blkc4sny

I love my GT3, I was about to buy a C4S but thank god that I didn't. Coming off an M3 e46 I took alot of time before I made my final decision and I agree with all the other GT3 rennlisters, this is an amazing sports car. Even though I do not have any where the driving skill set that some other folks have, I would not have changed my decision, Many thanks to the guys who bought them and providing me their input, especially Rockitman, one of the early adoptors.

All I can remember hearing "Buy the GT3, you won't be dissappointed"!

Good Luck!


Bruce

Sun Ra

i sold my second one in feb, with 5k miles. what a great car, especially at the track!!!!! car ran perfectly, was perfect when sold.

fred found the rotors [steel] toast soon afterward, which is of interest since i dont brake that hard and probably spent less than 1000 mile at the track. porsche came through with new rotors.

fred and jack now co-own the car and use it as their track car, so they dont have to subject their pansy Stradales to real use at the track.

when i buy another one, the only change i would make is a lower gear set.

macfly

My steel rotors were also toast @ 6k, but it isn't a big deal as the GT3 Cup car discs are a direct fit and fairly cheap. (They are available from Porsche Motor Sports Division.)

Bob Rouleau

Macfly - how are the new rotors and RS-19's holding up? I have a theory that the original yellow sport pads are a contributor to short rotor life. I notice that the sport pad is now in rev 2 and is black with a stripe. I have only about ten track days on my Motorsport/RS-19 set up and I have a few heat stress cracks in the rotor but no where near as bad as the original rotors with OEM sport pads.

The other thing to observe is that a GT3 is very fast and requires a lot of brakes. The amount of heat to be dissipated is a function of mass x velocity squared. Compared to a regular 996 there is a lot more Vsqrd. Guys who track 996 TT's are also having problems with brakes - unheard of in the past but the new cars are heavier and faster than before which works the brakes harder.

Watt is entitled to step in and remind us that the ceramic brakes on his Stradale are warrented for track use. I hope someone at PCNA is reading these threads!

Rgds,

macfly

Bob, only 2 track days into the new discs so far, but as yet no sign of any cracking, scoring, staining etc. I have around 10 more track days this autumn, so by New Year's I'll have a better idea.
Unlike the rest of the country our 'off track' time here is mid July - mid Sept because of the insane heat at the tracks in midsummer. We're just now getting back into our stride!

HooliganX

This is exactly which led me to the GT3. I had a '97 C4S which was a great car, but not as much fun as my prior '87 Carrera.

I was lucky enough to be able to drive a Turbo and GT3 back to back. Almost immediately into the GT3 test drive, I was sold.

Had it for almost 4 months and 1,400 miles. No regrets at all, I love driving this car.

996FLT6

Frayed if you do quite abit of tracking and from you insites at Bimmerforums which suggests so-GT3 is the ticket for you. I bought mine wo a test drive just hearing from folks at Rennlist sold me on the idea and never regret it. Though lack of rear seats was an issue-would love my iwfe and kid in the car especially those days like going to LAguna Seca for a trackday need to take 2 cars. Other then that it's been purely nirvana. You really need to totally alert when driving because it responds to inputs so quickly. In the beginning I would tell myself only for weekend drives and track days(my 1st at Thunderhill Nov 13/14) but now serves as a daily driver-can't get enough of it though some parts of San Francisco I feel I'm doing a little too much off-roading but that's the compromise you have to make for a track car made for the street. Good luck. I don't think you regret it if you get one. My '99 996 was so much more forgiving and could really flog around but can't compare to the quicker reflexes of the GT3. Regards. Mike

fuse

I drove a 996 Turbo and thought it was fast, but wasn't what I was looking for. I then drove the GT2, which was much better than the Turbo, but I didn't feel that it was worth the $$ difference, and still wasn't the handler I was looking for. I've read a bunch of great info on the GT3, but was skeptical since they also said great things about Turbo and GT2. When my dealer got a used one in, they called me and tossed me the keys for a test drive...wow, I had to have one. I got it back in Feb and still loving it...I got the 360CS last month which I love more than the GT3...so the GT3 was neglected for a few weeks...I blasted the GT3 around last weekend...and reminded myself how much I love the GT3...even with the 360CS sitting next to it.

Sanjeevan

Man all this hatred for the C4S, is it "hip-envy". You guy's have it hands down in performance in dry pavement (), but man we've got the looks. It is one sexy machine and is no slouch.

Philip in AL

To comment on Karl's post---" ride height is low, so you have to be very careful on driveways and parking lot entry ramps or you can tear off the splitter (it replaces easily)"---

This is also my only complaint. Believe it or not, a few lbs of air pressure in the front tires makes a huge difference. One word of advice; some have complained of the lip spoiler coming off the car at speeds. Everytime I scrape the front, I get out and push the fasteners back into place. Everytime, they are loose and semi pulled down!

PogueMoHone

Frayed said:

1. I like but don't lust for my C4S after 3 months of ownership, as I find it too buick like handling on the track, a bit too heavy, and I've come to dislike AWD as its less engaging than RWD. I wish somebody told me this before I bought the car.

If you had checked the archives this is the exact reason I sold the TT to buy a GT2

MatroxMGA

What is the difference between stock rotors and Cup rotors??

Viken

A slight difference in the size and spacing of holes. Otherwise, mostly price. You can get them from Carnewal.

fuse

I noticed my lip was loose...and missing a couple fasteners after about 500 miles. My dealer gave me new ones that all different, seems stronger. 1800 miles later, I found none lose or coming out as I checked every tank fill. You may want to check to see if you have to push in type or screw-in type fasteners.

frayed

Thanks folks for all your comments. I already know what the GT3 can do on track, and have gone for a whirl in one around TWS. So, the remaining issue for me is how they handle real world driving on the street. Today I found the answer!

I just got back from my first drive of the GT3 on the street. I spent 1.5 hours in a used GT3 with 11k on the clock, so I could run it hard. To be honest, I'm overwhelmed with it's ability to take on urban and backcountry streets with ease. Heck, I don't think it's appreciably less comfortable than my C4S on the street. I was expecting far, far worse street manners. Coming from a heavily modified, coilovered, lowered 600lb-sprung E36 M3, the GT3 proved far more comfy on the street, and far more refined chassis. It's truly sublime.

My driveway is clearance challenged, and my C4S rubs the front lip on occasion, so I took the GT3 to my house. Result? Absolutely fine, provided that (i) I enter slowly, and (ii) and a pretty good angle. I"m thinking worse case scenario, I pop of the front lip for street driving, and pop it back on for track days.

I think I've found my new lust. I'm hopefully taking my second drive in the 997S tomorrow just to get it out of my system.

I know I know, I've read posts on this board along the lines of 'if you are cross shopping the two cars, then the GT3 is not for you.' I disagree, as I think (from a prior 1 hour test drive in the Hill Country) that the 997S is good enough to merit consideration. I just need a bit more time to get it out of my system.

Cheers.