http://www.autoevolution.com/news/14...n-112242.html#

Glad that people are using these cars as they should! Sounds like the gearbox is still original and the engine was recently re-built after 120k+ miles.

 

Amazing effort. 50K track miles! It baffles me then, how a street car can go roughly 140K miles (with 50K track) on one engine, yet the Cup cars need engine rebuilds after 5-10K.

Where is the difference?

 

Ugh I miss the Ring...that's pretty awesome. I wonder how many sets of tires that is...and brake pads...etc.

 

I hope to be this guy in my GT3 :-) 44k and counting!

they can last a lot longer. but you're racing, and you want "top" performance. also some is done preventative. however the real difference is how the cars are run. the race cars are driven a lot harder, on slicks, are at / above redline more, i believe the 996 (997 is) runs a higher compression piston and runs on race fuel, it's a little higher strung... it all adds up.

Big part of that maintenance interval is inspection, and certain things just get timed out.

 

FYI the owner of that GT3 posts on here from time to time and is well respected in the UK. I've had the privilege of many passenger laps at both Spa and the Ring in that car.

 

what a cool bloke
shoudl he lands in SF, beer, dinner, drug, whatever all on me.

 

difference between podium and back of the pack in a race car or the chance of spending the weekend in paddock. lol.

My RS has 38k miles.
(Crankcase was replaced at 13k miles under warranty, so call it 25k miles to date on engine.)

I recently did the clutch which disappeared at Sebring.
I finally did the LSD right after.
Coil packs, plugs and coolant pipes were all due and did them too.

While everything was out we opened up ther the tranny and replaced 1st and 2nd which were showing signs of wear which is typical of a GT3 that sees more then average track.

I can only image what the inside of the 140k mile 996GT3 looks like.

I think the mezgers can run forever and be rebuilt to run even longer then i live.

I have seen high mileage 993 carreras run forever as well.

Impressive cars.

 

I hear ya, the Cup guys are at the redline pretty much all day. Makes a difference but one has to wonder how long a cup engine would go for, un opened, with just regular fluid changes....20K miles or more?
Very impressive,the GT3 would have to be one of the only production road cars that you can literally drive from the dealership and track all day long with very little modification from factory specification. The Audis, Mclaren's etc go into limp mode, Ferrari don't even get me started. The simplicity of the GT3 is what I like the most and what holds it in good stead on the track. Unfortunately I feel Porsche has moved away from that with the 991 generation(not that you can't flog them all day).

 

Cup gearing is a lot shorter than GT3 gearing, and that brings additional stress for the engine.

Cup engine service interval has been specced so that you surely are not losing a single horsepower to any of your competitors who may have a new engine.

And by following the interval you surely are not facing an engine failure in any race (the factory thinks it would be bad publicity for Porsche, especially the Supercup events when racing during Formula 1 wekeend).

Not any kind of reference but I had 80k+ kilometres in my 996 Turbo with bigger turbos, always at the track or autobahn, over 10 track seasons. When opened, engine looked good.

 

Hi

I am the owner of that 996

To answer your "Where's the difference" question first, a race car spends all of its time above 6K RPM & it needs to be operating at peak efficiency at all times. The sequential shift puts huge shocks through the entire drivetrain, including the engine. To ensure that efficiency & reliability is maintained, you need to rebuild before a failure or power loss is likely. It's a totally different prospect in a track-modified road car, particularly if it's driven with some mechanical sympathy. I'm at nowhere near the pace the car is capable of most of the time so the stresses are much reduced over what race cars endure.

The full story on my car would involve writing a small book, but the very brief version is that I ran the stock engine up until 85K miles when it was pulled & it had a complete refresh of everything other than the crank, cases, water jackets, heads & cams. At that time it went to 3.9L using Capricorn pistons & liners. This was a mistake in retrospect for various reasons too tedious to expand upon & the engine was rebuilt again at 130K miles using standard Porsche 997.2 GT3 pistons & liners so it's now a 3.8. The only wear on the engine evident at both rebuilds was at the top end: valves, seats, guides & cam buckets. Chains were "ok" but replaced anyway. Ditto the rods - they stretch and will just break eventually so not worth taking the risk. The crank has measured as "zero wear" both times, probably because of the frequent oil changes. Even the shells don't look like they've worn.

Not so with the standard suspension, which wears out at an alarming rate when tracked. After 2 damper rebuilds & the replacement of every arm several times within the first 3 years of ownership, I decided on drastic action! In one mammoth session in 2011, I replaced all the factory suspension in one go. It's now fully monoballed using a mixture of GMG, Rennline, RSS & Porsche Motorsport parts. It's running on Moton Clubsport 2-way remote canister dampers & stiffer springs. Brakes are Alcon 380mm in front & Alcon 360mm rear. I mostly use 18" slicks on track but at the 'ring & on the road it runs on 19" Michelin Cup2s. It's running on standard 996 gearing but as it's an incredibly torquey engine (351lb/ft peak & above 300lb/ft between 3300rpm & 7200rpm) it's not losing too much on acceleration & it means there's less stress on driveshafts (still the original ones!). It gets very regular spanner checks & oil changes but it's proven to be a very reliable car as a result. It's done 197 trackdays with me in just under 8 years & I bought it with 20K miles.

I have another GT3 engine which will be getting built into a full-fat 4L in due course

 

Let's just say "lots" & leave it there. I don't add up the costs but if I tell you that I started up a company selling brakes & pads for Porsche GT cars you'll get the picture

 

You're my hero, I've got 41K on my 997.2 GT3RS and usually I'm the only person with that vintage car at the track.

 

hahaha wow. That is awesome. Wish I had seen the car when I was at The Ring last month. I was looking for 996GT3s and saw VERY few. Was actually hoping to see a real 6RS but I did not have any luck while in Germany (I'm guess they are mostly stored in garages at this point)

Awesome car...and awesome story. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one to say that it would be interested to hear a more detailed version of your story.

 

Great story, what does "CS" mean?

 

Thanks for taking the time to share your story. I really enjoyed the details.