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Installed some seat covers from Gary at ClassicFX that are made using gem 911r material. Really happy with how these look
Closed out the year by doing some more driving!
Also ran into a matching GT2RS!
Whew, that was a lot of typing. It’s been an amazing first year of ownership - this car is such a blast to drive and every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. I ended up putting 3000 miles on the car over the last year, which means I already drove this more than the previous two owners . Looking forward to putting even more miles on the car next year!
Thanks for taking the time to read, I’ll do my best to keep this updated next year. Happy New Year everyone!
After spending over half a year searching for my ideal spec GT3 and two failed purchase attempts, a promising car popped up for sale at Porsche Minneapolis.
It was a CPO car with ~2200 miles, two previous owners, and had everything I was looking for (chalk, MT, lwb, fal, pccb, etc).
As soon as I saw the listing, I immediately called the dealership and to my surprise, the car was still available. I put down a deposit and booked a flight out to check out the car
As expected, the car was practically new and looked amazing in person. It also had PPF on the front of the car and clear side markers, which was an added bonus.
I finally found my car, now I just had to get it back to California in one piece.
After doing a bit of research, I ended up arranging transport through Plycar. After a week, the car arrived safely in California.
Seeing the car in my garage was a very surreal feeling - I couldn’t believe I finally had my GT3!
Many thanks to Andre Prasad at Porsche Minneapolis, who made the entire buying experience a breeze, and Nick at Plycar who was a pleasure to work with. This was a lot of firsts for me (first time buying a car at this price point, first time buying a car out of state..) but thankfully, the entire process turned out to be 100% trouble free.
First Drive
This was it, the moment I had been waiting for. I’m lucky enough to live near some amazing roads which would be the perfect place to get acquainted with my new-to-me car. :
I was coming from a Honda S2000 so this was definitely a big step up - I was really keen to see how this compared
- Holy sh*t this engine is amazing. So this is what power and torque feel like.
- The LWB were surprisingly good - comfortable, but still did a great job of holding me. Plus they just look amazing
- Suspension was very compliant in normal. Sport mode was way too bumpy for me, especially in the canyons
- Car was surprisingly quiet, a little too quiet for my taste
- Shifter felt great, very mechanical
- Need to relearn heel toe with this car
First mod on the list was installing EdGuard side protectors. Heard really great things about these and they definitely did not disappoint. Ed even offered to install the protectors for me, since I’m local. Great product, looks OEM, and fantastic customer service.
I also went ahead and installed Trackspec’s LWB seat recliner brackets. I didn’t mind the stock angle of the LWBs, but I’ve always preferred a bit of rake in my seating position so I was curious to see how these would feel.
Install was pretty straightforward, albeit a bit annoying since I opted to not remove the seat.
The brackets definitely made a big difference (moreso than I thought). Would need more seat time to determine whether I preferred this over the stock angle.
The car needed its spark plugs changed (for some reason Porsche Minneapolis didn’t do this when they did the two year service). I was initially thinking of doing it myself, but I opted to go with the dealer so that everything would be documented. After doing a lot of research on local dealerships, I dropped off the car at Porsche Fremont which seemed to be the go-to dealerships for GT cars around here.
While the car was there, they also replaced the rear springs under warranty - I had noticed a rubbing noise from the rear under compression which there seemed to be a service bulletin for.
More mods!
First exterior mod was installing GT3RS side skirts.
The install ended up being pretty straightforward since the majority of clips line up 1:1. The tricky bit was the rear section due to the difference in curvature between the narrow body and wide body, which left a tiny gap that I couldn’t unsee.
I ended up spending a few hours getting the rear to line up as close as I could and close the gap.
Bang for buck this was such an awesome mod. Gives the GT3 a much more aggressive look and helps fill in the side.
Numeric Racing Pedals
Numeric Racing had just released their pedals so I picked up a set to see if they would help make heel toe a bit easier.
I was really impressed with the quality and design of the pedals. Install was a breeze and they definitely looked and felt better than the stock pedals.
Made the trip down to socal to have Beau at Prominence Auto (https://www.prominenceautospa.com/) PPF the entire car.
He removed the existing PPF on the car, did paint correction, applied PPF on the entire car, and finished with ceramic coating the entire car.
The ~350 mile drive down also showed me how practical this car could be. The bucket seats were really comfy the entire way and, thanks to the extended range fuel tank, I didn’t have to stop once for gas!
