The '99 is the lightest, but it is also the least powerful. If you were going to turn a 996 into a racecar, I'd look for the lightest optioned (i.e. lightest) Mk II you can find with the X51 powerkit. The '99's are great cars, but they are at a hp disadvantage vs. the Mk II's (especially x51 cars). Also don't forget the Mk II's have improved cooling, a stiffer chassis, improved aerodynamics (less lift), and improved high g oiling (revised baffles).

There are some on this board that do not think these differences are substantial. However in my experience, the power and chassis revisions can be easily felt on a back to back test drive.

No reason to take my word (or anyone elses word) for it. Head over to a few local Porsche dealers and spend a day doing some test drives.

Good luck!!

 

Well--if LSD is not the limiting factor, then I should just save up for a 996 Mark II? The 2004 40th Annie is looking better and better, but wow are they high right now! I wasn't aware that non-40th anniversary Mark II 996es could have the X51 power package as an option?

 

The x51 was an option on all Mk II's. Unfortunately it is about as rare as the LSD option on '99's.

It can be added at any time (to a Mk II), but get out your wallet and prepare to cry it is very expensive.

What are your plans for the car? DE's, Club Racing, SCCA, other??

How often will you track it (track days/year)?? Will it also be a street car (or track only)?

 

My prospective Porsche 996 will be a nice road car that would be tracked 3 to 4 times per season.

 

If that is what you are looking for I'd say buy the nicest, latest model 996 you can afford. LSD and x51 would be nice if you can find them, but you could turn any 996 into a dual use machine that would perform very well with the usage that you describe.

 

Thanks for the advice Bob. I think you are right, any model will do for a couple of years to see how I like the DE sessions and how I do. Do you or anyone else out there know of a trustworthy car broker to to find a US car for me? Cdn prices on used cars still seem out of line. Or is is it bad form to show up with a US car at a Rennsport region events? From what I can see on this site the Cdn Porsche dealers are not too thrilled to work on US cars.

 

FWIW: I was on the track last week and could only detect a minor difference between my 99 and an 03 down the straight away. This is after countless sessions and noting whenever I met up with him on the main straight. There was an ever so slight advantage to the car with the 3.6 but essentially felt like we were staying dead even. Both cars were stock (only thing I have is an exhaust and he had an intake)

Edit: not an attempt to defend the 99s or anything. At first when I noticed it my thought was wow I need to find out what mods this guy did. He has a little bit more pull. I was pleased when I found out it was a 3.6 at work !

 

Maybe he has a slightly better corner exit speed? I mean, all it takes is a little, and it will make it seem like he is pulling you when, in reality, there is no difference at all.

If you are talking purely stock cars, I think the differences betweeen 99-01 and 02+ are negligible (assuming no X51, etc . . .)

 

I disagree.

The 3.6 is definitely faster than the 3.4 with noticible differences.

The 3.6 chasis is stiffer and signicantly better and you should be albe to tell in your first turn on a track.

I actually bought PSS-9 because Darren let me drive his 3.6 with PSS-9 at Watkins Glen. I was really impress with the turn in of the car and I thought it was PSS-9 that makes the difference. It was not!

I was wrong because my 3.4 with PSS-9 does not turn in like that. Since then I have had a couple of students with bone stock 3.6. They all turn in really nice on the track in stock form.

My $.2
Kam

 

TD,

Come on spare me the noob answer . I know when I am catching or losing someone through a corner.

My point for everyone was that when both cars were at roughly the same speed the 3.6 has a slight advantage but not much over the 3.4. Only reason to post is that a lot of people think there is a huge difference between the power of the two cars but in reality it is minimal and the weight difference almost negate it.

The corners are where I was gaining on this particular car but once I got to the straight it was a match shift for shift all the way down the straight with him slightly edging away.

 

hmmmm. Interesting that our experiences differ.

I think the PSS9s are a good choice for a DD that gets taken on the track for a few DEs. I think they are a bad choice for a track car.

The power to weight ratios remained the same for 3.4 and 3.6, so how could it really make that much of a difference in acceleration? I find that most of the difference is really attributable to corner exit speed. Of course, I am talking purely stock here, so once the cars start getting mods, hard to tell the ultimate impact.

 

PJ, I didn't really mean it like a noob answer. I mean you can both go through a corner at the same speed . . . but just a second earlier on the gas or just a few mph makes it really seem like the other car can "pull" you. I have been driving for awhile, and I am still amazed at this. At the club race in October, there were two 944s that were really fast and I thought they were S2s because they were "pulling" me on the straights. I later was very, very humbled to learn that they were plain old n/a 944s driven my club race veterans. It just proved to me how much of a better job they were doing at preserving their momentum/acheiving a higher exit speed despite the fact that it appeared to me at the time that we were taking the corners at the same speed. Either that or they were cheating.

The only time you can really know that a car is truly pulling you is when the acceleration differential is really large, which it is not between the 3.4 v. 3.6. For cars that have roughly the same power/weight ratio, you would have to get next to each other on the straight, and then agree to hit it at some defined point. As you know, that just never happens.

When I first started racing (still noob, so not trying to sound like expert), I found it interesting to see what happens when you go into the first corner of the race -- imagine 80 cars trying to go through T1 at VIR at the same time. This accordion effect makes it seem like other spec cars are faster than yours leaving the corner if they get on the gas sooner than you do (which is normal since they are in front of you). I found that I could do pretty well if I could force myself to get back on the gas "before" I "should." This would let me get a slight jump (or at least be back on the gas at the same time) over the cars in front of me.

So, I wasn't trying to be condescending, I was just pointing out that the car in front of you during a DE situation will nearly always seem like it is pulling you (even more so if they are slow through the corners) because they get a jump on you exiting the corners. The only way to fight it is to get a run on them or get on the gas so early that you nearly punt/pass them at corner track out.

In any event, it is always more fun for the 3.4 guys to claim that the 3.6 guys have a huge advantage over them

P.S. I know you are saying the differences are neglible. I agree.

 

TD,

No harm no foul. All in good spirit. I agree that the 3.4 and 3.6 cars are very very close based on my experience.

Now others may disagree as they are allowed to and I am sure we will hear some more opinions. time for some...