Road Test Drive (Disappointed)
09-27-2014 | 10:12 PM
#257
Thread Starter
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From: Mid-Atlantic (on land, not in the middle of the ocean)
09-27-2014 | 10:29 PM
#258
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From: Southeast
09-27-2014 | 10:33 PM
#259
Three Wheelin'
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From: Cocoa, FL
09-28-2014 | 12:01 AM
#260
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From: Vancouver, BC
Not surprising to me at all... GT3 is really meant for track and for street, Turbo would be the perfect street car, and even base Cayman might be more fun.
997 GT3 is still more fun as it's simply louder, manual, and the Mezger engine noise cannot be replicated in 991 until you hit 7000+ RPM... So, 997 GT3 was kinda fun in all cases... 991 more when you push it (across all ranges to be fare)!
997 GT3 is still more fun as it's simply louder, manual, and the Mezger engine noise cannot be replicated in 991 until you hit 7000+ RPM... So, 997 GT3 was kinda fun in all cases... 991 more when you push it (across all ranges to be fare)!
09-28-2014 | 12:57 AM
#261
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From: New Zealand
Manifold. Good to hear you found some you can trust the advise of. Interesting feedback as well. I'd still recommend a proper drive in one before you lay out your hard earned. After all you'll do more "ordinAry" miles than track miles...
09-28-2014 | 01:08 AM
#263
RL Community Team
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It still surprises me a bit that someone would do a complete 180 and buy the car based on what someone else said.
And I don't care if that someone was GT3-whisperer Andreas Preuninger himself.
09-28-2014 | 01:55 AM
#264
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OK, you guys are gonna like this post.
I had a long talk today with a respected pro racer who has a 991 GT3 which he has tracked (along with the 991 cup, prior cups, and lots of other cars), and he also apparently has good connections within Porsche, especially their motorsports program. Here's what he told me, hoping I can remember it all, and keeping in mind that info like this is never guaranteed to be accurate:
- Says the 991 GT3 is awesome on track, truly a race car at heart, and has much in common with the cup car. Really has little in common with the 991 street car. Some lap times he gave me were stunning, apparently not far off the 997 cup on equal tires. Says the Porsche Motorsports people are true enthusiasts.
- The main issue with running slicks is the rubber bushings in the suspension. But this can apparently be fixed with some mods which don't appear to be too difficult. Otherwise, he's confident that the car can handle the higher loads of the slicks.
- This basically is the engine which will be used in the race car.
- Doesn't recommend the carbon ceramic brakes (I can't recall the reason).
- Doesn't recommend the front end lift. Says it can adversely affect the PASM.
- Thinks the PDK is excellent.
- Believes there will be limited production for MY 15, and possibly a small production run for MY 16. There will be a MY 17 GT3, which is basically done, and it won't be too different from the current version. No manual, PDK only. NA, no turbo.
- The RS will be around $180K to $190K, PDK only. IIRC, it'll have a bigger engine than the regular GT3. NA, no turbo.
- It's of course speculative, but he anticipates the 991 GT3 will hold its value well, as the previous GT3s have. He thinks that when lots of these cars start showing up at the track and blowing away other cars, considering the value the car offers, demand will go up a lot, while supply will still be limited.
- Thinks the standard seats are very comfortable and provide good support. For a car used mostly on the road, he'd go with them, rather than the sport buckets.
- Recommends leaving the stock alignment as is, even for the track, except that small tweaks should be OK if done by a race shop who really knows what they're doing.
- Runs 29 psi hot with the MSPC2. Says the car is very fast with these tires, but 19" wheels are feasible, and are what the car really wants.
[I'll edit the above if I remember more]
So, with a ringing endorsement from someone who really knows these cars, and has tracked the 991 GT3, I'm gonna give this thing a try. And it turns out that the guy who got the allocation I passed on, also just passed on it, so the allocation is mine again. I'll be ordering the car on Monday.
PS - I still stay that the car is underwhelming on the road if you can't open it up, so think twice if you're considering buying the car for road use and expecting it'll be fun when driven without a lot of vigor. For sane road driving, I still like the 997 and some other cars better.
I had a long talk today with a respected pro racer who has a 991 GT3 which he has tracked (along with the 991 cup, prior cups, and lots of other cars), and he also apparently has good connections within Porsche, especially their motorsports program. Here's what he told me, hoping I can remember it all, and keeping in mind that info like this is never guaranteed to be accurate:
- Says the 991 GT3 is awesome on track, truly a race car at heart, and has much in common with the cup car. Really has little in common with the 991 street car. Some lap times he gave me were stunning, apparently not far off the 997 cup on equal tires. Says the Porsche Motorsports people are true enthusiasts.
- The main issue with running slicks is the rubber bushings in the suspension. But this can apparently be fixed with some mods which don't appear to be too difficult. Otherwise, he's confident that the car can handle the higher loads of the slicks.
