WantA997

I spent 2 months in DTLA with my FAL-less, lowered RS, and never had any issues.

ipse dixit

Undrivable.

Car is worthless without FAL.

Like a hen that can't lay eggs.

Might as well as leave it on the side of the road and save yourself the expense of towing it to the junkyard.

Johnny Five

This. No FAL is lighter, simpler, cheaper. I don’t care if the lip scrapes, if I destroy it I will buy another one. 1500 miles on my RS, scraped the lip dozens of times, it still looks perfect unless you’re underneath the car. I suppose you could have problems with certain extreme road infrastructure / driveways but I’ve never had a problem with any speed bump, driveway, or parking lot and several urban residents here have said the same. Don’t drive it off-road or into holes or over large obstacles. It’s a race car.

I’m spending $XX,000 on lightweight parts, $3500 in my pocket for FAL weight savings was a no brainer. I am the anti-FAL.

Mattyrae

Like someone else said, hit that lip hard enough, you might crack your bumper, or crack the mounting points where the lip connects to the bumper. My buddy just got a 2015 GT3 and would never get up his steep driveway without it. Find a car with FAL.

bli8

Due to the shape of the front splitter, the GT3 can get by w/o FAL, however the RS can't, and the T has more clearance than the GT3 so definitely no need for FAL on the T. I've lowered my GT3 (Touring) to the lowest threads on the front shocks and still have pretty good clearance. If you find a good deal on the car, I'd go for it, but if I were to order the car, I'd go ahead and tick the box.

ubtrippin

I use mine. But sometimes I forget and should've used it.

ChrisF

This is largely a hypothetical. I've replaced probably 20 lips and never cracked or damaged a bumper as a result of an impact. I've scraped sharp inclines, gone 4 off on track. Not once.

If you want one for convenience, I totally get it. To say one "needs" it to protect the nose of the car is not accurate. Not on the GT4, GT3, RS.

If you want a precursor to life out of warranty with FAL, search the 997 forum for those who have had them fail.

Johnny Five

Exactly. Addressing another poster - I like taking 45’s. It reminds me I’m driving something special. I even take my lifted truck over some dips at a 45 so I don’t rattle myself and belongings around as much. Embrace the 45.

kento521

Not having the FAL would be a deal breaker for me. Compared to Ferrari and other cars, the system works very well and deploys rapidly.

loungin

While that’s is an admirable disposition, one can’t always take 45s depending on the width of the driveway opening and how close people are parked to your driveway. For example single width driveway openings into parking lots. Or if someone is coming the opposite way and you’d have to block traffic to approach the driveway at 45. Different people have different circumstances in which to operate the car. Backing up a narrow driveway seems to be the most difficult situation.

some new developments with HOAs don’t have recessed driveways so you need the front to be able to clear curb height before the wheels start going up the incline. If you can get as close to the curb as possible it might work but you can’t control who’s parked in front of your driveway.

at work we have speed bumps so tall that even normal sedans will scrape if you drive over them faster than 0 mph. I even take those at 45 with my commuter car in protest because who the hell decided that only SUVs can traverse that lot without scraping.

Howydo

The 2019 GT3 RS has a new type of lift (hydrolic?). It seems to work better and faster than the one on my 2018 GT3. Maybe more reliable too.

I think the lifts are nice, however, I can usually get around having to use the lift if I go slow and on an angle . I’d prefer to have the lift but I’d consider buying the right car without one especially if it was considerably cheaper and the right spec.

Captain Scurry

The .1 GT front lips are more flexible than most people give them credit for (but maybe not as flexible as Gumby). I have seen mine and others bend and contort over fixed objects (usually trailer associated) several times without any ill effect. I have no FAL, and even manage to scrape frequently doing my best "Dukes of Hazard" imitations on the local country roads. Front lip still looks factory fresh unless you look underneath it. Yes, it doesn't sound cool when it scrapes, but who really cares. By the way, I adhere to the non-OCD approach. But I agree, there are some situations where a FAL might be useful, and then even other situations where nothing is going to prevent that big scrape.

Maverick787

‘Good luck this topic comes up every few months, and same answers. Not sure why ask for opinions when 90% of sale have purchased the FAL, for me I would never get out of m driveway that’s no fun. One poster said is a race-car some will believe that, if so where’s the safety equipment in the car ......oh yes it has yellow seat belts to save you/a radio to listen to the news with leather? Um sounds like a street car to me that I can drive on the track. Never had one fail, and if so warranty will cover. I get amused when some mention I just but a new strip not worth the cash for FAL, and will spend 8k on full wrap and paint correction(:

Kaiservon

I live in the GA mountains which has plenty of steep angles. I didn't have FAL on the 997 and I don't have it on the 991 either. I'm one of those crazy 10% that seems to do just fine without it. I've had to replace the front lip on the 997 once in 7 years of ownership, and rarely scrap on the 991 so far (just don't run into parking curbs). I guess it depends on your circumstance, but so far its been no big deal to not have it.

Thinker23

Here’s a data point. I have FAL and I still scrape sometimes even with the nose up. I will not make it up my driveway without one so it is a straight forward must have. I don’t think it’s worth skipping given the safety margin it provides. In the end, the value is a personal decision. If you are OCD and risk averse, then yes it’s worth having. If scraping doesn’t bother you and are ok with risk, then ok to skip.

Regards,
nap