frayed

250 miles and 20 hours of ownership. Initial thoughts, sorta stream of conciousness.

This car is a thoroughbred. I can understand why some folks sell their cars quickly, with low miles. But for me it offers the uncanny blend of comfort and rawness that no other car can match. I'm smitten like a 7 year old with his first puppy.

Like in my C2, I hate the center console. Gonna have to do the console delete.

At idle the car sounds like a tamed rattlesnake. As you go up through the rev range the sounds and visceral pull will make your hair stand on end.

I'm getting weird directional changes as a function of throttle, only when turning and even when puttering around. I'm not talking about the throttle steer behaviour all 911's exhibit (I'm on my third), but a certain nervousness. The rear tires are over half way shot, so I'll replace them, and I'm in need of a track alignment before my first track day. We'll see if that cures things. It feels differential related.

Ride height + front overhang is gonna be a problem. I'll do my best to work around it, but even being careful and angling every approach I expect that front lip not to last terribly long. I may have to pull it off for more clearance, and put it on for track use. My driveway is the main culprit. . . I may have to have the front section pulled up an re-done.

I paid the extra 2 grand to get 2 years extra CPO coverage.

With only 3400 miles on the clock when I picked it up, it had apparently been to the track already. The car is missing its valvestem caps and has Pagid Yellows installed, so I'll have to buy new OEM pads for the street. Any feedback on the yellows? With a little heat in them, they seem to have great feel. (sidenote: WTF, the guys at dealership didn't catch these issues for a CPO car?)

I'm hugely self-concious driving it, even though it doesn't look *that* different than my black 00 C2 with the MkI aero. I need window tint for privacy.

At first, I felt guilty driving the car home. Now I know, it was worth the price of entry. Without question a fantastic ride. Can't wait to get it to the track.

Edit: I can't understand why people complain about the ride. I think it's quite supple.

Cheers,

Phokaioglaukos

I did, too. Not a big deal with Rockitman's step-by-step directions and the kit (got mine at Suncoast). I think it really cleans up the interior.

Sounds like the tires, as you note, but your alignment might be off, too.

Note the OEM pads are Pagid and they are yellow, but they are NOT the RS-19 pads. Pull the pads and look at the backing. You may well have OEM pads.

I expect that you will get accustomed to it. I find that only enthusiasts know what my car is, and they care! Most don't seem to notice.

TT Surgeon

Nice, I knew you would get one soon!
Post some pics, have fun.
Saw a nice silver one on 7th ave this am with nj tags, anybody here?

mooty

your alignment MAY be off.
GT3 is just a tad more nervous than c2, even when aligned. things just seems to happen quicker or maybe the car communicates better.
as chris mentioned. oem pad looks yellow, but it's not the same as pagid yellow aka RS19. RS19 works well even when cold (unless you are trying to stop from 100mph when it's cold, no bite), i used them on street and track, but they can be noisy.

btw, congrats ;-)

frayed

Phokaioglaukos, yeah, I did the console delete in my C2 (wasn't clear on that). Great, simple modification. A must.

Thanks for the note on the brake pads. A shop told me they were yellows, and that OE are black.

I hope my wife won't be pissed. I haven't told her yet.

geoffucla

Hey Jeff, Congratulations!! Hopefully this is the car that was really meant for you! So, when's the first DE that we'll get to see it at? Having come from a C2 as well, I think what you may be feeling is just what mooty described. When these cars are improperly aligned, there's no telling what it feels like. Combine that with old rubber, and good luck! Regarding the pads, they definitely begin their life yellow in color, but are not the RS-19s, as previously mentioned. Once you have a few track days on them, the pad material begins to turn white and black. You will certainly be able to tell if the car was tracked by these signs and if the front rotors are cracked. In the absence of these, if it was tracked, it certainly wasn't tracked hard.
Enjoy, and hopefully we'll see you soon--

Geoff.

Phokaioglaukos

Jeff, call me Chris.

You haven't told your wife? I think my wife told me to "buy it already" after my months of monologue about it!

frayed

Chris (much easier to spell),

Well, since I've cycled through cars rapidly, and have been babbling about 'what to get' for over a year, she cannot stand hearing it anymore. 3 weeks into C2 ownership, I casually mentioned 'I think I want a different car.' As many would guess, I was shut down immediately, not b/c she was against it but b/c she was tired of my schit.

So, I bought the car yesterday, figuring I'd tell her later.

She hasn't noticed it's a different car yet.

TT Surgeon

Jeff, you take the cake brother, I can't beleive she didn't notice. Just don't tell her at all at this point, what she doesn't know won't hurt her!
Good luck
Chris

frayed

LOL. My friends think I'm insane, and think that she'll notice, file it away, and use it at an (in)opportune time. This is the way of women.

I think as soon as she looks inside and sees the rear seats missing, I'm screwed.

Ran

Why? Does she sit in the back ?

Congrats and enjoy in good health. Maybe she will take it away before you wake up tomorrow.

bora

Jeff

Congrats on the new car, the stock pads in my GT3 were also yellow.

I think if the pads don't squeal, then you can safely assume they are the stock pads. The inscription on them should say P90-2.

RevUrGT3

Hey Jeff,

What did I tell you buddy? He he he he... now you know... welcome to the club and ENJOY IT.

About the car being nervous. Yup, big time. The GT3 provides way more feedback/information than any other Porsche (haven't driven a CGT or a GT2... yet). It was meant to be like that. You will get use to it and use it to your advantage on the track OR driving it on the road.

About the front lip... get use to it buddy... unless you do what Old Guy did, you will be leaving pieces of it EVERYWHERE. I have to be extra carefull with it. Good thing it is not expensive to replace.

So, when we going to the track man? The Driver's Edge next TWS is on June 4 and 5...

Oh, do you have the GT3 and roll-bar already?

frayed

Ivan, I still have to order bar and seats. Am thinking of pulling the trigger today, or maybe waiting until after a first track day. Not sure.

Bora, thanks.

Ran, there's history there. We have two kids, and I've brought home a GT3 and a Boxter S recently during test drives. Each time, I was met with 'but there are no back seats.' Problem has been solved: keeping the E36 M3 for beating around town, leaving at the airport, hauling a kid occasionally.

RevUrGT3

Hey Jeff,

Coincidently, speaking of feedback and "raw" car feel, a friend of mine bought a new Turbo S yesterday and we went for a drive (I was present during delivery, of course).

It is not broken in yet but even a low RPMs you can fell the car is a monster in terms of power. My friend left a new Mustang GT in the dust without even pasing 4k RPMS...

However, and for me this is a big HOWEVER, true to its "everyday supercar" status, the car is way too tamed for me. The car does not feel twitchy at all... also not providing as much information as my GT3.

So, my point is: I like my GT3 being nervous and twitchy, I like to know exactly what is going on with the car all the time... now I just need to learn how to harnes it... hehehe...

EMBRACE IT and enjoy it!