mooty

BMW = garbage
many BMW factory drivers keep gt3 in stable
not many Porsche factory drivers keep BMW other than
as grocery getters

stock e46/e90 m3 overheats. if not, u are prolly awfully slow

stock BMW brakes, they don't come with any

if u like BMW so much buy a BMW
had 30 other than e30 rest are garbage.

while little harsh, not far from truth

Mike in CA

Good point, Macca, of course it's all relative. My ride previous to the GT3 was a 997.2 C2S. Like any Porsche, I drove it with some revs but the modern cars don't have to kept wound up all the time like the older ones. My 3.8 Carrera had loads more torque down low than my 3.2 and especially more than earlier 2.4 and 2.7 cars that I've driven.

It's true that the 3.8 GT3 is peakier than the 3.8 991 or 997.2 but the shorter gearing makes up for a lot of that difference. The GT3 loves to be revved, sure, but to my surprise it pulls well at lower rpm too.

Zero911

I went from an E36 M3 to a break to an E60 M5, then my first Porsche, a 2010 997.2 Turbo, and now waiting on the 991 GT3. Lots of points already made in this thread but I'll throw in a few:

a.) I also immediately noticed all sorts of noises moving to the Porsche from the M. Like the OP pointed out, lots of rock noises in the wheel wells I wasn't accustomed to. And this was a street Turbo, not the GT3. So yes, you're going to hear things.

b.) My E60 M5 was a beast. Yes, no chance it will keep up with the GT3, but if you have ever driven one it's an unbelievably fast and very well handling car for its weight. When I first test drove the 991 C2S, I actually walked away not thinking how awesome the 991 C2S was but actually how impressive my M5 was, for what it is, a luxury sports sedan. Again, I'm in no way comparing the cars and the Porsches will dance in circles around the M5, but I can fully appreciate the OP (and others) chiming in about how great the M5 was/is.

Macca

I must say I was quite fond of my e39 M5 (which I had for 6 years and only sold 6 months ago). I do share much of Zero911 thoughts on this car at least for b). above. It was no Porsche but it was startling for feeling smaller than it was and with "only" 400 bhp sure felt quick enough when pushed.

mooty

e39m5 is one of the better cars. but compared to fugly panomera.... no comparison and i hate panomera

current M5 fast, indeed, so is Z06 so is mustang so is viper. so is many JDM.... is one just want to be fast, porsche is the wrong car.

my odyssey with comptech SC and MCS triples... try to catch me in an M car....

GT3 is a characteristic. you either love it or it's just an expensive piece of metal. someone mentioned it's limp under 6k.. rpm... why you have it under 7000rpm is beyond me. that's when it sings...

Macca

I finally read this thread fully. Having had the e39 M5 on the track along with my 993 (track prepared) and having driven the 991 Gt3 to near its potential (briefly) on European alpine routes I can hands down say that it would almost be impossible to be faster in a lightly modified M5 than a factory 991 GT3 on any track you had some familiarity with. As a track car the base 911 platform even 3 generations old would still give stiff competition to any lightly track modified BMW product IMO. There are ina different league especially after 6 laps.

For the OP, If this is your first 911 then definitely get some track tuition. Once you ride shogun with a talented instructor in your GT3 you will be shocked at how late you can brake, how it will apply power out of the corner and how the lines chosen for a given corner are entirely different than for a front engined machine...once you hook into it you will understand why we call it TRACK COCAINE!

MAKHNO

I too have driven BMW cars for quite a while on track and my first 911 was a 997.2 C2S. That steering wheel was quite thin (like 991 GT3) compared to BWM M.
But I ended up buying original Stand21 Porsche Motorsport gloves, and they have leather patches sewn in on the inside of the gloves, see picture below.
That made the thin steering wheel a perfect match.
When I use the gloves in my M3 CSL, the combination becomes too thick.

aussie jimmy

the truth and nothing but.

Checkmate

As a former E46 M3 owner and a current E90 M3 owner. I can vouch for some of sentiments on this thread how how bad BMW brakes are (when you're stomping on them at the track lap after lap). The E9X generation is about 200-400 lbs heavier than the E46 M3 generation and there's no denying it at the track. A good set of Pagid yellows and/or a big brake are a necessity if HPDE is your thing.

I can also vouch for the fact that any factory GT3 will outhandle, outbrake and outperform any M car anywhere. At tracks I frequent such as VIR and NJMP...the GT3 has always had the edge. Much respect to any generation of the GT3.

24Chromium

Best advice in the thread, by far. The absolute best mod money one could ever spend is on the nut behind the wheel.

911Jetta

So true! Especially after a couple laps...

Ychaudhary

By far the best advice given. I am by no means a track expert so I think riding shotgun with someone who knows this car better than me will let me brake later and also push the car harder.

All this discussion about not being able to push my car hard enough got me thinking and it made me realize that I really am taking the car for granted and not pushing it hard enough.

I went for a spirited drive through the back part of Magnolia, Texas (The locals will most likely know where that is if your from Houston) and told myself I'm going to start pushing the car a little harder and see what I can pull out of it. The car did not disappoint. It came to the point that I was pushing the car so hard I thought maybe the revs are too much or I better take it easy but no the car just kept pulling for days at 6K-9K RPM. The car ate up the corners and I think I could feel the electric steering even more, which made me feel a little disconnected, but Jesus does it go where you tell it to go.

I love all M cars, I think they are terrific and they are wonderfully engineered and personally think if someone disagrees with that either hasn't really properly driven one or is a fanboy who can't get over the fact that something that "hefty" can be that good. Having said that the 991 GT3 is in another category, probably a different league really, than the M5. I think as I am getting more and more used to the GT3 I am falling more and more in love with it. The car is engineered for insanity and I adore it.

fxz

same torque as the base 991S but at higher RPM
thus at 4000 RPM the base 991s is better than the GT3
in terms of enjoyment (not faster on the Nurburgring
marketing circuit indeed....) but better on regular roads
than the GT3 , so shall i buy a 150k$ GT3 just for the
track?? MUCH better a Catheram R620 it costs 1 third

TRAKCAR

But if you don't go to the track, why buy a GT3 at all? or why a 911 even?

Manifold

I can understand getting a 911 for road use, but not a GT3. OTOH, GT3 looks like the best value in a 991 right now, albeit with obligatory PDK ...