Alan C.

^+1

doubleurx

The 2014 manual had a statement specifically in the racing circuit section regarding maintenance and maintaining the warranty. In the 2015/16 manual the reference to the warranty was removed. There has been no sign that warranty will be denied, but it was an odd piece to remove in 2015 and subsequently not return in 2016.

GrantG

That would be helpful - thanks in advance for reporting what you find.

The new RSR is also promoted for track use (its only use) and comes with no warranty at all.

I agree that if there is no exclusion for track use, that we're in pretty good shape. But I have a feeling that someone found an exclusion once before when looking (but I could be thinking about the GT4 - which I assume should be similar).

Alan C.

The GT4 manual excludes track use.

GrantG

That was my memory (and the GT4 is also certainly promoted for track use and comes with the Track Use Booklet just like GT3) - I'd be very interested to know whether the GT3 manual (2015+) contains the same track exclusion language or not.

I should also add that so far Porsche has honored all reasonable claims for failures that occurred on track for the GT4, afaik.

squid42

The change in wording in the manual is probably driven by legal concerns that have little to do with the technical and financial people who actually decide on warranty terms.

thebishman

OP: so sorry that this happened to you, but really glad you're OK. I had a 2002 SMG II E46 M3 that threw a rod thru' the block at an HPDE event due to the connecting rod issues these cars experienced. Even though all the oil spewed out over the track and car, resulting in a fire but not one as awful as yours, the SMG II 'saved' me from a spin I'm convinced of it, as as soon as the TCU 'saw' the engine seizing, it disengaged the clutch allowing me to pull off the road surface in a controlled manner. I'd say the PDK in your car did the same?

That being said, I have been in the market for a 2015/16 GT3 for the last 6 months; the only thing stopping me from buying one has been the high valuation of used GT3's and the (crappy) trade allowance given to me for my 2015 Z06(7). However, after reading every post regarding engine failures, and now this thread, I've decided the GT3 isn't for me. Both I and now my son take my 'sports car' to HPDE events, and the last thing I want/need is for the engine to let go. Seeing how the car has to be driven on a road course, apparently between 7K-9K rpm pretty much all the time, I'd say that all of them that are tracked are potentially 'ticking time bombs'. How long before Porsche gets really strict regarding engine rebuilds/ new engines when the top-end wears out, or something more catastrophic as the OP is enduring?

Please don't get me wrong, the 991.1 GT3 is a spectacular car, and I suspect that any owner who doesn't subject the car to the rigours of a road course will not have any mechanical issues over the course of many, many years. I just could never see myself owning one outside of the warranty period.

OP: I really hope that PAG makes you 110% whole!

Bish

GrantG

delete

MileHigh911

Correct! AP bragged about having a 9,000 rpm engine last to 100,000 miles

tgibrit

My 2015 warranty book, page 10, says track use is not covered, although the note below seems to contradict that

GrantG

Thanks for posting

Alan C.

The use of 'may' instead of 'will not' does put the ball in PCNA's court for case by case decisions.

GrantG

This is traditionally how track use is viewed by Porsche (it's within their discretion to cover under warranty, which they usually do unless unreasonable circumstances).

I think 2014 is unusual with its explicit coverage of track use. I don't think the 996 and 997 GT3's had this explicit coverage. The reversal to the old policy is not a disaster - it just leaves the door open for a policy shift if Porsche decides it wants to curtail coverage in the future. I think such a shift would be costly (to both Porsche in lost sales and legal challenges and to its customers who are left to pay out of pocket) - so I don't expect any change, unless VW feels backed into a corner.

tgibrit

In sentence above the Note, it states "track use" as one of the exclusions.

I still have faith Porsche will look after us

Manifold

It's troubling to see the change in language starting in 2015. I wasn't aware of that, and I feel like there's some bait and switch here - the car was advertised and warrantied for track use in 2014, then they quietly changed the language without changing the advertising.

But I still think Porsche has clear responsibility, since Porsche provides written guidance on how to use and maintain the car on the track, which implies that it was designed for track use without restriction. Moreover, I go back to the point that we can't tamper with the internals of the engine for inspection or maintenance (eg, rebuild) without risking voiding the warranty, so Porsche needs to solely take responsibility for the engine being able to last through the warranty period, whether the car is tracked or not.