GT3 everyday though, think I'd start to take it for granted.
DanH said:
You make a good point. Not sure I would want to use a GT3 everyday though, think I'd start to take it for granted.
I see where you're coming from, but the car is such a fantastic one (as I am sure the mk1/RS/997 are) that its hard to think I will ever take it for granted -for one the lack of TC keeps you on your toes in winter, but also the engine is just such a cracker that it always involves you, no matter how mundane your journey is!
Sam
DanH said:
s3am said:
I have a 996 GT3 with the standard sport seats, a CG lock and no cage.
Makes a great year round companion with plenty of usable and reachable rear space. I use it almost every day and do around 12000 miles a year.
It's never going to be the last word in stiffness or ultimate precision on track but I do do around 10 trackdays a year and still thoroughly enjoy every mile. I think it helps that I have kept the rubber standard and don't put quite so much stress on the chassis (and myself in the lazy boy seats) as perhaps cups/corsas would.
(ps If you have sport seats and intend to track the car a CG lock is an excellent addition.)
I've also changed the ceramics for JZ fitted floating brakes all round. Excellent upgrade.
People tell me that clubsport seats/cage would offer more. But for me I think the car is near enough perfect.
Sam
Makes a great year round companion with plenty of usable and reachable rear space. I use it almost every day and do around 12000 miles a year.
It's never going to be the last word in stiffness or ultimate precision on track but I do do around 10 trackdays a year and still thoroughly enjoy every mile. I think it helps that I have kept the rubber standard and don't put quite so much stress on the chassis (and myself in the lazy boy seats) as perhaps cups/corsas would.
(ps If you have sport seats and intend to track the car a CG lock is an excellent addition.)
I've also changed the ceramics for JZ fitted floating brakes all round. Excellent upgrade.
People tell me that clubsport seats/cage would offer more. But for me I think the car is near enough perfect.
Sam
Edited by s3am on Tuesday 16th January 22:56
You make a good point. Not sure I would want to use a GT3 everyday though, think I'd start to take it for granted.
Oh dear I'm still in a quandry as to what to do! Thanks for all your replies.
I am assuming that the roll cage can be put in and out farily easily if it's just 4 points. So back to my earlier question - would it be stupid to have a second seat that I can swap with the drivers seat when I do track days? I know that taking a seat out of a 996 is relatively easy, don't know about a 997 though but I imagine it can't be that different.
That said is the standard sports seat excatly the same as the Adaptive sports seat except for being non electric? - Note the bit about the side bolsters - are they not adjustable on the manual seats at all?
Porsche website says:
The standard sports seat has a firmly upholstered construction featuring an integral thorax airbag in the outer backrest side bolster. These generous side elements on the backrest and squab provide excellent support when cornering. Height and fore/aft position are manually adjustable, while the backrest position is electrically controlled.
This alternative seat option features full electric adjustment of height and fore/aft position, as well as electrically adjustable side bolsters on backrest and squab.
Finally I also know that RHD 996 turbos only have 60L fuel tanks (LHD have 90L) can anyone tell me what size fuel tank a 997 GT3 has (again porsche website says 90L but is it true?).
Cheers
Guy
I am assuming that the roll cage can be put in and out farily easily if it's just 4 points. So back to my earlier question - would it be stupid to have a second seat that I can swap with the drivers seat when I do track days? I know that taking a seat out of a 996 is relatively easy, don't know about a 997 though but I imagine it can't be that different.
That said is the standard sports seat excatly the same as the Adaptive sports seat except for being non electric? - Note the bit about the side bolsters - are they not adjustable on the manual seats at all?
Porsche website says:
The standard sports seat has a firmly upholstered construction featuring an integral thorax airbag in the outer backrest side bolster. These generous side elements on the backrest and squab provide excellent support when cornering. Height and fore/aft position are manually adjustable, while the backrest position is electrically controlled.
This alternative seat option features full electric adjustment of height and fore/aft position, as well as electrically adjustable side bolsters on backrest and squab.
Finally I also know that RHD 996 turbos only have 60L fuel tanks (LHD have 90L) can anyone tell me what size fuel tank a 997 GT3 has (again porsche website says 90L but is it true?).
Cheers
Guy
gizard said:
Oh dear I'm still in a quandry as to what to do! Thanks for all your replies.
I am assuming that the roll cage can be put in and out farily easily if it's just 4 points. So back to my earlier question - would it be stupid to have a second seat that I can swap with the drivers seat when I do track days? I know that taking a seat out of a 996 is relatively easy, don't know about a 997 though but I imagine it can't be that different.
That said is the standard sports seat excatly the same as the Adaptive sports seat except for being non electric? - Note the bit about the side bolsters - are they not adjustable on the manual seats at all?
Porsche website says:
The standard sports seat has a firmly upholstered construction featuring an integral thorax airbag in the outer backrest side bolster. These generous side elements on the backrest and squab provide excellent support when cornering. Height and fore/aft position are manually adjustable, while the backrest position is electrically controlled.
This alternative seat option features full electric adjustment of height and fore/aft position, as well as electrically adjustable side bolsters on backrest and squab.
Finally I also know that RHD 996 turbos only have 60L fuel tanks (LHD have 90L) can anyone tell me what size fuel tank a 997 GT3 has (again porsche website says 90L but is it true?).
Cheers
Guy
Porsche's web site and indeed other material may say that - and indeed when I factory collected the car I was told 90L. All of which, of course, means that it is indeed..........60Ls!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am assuming that the roll cage can be put in and out farily easily if it's just 4 points. So back to my earlier question - would it be stupid to have a second seat that I can swap with the drivers seat when I do track days? I know that taking a seat out of a 996 is relatively easy, don't know about a 997 though but I imagine it can't be that different.
That said is the standard sports seat excatly the same as the Adaptive sports seat except for being non electric? - Note the bit about the side bolsters - are they not adjustable on the manual seats at all?
Porsche website says:
The standard sports seat has a firmly upholstered construction featuring an integral thorax airbag in the outer backrest side bolster. These generous side elements on the backrest and squab provide excellent support when cornering. Height and fore/aft position are manually adjustable, while the backrest position is electrically controlled.
This alternative seat option features full electric adjustment of height and fore/aft position, as well as electrically adjustable side bolsters on backrest and squab.
Finally I also know that RHD 996 turbos only have 60L fuel tanks (LHD have 90L) can anyone tell me what size fuel tank a 997 GT3 has (again porsche website says 90L but is it true?).
Cheers
Guy
Edited by Pugsey on Wednesday 17th January 08:10
[quote=PugseyPorsche's web site and indeed other material may say that - and indeed when I factory collected the car I was told 90L. All of which, of course, means that it is indeed..........60Ls!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AHHHH that really anoys me!!!
Edited by Pugsey on Wednesday 17th January 08:10
[/quote] AHHHH that really anoys me!!!
Gassing Station | Porsche General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff