jmmitias

Interestingly enough, everyone is right! I own both. The 996TT is amazing as is the GT3. I find it hard to believe that the same company makes both cars because they are so different.

The TT is far more comfortable, torquey, livable, drivable, and safer. You can drive it anywhere, anytime in any weather. The midrange acceleration, even stock, is amazing. It makes you feel like a hero at the track because it won't let you screw up. You can take a 1000 mile trip and feel only slightly tired. However, it has a lot of pitch, roll, and dive. The brakes do not have that traditional Porsche firmness. The clutch take up is vague. There is a good bit of understeer and the transition for understeer to oversteer is not smooth. It feels slightly number in its controls giving it the civility for day to day driving.

The GT3 is razor sharp, agile, fun, sounds beautiful, exciting and more dangerous. It does not suffer fools. There is still some understeer on initial turn-in but the transitions are more manageable, once you are accustomed to it. The controls including steering, clutch take-up, shifter, throttle and braking are other-worldly. It demands a lot of you and will deliver big-time if you take the time to learn how to use it. However, it is nervous on uneven surfaces and tramlines like crazy. It maybe a daily driver in Florida or some other utopia but in north MS it will beat you to death. Maybe, I'm just a puss.

The TT is like a quartz watch and the GT3 is like a mechanical watch, both tell time but the mechanical watch requires a little more care. The TT is like the wife who can cook, clean and take care of your children and the GT3 is like a high maintenance hot mistress. You go screw the mistress and go back home to the loving, caring wife(tell me when you find one).

I'm sure I have confused you even more, but the bottom line is that they are both great.

Viken

There are some great analogies here. I particularly liked the one with the watches.

RSRRacer

Great Posts!

Well, I guess my TT is the hot mistress of a wife who can cook, clean and take care of your children! Any of you out there have one of those? I do!

Hope to see you guys at the track soon.

rockitman

Very well said and funny!!!

I guess the best solution is to have both...

supercup

The Turbo is a better street car in stock form and still an acceptable track car and the GT3 a better track car, but still an acceptable street car.

My 2001 Turbo was driven every day for about 9 months. Then I got bored and Ruf did the motor, I put on Tech Art coil overs, adj. bars, strut brace etc... Now it is much faster and handles much better, but I just don't get into it as much as I did when it was stock. In fact I sold my M5 when I got it, and I went out and bought another one after I modified the Turbo. Now that makes a lot of sense!

I have a GT3 Cup car for the track, so my Turbo now serves a rather limited purpose. I have spent one day at the track in the GT3 street car and must say it is a great car, but has some handling issues unless set up correctly. The Turbo, in stock form was easier to push at the track than the GT3. The clock for the stock GT3 at big track @ Willow as 1;33'S, the Turbo was 1;34'S (both running Pilot Sport Cups).

The GT3 had serious handling issues, I was convinced the left rear shock was bad. With a good set up and confidence I think the car is capable of a 1:30 and in Cort's hands it could go into the 1:29's. My modified Turbo is 1:31, just too heavy.

I would say that if you are going to drive it everyday and you don't mind a "firm" set up get the GT3, as it is the ultimate track/street Porsche (assuming the GT2 is too much cash). The X50 Turbo is the ultimate street Porsche and still a great car on the track.

No bad choice here just one tough decision. Either way you will have an ear to ear grin!

JCM

craigsduc

Comfused yes but I,m getting the picture. They are all great cars......but! I am not planning to drive the car daily. I do want to be able to go to the track again as I miss it terribly. Baby coming in August so theres lots of affecting things right now.....but the bottom line is that my wife wants me to get MY CAR NOW.....and not wait. If I coulD swallow the extra for a GT2, I think I would get one. Not sure how much better, if ANY, IT WOULD BE OF A TRACK CAR. Pretty sure it would be about the same on the street other than more acceleration. I really am curious to see the cpmaro of these two with equal drivers. The challenge to get a GT2 and eventually drive it at its potential is intriging. I dont want to go fast easily.....as I,m affraid the tt is all about. I,d much rather go to the track with even the GT3........and run easily (perhaps ahead.....easily) with most of the GT2s and tt,s. The only other problem is that visually, not much surpasses a GT2. They are low...have enough accents to make it a little more agressive looking than a GT3. Perhaps a Manthey Racing equipped GT3 with a BOLT ON GT2 wing. What a dilemma. If daily driving was in store...there would be no question what I would do........buy an X50 tt and work the suspension and brakes a bit with a set of wheels, a bit lower...........................................Man....that sounds good too.................I just wish they sounded as good as a GT3!

craigsduc

Well this is too funny.........................I hit the submit reply button....and I got a cell call from Northland Porsche out of Cincinatti . They had speced a GT3 SY car for me for July delivery..............and were willing to sell me the car back of MSRP but could not change the car from our original spec......which they had added cruise to. They said they would,nt charge me for the cruise at all...even though they had also agreed to a good chunk off of MSRP. Decision done....I accepted. I just received this morning ( as I lay in bed with water on the knee from a Ducati accident, along with the flu) the GT3 Recaros as well as a roll bar which I had originally ordered when I ordered a car from Beachmont in Ohio two months ago. I cancelled the order but figured I could use the seats and bar in any of the 996 cars I was interested in. So now I can set the seats up in my office....perhaps set the bar behind me.....in my office of course....set the big screen to a Cup Race on speedvision...............and go really fast...in my office of course....................oh come on.....you all know you would do the same....right.........all while waiting for the car to arrive.......life is good!

