992 GT3 Impressions (Manifold)
09-29-2023, 08:28 AM
#16
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Congrats. I really struggled with my 992 GT3, after 2 years sold it. On the street it’s nothing special, especially with Cup 2s. It tramlines, the steering is overly darty and way too active to the point it was annoying. Now, I will say that in the Midwest we have awful roads, so that didn’t help. So on the street it was meh. But take it to the track and my lord the car comes alive, and the front end changes, suspension changes, everything just makes sense and it’s glorious. Turn in, but more importantly the stability in the turns is stunning vs 991.2 RS. The confidence to push it harder and harder is miles above the 991.2 RS. But honestly until it’s driven at speeds that are illegal and can turn it aggressively, which is dangerous on public roads, the car made little sense vs a base 992. but on track, wow. So please take it to a track day to truly understand why it’s a glorious car. I often laugh at reviewers talking about how glorious the car is while they drive 30mph, they just don’t get it. Enjoy.
Driving at reasonable road speeds, I agree that the car isn't particularly exciting, and the ride quality isn't good on bad roads. In my area, we don't have a lot of bad roads, but we have some. We do have some roads where I can lean on the car pretty hard in corners (nearly 1G, over 1 G if I'm daring), and those are the places where I can predict how the car is going to be on track. Those are the places where I found this GT3 to be unique, with the handling into and through corners surpassing all other 911s I've driven.
Your comment about the car being darty is interesting because others don't mention it, but I did notice that the car doesn't like being thrown into corners, it prefers to 'bent into' corners (progressive hands) with smooth trailbraking (which is easy to do with this car).
I'm hoping to complete the break in within the next couple weeks and then definitely get it on track before our season ends in November.
Your comparison with the .2 3RS on track is what I'm expecting, which is why I'm thinking that the GT3 will be mainly my wife's track car (easier to drive) while the RS will be mainly mine. But we'll definitely switch back and forth so that both of us get to experience both cars. The 992 TTS will also occasionally do some track duty.
09-29-2023, 08:38 AM
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Please change your brake pads and fluid before going to the track. The stock brakes are not up to the task.
An exhaust and valve controller is a must. The OPF and cats are extremely restrictive and the valves are stupid. You will feel different about the car once this is complete. I don't feel as connected to the car with the stock set-up.
Tire pressure has a big impact. Porsche recommends pressures that are too high. Try in the 30-33 range.
I personally like the 992 interior >>> 991 interior. Track mode is especially appreciated. If you are not listening to the stereo, hold the volume button down and the entertainment screen will turn off.
Having the TTS and the GT3 makes me appreciate both even more. The TTS does almost everything right - comfort, speed, beauty, luxury, confidence, audio, relative all-weather driving, ergonomics, etc. The GT3 does 5 things - sound, steering, manual shifting, acceleration, and road feel. The TTS eats-up the road effortlessly. The GT3 makes you feel as part of the road.
An exhaust and valve controller is a must. The OPF and cats are extremely restrictive and the valves are stupid. You will feel different about the car once this is complete. I don't feel as connected to the car with the stock set-up.
Tire pressure has a big impact. Porsche recommends pressures that are too high. Try in the 30-33 range.
I personally like the 992 interior >>> 991 interior. Track mode is especially appreciated. If you are not listening to the stereo, hold the volume button down and the entertainment screen will turn off.
Having the TTS and the GT3 makes me appreciate both even more. The TTS does almost everything right - comfort, speed, beauty, luxury, confidence, audio, relative all-weather driving, ergonomics, etc. The GT3 does 5 things - sound, steering, manual shifting, acceleration, and road feel. The TTS eats-up the road effortlessly. The GT3 makes you feel as part of the road.
My first experience with a 992 GT3 was in the right seat coaching on track a year or two ago. The car was so loud that we could hardly hear each other through the communicator. Now I'm realizing that car must have had an aftermarket exhaust because the two I've driven recently weren't that loud. The other thing I noticed is that the GT3 is FAST; with a lesser drive and a bit of my coaching, we were absolutely trouncing well-driven 981 and 718 GT4s, and when a good driver drove the 992 GT3, he trounced me in my 991.1 GT3 driving it pretty close to 10/10ths. The 991.1 GT3 is very fun on track, and is not slow, but is quite a bit slower than the 992 GT3 (I estimate a delta of about 3 secs per minute on equal tires).
