Dreamer99

I'm a rookie here and have been searching a bit but I still have questions. Why the rotor upgrade? Are track pads not enough? Also, is there a fixed brake line connection to the calipers? If so can it be replaced by a flexible stainless steel line to make it easier to swap pads.

Thanks for your answers in advance,
John

Mthrice

Depends on how much tracking you're planning on doing. Less than 8 days a year and none of that stuff is neccessary in my opinion.

Manifold

As a rookie, just go to a PCA event and get instruction. The car doesn't need any mods at your stage, but when you do a brake fluid flush, use Castrol SRF. Factory rotors, pads, and lines are fine, factory alignment is fine, 3-pt safety belts are fine, OEM tires are fine.

Rick GT3

100% agree!!!
GT3 are extremely great cars for the track and fun to drive, just learn the basics with your local PCA DE, be conservative while learning how to drive in the track, it take some time to know your car potential and never try to reach your 100%( keep it below 80% ). Just have FUN!!!

74goldtarga

The reason to do rotors is that the stock rotors are drilled and at some small risk of cracking with track use - less risk on Girodisc or J-hook rotors. I figure the stock discs go back on if I sell the car and they are still in good condition.

The stock hard brake lines aren’t a big problem - you just have to be careful not to bend or kink them. I purchased SS braided lines but didn’t install them when I did the pads and rotors as I didn’t find the stock lines to be a concern for me.

As others have said - if you are a rookie not just here but to the track then do nothing but get instruction the first weekend - for me a brake flush is the bare minimum if the age of the fluid is unknown or basically if its any older than a year. Track pads are nice to have but the stock pads are fine for a novice driver. If you are just new to the 991.1 GT3 and you have experience tracking other cars then you probably know what else is important to you.

My next track day is in a week and a half. I have done:

Recaro pole-position seat with Schroth 6-point harness and CMS bar

Girodisc rotors and Ferodo 3.12 pads

DSC module

Apex 19” wheels with Nankang AR-1 wheels

I look forward to reporting back on the unnecessary but hopefully fun mods

Dreamer99

Thanks for all the answers. Much appreciated.

I’m currently in an e92 M3, I’ve done the bbk, coil overs, camber plates, Apex wheels with AR-1’s, etc. I usually do 6-8 track days a year and otherwise don’t drive the car much.

I’m tossed between a 991.1 GT3 with a G series engine or a 991.2 Carrera T. If I purchase the Carrera I would upgrade the brakes, add camber plates and a stage 1 tune as well as wheels and tires for tracking.

Manifold

If you want a track car, go for the GT3. I’ve done a hundred track days in the car, all at advanced level - the car is seriously good. It doesn’t need any performance mods, but once you’re beyond the novice level, you could put in tack seats (if it doesn’t have Porsche sport buckets), roll bar, and harnesses. The OEM rotors are fine, but they need to be replaced when a crack almost connects between holes or goes from a hole to the edge. Also upgrade to track pads once you’re beyond novice level. Factory alignment and suspension are fine up to advanced level, don’t mess with it. Use Goodyear Supercar 3 or Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires.

TET GT3

It is my experience that the 991.1 GT3 is no slower than 991.2 around the track. .1 Looks better too!

Going down to 19's, but a little wider is a good move to fit wider tires for the track. OEM discs develop cracks around the cross drilling, and Girodisc is the way to upgrade.


Before 19's:

robmypro

The 991.1 GT3 is a great car. Arguably the best looking GT3 ever made. Definitely great sounding. It just does everything well. Equipped with the G6 engine I don’t think there is a GT3 past or present I’d rather have. It’s a keeper.

74goldtarga

Had a great time last weekend up at BIR with Nord Stern PCA. It snowed Friday and I almost backed out but decided to drive in part because my friends encouraged me to and in part because I had responsibilities for the event in any case. It was 26 deg F at the start of the day although the unheated garage was nonetheless above freezing overnight - there was some angst about using the Michelin Cup 2 tires at those temps but I can say that they work great around freezing on track if you warm them up for a couple laps. I understand they definitely crack if they get much below freezing.

Since my last track weekend last fall I made the following mods - Recaro Pole Position seat on BBi slider with Schroth 6 point harness and CMS roll bar, DSC V3 suspension module install, Girodisc rotors and studs along with Ferodo DS3.12 pads

Seat and harness was a big upgrade - the seat was pretty comfortable with the only limitation of my Simpson Hybrid S pushing into my back a bit. I was able to concentrate on driving more being held into position.

