m3pete

Hi all,
I own a 2002 BMW Z3 M coupe since new and it is pretty much a track prepped street legal car. I am an experienced driver on the track (17+yrs) but only with BMW M3s and the M coupe. I recently bought a 2012 PDK GTS and I'm planning on taking it to the track next month. Has anyone driven both cars on the track that can give me some insights on how the driving style differs going from the M coupe to the GTS? Any input is greatly appreciated.

kk2

Track driving is something you either get or you don't. If you've been doing it for 17 years, I'm sure you'll be fine.

Will you be driving with the nannies enabled or disabled?

Two main things:

Don't lift
Gas on exit is your friend

m3pete

@KK2. On my M coupe I disable all electronic nannies as it intrudes rather prematurely. I think on modern cars, it is better to leave them on as a safety net. Do you tend to trail brake into corners to load the front tires for better grip?

kk2

Depends how the car is setup. It is pretty common to trailbrake on Porsches though. It also helps get some rotation for a better track out trajectory.

Sport plus mode should give you a less intrusive TC/SC system. I do believe it uses the rear brakes a lot though, so watch out for pad wear.

Alexandrius

Trailbrake a bit more because like KK2 said 911s don't rotate as easily. However your traction on power out will be awesome.

Just take it easy to start with. The pendulum effect has been reduced significantly from the legendary past of the 911.

z3mcoupe

Congrats, I've had two S54 shoes, and moved onto a 997.2 C4S. The C4S is more predictable than the shoe stock for stock. Do you have the randy forbes subframe kit in yours? That transformed the handling to be much more predictable.

Regarding driving styles, I find the 997 much more forgiving and you can apply throttle much sooner than the shoe. Also, despite the reputation for understeer with the 997, I still think it understeers less. The 997 chassis has a lot of character depth and I've honestly not fully explored playing with the nuances of trail-braking etc - you have a lot more experience on the track than I have so I think you'll figure it out soon!

I sold both my coupes, and even though the 997 is so much more dynamically competent I miss the coupe

one-rennlist

Interesting question, since I also come from Z (Z4 though) to a 997.2 GTS. I don't track my cars but do a lot of canyon carving, cross alpine passes and Mediterranean islands so what follows might not apply to track driving. In my experience it is fundamentally different having the weight behind the driver. For me the biggest advantage of a 997.2 is its agile front axle so it turns in more eagerly. As others stated the other advantage is traction on corner exit. I also experienced trail braking (with front brakes) the 997.2 is giving much better results than engine braking (which probably actually increases understeer). The reason seems again to be position of mass of front vs. rear engine layout. OTOH the stiff rear axle suspension setup (again because of the mass of engine combined with very wide rear tyres) can lead to lateral and vertical movements in the back when cornering on rippling and bumpy surfaces (which on front engine cars the front axle is mostly concerned with).

Love to hear your own experiences once you tracked your 997!