Dan@SharkWerks

RUF has created legendary cars for years. It's no doubt that when this RGT was first delivered back in the 2006, it was everything a Porsche could hope to be. That's why it's hard to even justify touching this car, and we were skeptical to even bring it in.



We originally took delivery of the car with no specific agenda, just to look into what changes could be made and service any parts that needed attention. The car showed some wear, roughly 35,000 miles on the odometer with its 996 GT3 engine (despite being in a 997 non-GT3 chassis), and a few previous tuners had tinkered with it. The 997 GT3 had not been released yet when this car was produced, so part of our plan was to bring it up to date with more modern parts.



Unfortunately it did not run like RUF had intended. It was rough, stalled at low RPMs and had poor throttle response. The e-gas mapping was done poorly and the power seemed to plateau around 6000 RPMs. It seemed to be the fault of ECU tuning primarily. The exhaust was in bad shape, some of the suspension needed replacing, and the brakes needed an upgrade (stock brakes moved over from the standard 997).

Our customer's goal was to build a track toy and primarily use the car on a track outside the USA. We felt it was important to refresh the engine and re-tune the ECU for maximum power, eventually bumping the power back up by about 100 HP over how it arrived (~40 over stock RGT), with much better throttle response, a upgraded limited slip differential, larger brakes and replacing heim joints and some suspension components.

On the lift it goes...



Here are a couple RUF bits that stand out:



Fender flares:



Yes it's a real, RUF VIN RGT:



Interior:



The original exhaust was a combination of original 996 GT3 and aftermarket parts. The cats were removed and the car left a trail of stinky fumes behind when run.



And engine:



These cars have carbon doors, hood, deck lid, fenders, and wing, integrated rollcage hidden inside the headliner and many other special touches.

One of the coolest looking rear bumpers ever made:


The engine has to come out:





Coming apart:





While waiting for parts we send the differential off to Guard Transmission for rebuild and upgrades:



We also updated to the 4.0L GT3RS clutch and flywheel.

The engine's pretty dirty...



Stock titanium rods.



Stock RUF pistons. This engine was a 3.8L big bore. The pistons were pretty heavy (Mahle), a piston we had tested during our engine development and abandoned when we found better options:



We are going to 3.9L, here are our lighter and higher compression pistons:



Into their home:



The heads were refreshed with new valve guides, lifters and retainers:



The car waits patiently while James finishes up the engine and re-installs.



But we aren't quite done yet. The original brakes are factory 997 brakes, and while these are fine for most people, this RUF's pushing 480 HP now and the Brembo GT kit offers a lot more performance with less weight:




We also changed the exhaust to a 997 GT3 header / catalytic converter, and made a custom version of our track exhaust to fit the special RUF rear bumper. This gives the car a sound similar to a 997 GT3 with our standard track exhaust (shown below instead):


The owner opted for a second set of BBS (CH-R) wheels. Here is she as delivered:





The next 500-miles of the car's life were engine break-in, road testing and tuning. Todd Zuccone from EVOMSit flew in to tune the car for all types of driving, and spent days behind the wheel and in the passenger seat with his computer making fine adjustments.



The result is a more driveable, yet much faster and more modern car, with better brakes and more exotic and better sounding exhaust. It also pollutes much less, with functional factory 997 GT3 exhaust headers/cats compared to the original rusted system and Fuchs mufflers, it smells much cleaner and even gets better gas mileage.

rubber_ducky

great looking car. nicely done

911EVAN

Awesome! Love, love, love Ruf....

The NSX dude

Looks amazing, and I'm digging that NSX in the background!

lordpantsington

Never liked the bolt through the face treatment those flares have. Bit of an eyesore IMO.

AudiOn19s

Nice....now it just needs some Bob Willis love and she will be like new again!

cfjan

Those bolt-on fender (993 GT2 style!) is an easy (easier?) way to make a wide-body 6GT3.. !

I'd do them if I don't have to buy 3 different new set of wheels! (I'd prefer not to use spacers)

fbirch

Dan - I love these 3.9L upgrade threads. Is it correct to conclude the final configuration of this engine is essentially the same as a stock 996 GT3 with you 3.9L upgrade - i.e., no Ruf-specific parts in the engine? Do you have a dyno plot for the final config?

DreamCarrera

Wow, awesome stuff...thanks for sharing!!! As usual, first rate work by Sharkwerks.

Did you dyno the engine after the mods?

sharkster

Thanks mate Love my NSX...

Roger that.... He's the best!
I remember James and I doing these fenders on my 99 C2 it was pretty tricky
http://sharkwerks.com/porsche/996-ca...e-and-ruf.html

Thanks and yes this was a tricky one. RuF built it to their 3.8 spec. Just out of respect for them I don't want to share what was in it as they don't ever say either but we did much of the tuning/engine work based on what we knew from our own 3.9 6gt3 project and together with Todd's "live tuning" emmulator Everythign was done the same to our 480hp spec 3.9.

http://sharkwerks.com/porsche/996-ca...40-wheels.html

cfjan

Alex,

For those fender flairs, it would require cutting the stock metal fenders, right? How do you handle the inside liners?

For the C2 project, which deck lid did you use for the Cup-look conversion?

sharkster

Correct cutting in front and "pounding/hammering/butchering" the rear... If I remember right we modified the inner liners and had to use/carnage other ones too. The cup stuff was from Getty Design.

cfjan

Thanks for the info. Yeah, it is probably the "cheapest" way to make a widebody (without replacing fenders), but one would need new wheels for the new wider track!!

sharkster

Thanks man and yes it can look pretty mean/pissed off But you'd need some pretty big spacers otherwise...

Dan@SharkWerks