Competition Motorsports bar - no squeaks - none! Shorter distance from cross-bar to seat so less belt to stretch in an accident. Able to move seat back far enough for my 6'3" frame. Perfect color match in guards red. Happy with this for sure but hope I never need to install or remove another roll bar.

DSC module - car was perfectly controlled on track. I didn't notice as much improvement in the street compliance as I did with the 997 GT3 but I can't complain about a thing. Car feels fairly stiff to me on track despite stock springs - I wouldn't want much stiffer than stock- maybe I'll try RS rates in the future if there's anything to gain. Under braking and transitions the car was extremely well behaved and confidence inspiring. I continued to improve throughout the weekend without the car ever doing anything unsettling or surprising. I could really feel when I was pushing the car past its limits in terms of rear grip and got saved by the ESSC a couple times - my Cup 2 tires are really toast - old by date and also not much tread left. I really wanted to run my new 19" wheel set and Nankang AR-1 but with the cold temps decided to wait until my next track weekend.

Girodisc rotors and Ferodo DS3.12 - no squeal on street or track including before bedding in. Also, hardly any dust. How do you get amazing consistent stopping power even on the street with no squeal and minimal dust in a pad that delivers incredible modulation and release on track? Buy these pads. I have had Performance Friction, Pagid, Raybestos, and stock pads and this is the best I've had - no doubt in a crowded field of great pads - I am not saying this is the best pad but I have zero complaints so far. The Girodisc may have something to do with the no squeal and I am sure with the overall great and improved performance over the stock setup.

Next mods are wing risers, GT4RS underbody aero bits, Cup car fender liner bits, homemade diffuser prior to next track weekend. And then the car is "done" for awhile - I have no other mods planned - just going to drive and enjoy hopefully.

Car is a perfect trackday fun car. I think it will be pretty fast with the new wider 19" rubber and me gaining more seat-time and confidence.

Photos by Gary Amendola - how many of you have trackday photos with snow?

Link to Scott Perkinson at BIR last weekend in his Carmine Red 2018 GT3:
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Some of the apex and runoff areas are snow covered - the snow off track is very icy and would absolutely trash the car if you went off / wide. In his video you are seeing a small amount of snow and ice in places on the track surface. The normal brake markers for the track are not in place.

CMS

Great review/summary and must be the first track day pics with snow everywhere! Good to see you guys getting on the track so early at BIR!

74goldtarga

Had the most fun I've had on track in a long time this weekend at Road America with the 991.1 GT3. Our Nord Stern PCA club had our annual Cheese Fling with a big group of great people and cars. I had some lightly used Nankang AR-1 tires mounted that I purchased from a friend who moved from a 991.1 GT3 to a 992 GT3. I also added the GT4RS underbody aero strakes and my home-made diffuser which needs some work since it got crunched at the gas station - I'll post a separate thread about it when I'm done beta testing (this is a joke because I will never know if it actually helps with my laptimes - anyway . . .)

Other than DSC (stock tune) and track/street alignment my suspension is stock. This was my first time at this track with the 991.1 - last year I had my 997.1 GT3. I loved driving this track with this car - the new track surface is also pretty unbelievable. I'm not sure if there is a single seam on the entire circuit - I can't remember any it's that smooth. The car is so easy to drive fast(ish - me driving). I fell in love with PDK in this car and I bought the car in part because at my height with a half-cage the 997 is too small to heel-toe comfortably and the stock gearing isn't right for the slow corners (5, 8, 12). The shifts in manual mode are perfect and it is so nice to be able to safely and easily grab second gear in the slow corners. Also I have perfect ergonomics with my half-cage and fiberglass racing shell seat with 6 point harness.

The car is so confidence inspiring. I was rather fearful and slow to start the first day which really was a carry-over from last year when I never felt comfortable in the 997. As I went through the sessions I started to slide the car around more and really enjoyed the way the car and tires worked together to be very predictable and catchable. The car literally never caught me out the whole weekend. The ABS was kicking in a lot but it is barely perceptible. Car is pretty flat even with the stock springs. As far as I can tell the ESC never kicked in - different from the old Cup 2 tires I had which seemed to be able to fairly easily exceed their limits at BIR - I'm guessing new Cup 2 on this new surface would be much better. My buddy in a 2015 and new Cup 2 was just as fast except in a few spots where I am sure the AR-1 was a slight advantage. Overall I dropped 8 seconds from 2:38 the first session to a respectable if not exactly fast 2:30 by the end - the fastest 991 based cars there were flirting with 2:20s on Pirelli slicks so I know with tires and suspension mods there are a number of seconds left on the table. Zero complaints about the Ferodo DS 3.12 and girodisc rotor combo - never experienced any perceptible fade.

