Wannabeproracer

Hi Everyone,

I finally had time to take my GTS to the track this last Saturday. I went to Chuckwalla and everything was perfect. The weather was around 75 degrees with little to no wind. For those that don't know Chuckwalla or haven't been, it's literally in the middle of the desert (about 1 hour east of Palms Springs in California) and its usually very windy and dusty, nonetheless the weather was perfect.

Here are some details of my car/situation

1. I had completed an oil change at about 1000 miles, I had about 1300 miles at the track.

2. I was using Sport Plus but left the traction control on.

3. I'm an experienced driver and was instructing at this event.

4. I wasn't familiar with running counter clockwise (as this was the format) but after about 6 laps had started to get settled and memorized the course.

5. I'm on stock street tires and had no modifications to the car except for Rennline mesh grills and full front clear bra. (I highly recommend doing both of these upgrades)

6. I'm coming from a 2011 GTS to my 2016 GTS both with manual transmissions.

Okay, so here goes:

My first run was at about 8 AM, the track was washed out because of the rain from the previous day/night. The track was smooth and clear but had lost all rubber on the main racing line. I set tires PSI (cold) to 32 front and 36 rear. On my first session, I did not push very hard as I was still trying to learn the line and also I wanted to feel out the car. My first impression is the car felt very stable and surely planted, at no time did I feel the car would "step out" or be unpredictable. I remember the 997 GTS had a tad of understeer but the 991 felt very neutral to me, well balanced. Another fellow Porsche owner (driving a 997.1 C4) was following me and gave me a tip on the racing line as he knew I wasn't familiar with this configuration (overall Porsche owners are super friendly especially at the track). The first session was uneventful but the from my 2nd session on, I began to push.

Session 2, I began to drive a little harder and I immediately felt how well balanced the car was, the power came on very evenly and stayed strong, I didn't go to redline and short shifted at about 6k RPM. Even with this, the car was moving very well. I got it up to about 105 MPH on the back straight without any drama. I was braking deeper and deeper and had NO feeling of mushiness or brake fade.

Session 3, in this session I push the hardest of all, I had more confidence in my racing line as well as knowing the car. I was able to throttle steer through the double apex without any issues and the traction control never intruded. I was using most of the track and curbs, the car never felt anything but planted. I was carrying a lot more speed through the turns and I could feel the car being very sure footed along the way. The power was very linear and I never struggle with gearing at all. I was smiling through out and the car just wanted to go go go... The exhaust note was such an awesome sound, it wasn't overly loud but definitely had the grunt that we all love. As I powered through the turns I did get the rear to step out and it was so awesome and very controllable/predictable and just plain fun. The car is so tight and yet the steer never felt too light. Very impressive feeling, a lot of control and fun. The brakes are so strong and NEVER had any brake fade throughout the day. I have stock steel rotor brakes and it was nothing short of fantastic and kept going strong throughout the day.

The rest of the sessions I ran into a lot of traffic and didn't have a clear track, all the driver were sensational in their track etiquette and point bys all went without incident. I noticed a few people who were running Michelin Super Sport had chunking around the outside of the tires. Luckily my Pirelli's had no issues.

Overall impressions, the GTS is AWESOME, great balance and speed/control and was super fun to drive. Come end of day, I'm super happy with my GTS. The car is very happy to be driven hard and never gave the impression of being unpredictable or unstable. The GTS is a very strong overall performer and had a nice balance of being a track car as well as a daily driver!

Best!

LexVan

Thank you. Did you stay at 32/36 cold? What were your pressures coming off the track hot in sessions #2 and #3.

hsmith

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like fun! I am taking my GTS for the first time on April 18th. Can't wait. I hope to put some more miles on my GTS before my track day as i only have around 1300 miles.

DrCGuerra

Thanks for sharing. I have my first track day in my GTS at Texas World Speedway in May. At one time, it was billed as the World's Fastest Speedway. It's only one of seven superspeedways of greater than 2 miles & has several road courses. So many rumors about what is going to happen to this track so I'm looking forward to tracking my car before it possibly closes. It's a favorite of PCA. Your story gave me goosebumps just thinking about my upcoming day. I have a different question about your tire pressure. Why did you settle on those pressures & did you change it for your second or third sessions?

Mlbraptor

Sounds like you had big fun...

Wannabeproracer

Thank you all for your feedback, it was GREAT fun and the car did exactly what it was designed to do.

I'm getting a few questions regarding PSI, I started with 32 in fronts and 36 in the rears because I wasn't sure how the Pirellis would react and how quickly it would heat up. My 2nd session the PSI went to 35 front, 38 rears, then the 3rd session fronts went to 38s and rears went to 41. I'm not used to running the PSI that high for the track but the car and grip didn't seem to change that much. I did notice that the stock pirellis are fairly sticky and I had even tire wear. I was surprised that the rears PSI didn't rise more as I was pushing and oversteering a bit for fun. All in all, the car felt fantastic and the OEM setup was nice. I know because the weather was relatively cool, tire temps would be too.

One thing I forgot to mention is the steering is pretty much spot on, and the turning ratio felt really good, the steering never felt sloppy or had too much play, it was precise. The stock manual shifter was really really good, I had drove a student's 6 spd and the throws felt long and sloppy. I'm super happy with my choice to go 7 SPD Manual, I know the PDK is much faster but heel and toeing is so fun. Although with the car does rev match for you...

LexVan

Were you using Sport Plus and the rev matching?

c_Gio

Says used sport+ so yes... Unless there is a way to have sport+ w matching deactivated?

DrCGuerra

I believe you have to deactivate anti-skid control (PSM) to deactivate rev matching. At least that was what I read while watching a video on rev matching. I haven't tried it to see if that actually works. While I like heal and toeing, I have to admit that the rev matching makes it so much easier and it sounds great. I understand that defeats the purpose of a manual, but not entirely.

On another note, you mentioned that your tire pressure increased with each subsequent sessions. Did you inflate them to that pressure or did they increase in pressure from just your runs? Why did you start at that low of a pressure and why, if you did inflate the pressure, did you increase the pressure incrementally? It appears you did not notice much difference in the handling based on your tire pressure, although you did progressively become more aggressive with your driving. Thanks again for your response.

LexVan

You are correct.

LnC993

To OP,

Thanks for the write-up and I agree, the GTS is pretty awesome.

BTW, does your GTS has Sport PASM?

Shawn C

What tires?

LexVan

Pirelli PZeros.

Wannabeproracer

I do have Sport PASM and had it in my previous 997 GTS, as for PSI I didn't inflate or increase PSI on my subsequent runs, as tire temps goes up the PSI does as well.

Tcc1999

There's that pesky PV=nRT that you might have thought you'd never need to know after HS Chemistry was done rearing its head again!