Alright you 996 tt enthusisats. Time to put away you bias opinions and give me the straight stiff. I am looking to buy a tt or a GT 3. I have a GT3 on order with a June delivery coming and I am getting second thoughts about buying it or a 996tt. I plan on OCCAISIONALLY tracking the car at club level as I miss the POC days at various racetracks. I don.t want a track only car as the amount of use would not be worth the cost to me. I have found a SY 02 X50 equipped car with an aerokit ( $ 160K msrp ) with 5K miles. It is mine for $110K. I could get a GT3 now for 5% BACK of msrp. If I am willing to invest in a PSS9 setup or a Euro Bilstein settup, would this car be the better car to buy. Value is a consideration here as I seem to loose more money on cars than anyone else I know. Help Me!

 

I think the rule of thumb is: if you're actually seriously considering the TT & GT3, then the TT is probably better suited to your requirements. I personally never even considered a TT, hence the GT3.

 

You just answered your own question. The word OCCASIONALLY in capital letters means Turbo. The GT3 is much more of a track car than it is a street car.

 

And the 02 X50 is a great street car. Mine has about 22,000 miles now, and I can't remember driving it without being delighted. It's a good track car that will pass lots of others at Porsche DE events, but my friend characterizes it as a "magic carpet" since there is so little frenzy in going fast. On the other hand, it's the best day-in-day-out car I've ever owned (mostly everything excluding Ferrari and Lamborghini). Your starting point is $37,000 less than mine. My advice is in the Viken collumn.AS

 

Can the tt become a true drivers car where the owner would not miss buying the GT3? I just feel for the same investment, the X50 tt with a PSS9 upgrade would seem to be alot more car and the potential to be an animal at the track is there. GT 3s are more rare but they don,t evoke a Supercar mystique in me. High reving motors will require more frequent maintenance too.

 

Not neccesarily... Regular maintenance should be rougly the same with a few more items to check on the turbo. There is a lot more that could potentialy go wrong with a turbo charged engine than an NA (even a high reving NA).

 

To answer in summary form...... yes, a 996TT with a decent suspension and mild tuning will outperform a GT3 at the track.

I have the PSS9 and though better than stock, still not up to the task IMHO. Get a JRZ or higher dollar track setup.

 

put it in this way, ask urself u which feel do u like? turbo engine or NA engine.

as i found out myself, ended up having both.

 

I drove both, a new 03 TT and a 04 GT3...The torque rush was fun, but when it came to a truly involved sports car, the GT3 won hands done. I disagree with the post that a GT3 is mostly a track car. The ride is firm yet smooth, the motor sings compared to a TT. AWD with traction control gives a numb handling experience by comparison. You can throw the GT3 around like no other car and the acceleration response is instantaneous...no lag. If your a hp junkie and want to mod the hell out of the motor, then the TT is the car. 600 hp is fun for straight line performance, but is really a non-factor when it comes to the twisties. If you want a sports car the way sports cars are meant to be, then the GT3 is your answer. If not go with the TT and let the GT3 go to someone who can really appreciate the raw visceral driving experience the GT3 offers...Best of luck on your decision...There could be more difficult ones to have to make in life... :-)

 

I will never own a vehicle again that is not force fed.

 

I owned an 03 996TT and now own an 04 GT3. I labored over the decision to sell my tt and get the GT3. It was wasted time -- I am very pleased with my GT3.

I totally agree with Rockitman's perspective.

I do an occasional track event and the remaining time is street driving. While I was pleased with my 996tt, I could not be more thrilled with my GT3. It is in a completely different league. I sometimes felt disconnected from my 996tt with all the gizmos and stuff, but with the GT3, you feel hooked up and part of the car--the true spirit of what a sports car should be like. Awesome motor and suspension. The total package!

 

I do agree that in a GT3 you feel more "hooked up." Surely the stock suspension on a GT3 is much better for the track.

But with the 996TT, for about $5K in suspension mods and $2K in ecu/exhaust mods you will have a car capable of better track performance, dramatically better at some tracks.

 

You could then offset the $7k you spent on the Turbo by spending $7k on the GT3; at the end of the day you'd have spent more money on they Turbo and the GT3 will still be the better car.

 

I agree that you'd need to spend enormous amounts of money to bring the Turbo closer to the GT3. However, the GT3 is not necessarily the better car for any given person. Craig is looking for a car he could drive mostly on the streets. For that, I think the Turbo is better.

 

If you buy the argument that both the TT and the GT3 need a better suspension setup for track use, then you would spend the same on each for a new suspension.

Also note there is almost no way to get more power out of the GT3 engine while the TT is easy to modify in that area.

On shorter tracks the GT3 is great but the longer tracks favor the TT.