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Don't think twice at all. Honestly for the money the 997 shifter is one of the best mods out there. It is totally worth it. The only reason I even thought about going this route was due to the worn out bushings in my current shifter (lots of play, sloppy yet sometimes soft, sometimes firm feel) and upgrading to cup cables for the track season.
I wouldn't take a serious look at this shifter (because of the price) unless you're in one of two camps:
1. Your keeping your car stock. Treat yourself to a great, great shifter.
2. You've done everything else and are also going to do cables.
If you're anywhere between, there are better places to spend $649. The 997 shifter is a great setup and if there is money burning a hole in your pocket you can add the Function First Shift Right solution if you really feel like it.
The radio doesn't make the car going any faster so I've stuck with the stock unit paired to a Dension Gateway and a Bluetooth adapter. It works pretty well but needs to be on CD Changer/Track 99 to work.
Took it out for a test drive tonight with the Black Angels blaring
Excellent hopefully I'll get a chance to put it in this weekend! Thanks
Sway Bars:
Installed a new 25mm H&R Front Sway bar to match the rear. The Eibach warranty claim will be sent in this week for the rear one that broke. Still confused how that happened as when we reset my suspension and loading everything ended being almost exactly the same.
Lightweight Flywheel:
No. There are some insanely smart mechanics I trust at Chris's German Auto and after a brief discussion on performance vs. reliability we all came to the conclusion that the lightened, single mass is a bad idea. Please don't start a debate here as there is a wealth of information and multiple threads available trading each side. All I needed was this link from Jake Raby at Flat6 to say no. So I've got a flywheel to sell/return.
New Seats??
Upon further inspection and consulting the experts at 425 Motorsports, the Recaro SPG's I found on ebay are in fact replicas. That's not to say they're bad, they're comfortable and everything is where it should be. The mold, fabric and reinforcements all look acceptable but when you put them side by side to the real thing you start to notice where corners were cut.
Thinking about taking turn 1 at Pacific at 145+ mph in replica seats physically makes me quiver. Almost sick having spun off, hit walls, you name it in the past. I can't believe I let myself buy and install these. Idiotic.
Not sure if you have adjustable end links(can't keep track of all your mods) but I can see stock end links or improperly adjusted aftermarket end links placing preload on the bars. However they should still be strong enough and not break off like that. Did you get one of the first batches of the gen2 Eibach bars by chance? They may have had some teething issues with the newer episodes versions due to material selection/suppliers/tooling/QC.
Also, is it possible you may have hit or ran something over without noticing it?
Did all those shops advise against a LWFW even with a under-drive pulley and sprung clutch disk?
Yes. The risk vs reward factor didn't add up.
Originally Posted by alpine003
Not sure if you have adjustable end links(can't keep track of all your mods) but I can see stock end links or improperly adjusted aftermarket end links placing preload on the bars. However they should still be strong enough and not break off like that. Did you get one of the first batches of the gen2 Eibach bars by chance? They may have had some teething issues with the newer episodes versions due to material selection/suppliers/tooling/QC.
Also, is it possible you may have hit or ran something over without noticing it?
Not sure, I really can't recall ever hitting anything but I must have to snap the end of it.
I measured the Eibach bar at 24mm so I believe it is one of the later versions. What surprises me is that the Tarrett end links didn't bend or break when it occurred. I would have thought those would have gone before the bar.
Back in January I put an order for a set of OZ wheels for the track. I wanted something lightweight but strong in the right offsets and these seemed to fit the bill.
The problem is that OZ appears to be behind with their manufacturing and won't be able to deliver until some time in April/May. Ordering a set of wheels in January and not getting them for almost 3 months in the middle track season is a real buzzkill. No fault of Tire Rack's, just poor planning on my part. I'd also read on the Turbo/GT2 forum that there has also been reports of the OZ wheels bending during track use making forged options sound a whole lot better.
Really not wanting to wait that long and run street tires at the first few track sessions, there's been a set of CCW C10s on eBay for a few weeks that I've been researching and just pulled the trigger.
They come in the largest sizes I'd be willing to run, weigh about the same as the hollow Turbo Twists and are FORGED. The offsets are what really get me. Because they are setup for 996TT/GT2 these won't need spacers. Stoked! Thanks Andrew!
18x9 +53 - 21 lbs
18x12 +41 - 24 lbs
Last edited by vandersmith; 03-06-2016 at 05:02 PM.
Man am I glad this is over. Mounting seats is seriously one of the most numbing exercises out there. It really shouldn't be this hard.
After a lot of swearing, adjustment, more swearing, some drilling, swearing - they're finally done. The guys at 425 Motorsports in Bellevue, WA are owed a few beers for their help. Definitely saved me even more grief by recommending the components.
Here's what I ended up using:
Planted Driver and Passenger Mounts
Recaro Side Mounts
Grade 8 Bolts/Nuts/Washers
Schroth B23A Snap On Kit
Sparco Evo 2 Seats
Sparco 6 Point Hans Harnesses
Things I have but didn't use:
-Recaro Sliders - I'm the only driver. Don't need access to the back seat.
-Planted Side Mounts - Although they weigh less than the Recaro's, their pre-drilled holes didn't line up with the mounts and the offset of the mounting holes were not as extreme as the Recaro's. This made getting the seat far enough forward or back impossible without drilling more into the seat mount.
-Brey Krause R-9044 Mounts with Sub Bar - This stuff was well made but missing a ton of the needed hardware. Was really disappointed in it. It is specifically made only for the entire BK setup. The Sub Bar didn't have the mounting bolts which turned out to be SAE when everything else is Metric. Useless.
Here's the process and setup. After all of the work, I'm really happy with how things turned out. The seats are a big improvement especially since I don't have to question how they were made or installed.
Quick shot of the Planted Seat Mounts
The Recaro Side Mounts lined up much better than any of the others I tried.
I had to use a Cobalt drill bit to make this small hole for the mounts. A few minutes of work made this much easier.
All mounted with new Grade 8 hardware. You can also see the submarine harness connection.
To mount the lap belts, Schroth makes these awesome kits. Its a high quality figure 8 that you connect to one of the mounting bolts then bend into place.
Passenger Seat - Door Side with Lap Belt installed.
Passenger Seat - Driver's Side with Lap Belt and Schroth Kit.
Mufflers arrived this afternoon and look fantastic!
Having spent hours on this already, my eyes tell me these are going to line up and that the exhaust outlet problem with the TopSpeed (ebay) mufflers won't be an issue.
See for yourself:
Milltek vs TopSpeed
TopSpeed - Notice the hangers and smaller outlet connection for the exhaust tips
TopSpeed Close Up
TopSpeed Exhaust Outlet Connection to Exhaust Tips - 2.25"
Milltek Exhaust from ECS
Notice the reinforced hangers and the quality exhaust outlet connection?
The Proper 2.75" for the Exhaust Tips
Installation tomorrow!
Last edited by vandersmith; 03-09-2016 at 08:53 PM.
03-04-2016, 02:31 AM
hopefully I'll get a chance to put it in this weekend! Thanks
) but I can see stock end links or improperly adjusted aftermarket end links placing preload on the bars. However they should still be strong enough and not break off like that. Did you get one of the first batches of the gen2 Eibach bars by chance? They may have had some teething issues with the newer episodes versions due to material selection/suppliers/tooling/QC.