Good point on the tire pressures. When I drove the car yesterday, the pressures were up to about 38-39, which is obviously too high (yet the grip was still mega!). I'll bring the pressures down before I drive it today.
Agreed that having the TTS and GT3 together enables appreciating each one more. Neither car makes the other look bad, just highlights the differences. At this point, I know the TTS works as both a road car and track car (and the ride isn't actually much more plush than the GT3, since my TTS has lowered sport PASM), and I expect that the GT3 will excel as a track car which can also be driven and enjoyed on the road.
Last edited by Manifold; 09-29-2023 at 08:51 AM.
09-29-2023, 09:00 AM
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After I got the 991.1 GT3, I liked the car so much that I don't feel any urge to 'upgrade' to the 991.1 3RS, 991.2, or 991.2 3RS, though .2 3RS did call to me a bit based on its performance and aesthetics. While I did get a .2 3RS a few months ago (and don't regret it), I think the ethos of the 992 GT3 fits me better because the car is a serious track weapon and looks a bit racy, but also has a confidently and elegantly understated quality to it, especially in white.
It's exciting to compare these two GT3 generations 9 years apart. The car has definitely evolved!
09-29-2023, 09:05 AM
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Comments would be welcome on whether I should put decals on the car. I wanted red stripes from the factory, but stripes weren't available when I ordered the car.
09-29-2023, 09:19 AM
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Last edited by GrantG; 09-29-2023 at 10:02 AM.
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09-29-2023, 10:59 AM
#21
It's the primary reason why so many people wind-up posting here with negative comments about how harsh the ride is, the tramlining, etc.
Take the pressures down to the "performance" setting as Grant indicated in the manual, and the car actually becomes quite "plush" and compliant, even on pavement that isnt the smoothest.
I'm pretty happy at 29/31 on my Pirellis.
I too, kept my revs down early on and found myself shifting around 5,000 - 5,500 before working my way up the rev range with more miles.
The car really gets going around 7,000 and literally begs you to make a decision. Do you really want to be engaged with me? Or are you not going to drive me how I was built?
As you've indicated, it has massive grip and the turn-in is nothing short of amazing.
Congrats on your spec that mimicks your previous build.
You're gonna love this car!
Last edited by Diablo Dude; 09-29-2023 at 11:03 AM.
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Manifold (09-29-2023)
09-29-2023, 11:10 AM
#22
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I saw a post saying 7k for the RS, but dealer told me 5k, and friend who has the 992 GT3 told me 5k. If the real limit is 7k, I'm happy to go there!
Planning to drive the car about a hundred miles tomorrow on backroads. I bought several cars in the past year or so, but this is the first car I bought since 2016 where I got to configure the allocation. The look is similar to my old 991.1 GT3, so I feel like this 992 is a new and improved version of my old car.
But maybe I should stop calling it 'my' car, because the wife and I need two track cars, and she may be driving this GT3 more than me! She rode with me during the maiden drive today, and I told she's going to LOVE this car on track.
Planning to drive the car about a hundred miles tomorrow on backroads. I bought several cars in the past year or so, but this is the first car I bought since 2016 where I got to configure the allocation. The look is similar to my old 991.1 GT3, so I feel like this 992 is a new and improved version of my old car.
But maybe I should stop calling it 'my' car, because the wife and I need two track cars, and she may be driving this GT3 more than me! She rode with me during the maiden drive today, and I told she's going to LOVE this car on track.
09-29-2023, 11:12 AM
#23
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Took delivery of my 992 GT3 today. The car is winged, PDK, sport buckets, has Cup 2 tires, iron brakes, and the alignment is close to factory specs with cambers of about 1.5 degrees.
Before today, I never drove one on the road, and I briefly drove on the track only a few days ago. So buying this car was somewhat of a leap of faith, which is something I'm comfortably willing to do with a GT3.
I started this thread to log my impressions of the car, which may change as I drive the car more.
So, bottom line for my first impression is that the car is EXCELLENT. A+
Right now, I'd say the biggest strength of the car is the front end. The car turns in almost like a mid-engine car, it builds load progressively, it's stable through the corner but easily adjusted in the line, and it doesn't understeer. Yet it still feels like a 911. The front end beats every other 911 I've driven. The car feels balanced, and the grip is very high, as one would expect from a GT3 track car.
