JMon

So my dilemma is this... I currently have a GT3 Cup car and a 997s street car. The 997s has GT2 Seats, roll cage, harness etc..I'm looking to concentrate my racing activity on CHUMP so I'm selling both cars.
I need a replacement Daily Driver (With back seats for the baby)
I still want to do a few (~9) DE type weekends a year and move up to a 991 to serve as a daily driver and DE car.

So as you can imagine, I'm used to a setup with full harness and great lateral support.

What are some options on the 991? What is the best way to stay planted firmly in the seat without sliding all over the leather and stay safe? Is there any kind of harness system I can use that works with the stock seats and no cage? (Kind of like the M3 guys have- Schroth Quick Fit). Any kind of pad or cover to strap to the seat for better lateral support?

Is there a significant different between the Adaptive sport seats and the basic seats?

Coochas

I can speak to the *** (adaptive sports seats). I have these in my 997 which I rarely track. While they are better than stock seats to keep you planted, they are by no means like a race seat. I think the bladders that curl toward my shoulder blades are better than the ones for thigh lateral support although this may simply be my particular build. So, overall if I was going to track a car and not go deep seats/harnesses, I would get the ***.
They are comfortable as a DD seat but I think the standard seats are more comfy for commuting.

mehoff

IMHO, don't mess around with the 991 as a dual purpose car. They are amazing DD's, but a very long way away from being truly trackable. I put my non-S on the track once and the best I can say about the experience is that is was uninteresting.

You should do well selling the cup and 997, so my advice would be leave the 991 alone and get a "streetable", fully track prepped 996 for $20-22k or 2.7 Boxster for $10k....best of all worlds.

Keeping in mind you'll have to spend $4-10k to get the 991 suitable for the track anyway, the cost variance is nominal (parking may be an issue though).

JMon

" I put my non-S on the track once and the best I can say about the experience is that is was uninteresting"

I'm worried about that aspect as well. Going from a 3.8L cup car to basically a street/DE car may leave me board. Others suggested I don't bother with the 991 but use a GTR or the new M4+Mods. I hate to leave Porsche.....

paradocs98

Wow. I'm kind if doing the opposite. Just ended a lease on a 2011 M3 sedan--fantastic car, by the way. Now I have a 991 Carrera S because I wanted something more track-appropriate and safer. I was using the Schroth QuickFit Pro with a HANS in the M3. It was a decent solution, certainly safer than just the stock seatbelt, and most important, allowed use of the HANS while not screwing up the back seats with a rollbar. But it wasn't perfect. The M3's stock seats are very supportive and comfortable and offer decent bolstering, but I was still having to brace myself quite a bit on track. The E90/2 M3 is C5 Z06 and 997S-quick on the track, and I think to really do it right in that car you would need real race seats. Which then kind of defeats the purpose of having a double-duty, family-friendly daily-driver and track car. The M3 also needed significant brake upgrades for the track. I ended up doing a StopTech BBK all-around and Pagid pads, and it was excellent. The car also needs suspension mods to be able to get -2.5° of camber up front for proper track tire wear. Even with these necessary mods, though, running costs are high. It's a 3600-lb, 450hp car (full catless exhaust) and it goes through tires and Pagid RS29s pretty quickly.

I ended up moving to the 991 because I've wanted one for 35 years, and, more important, I wanted rollover protection. I've talked to instructors who tell stories of cars without a rollbar pancaking their roofs during trackday rollovers. So I've done a GMG bolt-in rollbar and OMP seats in this new 991S.

The 991 might be a bit "boring" compared to your Cup car on the track. I think any street car would. The 991S is considered by many to be faster on track and better-handling than the 997.2 GT3, though, so that's good enough for me. My first trackday with this new car is next month, so I'll know soon enough.

In any case, I would think the Nissan GTR is totally wrong. Especially coming from the analog, true racecar experience of your Cup car, the GTR would probably feel like a giant electronic beast. And 3800 lbs will destroy tires and brake pads quickly.

As for the brand-new M3/4, it's tempting because it will probably handle well and it sounds like BMW is being serious about weight savings with this car. On the other hand, it's a brand-new model, so there will be the inevitable first-year gremlins to deal with, and there won't be any quality, time-proven track upgrades available for a couple of years. It will take time for Turner, Bimmerworld, Dinan, etc. to develop parts. At the least, you know that brake and suspension upgrades will be necessary.

How about doing the 991 as your daily driver and getting an E36 or E46 M3 as a dedicated track car? Both platforms are relatively cheap, lightweight, and have a ton of parts and experience available for the track. Both can be made to be very very fast and capable track cars.

John's 991

Seems to me that you need to decide what you want. A track car and street car are obviously very different with compromises required for either. I have driven lots of different cars on the track, and owned an E36 M3 for awhile, and enjoy driving my 991S on the track. It is a street car, and the lack of harness, extra weight and eventual brake overheating are all indicative of a street car. However, I feel it needs to be driven on the track to really get a feel for what it can do.

And after a track day, I really enjoy being able to roll up the windows, turn on the AC and satellite radio and drive home in comfort. And I occasionally have the kids in the back seat, which is not super comfortable for them, but acceptable for rides of an hour or so.

There is no doubt that a 991 won't be like driving your race car(s) but Pobst turned a 1:39 in a stock 911S at Laguna Seca which is pretty darn fast and blurs the line between street car and track car performance.

Chump racing is fun, and maybe I will see you at one some day, but your Chump car is not going to be like your GT3 Cup to drive either. My 911 is faster than my Chump Mustang, at least for the time being.

Oerding911

I have been considering doing the same exact setup as paradocs98, as well as sharing the same track intensions for my 991S. After doing 4 track events, I'm very happy with the MPSC2 tires but desperately need seats and harness. Planning on a gt3 in 11 months so it makes little sense to do it at this point, but if you are going to keep the car and track for awhile I would definitely say GO FOR IT and get good buckets!

Hatzenbach

To answer the initial question:
My daily driver / DE car is a 997.2 with the GT2 carbon fiber seats.
When I go to the track I usually install a harness bar and run with 6-pt harness and HANS.
Before my last trackday I ran out of time to put the harness bar in and simply used the 3-pt harness (sans HANS). I was worried about sliding around, but was very positively surprised how supportive the GT2 seats are when using only a 3-pt seatbelt. No sliding and no "using the steering wheel to keep you in your seat". So I'd say order the 991 with the GT2 seats and you should be good to go.

24Chromium

Being a Cup owner myself, I too ponder this question now and then. My current train of thought is to get something slower, but still full-race suspension. I've driven a few 911 "antiques" lately, and it's a blast to drive a car at 10/10s 100% of a lap.