I didn't break out the 265 front, 325 rear 19" Nankang AR1 since I still had good life left in the take-offs in stock size but I'm hoping that is worth a little speed.

I did manage to mount the suntiger wing risers prior to the event as well. This is a great upgrade if only for moving the wing to the top of the rear window and out of your view - I think it really helped my situational awareness on track.

I'm for sure itching to try some hoosiers or Pirelli slicks now that I am starting to feel like I can push the car. I am thinking to go up to RS spring rates and maybe try to get a compatible tune for the DSC as I hear the stock dampers have headroom to work really well with the 3RS spring rates before going to a stickier tire. Open to any other must-do suspension tweak. suggestions at this point.

I get a ton of compliments on the sound of the Sharkwerks center delete combined with the stock headers and side-mufflers (this I how my car came to me). I happen to think it's 100% perfect - not ideal for performance at the track but since it's how my car arrived and it sounds great I'm sticking with it for now.

Up next - plugs, oil change, brake flush and spiegler lines which are waiting in the garage, see if I can make any sense of the data from my new Apex.

RDCR

991's are such great cars for the track. I've modded mine to the point where the car feels so planted compared to stock and I'm very comfortable on track in it. Being relaxed and confident is 90% of the game for me.

My track mods:
Dundon Ventus Aero package, APR side rockers and rear valence, 911R diffuser and GT4RS strakes.
Tractive DDA coilers with .2 RS spring rates. DSC controller with custom map by Tom Chan.
SPM Strut tower support brackets, BBI harness bar with Schroth 6pt belts.
Tarett Monoballs / thrust arm bushings.
Pagid RSC1 brake pads
Stock alignment, Nankang AR1 tires on BBS FI-R wheels.

74goldtarga

Just got back from Road America where it was hotter than blazes but fortunately dry.

Biggest change to the car was the addition of the E-Motion stage 1 suspension package to the car by Ryan and Nick at 311RS along with alignment. I just checked the E-motion website and I don't see the package on the site which seems odd, maybe they have changed their offerings or something. My mods include swift springs / helper springs / hats / drop-links / and front tension arms. Along with these mods I replaced the DSC module with the stock suspension module on the recommendation of Ryan at 311RS and Joey at E-motion.

The car seemed more planted and stable especially under-braking and was really composed all around. It gave me the confidence to find the limits of traction (or maybe better to say probe for the limits in my case) deeper into the braking zone and gradually attack the corners more aggressively.

I also installed a 6-line Spiegler steel brake line kit. I can't say I felt a difference but at least my pad changes should be easier going forward. I hadn't driven on track in awhile so a back to back pedal feel comparison would be a stretch. That said the combo of Ferodo DS3.12 pads / girodisc rotors / SRF / Spiegler lines performed flawlessly with enough bite and zero fade - modulation was perfect. I could get into ABS if I tried and could stay just below the ABS threshold fairly easily when I concentrated on doing so. I really can't imagine what more I would want with brakes with this car and tire combo (Nankang AR-1). I might try slicks and maybe the increase in grip will show the weaknesses in this setup but for now I think it's great.

I had my first weekend with the Garmin Catalyst and felt it helped me progress more quickly than I would have without. I mounted it all the way in the right upper corner of the windscreen so that it didn't block any aspect of my view of the track or the car. I couldn't really see the display (which was ideal) but used wired earplug headphones for feedback and lap-times. My Apex unit decided to become a blue doorstop the day before I left for RA.

With these changes I dropped about 1 second from my previous personal best. The bigger story was that I could more confidently stay near my best times lap after lap. While the following video is thoroughly boring it does show how composed the car is for handling and braking and that I probably have a second or two more that I could wring out of the car without having to make any changes to the car or setup:

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Despite the car being 10 years old it's still pretty quick, it drives beautifully, and it's a nice place to be on a beautiful racetrack