The brakes are also very good. Easily to modulate, not grabby, feel strong, firm pedal without too much travel.
The steering feels a touch heavy if I pay attention to it, but I don't really notice that if I don't specific attention to it. The steering wheel doesn't feel very 'alive', but that's pretty standard for all modern 911s. I like the size and feel of the steering wheel itself.
I'm following the break-in guidelines, so keeping the revs under 5k rpm. I think the power is actually pretty decent for a NA engine up to 5k. Looking forward to driving it with more of a lead foot when the break-in is complete.
Up to 5k, the sound in the car is surprisingly quiet. Definitely quieter than the 991.2 3RS (though that has center muffler delete), and IIRC also quieter than the 991.1 GT3. I did run the 992 GT3 I drove on track out to redline. With all three cars being able to be driven WOT, I suspect that I would rank the 991.1 GT3 as the best sounding, the 3RS as second best, and the 992 GT3 last, but they all sound good and the soundtracks are similar.
I'm still getting used to the ergonomics of this 992 GT3, so don't really want to comment on that, except to say that right now I prefer the more analog cockpit of the 991 cars. Maybe that will change as I get used to the 992.
The seats feel good, pretty much the same as the sport buckets in other GT cars.
The ride quality is interesting. On bad roads, the ride quality can be somewhat harsh and the car is prone to tramlining, but it's not as bad as the 3RS in this regard. On roads that aren't too bad, or better than that, the ride quality is actually quite good. It seems clear to me that the GT3 has fairly stiff springs, combined with sophisticated damping software to provide some compliance. For a road-only car, I think they should have used softer springs (like 4RS vs Spyder RS), so I think this was designed primarily as a track car, secondarily as a road car (so that one can drive to and from the track in reasonable comfort).
If someone wants a GT car that's visceral and feels close to a cup car, I think the 991.2 3RS is a good choice. If someone wants a GT car that feels rawer than the 992 GT3 but significantly less performance (and cost), the 991.1 GT3 is a good choice. I guess the 991.2 GT3 is also a good choice, though to me it doesn't seem as raw as the 991.1 GT3. But if someone wants a GT3 that's as fast as any NA 991, but more refined and better handling, I'd say the 992 GT3 is the one to get.
When I drove the 992 GT3 today, I drove it first, then the 992 TTS, then the GT3 again. The two cars have some similarities, but they're also quite different. The TTS feels bigger, heavier, less sharp, less communicative, more like a road car. So the GT3 feels lighter, sharper, smaller, more like a track car. But the grip of the two cars seems similar at road speeds, and of course the TTS is much more powerful. For the road OR track, I can see some people preferring one car, some preferring the other, and some deciding that they want to have both.
Overall, I'm really happy with the car, and looking forward to driving it more on the road (especially past break in), and especially looking forward to tracking it.
Before today, I never drove one on the road, and I briefly drove on the track only a few days ago. So buying this car was somewhat of a leap of faith, which is something I'm comfortably willing to do with a GT3.
I started this thread to log my impressions of the car, which may change as I drive the car more.
So, bottom line for my first impression is that the car is EXCELLENT. A+
Right now, I'd say the biggest strength of the car is the front end. The car turns in almost like a mid-engine car, it builds load progressively, it's stable through the corner but easily adjusted in the line, and it doesn't understeer. Yet it still feels like a 911. The front end beats every other 911 I've driven. The car feels balanced, and the grip is very high, as one would expect from a GT3 track car.
The brakes are also very good. Easily to modulate, not grabby, feel strong, firm pedal without too much travel.
The steering feels a touch heavy if I pay attention to it, but I don't really notice that if I don't specific attention to it. The steering wheel doesn't feel very 'alive', but that's pretty standard for all modern 911s. I like the size and feel of the steering wheel itself.
I'm following the break-in guidelines, so keeping the revs under 5k rpm. I think the power is actually pretty decent for a NA engine up to 5k. Looking forward to driving it with more of a lead foot when the break-in is complete.
Up to 5k, the sound in the car is surprisingly quiet. Definitely quieter than the 991.2 3RS (though that has center muffler delete), and IIRC also quieter than the 991.1 GT3. I did run the 992 GT3 I drove on track out to redline. With all three cars being able to be driven WOT, I suspect that I would rank the 991.1 GT3 as the best sounding, the 3RS as second best, and the 992 GT3 last, but they all sound good and the soundtracks are similar.
