mdrums

Here in the USA the FIA as far as I know has nothing to do with DE's. Who cares if the Porsche factory 6-point harness seat is FIA certified? This is a street car but if you turn it into a race car the Porsche factory would probably not be anyone's choice as you would not need the air bags or there extra weight and probably want a more custom seat.

P_collector

Hi frayed,

Sorry for the late reply. The "PorscheSportsCup- Germany - Europe" is Porsches own racing series for owners of GT3s, GT2s etc. Its kind of the "creme de la creme" ..you see many GT2RS, 4.0L etc there..but also normal 3.8s, 996 GT3. This series is under the organisation of the FIA..because FIA is expanding "their business". So far all new GT cars from Porsche were raced in this series by private customers..this will not be possible anymore..and I know of at least one cancellation of an 991 GT3 order in Europe - just because of this.

Again, this is maybe not just Porsche´s mistake..maybe the FIA changed the regulations..and Porsche couldnt adapt..or Porsche just didnt care..anyhow, result is the customer cannot participate. If you think FIA doesnt matter..well, you might be correct for today..but there are tendencies/initiatives that all drivers events areound the world would need to comply with FIA regulations...what could that mean in reality? For example that every person in the future taking his car on a track would be required to use HANS and the best helmets available..this is the "worst case scenario"...I know..and maybe it wont happen. But talk to some people in the field and you will realise that there are these ideas out there..

Anyway, hope this helps..

@Eduardo: all the best for you..your good health is much more important than some "useless seat discussion here"...

Z356

Thanks...but nothing is happening until Wednesday! Until then, you will see me still buzzing around on this forum! I find it a nice distraction! And not from my upcoming medical operation, but from the steady diet of political news that I would otherwise be ingesting on the internet! Believe it or not, all of this back & forth discussions on the 'sport bucket seats' is healthier for my 'liver' and 'mental health' than reading about the on-goings of our current government!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Colorado

frayed

@collector, understood. But it still sounds like a tiny minority of the gt3 production would actually use their street car as a race car. The migration from street to race requires a lot of modifications well beyond seats.

So is the 991 GT3 blacklisted b/c of non compliant FIA seats? If so, the fix appears simple: replace the seats with proper racing seats that are compliant. Surely this is what any serious racer would do. . . even in BMW and Porsche club racing proper, lightweight racing shells are always fitted.

P_collector

Hi frayed,

Yep...as you say - this will be the only option..but Porsche wouldnt like to see that .."loosing warranty"...but one can always go back to the original ones.

But hey, its not us or RL to blame for this discussion..its Porsche´s mistake - and nobody else - but I agree with Eduardo - this discussion is healthy and good - as it keeps our brains busy with some other ideas..

mdrums

I checked out these Porsche Sports Cup cars...googled and their Facebook page. I don't see any using the Porsche Sport Bucket Seat....stock 6 point harness seat with Thorax airbag. These cars might be so called street cars but they are gutting/semi gutting the interior, lexan windows, full cage and aftermarket seats.Was I looking at the wrong cars?

I also know of and have heard of 991 GT3 cancellations in the USA for not having a proper and street legal 6 point harness seat like Porsche has had with the 997 cars, Caymans and Boxsters.

MJones

From all the people I talk with it appears that it has to do with the air-bag and PAG is aware of the problem. Our regs are different than EU.
Interestingly heard that 918 seats suffer the same regulatory problems here in the US for the air-bag

Nick

This may be the reason why Porsche is not assigning factory time to US dealers. Porsche knows that the majority of buyers would like the sport bucket seats and is trying to sort out the issue with DOT. Imagine an early GT3 buyer ordering the regular seats and a couple months later the sport buckets are approved. Those buying early would be really pissed.

I guess I am trying to be understanding of Porsche's lack of information regarding the Gt3 for the US market. But my patience is wearing very thin.

Z356

Nick, don't pin your hopes on this! PCNA has said that it will not offer the sport bucket seats on the MY2014 991 gt3 and I doubt you will see them introduced until the MY2015 gt3 RS is released! It will take a while to sort of the homologation issues and US certification has already been issued for the MY2014 gt3 WITHOUT the sport buckets but with the Sport Seats Plus or Adaptive Sport Seats Plus!

We in North America were always destined to be the last market for the 991 gt3's to arrive. In my opinion, this is a very prudent move by PCNA, especially given past issues with CL and other design flaws re: the 997 gt3's. If any 'issues' surface quickly on the early adopters of the 991 gt3 technology (improved CL, engine, RWS, PDK-Sport, etc) in Europe or the Middle East, Porsche will have time to make 'corrections' and 'improvements' before the first cars are release into this market! PCNA is happy with that. Most US customers, if they think about it, will be happy with that too! PCNA, and their lawyers, are in no hurry to bring this car quickly here until everything is as bullet-proof as possible. I would assume and expect first US gt3 deliveries to be on scheduled for year's end. The US allocation delays I don't think have any meaningful significance. There is plenty of time to have those open up this summer and have the first few cars arriving by year's end. The options on the gt3 are quite limited, so the logistics of filling out those US orders will be rather simple!

Thanks Brian for the follow up!

Saludos,
Eduardo
CO

Nick

Eduardo, I hope you are wrong regarding the sport bucket seats but I would not bet against the information you provided.

I also realize that the allocations will be forthcoming with sufficient time to spec a car for October or November production. However, I seriously doubt the delay for the US market is related to allowing time for the ROW becoming guinea pigs with their GT3's.

Jon70

When the sport buckets get offered is when I will consider purchasing the 991 GT3. I have no problem waiting.

mdrums

Yes I feel the same way. However I might just get interested in another car/brand

frayed

Doubtful that buckets are holding up US allocations. It's a compliance issue, geesh. Nick, and where do you get your 'majority' of US buyers wanting buckets? Whining on internet forums is a very limited sample of US GT3 buyers.

I think PCNA knows the market demand for buckets and it's a minority.

I also doubt very much that US getting the GT3 last has anything to do with beta testing ROW, notably Europe and Middle East. Production changes are like trying to slow a cruise ship down, and statistically relevant feedback on things like RWS durability and CL failures will take far more time from the early adopters in the EP, etc to find their way into (i) an engineering modification and (ii) a production change.

IMO

Nick

If your assumption is correct that only a minority would be interested in the bucket seats, it is doubtful that Porsche would take the time and expense of first getting seats certified for the US market and second redesigning the seats to comply only for the US. Both endeavors are not cheap especially for a low volume car.

I am still of the opinion that the majority of the GT3 buyers would want the sport bucket seats.

P_collector

Agreed - except for: Whining on internet forums is a very limited sample of US GT3 buyers.

Deliveries in Germany for example are also delayed - first customers might get the car in late september.-.instead of late august/early september. This delay is however insignificant..