Tonight's the night (with apologies to Rod S)
07-30-2003 | 03:56 PM
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Burning Brakes
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From: Washington, DC
Tonight's the night (with apologies to Rod S)
Sales guy just called. My GT3 is at the dealership. I'm picking it up after work tonight. Pictures and impressions to follow (once I stop driving it).
Karl
Karl
07-30-2003 | 05:48 PM
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Karl,
I suggest you spend the rest of the afternoon writing up your expectations for the drive in your car tonight.
By doing this you won't (out of obligation to us all) have to cut short your driving experiences to bring us up to date.
You can simply add comments such as: expectation met, exceeded, etc.
One more note...I have an early bedtime and I get cranky if I stay up late.
Don't delay!
I suggest you spend the rest of the afternoon writing up your expectations for the drive in your car tonight.
By doing this you won't (out of obligation to us all) have to cut short your driving experiences to bring us up to date.
You can simply add comments such as: expectation met, exceeded, etc.
One more note...I have an early bedtime and I get cranky if I stay up late.
Don't delay!
I'm sure you're really jacked. Waiting to hear what you think of the car......
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07-31-2003 | 02:47 AM
#11
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Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2001
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From: Washington, DC
OK, now that I've stopped driving for a bit, some first impressions.
The car, of course, is awesome, but not as brutal or as much a handfull as some of the magazines would have you think.
Very comfortable ride on the street IMHO. May be even too soft for good track performance, time will tell. Now my track rides for the last 4 years have been a 2001 GT3 Cup and a heavily modified 996 with full remote reservoir coil-overs and very stiff springs, so I haven't driven a stock 996 in a while. The Michelin's are very sticky and there was only limited understeer in slow corners. The car does sit very low, so extra care will be needed on steep driveways and parking ramps. The black lip spoiler looks more substantial than on the Mk I aero kit, so I'm sure it will cost more than $90 to replace when I scrape it (when, not if).
The engine is sweet. Much closer to the Cup car in acceleration than to the stock 996, at least one w/o a powerkit. It puts the power down with no drama. I didn't feel like I was fighting for grip under hard acceleration or that the rear end was coming around. The LSD does it's job well in this area.
The brakes are definitely awe inspiring and the ABS is tuned so that it doesn't come in too early. I was surprised that it has yellow pads, I guess these are the same as the GT2. I didn't know Porsche had any OEM pads that weren't black.
The shifter was a little notchy, it kept jumping out of 1st gear on me. The problem wasn't the shifter, it was me. Although the GT3 shifter is shorter than the stock Carrera's, it's still longer than the B&M or the one in the Cup car. I keep pushing the lever up into first but not far enough, and it would put back out. I had a similar problem with the 1-2 shift a few times, where I just didn't get it all the way into the gate. Hopefully, with time, the shifter will smooth out and I'll learn to really push it all the way into the gate.
I liked the fit and finish of the interior, the newer cars are a big improvement over my 1999 model. The seats have to go but I didn't get time to install the ROW GT3 seats that are sitting in my garage.
Break-in is 1000 miles but there is no way to hold this car under 4200 rpm for that long. I was being careful and still saw the tach zing to 6000 a few times.
I guess the bottom line is that this car was well worth the wait. My pictures didn't come out well, so I'll try again tomorrow.
Karl
The car, of course, is awesome, but not as brutal or as much a handfull as some of the magazines would have you think.
Very comfortable ride on the street IMHO. May be even too soft for good track performance, time will tell. Now my track rides for the last 4 years have been a 2001 GT3 Cup and a heavily modified 996 with full remote reservoir coil-overs and very stiff springs, so I haven't driven a stock 996 in a while. The Michelin's are very sticky and there was only limited understeer in slow corners. The car does sit very low, so extra care will be needed on steep driveways and parking ramps. The black lip spoiler looks more substantial than on the Mk I aero kit, so I'm sure it will cost more than $90 to replace when I scrape it (when, not if).
The engine is sweet. Much closer to the Cup car in acceleration than to the stock 996, at least one w/o a powerkit. It puts the power down with no drama. I didn't feel like I was fighting for grip under hard acceleration or that the rear end was coming around. The LSD does it's job well in this area.
The brakes are definitely awe inspiring and the ABS is tuned so that it doesn't come in too early. I was surprised that it has yellow pads, I guess these are the same as the GT2. I didn't know Porsche had any OEM pads that weren't black.
The shifter was a little notchy, it kept jumping out of 1st gear on me. The problem wasn't the shifter, it was me. Although the GT3 shifter is shorter than the stock Carrera's, it's still longer than the B&M or the one in the Cup car. I keep pushing the lever up into first but not far enough, and it would put back out. I had a similar problem with the 1-2 shift a few times, where I just didn't get it all the way into the gate. Hopefully, with time, the shifter will smooth out and I'll learn to really push it all the way into the gate.
I liked the fit and finish of the interior, the newer cars are a big improvement over my 1999 model. The seats have to go but I didn't get time to install the ROW GT3 seats that are sitting in my garage.
Break-in is 1000 miles but there is no way to hold this car under 4200 rpm for that long. I was being careful and still saw the tach zing to 6000 a few times.
I guess the bottom line is that this car was well worth the wait. My pictures didn't come out well, so I'll try again tomorrow.
Karl
07-31-2003 | 03:01 AM
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Karl S
[B]OK, now that I've stopped driving for a bit, some first impressions.
"The car, of course, is awesome, but not as brutal or as much a handfull as some of the magazines would have you think."
Just like they wrote about the GT 2. As I'd hoped this is probably the ultimate 996.
I'm not surprised about your reactions, though I'm sure you'll fill us in more over the coming few days.
I also look forward to Watt's direct comparison with his GT 2.
Think of the front spoiler as a disposable item, just like a tire
[B]OK, now that I've stopped driving for a bit, some first impressions.
"The car, of course, is awesome, but not as brutal or as much a handfull as some of the magazines would have you think."
Just like they wrote about the GT 2. As I'd hoped this is probably the ultimate 996.
I'm not surprised about your reactions, though I'm sure you'll fill us in more over the coming few days.
I also look forward to Watt's direct comparison with his GT 2.
Think of the front spoiler as a disposable item, just like a tire
