s3am

Hi

New member here from PistonHeads, with a '04 GT3, a dose of ignorance...


...and a question. My car came with cermaics, since its main use is on road this has not been much of a problem so far but I have recently -since I plan to do more track time- been toying with the idea of changing at least the fronts to a Brembo/AP/Alcon floating set up to spare the worry over the ceramics' fragility.

Trouble is I still do 10-12,000 miles on road and don't want the rattling that apparently accompanies the floating set ups. Should I just change to Porsche's own steels on the fronts, or is their a better compromise than this?

Thanks in advance.

Sam

03-turbo911

If you Guy, owner of the RUF RGT2, he had changed his PCCB's to steels front and back. I think he got them at JZ machtech if I'm not mistaken.

Z06

Get the AP NON Floating rotors...the a true racing rotor you can use on the street with no noise.. Make sure you ask for the NON Floating verison.

g3tcs

I believe either Brembo or Alcon have brought out a second generation floater which does not rattle, at least not as to be intrusive.

Check with JZ for the Alcon's or Parr Motorsport for the Brembo's.

s3am

Thanks guys, going to speak to the guys at JZM (not too far for me) this week, see what they think.

MJSpeed

First off welcome!!

And second why not just run the ceramics until you actually need to buy a set?

There are several GT3 owners that have kept the ceramics, track the car quite a bit and haven't had any problems...what have you got to lose??

NJ-GT

get stock gt3cup front steel rotors and RS19 pads at all wheels. Cheap and reliable.

I don't know yet from a GT3/GT2 cracking the rear PCCB.

s3am

Thanks for the welcome!

Yes, that has always been an option, I've done 6 or so track days since I bought the car and have been religious in inspecting them after each time and nothing appears to be out of order yet. Is it true that the ceramics on the original GT2 were 'mk 1.1' and there has been subsequent developments and improvements since for the GT3 and CGT?

TBH I think you may have got the answer, as long as they dont shatter like a clay pigeon when they do go -I'm happy. I had only thought about putting them aside for resale purposes, but I'm not selling the car for a long time yet!

Thanks

Sam

Here's a picture of mine, my brother's and Dad's cars together:

NJ-GT

could you post a CSL vs. GT3 driving comparison?

s3am

Driving impressions, bear in mind I have only driven the CSL on the road once or twice, so I'll talk about them mainly as on track... both are standard apart from some uprated pads/fluid/lines (the essentials) on the CSL, (the CSL also runs 'normal' MPS).

Performance: If I was going on sensation only I would say that the GT3 had at least 50 more hp than the CSL, the reality is still in favour of the GT3 but by a surprisingly small margin.
http://media.putfile.com/CSL-vs-GT3--vmax-8
The video doesn't quite do it justice; we have raced several times and there is usually very little in it. The CSL feels considerably less torquey (not the town) but has a distinctive sound and a real rawness to the engine compared to the smoother, almost creamy by comparison GT3 unit.
http://media.putfile.com/M3-CSL-drift
So far as handling impressions are concerned I far prefer the GT3 steering feel and driving position. The GT3 has a less playful edge and its limits are correspondingly higher owing (I imagine) to its wider section rear tyres. The CSL's poise is incredible and it is able to be slid at quite an agressive angle and quite benignly by a keen amateur like myself. The ground that the GT3 puts on the CSL going round a track is unsurprisingly out of slower speed corners and on the straights where the extra power and traction can be deployed. The CSL makes up time on me by being more user friendly and pliable in the corner, and better poise under braking. If I were to characterise them without offending anyone the CSL would be a highly effective toy on track whereas the GT3 would be a highly enjoyable weapon. If you catch my drift.

The brakes on the CSL actually feel stronger but offer exactly the same retardation as the GT3's in extremis, the ceramics however offer much better stamina on track than even the BMW's uprated stoppers.

On road the CSL makes a much better fist of british roads, ultimate pace is probably in the CSL's favour on road ultimate comfort in doing so is definately in the CSL's favour: where it glides over bumps that the GT3 finds itself springing off.

The deciding factor for my prefering the GT3 owes simply to its having a manual gearbox. I cannot abide Tiptronic/SMG in my cars, but I have not used the CSL much on road as I said. The CSL is owned by my brother and he loves it, but he too wishes it had a manual.

My quick thoughs, hope that made sense!

Sam

DanH

Has your brother not uprated the front callipers on his CSL? Everyone I know who has tracked a CSL with any regularity found they suffer from massive fade without that mod. The OEM sliding callipers on a track special is laughable!

Nice cars though

s3am

Hi Dan,

I take it you're Dan from PH?

He currently has RS29's, fluid and pipe upgrade. He's going for the full 6 pot AP's early this year though because even this isn't really sorting the problem out. You're right they were woefully underspecced brakes as standard, as though BMW itself expected all its owners to be posing in not tracking the car.

Sam