slow martian

Hi Everyone, I'm new to this community and I'm currently talking to a seller for a 2016 981 GTS with PDK, PTV, and X73. I'm coming from a Miata with several track days and looking at the 981 as my next track toy until I can get a cup car years down the line when I'm more settled. Ideally I want this GTS to be 99% track focus with the only 1% to legally get me to the track in California. Other than tires, brake pads, and fluids are there any essential this car needs before I start doing 2-4 track days a month? I want to play with this car in stages and don't plan on doing any sort of power modifications, just purely suspension, aero and weight reduction. I know this car tends to be quite understeer bias from factory, but really don't want to throw coils on it just yet since I want to really learn the limits of the car first before I start throwing money at it unless of course it's not worth the investment and should just do coils asap. Thank you so much.

davecramer

A friend of mine did a minimal amount of work on a 981 and basically just did sway bars and lower control arms to get enough camber in it and it's pretty fast. LCA's at a minimum.
He is using stock shocks..

bldn10

At 2-4 events/month you will need to buy tires by the pallet until you get more camber. I maxed my 981S stock camber out and still went through a set of Hankooks in 3 events. But if you want a track car why not look at modded S's for the same money or less?

slow martian

Sheesh sounds like coils are the way to go then. That is a bit unfortunate, my goal was to get 2 sets of RS4 for my first 16 events. I’m trying to avoid heavily modifying the car since at that point I would rather get a cup car. The goal is just purely longevity and education. Would a Cayman S be a better choice for a track focused car since the interior of the GTS is not important to me?

dps214

Front control arms or camber plates, a rear sway bar, and send it. With good camber and the improved balance from the sway bar, the tires should wear pretty well. Multiple track days per month is going to burn through tires pretty well no matter how well set up the car is. At that frequency I'd be looking at a brake upgrade in pretty quick order too. The stock brakes with good pads and fluid work but is king of right on the limit of what it can handle.

rr_gts

Here's what I did to start:

BMC Air Filters
CSF Third Radiator
DSC V3
PFC 08 Brake Pads
PFC 665 Brake Fluid
Sebro Slotted Rotors
Spiegler SS Brake Lines
Tarett Front/Rear Sway Bars
Tarett Front/Rear Drop Links
Tarett Cup Series Front LCA (Race Spec)
Tarett Front Tie Rods
Tarett Rear Toe Links

APEX VS-5RS 18"
Hankook RS4 245/275

Full service - changed all fluids (incl. PDK service), filters, spark plugs, coils, battery.

Probably not all necessary, but I would do the front LCA, rear toe links (to get a proper track alignment), brake pads, brake fluid, oil change, and PDK service to start off. 18" wheels and RS4 tires have been solid for me after 7 days.

Kitc2246

Definitely add brake caliper and brake line bracket studs to above list. FCPEuro and their Lifetime warranty is a good source for Sebro slotted and Pagid RSL29s. I did a DIY Cobb tune on my 2013 Boxster S to get equivalent of GTS HP. . RS4s are not the fastest but they will last longer. Adjustable LCAs are the first step.

PS: Hybrid HANS

Martin S.

# 1: Get a Garmin Catalyst™ Driving Performance Optimizer

• Front LCAs
• Front brake calipers from a 991.1 S. Maybe rear to. The PTV features on the GTS heats up the rear brakes. You do an aggressive 20 minute session in the warm, when you come in, there will be brake smoke coming out off your wheel well, front AND rear,
• Install GiroDisc 2 piece rotors all around. The are about 5 lbs lighter per corner, and they run cooler due to their 2 piece design,
• No need to buy a center radiator, the 2014 - 2016 GTS comes with a center radiator,
• Install Grill Guards for the 3 radiators,
• Upgrade brake pads to track focused,
• Upgrade brake fluid to Motul 101667 RBF 660 Dot-4 100 Percent Synthetic Racing Brake Fluid - 500 ml,
• Change out engine oil to a high performance oil, maybe tranny oil too,
• Get a fire suppression system with an external activation handle. The big bottle can be mounted in the frunk.
• Install a drivers window safety net
• Get tow hooks for front and rear oil the car. At a minimum get fronts, most clubs require fronts at a minimum.
• A set of lighter weight wheels mounted with the appropriate tires rack/street tires.

You do all of the above, you'll have a serious ding in your wallet, estimated to be + or - $8,000 to $10,000. "Racing ain't cheap!"

toma nova

Don't change the X73 yet.

Get GT3 LCAs for camber, leave the struts alone.

toma nova

OE calipers are awesome and RSL29s give great initial bite. RBF600 or better for fluid. You already have braided stainless lines.

Safety equipment and seat time.

dps214

Everyone's ptv experiences seen to vary. I cracked the stock front rotors the first time I ran track pads, I still have yet to do any damage to the stock rear rotors, and the front pads run noticeably hotter than the rears. That said I disabled the ptv software and have zero regrets about it.
Too start pads and fluid is fine, long term some sort of actual brake upgrade is going to be the way. The stock system has sufficient stopping power but is very marginal on heat capacity.

davecramer

Coilovers will not give you the camber you need. Adjustable lower control arms will. As I said LCA's and sway bars

AngeloGTS

I had a similarly speced 981 GTS.

LCAs, Giros, Ferodos, Apex 18s on RS4s were good enough for me to start.

I wasnt comfortable with how hot the car was getting (mid 270s) so I also added catless headers and an oil sump which helped a little.

bldn10

"Would a Cayman S be a better choice for a track focused car since the interior of the GTS is not important to me?"

If you are open to a 987, this .2 looks ready to go: https://rennlist.com/forums/market/1411989.

Ernest72

If you want you can shut the PTV off (brake part) with someone who has a PIWIS.