Since we had to remove the rear emblems anyway, I replaced them with a 997 GT3 emblem - way cleaner imo
Filling up before the drive back
3/2021
I installed a used pair of Soul Performance valved side muffler deletes. I was back and forth between a center muffler delete and side muffler deletes - these popped up for a good price so I figured I’d give them a try.
The side muffler deletes were appealing to me since they save over 30lbs off the factory side mufflers and help open up the sound a bit.
I admit, I was a bit nervous going into this install due to all the stuff I had to take off. However, this turned out to be a really straightforward install - it’s really impressive how easy these cars are to take apart/put back together.
Everything off…
Stock vs side muffler delete
Side muffler deletes on..
Since I had the bumper off, I decided to go ahead and also install BME air filters.
The exhaust tone was different and definitely louder, but not as loud as I was expecting (given how big the factory side mufflers were). Overall, was pleased with this modification especially since I picked these up for a good price.
While the bumper was off, I also installed a pair of rear reflector deletes from Acexxon. Not really a fan of fake vents but they look kind of cool
5/2021
Installed some 100mm sharkwerks exhaust tips
Installed antigravity battery because weight savings
Decided that the side muffler deletes weren’t doing enough for me in the sound department. Bit the bullet and ordered a preowned Dundon Motorsports Loud Muffler + Street Headers
Huge shoutout to @Jamie@dundonmotorsports and @Ted@dundonmotorsports who were fantastic to work with. The initial shipment actually contained headers for a 991.1 vs a 991.2 but they were able to quickly resolve and next day ship me the correct parts. Fantastic customer service.
Install was, again, pretty straightforward. I spread the work out over a few days since I really wanted to take my time and make sure I did everything right
Driving Impressions
HOLY SH** WHY DID I NOT BUY THIS SOONER?! This completely changed the car for me. The car sounded meaner and more aggressive at every rpm, but did so without being obnoxious. The car was still very steerable and docile with the valves closed (i.e. my neighbors wouldn't hate me....too much). Power increase was definitely noticeable, especially below 6k. Worth every penny!
Installed a 911r shift **** that I had sent down to rstrada to redo in Alcantara. Always thought the stock shift **** felt out of place, especially with the carbon fiber trim. Really happy with how this came out
Also did an oil change on the car using Motul 8100 5w40. Perfect opportunity to use my new quickjacks
Oil change was pretty straightforward, but I really wish there was an actual dipstick on this car. The digital dipstick is such a pita - I ended up overfilling, so had to drain some oil from the oil filter afterwards.
Installed some seat covers from Gary at ClassicFX that are made using gem 911r material. Really happy with how these look
Closed out the year by doing some more driving!
Also ran into a matching GT2RS!
Whew, that was a lot of typing. It’s been an amazing first year of ownership - this car is such a blast to drive and every bit as amazing as I thought it would be. I ended up putting 3000 miles on the car over the last year, which means I already drove this more than the previous two owners . Looking forward to putting even more miles on the car next year!
Thanks for taking the time to read, I’ll do my best to keep this updated next year. Happy New Year everyone!
WOW chalk has always been my favorite non PTS color on a GT3. Amazing car and you sir have modded it to perfection.
Originally Posted by bishwei
Holy sh*t this engine is amazing. So this is what power and torque feel like
haha only us ex-honda owners would consider 340 lb-ft a lot, i should know i used to be a huge Honda guy myself. That's the biggest con to these cars IMO, the low torque figures but oh well they are still amazing cars.
Looks great and happy to see you wrenching on it yourself. I’ve always DIY’ed most things but was wondering if I should do it on my GT3, makes me feel a bit better.
Wow! Great read and journal. Congrats on the car, tasteful mods...and hope it always brings you smiles driving or just looking at it...and isn't that Dundon setup just killer? Love mine. Funny these subs, I get just as excited at seeing other's car pics and mods as I do on my own...
Regarding the RS side skirts did you have to heat gun the rear to get the clips to fit to the GT3 hips, interested in this mod and wondering what I'd be signing up for (if you have pics of the gap would appreciate it)
Also heel-toe'ing any easier with the new pedals or just 'different'? I prefer to "ball of big toe and ball of little toe" it but the stock pedals really don't allow that in this car for me.
Nice journal bishwei. Was that you at Porsche Fremont yesterday? Saw this exact same car pulled in at Fremont upon dropping by to put in an allocation on the 992 GT3RS with Raj. If so, looking good. Also local here in the SF Bay.
12-31-2021, 05:22 AM
bishwei's Chalk 991.2 GT3 Journal
. Looking forward to putting even more miles on the car next year!
