cscowden

Hi,

New to the forum, recently picked up my first Porsche from a fellow Rennlister. It is a 1999 996 Coupe. I am looking to upgrade to a GTR style bumper. I've see a few vendors out there: wicked, fiberworks, michael shaw...

Anyone had experience with any of these companies? Anyone better than another?

Thanks

DreamCarrera

I think you mean GT3 not GTR. I would not try fitting an ugly(and huge) Nissan front bumper cover to a 996. LOL And yes, a 996 GT3(MK I version) bumper cover should fit on your car. The only requirement to put a GT3 front bumper cover on a standard Carrera is to have a suitable wing on the rear, which you obviously have( I'm sure someone who knows more about this will chime in to confirm my advice). This requirement is needed to avoid the extra oversteer that could occur from adding a GT3 front bumper cover to a Carrera without adding a rear wing to balance out the downforce.

BTW, congrats on the new 996. It looks great with those wheels and rear wing. Enjoy.

996pp

Welcome and congrats. There is also misha design which I have seen on a quite a few Porsches that look like pretty well made. If I were you since you don't have the gt3 tail there are other styles to choose from that would look nice with your wing.

morganabowen

I have the MA Shaw turbo front bumper and am very happy with it. It is fiberglass and I had to teach myself that fiberglass cracks and breaks not like the OEM bumpers What does the GTR bumper look like???

cscowden

Here are pics of Wicked's GTR bumper in Yellow; Wicked GT2 bumper in blue and Fiberwerks GTR bumper in Silver. These were the ones I had seen out there that looked pretty cool.

996pp

I like the one in yellow

ccaarmerciill

That one in yellow is for widebody 996's, they do have a version for NB but it's without the openings on the sides by the wheels. (I prefer the look without those openings anyway) I am actually considering that yellow one. I have to do something about front aero if I get a wing... that looks like a nice option.

One huge reccomendation I have is to keep your stock one as well. Wrap it up in bubble wrap and store it somewhere. I plan on doing the same so when it comes time to sell the buyer isn't turned off the possibility of it being in an accident or if they don't like the look it's an easy swap back.

b8_rdc

Looks like knock off Gemballa

Dennis C

I thought maybe you meant a GT3 RSR-style bumper cover.

Be careful with aftermarket bumper covers. Sometimes there's more to the installation than you expect, and some require more body shop work than others. They are typically not "plug and play".

Here's a factory GT3 RSR bumper

ccaarmerciill

Also, try to avoid Fiberglass. It usually requires more work than other materials, and for a front bumper that will likely impact a driveway, speed bump or something at some point... doesn't hold up like the plastic OEM like ones.

morganabowen

Agree 100%

LostSouth

Here is the full Fiberwerks kit. I don't know that this would be my preference, but this was a track car for me and it was priced right with a new motor. It's fiberglass which I believe most of the aftermarket stuff is. Fit and finish is good. Since I didn't install it, I don't know how much modification was necessary. I don't believe much as it is off right now while my car is converted to a full race setup.

ccaarmerciill

I think it's kind of funny. On no other car I've owned have I thought about replacing the front bumper on (unless I had to). Yet the 996 C2's stock front bumper is so boring, and bland looking that a slightly more aggressive nose really wakes up the look of the car.

I've used fiberwerks on my first car, an 89 944 that needed a lot of work to get on the road (including a new front clip) It did need quite a bit of modification to make fit, and custom brackets etc. I also hit a deep enough pothole in someones rock driveway that snapped off a good size chunk off the bottom only a week after getting it painted and mounted on the car. Plastic has much more flex, in a part of the car that sees a lot of abuse normally compared to the rest.

I rolled an E46 M3 4 or 5 times into a wooded area. Stock front bumper broke off during the wreck, yet somehow sustained zero damage, it was the only body panel I was able to actually sell when I bought the car back from insurance. Fiberglass would've been in a million pieces...

cscowden

Any experience or recommendations for suppliers?

Prior Design
NR Auto
Fiberwerks
Precision Porsche
Esta International
Wicked Motors
Michael Shaw
Any ebay suppliers?

Bennnz0

With the gt3 front bumper on his 996c2 the rear bumper looks uneven. The bumperettes are ugly in my opinion. Is there a way you can put the mk2 rear bumper or the cup rear bumper on it with the center exhaust cut out to make the car ride height look even from the side profile?