Trojan Man

from a daily driver standpoint, i think that the turbo is a more useable car. many people have brought up the high powerband of the GT3.

IMHO, the TT is also more of a "supercar" even though the GT3 is more rare.

However, the market has shown that the GT models will hold their value better than a turbo.

If I had it to do over again, I would still get a Turbo.

thusly

My experiences and perspectives parallel JMMITIAS, Viken's and Supercups - my tt (w/modified suspension, power, etc.) provides great thrills, all knowing that PSM is there to "save you" from stupid driving mistakes. The GT-3 challenges you to push and explore the limits - much more thrilling.

Just drove a GT-2 and will likely get one - the best of the tt and GT-3 combined???

DonneyJ

The Porsche Turbo is regarded as the best all round road car in the world....the X50 is even better ....try throwing a GT3 around in the wet, the Turbo will take anything you can throw at it ...do that with a GT3 and 99% of drivers will total their car. For regular track use and some road use the GT3 would be my choice but otherwise the TT

DonnyJ

Trojan Man

Not sure if anyone has bothered to do this except me, but go to any Porsche racing shop (that is, a shop that actually races Porsches, not just installs mods), and you will be surprised with the criticism about the GT3.

Specifically, a local shop (that races 2 GT3 Cup cars) says that since the GT3 (non-Cup) is ultimately a street legal car, the suspension is not tight enough and there is still too much understeer for it to be considered a "race-ready" car. It is more track-ready out of the box than a turbo, but it does not live up to the hype created by Porsche. On a positive note, he says that there is little to do on the engine to make it better.

Before you start bashing me, keep in mind that these words came out of a tech's mouth, not mine...and quite frankly they seem fair and balanced.

Viken

I am not sure if we are talking about *racing* here. I think we are discussing us mere mortals being able to take our cars to the track and enjoy them as much as we are capable of driving them fast. For that, the GT3 is just about right, and in some ways, more car than an average person can handle. The suspension is not soft, and the car does not understeer in most situations. Besides, if your racer's shop doesn't like the street GT3, I wonder what they think of the Turbo?

Once again, the thread started with a question as to which car is a better street car with OCCASIONAL track driving.

CodeRed

Why not just buy a GT2 and get the best of both?

craigsduc

Well, here we go again. I think if I can get a GT2 in the 130s, I may spend the extra $ I really worry I might regret it later while driving my GT3 next to a GT2. Obviously the car is an upgrade from the GT3 in horsepower, I just wonder if it will ever sound as good.........sound really does matter. I know both cars could use some tweaking for track use......that is why people like Bilstein, Koni, Carrera, etc etc etc are in business. Cup cars get modified by teams as well so for anyone to think they can buy a out of the box racecar and go out and have the car perform brilliantly at any track is mislead. As stated, the GT2 and GT3 cars are STREET cars designed for limited track use and thus are not perfect for the track and are NOT racecars! Salesmen at dealerships who represent these cars as street legal racecars are Car Salesman ..........who dont know the difference between a rollbar and a antiroll bar. I,m not expecting the GT car I buy to be a racecar................just a fast streetlegal car that will make me feel like Derek Bell at the track. Lets face it, any respectable sportscar driven at speed on a track is capable of inducing an adrenaline rush...I just love Porsches especially with their brilliantly reliable engines and gearboxes. Buying a racecar to take to the track may be a seemingly better way to go if street use is not required but financing a racecar even at club track day level gets expensive. Try rebuilding one of these engines or gearboxes. Reading an add for a racecar for sale that has a fresh $ 25,000 engine rebuild should be a wake up call for the unknowing. I campaigned a highly modified 944 in POC events for 3 years and it was expensive. I plan on tracking OCCAISIONALLY the car I buy so the primary use will obviously be street use. I know the tt, are incredible cars but I feel Porsche perhaps has made too many of them. Exclusive or rare they are not. Exceptional performance cars they are. For me, money really enters into the equation here as I am not wealthy and deppreciation is important. I feel the more limited numbers of GT cars should prove to helpfull in limiting their depreciation. I am not buying an investment here, just simply trying to minimize the cost of use. I feel the GT2,s will always be worth more than equally equipped GT3,s. How much more is the question of the day. I,m thinking perhaps $30K to $40K. The cost differential new was obviously much higher but when Porsche opted to increase production of the GT2,s and add production years, as well as upgrades, it hurt the original purchasers. IMHO if I find a well priced unmolested GT2 in the 130,s, and if the exhaust note will or can with modifications satisfy me, I will let someone have my SY GT3 slot for a July delivery at the agreed to price as quoted. Otherwise, I will simply wait till July myself.......and I,m sure will still be happy. As for the tt, there is just too many of them out there.........which is a great thing for buyers as it makes them the best buy out there in the 996 world. ,,,,IMHO

1AS

If you ever get to ride with Derek Bell, you'll probably give up trying to feel like him. In the early 90's, Porsche had him attend a number of DE events. Riding with him (in my car) made me seriously reevaluate how good I thought I could be. Good luck with your choice. AS