I'm still getting used to the ergonomics of this 992 GT3, so don't really want to comment on that, except to say that right now I prefer the more analog cockpit of the 991 cars. Maybe that will change as I get used to the 992.
The seats feel good, pretty much the same as the sport buckets in other GT cars.
The ride quality is interesting. On bad roads, the ride quality can be somewhat harsh and the car is prone to tramlining, but it's not as bad as the 3RS in this regard. On roads that aren't too bad, or better than that, the ride quality is actually quite good. It seems clear to me that the GT3 has fairly stiff springs, combined with sophisticated damping software to provide some compliance. For a road-only car, I think they should have used softer springs (like 4RS vs Spyder RS), so I think this was designed primarily as a track car, secondarily as a road car (so that one can drive to and from the track in reasonable comfort).
If someone wants a GT car that's visceral and feels close to a cup car, I think the 991.2 3RS is a good choice. If someone wants a GT car that feels rawer than the 992 GT3 but significantly less performance (and cost), the 991.1 GT3 is a good choice. I guess the 991.2 GT3 is also a good choice, though to me it doesn't seem as raw as the 991.1 GT3. But if someone wants a GT3 that's as fast as any NA 991, but more refined and better handling, I'd say the 992 GT3 is the one to get.
When I drove the 992 GT3 today, I drove it first, then the 992 TTS, then the GT3 again. The two cars have some similarities, but they're also quite different. The TTS feels bigger, heavier, less sharp, less communicative, more like a road car. So the GT3 feels lighter, sharper, smaller, more like a track car. But the grip of the two cars seems similar at road speeds, and of course the TTS is much more powerful. For the road OR track, I can see some people preferring one car, some preferring the other, and some deciding that they want to have both.
Overall, I'm really happy with the car, and looking forward to driving it more on the road (especially past break in), and especially looking forward to tracking it.
the new suspension is game changing - and the rest of the vehicle is a GT3 - enjoy!
swapping the amber side markets for the euro-clear side markets will address any remaining "feedback" - since they will fix "everything".
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09-29-2023, 11:22 AM
#24
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yes the front end on the 992 GT3 are stunning - after driving one at PECLA and coming home to my 991.2 GT3 it what drove me to consider a 992 - eventually leading to my 992 GT3 RS order…
the new suspension is game changing - and the rest of the vehicle is a GT3 - enjoy!
swapping the amber side markets for the euro-clear side markets will address any remaining "feedback" - since they will fix "everything".
the new suspension is game changing - and the rest of the vehicle is a GT3 - enjoy!
swapping the amber side markets for the euro-clear side markets will address any remaining "feedback" - since they will fix "everything".
I’ll get some more pics, but need to wash the car first. Already have bug marks on it and got caught in light rain yesterday.
Need to decide on decals soon so I can put PPF on the car. Still deciding between partial or full PPF.
Upside of not having decals is that the car will be more stealth for road driving.
Upside of decals is that the car will be more intimidating on track.
09-29-2023, 12:21 PM
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09-29-2023, 12:29 PM
#26
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Safety and Driving Pleasure -->
Before Driving: Important Informatoin regarding your Porsche -->
Running in the vehicle
below the instructions for setting up the seats
below the instructions for setting up the seats
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Manifold (09-29-2023)
09-29-2023, 12:41 PM
#27
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yes the front end on the 992 GT3 are stunning - after driving one at PECLA and coming home to my 991.2 GT3 it what drove me to consider a 992 - eventually leading to my 992 GT3 RS order…
the new suspension is game changing - and the rest of the vehicle is a GT3 - enjoy!
swapping the amber side markets for the euro-clear side markets will address any remaining "feedback" - since they will fix "everything".
the new suspension is game changing - and the rest of the vehicle is a GT3 - enjoy!
swapping the amber side markets for the euro-clear side markets will address any remaining "feedback" - since they will fix "everything".
otherwise, the comments here i this thread resonate a lot. I miss the 991 interior and i miss the vibrations and noise from the 991.2 GT3 engine.
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09-29-2023, 02:02 PM
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Manifold (10-02-2023)
09-29-2023, 02:07 PM
#29