- This basically is the engine which will be used in the race car.
- Doesn't recommend the carbon ceramic brakes (I can't recall the reason).
- Doesn't recommend the front end lift. Says it can adversely affect the PASM.
- Thinks the PDK is excellent.
- Believes there will be limited production for MY 15, and possibly a small production run for MY 16. There will be a MY 17 GT3, which is basically done, and it won't be too different from the current version. No manual, PDK only. NA, no turbo.
- The RS will be around $180K to $190K, PDK only. IIRC, it'll have a bigger engine than the regular GT3. NA, no turbo.
- It's of course speculative, but he anticipates the 991 GT3 will hold its value well, as the previous GT3s have. He thinks that when lots of these cars start showing up at the track and blowing away other cars, considering the value the car offers, demand will go up a lot, while supply will still be limited.
- Thinks the standard seats are very comfortable and provide good support. For a car used mostly on the road, he'd go with them, rather than the sport buckets.
- Recommends leaving the stock alignment as is, even for the track, except that small tweaks should be OK if done by a race shop who really knows what they're doing.
- Runs 29 psi hot with the MSPC2. Says the car is very fast with these tires, but 19" wheels are feasible, and are what the car really wants.
[I'll edit the above if I remember more]
So, with a ringing endorsement from someone who really knows these cars, and has tracked the 991 GT3, I'm gonna give this thing a try. And it turns out that the guy who got the allocation I passed on, also just passed on it, so the allocation is mine again. I'll be ordering the car on Monday.
PS - I still stay that the car is underwhelming on the road if you can't open it up, so think twice if you're considering buying the car for road use and expecting it'll be fun when driven without a lot of vigor. For sane road driving, I still like the 997 and some other cars better.
09-28-2014 | 02:05 AM
#265
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From: Newport Beach
Hey,
You know the guy is entitled to change his mind. Just having the stones to come back in and tell us he's back into his allocation is enough. Even though he created an 18 page thread making himself the ping pong ball in the room it's just one guys opinion. My wife says she hates driving my C2S. She said it sucks, its too buzzy and loud and she can't see out of it well enough. What does she know?
Again, I think I had the best analogy out there.
Driving the 991 GT3 keeping it under 5,000 rpm is like getting the opportunity to bang Bar Rafeli but she keeps her clothes on and you're not allowed to "finish."
You know the guy is entitled to change his mind. Just having the stones to come back in and tell us he's back into his allocation is enough. Even though he created an 18 page thread making himself the ping pong ball in the room it's just one guys opinion. My wife says she hates driving my C2S. She said it sucks, its too buzzy and loud and she can't see out of it well enough. What does she know?
Again, I think I had the best analogy out there.
Driving the 991 GT3 keeping it under 5,000 rpm is like getting the opportunity to bang Bar Rafeli but she keeps her clothes on and you're not allowed to "finish."
09-28-2014 | 02:27 AM
#266
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Joined: Jun 2001
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From: North Bay Area, CA
Other than that, Manifold, I'm glad you found someone who is capable of bringing you to your senses!
09-28-2014 | 04:02 AM
#268
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2014
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In the absence of any evidence whatsoever to support the claim of interference, I'm going to call hogwash on that one. The system works by pressurizing a hollow space which already exists in what is otherwise a conventional front strut. When the space is not under pressure the strut operates in a completely normal fashion. I'm going to need more specific information to believe that Porsche engineered the lift in such a way as to interfere with the suspension it was designed to compliment. Other than that, Manifold, I'm glad you found someone who is capable of bringing you to your senses!
Here is the link:
http://www.elephantracing.com/tool-b...n-overview.htm
09-28-2014 | 09:10 AM
#269
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,960
Likes: 349
From: Florida
Manifold's epiphany is perfectly sensible. He was on the fence and on the fence the negatives are magnified by uncertainty. He obtained strongly validating information from an authoritative source that moved him off the fence. His initial observation that the car was a little disappointing at low speed still stands, but it no longer is a deal breaker in the context of what else it has to offer.
09-28-2014 | 09:23 AM
#270
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From: Southeast
In the absence of any evidence whatsoever to support the claim of interference, I'm going to call hogwash on that one. The system works by pressurizing a hollow space which already exists in what is otherwise a conventional front strut. When the space is not under pressure the strut operates in a completely normal fashion. I'm going to need more specific information to believe that Porsche engineered the lift in such a way as to interfere with the suspension it was designed to compliment.
Other than that, Manifold, I'm glad you found someone who is capable of bringing you to your senses!
Other than that, Manifold, I'm glad you found someone who is capable of bringing you to your senses!
I was somewhat surprised by an experts comment and wondered why Porsche would compromise a fundamental aspect of the GT3 and hence my question.